Alaskan Gov Sarah Palin McCain's Pick For VP

[Soldier4Christ]

Since the announcement has been made it has become difficult to get a whole lot of information on her. Most of the official web sites that have any information on her political history has become swapped and difficult to get on. Here is what I could find that is not necessarily a reliable source.



Sarah Louise Heath Palin (born February 11, 1964) is the current Governor of Alaska, and the 2008 Republican candidate for Vice President of the United States. She will be the first female Vice Presidential candidate representing the Republican Party and the second female Vice Presidential candidate representing a major political party. She will be the first politician from Alaska to be nominated for Vice President.

Palin was born in Idaho and raised in Alaska. In 1984, she was the runner-up in the Miss Alaska pageant, receiving a scholarship that allowed her to attend the University of Idaho, where she received a degree in journalism. After working as a sports reporter at an Anchorage television station, Palin served two terms on the Wasilla, Alaska, City Council from 1992 to 1996, was elected mayor of Wasilla (population 5,470 in 2000) in 1996, and ran unsuccessfully for Lieutenant Governor in 2002.

Palin was elected Governor of Alaska in 2006 by first defeating incumbent governor Frank Murkowski in the Republican primary, then former Democratic Alaskan governor Tony Knowles in the general election. She gained attention for publicizing ethical violations by state Republican Party leaders.

Pre-gubernatorial political experience

Palin served two terms on the Wasilla City Council from 1992 to 1996. In 1996, she challenged and defeated the incumbent mayor, criticizing wasteful spending and high taxes. The ex-mayor and sheriff tried to organize a recall campaign, but failed. Palin kept her campaign promises by reducing her own salary, as well as reducing property taxes by 60%. She ran for reelection against the former mayor in 1999, winning by an even larger margin. Palin was also elected president of the Alaska Conference of Mayors.

In 2002, Palin made an unsuccessful bid for Lieutenant Governor, coming in second to Loren Leman in a four-way race. After Frank Murkowski resigned from his long-held U.S. Senate seat in mid-term to become governor, Palin interviewed to be his possible successor. Instead, Murkowski appointed his daughter, then-Alaska State Representative Lisa Murkowski.

Governor Murkowski appointed Palin Ethics Commissioner of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, where she served from 2003 to 2004 until resigning in protest over what she called the "lack of ethics" of fellow Alaskan Republican leaders, who ignored her whistleblowing complaints of legal violations and conflicts of interest. After she resigned, she exposed the state Republican party's chairman, Randy Ruedrich, one of her fellow Oil & Gas commissioners, who was accused of doing work for the party on public time, and supplying a lobbyist with a sensitive e-mail. Palin filed formal complaints against both Ruedrich and former Alaska Attorney General Gregg Renkes, who both resigned; Ruedrich paid a record $12,000 fine.

Governorship

In 2006, Palin, running on a clean-government campaign, executed an upset victory over then-Gov. Murkowski in the Republican gubernatorial primary. Despite the lack of support from party leaders and being outspent by her Democratic opponent, she went on to win the general election in November 2006, defeating former Governor Tony Knowles. Palin said in 2006 that education, public safety, and transportation would be three cornerstones of her administration.

When elected, Palin became the first woman to be Alaska's governor, and the youngest governor in Alaskan history at 42 years of age upon taking office. Palin was also the first Alaskan governor born after Alaska achieved U.S. statehood. She was also the first Alaskan governor not to be inaugurated in Juneau, instead choosing to hold her inauguration ceremony in Fairbanks. She took office on December 4, 2006.

Highlights of Governor Palin's tenure include a successful push for an ethics bill, and also shelving pork-barrel projects supported by fellow Republicans. Palin successfully killed the Gravina Island Bridge project that had become a nationwide symbol of wasteful earmark spending. "Alaska needs to be self-sufficient, she says, instead of relying heavily on 'federal dollars,' as the state does today."

She has challenged the state's Republican leaders, helping to launch a campaign by Lieutenant Governor Sean Parnell to unseat U.S. Congressman Don Young[13] and publicly challenging Senator Ted Stevens to come clean about the federal investigation into his financial dealings.

In 2007, Palin had an approval rating often in the 90s. A poll published by Hays Research on July 28, 2008 showed Palin's approval rating at 80%.

Energy policies

Palin's tenure is noted for her independence from big oil companies, while still promoting resource development. Palin has announced plans to create a new sub-cabinet group of advisors, to address climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions within Alaska.

