The rats fight over Palin

[TomAiello 26]

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The party didn't have to "contend" with her, she had to contend with the party who started a cannibalistic butchering of her on all fronts.

Let me elaborate on what I meant.

In general, the evangelical christian portion of the Republican coalition is valuable (to the larger GOP) because:

(a) members reliable turn out in above average percentages

(b) they can be very effective campaigners both because they have generally above average motivation and energy and also because church groups (and home schooling groups) provide pre-built networks

(c) they generate future candidates who generally present well (clean cut, family oriented, law abiding "wholesome" people).


The liabilities associated with the group (in an electoral sense) are;

(a) a perceived or real unwillingness to compromise on key issues (abortion, for example)

(b) a perceived or real desire to impose their moral standards on others


In general, I'd say that the religious right is a powerful lobbying and campaigning force that will never have the full support of a mahority of Americans, many of whom are uneasy with their religious fervor.

The trick for the GOP is to capture the positives (harnessing the groups energy and votes) while minimizing the negatives. The easiest way to do this is to keep the leaders/motivators of the group (people like Palin) at the second rank of national politics (as VP, for example), where their followers are motivated but the perceived negatives are overshadowed by the front line leadership. One could argue that the other trick is to harness their energy while maintaining an ability to compromise on issues (like abortion) where the greater electorate is generally in favor of compromises.


In the Palin case, specifically, the issue is that the McCain campaign created (post-campaign, when she no longer has to share the stage with McCain) a very visible national figure. During the campaign, she was overshadowed by McCain.

Now, the GOP has to find a way to assert (and express to the public) it's willingness to compromise on some key issues where Palin is not willing to compromise--by distancing itself from her in some ways. Because, let's face it, a party composed solely of evangelical christians will never be a majority party.

I concur that the bulk of the GOP political operatives appear to be going about this in the wrong manner (by attacking Palin). A more positive solution (by which I mean one that will earn them more votes) would be to build up viable alternatives in the public eye, and re-cast the party as a bit bigger of a tent--one that visibly has a bit more room for varying views on religion (and it's attendant issues like abortion and gay marriage).

The democratic party, of course is trying as hard as they can to spin this to their advantage, and will continuously play up the "scary" christian conservatives in an attempt to alienate voters from the republicans. The republicans themselves have done a piss poor job of countering thie gambit.

Basically, the trick is not to scare off those people who might be alienated by religious fervor, and the way the GOP is trying to do this is to downplay Palin as a party leader. I think a better way would be to emphasize some other leaders in addition to her.

-- Tom Aiello

Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com
SnakeRiverBASE.com

[redlegphi 0]

More on the Republican Civil War

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Palin blasted out an e-mail with the subject line "Todd" to Schmidt, campaign manager Rick Davis and senior advisor Nicolle Wallace, copying her husband on the message (all of the e-mails are reprinted below as written).

"Pls get in front of that ridiculous issue that's cropped up all day today - two reporters, a protestor's sign, and many shout-outs all claiming Todd's involvement in an anti-American political party," Palin wrote. "It's bull, and I don't want to have to keep reacting to it ... Pls have statement given on this so it's put to bed."

Her reference to a single protestor's sign and "many shout-outs" was indicative of Palin's occasional tendency to take anecdotal evidence of a minor problem and extrapolate it into something far more menacing. The final of the three presidential debates was just hours away, which would mark the unveiling of the soon-to-be canonized Joe The Plumber.

The Joe The Plumber narrative was the Republicans' secret weapon -- the last chance to put a chink in Obama's seemingly impervious armor. It was not a time for distractions, but the campaign was compelled to deal with the drama that seemed to follow Palin wherever she went.

Schmidt hit "reply to all" less than five minutes after Palin's e-mail was sent. "Ignore it," he wrote. "He was a member of the aip? My understanding is yes. That is part of their platform. Do not engage the protestors. If a reporter asks say it is ridiculous. Todd loves america."

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"That's not part of their platform and he was only a 'member' bc independent alaskans too often check that 'Alaska Independent' box on voter registrations thinking it just means non partisan," Palin wrote. "He caught his error when changing our address and checked the right box. I still want it fixed."

Palin was attempting to bend the facts ever so slightly to fit neatly into her version of events. In truth, the box that Alaskans have the option of checking when registering to vote states the full name of the party, "Alaskan Independence Party," not "Alaska Independent," which would make an error by uncommitted voters more plausible.

Clearly irritated by what he saw as Palin's attempt to mislead her own campaign and apparently determined to demonstrate that the ultimate authority rested with him, Schmidt put the matter to rest once and for all with a longer response to everyone in the e-mail chain.

"Secession," he wrote. "It is their entire reason for existence. A cursory examination of the website shows that the party exists for the purpose of seceding from the union. That is the stated goal on the front page of the web site. Our records indicate that todd was a member for seven years. If this is incorrect then we need to understand the discrepancy. The statement you are suggesting be released would be innaccurate. The innaccuracy would bring greater media attention to this matter and be a distraction. According to your staff there have been no media inquiries into this and you received no questions about it during your interviews. If you are asked about it you should smile and say many alaskans who love their country join the party because it speeks to a tradition of political independence. Todd loves his country

We will not put out a statement and inflame this and create a situation where john has to adress this."

I'm really starting to like this Schmidt guy.