So I was listening to the local talk radio on the way to the store for extra bacon for the pig candy and there is this fellow - a serious lefty lawyer who gets a couple hours of rebuttal time on Saturdays to balance the Medved/Prager/Ingraham blabfest from the rest of the week.
He was one of the "Bush -worst- president- in the- history- of- the -U.S." sort of people and all that implies, and he's livid- sputtering, and stomping his little feet over the Palin pick. From what I could gather - between bouts of spittle-flecked microphone biting, he felt that MaCain chose the Alaska Governor in a cynical, underhanded attempt to turn the simple country folk, what with their cow milking and hay making, against their dazzling urbanite betters and thus drive a wedge between these heretofore natural allies in the battle against the Darth Vadars of the Republican party. He was shocked that a political organization would stoop so low as to pander to different demographic groups. Any political organization other than the democrats that is.
Apparently, his thinking goes, if the party of Lincoln wins with a strategy like that, it puts at risk gender norming, race-based college admissions, minority only business enterprise zones, taxing the successful to ease life for the stupid, hate crimes legislation, and sending global warming deniers to re-education camps - you know, the things that bring us all together in one big warm hopey-changey group hug.
With all due deference to anecdote not being data and all, I would beg to differ.
I do not have many acquaintances amongst the Bumpkin-American sector, but my travels to today's gun show did reveal a surprising number of people who were excited about the prospects of a Palin/McCain administration (yeah, I know she's not supposed to get top billing) ... old guys.
I hear your objection. I was at a gun show, and gunnies are a target audience for the republicans, but I was paying attention to the people who were visibly, and volubly happy; people who would go out of their way to bring up their love of the vice presidential nominee, and the ones who stood out from the crowd were the codgers.
One guy - a wrinkled, gray haired vet, was telling everybody who came to look at his wares that he was switching from Bob Barr to McCain because of Sarah Palin, another (full disclosure: father of a friend of mine) who could best described as a 77 year old anti-authoritarian populist who wasn't going to bother voting this year, sees her Governorship as a Harry Trumanesque figure. Hell, even Breda's 80 year old uncle (more than one purple heart from Korea) is dancing little jigs because Sarah Palin reminds him of his own wife.
I can't believe this represents any kind if intent on the part of McCain, but I think it does show there's votes to be won in the unlikeliest of places, and if this till now marginalized constituency
has become energized- there's no telling who else the democrats - a party who practically specialize in sneering condescension - have pushed past the point of no return.
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8 comments:
Excellent commentary. Enjoyed it much.
There you go. Nobody bothered to send a community organizer to the gun show so they were mad and now they have got their woman and their candidate. Too late.
My further suggestion, since the community organizers didn't do it, is that Obama just needs to EXPLAIN his nuanced views to these backwards cretins. Just enlighten them on what a superbly balanced world-view would really look like, and how a modern, educated elite leader like his Obamaness would solve the daily complexities of life. He just needs to get out more, say, on Oprah, and talk,talk, talk and teach, teach, teach. These poor bitter hicks just misunderstand his brilliance and are confused by his excellence.
Being a codger (haven't thought of myself like that just old, but codger has a ring to it) I am with those that choose the Lady with the Rifle and Dead Caribou, which she didn't kill to impress me, but does.
And my Leftist sister hates her for having a working husband and children. But then our standards are so different.
Robert, you're an evil, evil man. Like Evil League of Evil grade evil.
I can respect that. ;-)
It's always fun to see the fundamental assumptions of identity politics called into question, ain't it?
Slightly OT -- Mike, after reading your post about Full Sail Pale Ale I took a flyer on a six-pack of IPA. Really good -- like Great Lakes Commodore Perry IPA ought to be checking six good. Thanks for the tip.
The same Bob Barr-voting gun-loving anti-authoritarian septuagenarians at my shooting club (the majority) have gotten off the fence onto the Sara-side. The younger guys were already there.
I nearly vibrate with glee when I hear people who have been saying "More women, women should be in charge more, women have a unique viewpoint, I'm voting for the woman, women should vote for other women" say "I can't believe McCain thinks women will vote4 for her just because she's a woman".
Well you know staghounds, woman always reserve the right to change their minds...
Palin is a breath of fresh air in this election.
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