Shortly after taking office, Palin rescinded thirty-five appointments made by Murkowski in the last hour of his administration, including the appointment by Murkowski of his former chief of staff Jim Clark to the Alaska Natural Gas Development Authority. Clark later pled guilty to conspiring with a defunct oil-field-services company to channel money into Frank Murkowski's re-election campaign.

In March 2007, Palin presented the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act (AGIA) as the new legal vehicle for building a natural gas pipeline from the state's North Slope. Only one legislator, Representative Ralph Samuels, voted against the measure, and in June Palin signed it into law. On January 5, 2008, Palin announced that a Canadian company, TransCanada Corp., was the sole AGIA-compliant applicant.

In response to high oil and gas prices, and in response to the resulting state government budget surplus, Palin proposed giving Alaskans $100-a-month energy debit cards. She also proposed providing grants to electrical utilities so that they would reduce customers' rates. She subsequently dropped the debit card proposal, and in its place she proposed to send Alaskans $1,200 directly and eliminate the gas tax.

cont'd

[Soldier4Christ]

Social issues

Palin is strongly pro-life, a supporter of capital punishment, and belongs to Feminists for Life. Also has stated hunting mooses for a past time, and promotes rifles as collector's items.

She opposes same-sex marriage, but she has stated that she has gay friends and is receptive to gay and lesbian concerns about discrimination. While the previous administration did not implement same-sex benefits, Palin complied with an Alaskan state Supreme Court order and signed them into law. She disagreed with the Supreme Court ruling and supported a democratic advisory vote from the public on whether there should be a constitutional amendment on the matter. Alaska was one of the first U.S. states to pass a constitutional ban on gay marriage, in 1998, along with Hawaii. Palin has stated that she supported the 1998 constitutional amendment.

Palin's first veto was used to block legislation that would have barred the state from granting benefits to the partners of gay state employees. In effect, her veto granted State of Alaska benefits to same-sex couples. The veto occurred after Palin consulted with Alaska's attorney general on the constitutionality of the legislation.

Matanuska Maid Dairy closure

When the Alaska Creamery Board recommended closing Matanuska Maid Dairy, an unprofitable state-owned business, Palin objected, citing concern for the impact on dairy farmers and the fact that the dairy had just received $600,000 in state money. When Palin learned that only the Board of Agriculture and Conservation could appoint Creamery Board members, she simply replaced the entire membership of the Board of Agriculture and Conservation. The new board, led by businesswoman Kristan Cole, reversed the decision to close the dairy. The new board approved milk price increases offered by the dairy in an attempt to control fiscal losses, even though milk from Washington was already offered in Alaskan stores at lower prices. In the end, the dairy was forced to close, and the state tried to sell the assets to pay off its debts but received no bids.

Budget

In the first days of her administration, Palin followed through on a campaign promise to sell the Westwind II jet purchased (on a state government credit account) by the Murkowski administration. The state placed the jet for sale on eBay three times. In August 2007, the jet was sold for $2.1 million.

Shortly after becoming governor, Palin canceled a contract for the construction on an 11-mile (18-kilometer) gravel road outside of Juneau to a mine. This reversed a decision made in the closing days or hours of the Murkowski Administration.

In June 2007, Palin signed into law a $6.6 billion operating budget—the largest in Alaska's history. At the same time, she used her veto power to make the second-largest cuts of the construction budget in state history. The $237 million in cuts represented over 300 local projects, and reduced the construction budget to nearly $1.6 billion.

Commissioner dismissal

On July 11, 2008, Governor Palin dismissed Walter Monegan as Commissioner of Public Safety and instead offered him a position as executive director of the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, which he subsequently turned down. Monegan alleged shortly after his dismissal that it may have been partly due to his reluctance to fire an Alaska State Trooper, Mike Wooten, who had been involved in a divorce and child custody battle with Palin's sister, Molly McCann. In 2006, before Palin was governor, Wooten was briefly suspended for ten days for threatening to kill McCann's (and Palin's) father, tasering his 11-year-old stepson (at the stepson's request), and violating game laws. After a union protest, the suspension was reduced to five days.

Governor Palin asserts that her dismissal of Monegan was unrelated to the fact that he had not fired Wooten, and asserts that Monegan was instead dismissed for not adequately filling state trooper vacancies, and because he "did not turn out to be a team player on budgeting issues." Palin acknowledges that a member of her administration, Frank Bailey, did contact the Department of Public Safety regarding Wooten, but both Palin and Bailey say that happened without her knowledge and was unrelated to her dismissal of Monegan. Bailey was put on leave for two months for acting outside the scope of his authority as the Director of Boards and Commissions.

In response to Palin's statement that she had nothing to hide, in August 2008 the Alaska Legislature hired Steve Branchflower to investigate Palin and her staff for possible abuse of power surrounding the dismissal, though lawmakers acknowledge that "Monegan and other commissioners serve at will, meaning they can be fired by Palin at any time." The investigation is being overseen by Democratic State Senator Hollis French, who says that the Palin administration has been cooperating and thus subpoenas are unnecessary. The Palin administration itself was the first to release an audiotape of Bailey making inquiries about the status of the Wooten investigation.

Wooten and the police union alleged that the governor had improperly released his employment files in his divorce case. However, McCann's attorney released a signed waiver from Wooten demonstrating that Wooten had authorized the release of his files through normal discovery procedures.

cont'd

[Soldier4Christ]

Personal life

Palin's husband, Todd, is a Yup'ik Alaskan native. Outside the fishing season, Todd works for BP energy corporation at an oil field on Alaska's North Slope and is a champion snowmobiler, winning the 2000-mile "Iron Dog" race four times. The two eloped shortly after Palin graduated from college; when they learned they needed witnesses for the civil ceremony, they recruited two residents from the old-age home down the street. The Palin family lives in Wasilla, about 40 miles (64 km) north of Anchorage.

On September 11, 2007, the Palins' eighteen-year-old son Track, eldest of five, joined the Army. He now serves in an infantry brigade and will be deployed to Iraq in September 2008. She also has three daughters: Bristol, 17; Willow, 13; and Piper, 7.

On April 18, 2008, Palin gave birth to her second son, Trig Paxson Van Palin, who has Down syndrome. She returned to the office three days after giving birth. Palin refused to let the results of prenatal genetic testing change her decision to have the baby. "I'm looking at him right now, and I see perfection," Palin said. "Yeah, he has an extra chromosome. I keep thinking, in our world, what is normal and what is perfect?"

Details of Palin's personal life have contributed to her political image. She hunts, eats moose hamburger, ice fishes, rides snowmobiles, and owns a float plane. Palin holds a lifetime membership with the National Rifle Association. She admits that she used marijuana when it was legal in Alaska, but says that she did not like it.

[Soldier4Christ]

Check mate for McCain?
Fans of family 'electrified' by Palin for VP selection

Pro-family advocates and Republicans are saying presumptive GOP nominee for president Sen. John McCain may have checkmated Democrat Sen. Barack Obama with his choice of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his vice-presidential running mate.

She's a woman, young, has been governor of Alaska for about two years, is pro-life and doesn't believe homosexuals should be granted the special privilege of "marriage" rights, is a mother, has a son in the U.S. military and wants to expand America's energy production.

"Absolutely brilliant," said Mathew Staver, chief of Liberty Counsel, the Liberty Alliance Action and dean of the Liberty University school of law.

"The excitement was palpable among conservative leaders when they heard that Gov. Palin was Sen. McCain's choice for vice president. There is a high level of optimism among conservative leaders that the McCain-Palin combination is a ticket that will connect with values voters," he said.

Bill Burton, a spokesman for the Obama campaign, reacted with criticism.

"John McCain put the former mayor of a town of 9,000 with zero foreign policy experience a heartbeat away from the presidency," he said.

But an alert WND reader noted, "She would only be 'a heartbeat away' if she actually was V.P., or if she were 100 percent certain to win and take office. You really have to wonder: Was this Freudian slip a concession that the Republicans will win?"

McCain passed over former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and other higher-profile leaders to choose Palin, but in doing so he stole a considerable amount of momentum from the Democrats who had had Sen. Hillary Clinton as a presidential candidate, seeking to become the first woman elected to one of the two highest offices in the nation.

In her first appearance with McCain today, Palin credited Clinton for leaving behind 18 million cracks, representating 18 million voters who supported her, in the glass ceiling between women and the American presidency, but she also said American women are not finished.

"The selection of Gov. Palin means that this upcoming election will be historic. But beyond making history, Palin brings substance and excitement. She is intelligent, young, attractive and articulate. As a woman and a mother, she can attract women voters, particularly those who feel disenfranchised," Staver continued. "Gov. Palin can work with both parties and has shown she can clean up government corruption.

"Gov. Palin is pro-life and pro-marriage. She is also a lifelong member of the National Rifle Association," continued Staver, who in July organized a meeting of 100 nationally prominent social conservative leaders in Denver to emphasize shared core values. "Gov. Palin has electrified conservatives."

Bryan Fischer, executive director of the Idaho Values Alliance, called the pick "an inspired choice."

"She is unapologetically pro-life and pro-marriage. Those are values which are shared by the vast majority of mainstream Idahoans," he said. "Gov. Palin has called abortion an 'atrocity,' and she helped Alaska pass the nation's very first marriage amendment in 1998."

Further, he said, "When almost 90 percent of all Down's Syndrome babies are destroyed in the womb, Gov. Palin proudly gave birth to her son Trig last spring, even after he was diagnosed with Down's during her pregnancy. The contrast with Sen. Obama could not be greater.

"While Sen. Obama believes that unwanted babies can be put to death while still in the womb, Gov. Palin has shown by her example that all pre-born babies, even those with birth defects, deserve a chance at life," Fischer said.

More than a year ago WND columnist Les Kinsolving suggested she be considered for the VP post.

"We're thrilled," said Karen Cross, the political director for National Right to Life, citing Palin's comment shortly after her handicapped son's birth, when she said, "We understand that every innocent life has wonderful potential."

 "The country now has a clear choice," said Darla St. Martin, co-executive director of the National Right to Life committee, "between an avowed pro-abortion ticket that would continue to push for unrestricted abortion on demand, and a strongly pro-life ticket that will bring us closer to a society that embraces the value and dignity of human life."

"Her admirable record of confronting corruption and living her pro-life convictions shows she is a doer, not just a talker," said Wendy Wright, president of Concerned Women for America, the nation's largest public policy women's group.

"It is particularly significant that a conservative woman was nominated for the nation's second highest office. For years the feminist movement has acknowledged for leadership only those women who embrace a radical agenda," said Janice Shaw Crouse, director of the CWA's Beverly LaHaye Institute. "How refreshing that now we have a woman who reflects the values of mainstream American women.

"Take that feminists – here is a woman of accomplishment who brings a fresh face to traditional values and models the type of woman most girls want to become," she said.

Tony Perkins of the Washington-based Family Research Council continued the theme, saying, "She has a record of advancing the culture of life at every opportunity including championing a ban on partial-birth abortion and promoting parental consent for minor abortions."

Outside of the pro-family movement, there were politicians who jumped immediately to her side. Nevada Republican Chairman Sue Lowden cited her support for alternative energy, ethics reforms and battles against pork barrel spending.

"A dedicated family woman and a mother of five, including a son serving our country now, Palin represents Nevada values well and understands the challenges our families face," she said.

From the other end of the country, New Jersey congressional candidate Roland Straten said he would be proud to work with her.

Former GOP presidential candidate Sen. Fred Thompson said he was "delighted" and described Palin as a "breath of fresh air."

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said she reminds women "that they may not be welcome on the Democrats' ticket, but they have a place with Republicans."

Democrats besides Obama reacted with condemnation.

"Sarah Palin is not the right choice," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Obama picked Sen. Joe Biden, a longtime Washington politician, as his running mate.

[Soldier4Christ]

Roe v. Wade makes campaign comeback
Democrats warn women that high court — and abortion rights — is at stake

The refrain in many of the Democratic leaders’ responses to Sen. John McCain’s choice of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate: Roe v. Wade, Roe v. Wade.

The 1973 Supreme Court decision nationalizing a woman’s right to get an abortion was a top-of-mind issue for top Democrats.

Voters, beware, the Democrats' message seemed to be: Palin is not in favor of abortion rights.

The Democrats seemed to be concerned that some voters might be under the misapprehension that Palin was a pro-choice woman — or that because she is a woman, it might help McCain get the votes of pro-choice women.

The message echoed and re-echoed:

    * “Gov. Palin shares John McCain's commitment to overturning Roe v. Wade,” said Obama spokesman Bill Burton in a statement issued before McCain had stepped out on the stage in Dayton, Ohio, with Palin.
    * “She shares John McCain’s commitment to overturning Roe v. Wade,” agreed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi two hours later.
    * “Gov. Palin and John McCain are a good match because they both want to overturn Roe v. Wade,” chimed in Ellen Malcolm, a Hillary Clinton adviser and president of the Democratic group Emily’s List, which backs women abortion rights candidates.
    * “The last thing women need is a president — and vice president — who are prepared to turn back the clock on women's rights and repeal the protections of Roe v. Wade,” said Cecile Richards, the president of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, which backs mostly Democratic candidates.

If McCain were to win the election but not serve out his term, it would be Palin nominating justices for any Supreme Court vacancies.

Warnings from Clinton and Gore

But well before the Palin news broke on Friday, Sen. Hillary Clinton and Al Gore had reminded Democrats at the Denver convention that while some say “it’s the economy, stupid” is the defining issue of the 2008 campaign, no campaign is ever entirely dominated by one theme.

For a slice of the electorate, social issues are likely to be decisive.

“The Supreme Court in a right-wing headlock,” Clinton said in her Tuesday night speech.

The implication was clear for veterans of the Senate battles of the Bush era over Supreme Court nominees: Democrats have waited since 1994 to see one of their own nominated to the high court.

To see the prize of future high court appointments slip out of their hands now would be agony for them.

The first Clinton high court appointee, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, is now 75 years old, three years older than McCain. Ginsburg is second in age on the court only to liberal Republican Justice John Paul Stevens, who is 88.

Gore reinforced this high court concern in his warm-up speech for Sen. Barack Obama on Thursday night at the Invesco Field event in Denver.

“When as many as three Supreme Court justices could be appointed in the first term of the next president, and John McCain promises to appoint more Scalias and Thomases and end a woman's right to choose, it is time for a change,” Gore declared, referring to Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas.

Scalia and Thomas believe that Roe was wrongly decided and that nothing in the Constitution protects a right to get an abortion.

Thirty-odd years ago, early in his congressional career as a House member from Tennessee, Gore, too, opposed abortion rights, as did and do many Democratic House members from the South. But Gore had become pro-choice by the late 1980s. Pro-choice forces now are dominant in the Democratic leadership.

A reassuring message
While Palin would not likely have any role in choosing Supreme Court nominees if McCain wins the presidential election, his choice of her as a running mate sent a reassuring message to anti-abortion forces in the Republican Party.

Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council noted that Palin and her husband had learned while Palin was pregnant with her son, Trig, born in April, that the baby would be born with Down's syndrome.

“In an era when over 80 percent of Down's syndrome babies are aborted, the Palins feel they have been extremely blessed by God to raise 'an absolutely perfect' son,” Perkins said. “Gov. Palin continues to use her testimony to advance protections for unborn children.” 

The question of whether McCain's nominees to the high court would move to repeal Roe v. Wade is by no means clear.

Nominees are not asked for an explicit commitment on Roe, said former Reagan Justice Department official Doug Kmiec, who supports Obama.

For a president, Kmiec said, the question is: “Will I get a nominee who will keep his word to me in the vetting process, if any word is actually given?”

Overturn Roe — or a diversion?
Kmiec scoffed, “We all know that dance: Nobody actually admits they ask the (Roe) question and the question doesn’t get asked and it doesn’t get answered, and therefore the nominees get on the bench and they do what they want.”

So is Roe really likely to be reversed if McCain is elected? Kmiec thinks not, and thinks the “whither Roe?” debate is a tiresome diversion.

“This is an issue that is enormously distorted in the public mind,” Kmiec said as he attended the Denver convention Wednesday.

[Soldier4Christ]

Palin puts instant charge in GOP ground troops
Party leaders see vice-presidential nominee, abortion platform signaling 'conservative' path

While Republicans are respectfully easing into their national convention in the wake of Hurricane Gustav, they aren't holding back their enthusiasm for the party's new superstar, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, regarding her not only a catalyst for victory in November but as a transitional figure, reflecting a more "conservative" future course.

Presumptive Republican presidential candidate John McCain has conceded to a party platform calling for an outright ban on abortion, with no exceptions, and Minnesota GOP leader Michael Barrett says the 44-year-old VP pick has instantly awakened his campaign ground troops and put his "blue state" in play for Republicans.

"I haven't seen the base this motivated," said Barrett, the party's state executive vice chairman. "It was just instantaneous, People who were a little uncertain on McCain, all of sudden they're calling and asking me, 'Where can I get signs, where can I get signs?'"

"I mean it just changed everything overnight," he told WND.

Gary Bauer, former head of the Family Research Council and a 2000 presidential candidate, believes the reaction to the VP pick he saw Sunday at his Northern Virginia nondenominational Bible church is reflected nationwide.

"Before this week, there was a, 'Oh, yeah, I guess I'll vote for Sen. McCain,'" he told WND. "But there was an electricity when I arrived there. I was immediately set upon by people in the church saying, 'Oh, this is exciting, I'm on board.'"

Ken Blackwell, a Republican leader in Ohio who ran for governor and was secretary of state during the state's crucial vote count in the 2004 presidential election, told WND he was with conservative groups Friday, Saturday and Sunday before arriving here.

"The enthusiasm is off the charts," he said, calling McCain's choice a "brilliant" pick. "This has really energized the based."

The support for Palin on the convention floor didn't appear dampened by news reports dominating mainstream media yesterday of Palin's 17-year-old daughter's pregnancy and an ongoing probe into the firing of her former brother-in-law. McCain responded today to questions about his selection process at a campaign stop in Philadelphia.

"The vetting process was completely thorough, and I'm grateful for the results," he said.

Red state, blue state

Bauer pointed out the news in recent months has focused on which "red states" – states held by Republicans in previous presidential elections – will flip into the blue, or Democratic column.

"I'm not sure they're going to flip any," Bauer said, "and I now think there are a number of blue states, like Minnesota, like Michigan, perhaps Wisconsin, that are going to be in play."

Barrett believes Palin could swing Minnesota's crucial 10 electoral votes to the GOP.

He explained that in order to win a statewide race, a candidate must carry Minnesota's rural western third and southern third by at least 55 percent to counter the Democratic vote elsewhere.

Palin appeals to the 40 percent of voters in Minnesota's "L" identified as populists and independents, "simply because of her personal qualities," Barrett said.

"She's a lifelong National Rife Association member, a working mother; she understands the working class, people can relate to her and she's just honest and genuine," he said.

As a candidate, "she's designed perfectly for the male hunters there and the females, who tend to be conservative," Barrett explained. "She's ideal for the western ring of the suburbs, for the soccer moms, which were a critical vote for Hillary and who already are expressing a lot of support for Palin."

Bauer, alluding to recent attempts by the Obama campaign to brand McCain as a rich, elitist, focusing on how many homes he owns, says that "for all the talk on the left that they represent the little guy, really they are so far out of touch with average Americans it's not even funny."

One generation to another

Barrett already sees Palin as a transitional figure in the party.

"We're going through a transition from one generation to the next, from the Bush and McCain era," said Barrett. "We're going to the next generation and whose going to determine what the Republican Party's values are.

Already one of the party's most important values, the protection of the unborn, has been set on more a more conservative path in conjunction with Palin's rise, with the approval yesterday of a platform that calls for banning abortion with no exceptions..

McCain wanted exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother, but he has shown exceptional deference to Bauer and other like-minded leaders.

Bauer said McCain asked him to come to the Twin Cities last week to help complete the abortion platform and was please to find the draft was already "amazingly strong."

"As delegates began offering amendments to strengthen it even more, Bauer said, "the attitude of the McCain people was, 'Well, you need to understand that's not where the candidate is, but we need to understand the platform is a statement of principle for this party long beyond the election, and you know, we certainly will not fight you over these things.'"

"I thought it could be a little bit of an awkward week," Bauer told WND, "but in fact it was an incredibly cooperative week, and to me was one of the signs that Sen. McCain very much knows that he can't be president without the conservative base."

[HisDaughter]

Ronald Reagan Jr: I doubt my father would back Palin
But when brother Michael looks at Alaska guv he sees dad in 'a dress'
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted: September 06, 2008
4:48 am Eastern

2008 WorldNetDaily

SEATTLE – When Michael Reagan watched Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin thrill the Republican Party faithful Wednesday night, he saw his father "reborn" – Ronald Reagan "wearing a dress."

But Ronald Reagan Jr. told WND yesterday he knew Ronald Reagan, too, and Sarah Palin, he insisted, is no Ronald Reagan.

The two brothers – talk radio hosts who live at opposite ends of the political spectrum – reflect the sharp divide across the nation over John McCain's running mate. Echoing the polarized reactions to President Reagan during his two terms in the 1980s, it's hard to remain indifferent to the hockey mom from Wasilla, whose meteoric political rise has taken her from the PTA to the governorship to a national ticket at the age of 44. Either you love her, it seems, or she epitomizes what's wrong with America.

WND met the youngest son of President Reagan awaiting a flight to Seattle following the GOP convention in St. Paul, Minn.

Ron Jr. told WND he cannot speak for his father, who died in 2004, but doubts the 40th president would approve of Palin if he were alive and well today.

"Sarah Palin," he said, "has nothing in common with my father, a two-term governor of the largest state in the union, a man who had been in public life for decades, someone who had written, thought and spoke for decades about foreign policy issues, domestic policy issues, and on and on and on."

But many introduced to Palin this week say she excites them like Ronald Reagan did.

"I think they ought to start using their brain, instead of viscera," Ron Jr. said in reaction.

Isn't the excitement, however, simply over a charismatic candidate for national office who espouses conservative values and ideas without apology and already has successfully put them into practice?

"That may excite them," Ron Jr. said. "But many of those values are hypocritical and dishonest, and, frankly, scary."

Creationism is one of the scary beliefs Palin advocates, he said.

"It doesn't bother some people, I know, but, frankly, somebody like that has no idea what kind of planet we live on – literally has no idea what the planet is all about," Ron Jr. said.

"It's such a profoundly anti-intellectual, anti-science stance," he asserted. "I don't see how you can hold high office and believe something like that."

Some critics have charged Palin opposes the teaching of evolution in public schools and would mandate teaching creationism. But she has kept a pledge from her 2006 campaign for governor to not press for creation-based alternatives or seek creation advocates for the school board.

Asked what his mother, Nancy Reagan, thinks about Palin, Ron Jr. said he cannot speak on her behalf. But he related that when he briefly discussed Palin with her this past week on the phone, "she was a bit mystified by the choice." She previously announced her endorsement of McCain.

Michael Reagan, in a commentary piece, praised Palin as "a red-blooded American with that rare, God-given ability to rally her dispirited fellow Republicans and take up the daunting task of leading them – and all her fellow Americans – on a pilgrimage to that shining city on the hill my father envisioned as our nation's real destination."

The elder brother said he's been trying to convince his fellow conservatives they have been wasting their time looking for a new Ronald Reagan to emerge. But no more.

"I insisted that we'd never see his like again because he was one of a kind. I was wrong. Wednesday night I watched the Republican National Convention on television and there, before my very eyes, I saw my Dad reborn; only this time he's a she. And what a she!"

Two Americas

Ron Jr., who debuts a show Monday on the left-leaning Air America talk radio network, was asked his overall impression of the GOP convention.

"It's a little depressing to me, because I think, you know, John Edwards was right in the sense about the two Americas," he said. "But, you know, it's not just liberal and conservative, rich and poor, it's rational, and as Rachel Maddow, my colleague on Air America, put it, post-rational."

John McCain and Sarah Palin after the Republican presidential candidate's acceptance speech Thursday night in St. Paul, Minn. (WND photo)

McCain's selection of Palin was "post-rational," he said, "one of the most irresponsible choices I have ever seen a presidential candidate make."

"It's clearly a tactical, political decision," he said. "It has absolutely nothing to do with governance. The woman is clearly unqualified to be where she is right now."

Ron Jr. said it was "right around puberty" when he began to realize he didn't agree with his father on many issues.

"There were some issues we did (agree on), of course," he said. "I thought standing up to the Soviet Union was a good idea. A totalitarian government, and who likes that? Tell them the truth. You know, want to call them an evil empire? Go ahead, stick it to 'em, get up in their grill a little bit. You don't want to take it to a military level, but speak the truth, speak the truth at heart."

On the other hand, he said, there was "vehement" disagreement over the environment and some social issues.

"We'd discuss it all the time over dinner," he said. "We'd have some good old arguments about it – always civil, but, nevertheless, spirited."

[Soldier4Christ]

Ronald Reagan "wearing a dress."

 

I didn't need the image in my mind that one drew up. 

Seriously I must agree with Michael in the fact that much her stance and mannerisms do reflect those of Ronald Reagan.

[Soldier4Christ]

I'm lovin' it. American Flags were found in the trash at the DNC. These flags were rescued by some republicans that were filming at the DNC and they are now being displayed in the front row at the RNC. At the end of each day there has been no American Flags found in the trash at the RNC.

It is said that these flags will be handled appropriately now. They will either be resigned from use according to correct procedures or if still in good shape will be donated for further use at Veterans events, funerals etc.

[nChrist]

 

Somehow I think it would have been a big problem getting Ronald Reagan into a dress. I could be wrong, but I doubt we'll ever see another politician like Reagan. He was one of a kind, and it will be difficult for any conservative to get into his league. As of now, I think it would be a huge victory just to preserve what decency there is left for a little while.

By the way, I didn't hear about the disrespect shown to the flag at the DNC, but that doesn't surprise me at all. I don't understand why there isn't more outrage about things like this. Most of the terms that relate to decency are foreign, and that includes basic respect for GOD, country, and flag. I don't understand how Obama and his ilk get by with this and have any remaining respect. If one looks at the entire Obama laundry list, it's a mystery how he offers any competition. It's a BAD and SAD joke to talk about vetting! I wound't have a clue how he could pass any kind of background investigation.

[Soldier4Christ]

The disrespect for the flag hasn't made it into the mainstream media until it hit Fox News today and it barely got a mention there during a reporting of events at the RNC. It has been all over the internet blogosphere and forums though with pictures and videos of it. It caused quite a stir on the net.

[Soldier4Christ]

WND finally picked up the story.

Dems trash U.S. flags
at DNC convention
McCain scoops up garbage
to recycle Stars and Stripes

Following their national convention in Denver last week, Democratic organizers heaped up thousands of unused U.S. flags, allegedly to throw them away, but the McCain campaign has since salvaged the Star-Spangled Banners for reuse at a rally in Colorado Springs.

A Denver Post blog reports that a vendor at Denver's Invesco Field discovered the discarded flags following Barack Obama's nomination speech at the mile-high stadium last week.

Democratic organizers have claimed that the flags were not meant to be thrown in the trash, but according to a Fox News report, McCain supporters claim the vendor found the bagged flags in and around garbage bins following the Democratic National Convention.

A group of Boy Scouts brought 84 garbage bags full of the discarded flags to the site of a Republican rally in Colorado Springs today, where veterans distributed them throughout the assembled crowd. McCain supporters waved the recycled flags and chanted "U.S.A." as they welcomed Republican candidate John McCain and his running mate, Sarah Palin.

The Post blog reports an estimated total of 12,000 small flags and one, full-size 3'x5' flag were discarded.

Damon Jones, spokesman for the Democratic National Convention Committee, released a statement claiming that McCain supporters has swiped leftover bundles of flags from the stadium "to play out a cheap political stunt" calling into question Democrat patriotism.

Patriotic symbolism has been a thorn in the side of the DNC and Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama throughout the campaign. As WND reported earlier, credentials for the national convention drew attention for portraying the elements of the U.S. flag upside down.

Earlier in the campaign, Sen. Obama was photographed with Gov. Bill Richardson, Sen. Hillary Clinton and Ruth Harkin at a steak fry for Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin during the playing of the national anthem. Richardson, Clinton and Harkin placed their hands over their hearts, but Obama is standing casually with his fingers laced in front of him.

He also previously said he doesn't wear an American flag lapel pin because it has become a substitute for "true patriotism."

To an Iowa television station, the Illinois senator explained he stopped wearing a flag pin following the 9/11 attacks.

"I decided I won't wear that pin on my chest," he told the station. "Instead, I'm going to try to tell the American people what I believe will make this country great."

[nChrist]

Brothers and Sisters,

I made and kept copies of web pages from Obama's church, mainly because they were shocking and indicated no love, respect, or loyalty to this country. These things were reserved for mother country Africa. Along with it came hatred for people of other races and the type of slams against America that made Rev. Wright INFAMOUS! This was more than just a hint because of a 20 year association with this church by Obama, his family, and others. It was one of the worst examples of racism I've seen in a long time.

The revelations that were to come about Obama indicated he was in the perfect church for what he believes. Further, this church blasphemes one or more of the Holy Trinity and is a church in name only.

The revelations yet to come were even worse, so he's now the DNC nominee for President in a country that he doesn't love or respect. If Obama was running for office in a country that he has loyalty and respect for - it wouldn't be this one. So, there is little wonder that terrorists support him. He has another category of supporters that are against the traditional values of this country, but they still want to be here. I think that the final category of supporters are simply deceived and dazzled by a pretty candidate who can talk. Many have made matters worse by referring to Obama as the ONE, the MESSIAH - BUT only the opposite could be true. He even made the mistake of trying to quote Scripture from the Holy Bible. He butchered the meaning and doesn't have a clue, but he was pretty and delivered the butchered content with skill. Any support is evidence for how far this country has fallen. I will hope and pray that Obama doesn't reach his goals. If he does, I'll consider it a sign of the times.

[HisDaughter]

Damon Jones, spokesman for the Democratic National Convention Committee, released a statement claiming that McCain supporters has swiped leftover bundles of flags from the stadium "to play out a cheap political stunt" calling into question Democrat patriotism.

Oh shut up and sit down for cry out loud!

[nChrist]

SADLY, many democrats don't need any help in CALLING INTO QUESTION THEIR PATRIOTISM! Their words and actions speak for themselves!