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Palin Dispatched to Rally Anxious Nebraska Republicans
The Gov. Sarah Palin Rootin' Tootin' Moose-Shootin' Revival and Gun Show arrived in Omaha, Nebraska, Sunday night, hosted by a capacity crowd at the city's Civic Auditorium.
The Omaha World-Herald reported that about 5,000 Republicans -- mainly local college students -- appeared to receive her. "Palin wows the GOP faithful" blared the headline Monday morning. "Members of crowd call her 'one of us,'" said the sub-headline, an interpretation the McCain camp was no doubt betting on.
Though McCain leads in Nebraska, the arrangements for the Palin appearance were made to rouse flagging enthusiasm among Republicans in the Upper Midwest. Nebraska Republicans have weathered economic uncertainty during the past several presidential election cycles and but remain numerically dominant. The present economic lethargy seems eerily distinct to downturns in 2000, 1992, and 1980. Resurgent Democratic registration fuels anxiety. Nebraska is one of only two states to award electoral votes proportionately, rather than winner take all. A 269-269 electoral vote split--once viewed as a worst case scenario by the GOP--has now become a best case scenario. If the Republican vote is diluted here by young, hyperactive Democrats, Obama could earn a 4-1 split of the state's 5 electoral votes, and win the electoral college by a single vote. Fearing the general anxiety will bring voting apostasy, Republicans have been attempting to buck up disappointed, disaffected and notoriously independent Nebraska voters.
Enter Sarah Palin. Fresh from what in these parts is called her victory in Thursday night's beauty contest with Joe Biden, Palin has been "ridin' the conservative circuit" the way Buffalo Bill rode horses. Rep. Steve King from Iowa introduced Palin to the hyperpartisan, flag-waving crowd. King -- chief engineer of the crackpot express ("If you're a dad, you're a first dude!" enthused King) -- displayed remarkable chutzpah by criticizing Biden's recent gaffes about when precisely FDR occupied the White House. Now, one would think saying anything even remotely evocative of Herbert Hoover, bank failures, breadlines and the Depression generally would be eschewed by Republicans in today's climate, and one can accuse King of many things, but self-reflection isn't, sadly, a conservative habit and never has been. Like a rodeo clown, King's appearance was thankfully brief and he faded into the crowd, which cheered lustily when Palin appeared.
Striding to the stage in her debate costume of coiffed dark brown hair, Japanese designer half-glasses, over-the-calf black stilletto boots, and all-black blouse and skirt that made her resemble a cross between Johnny Cash's daughter and a flirty country-western singer (and the affect is not coincidental), Palin has been striking a few key themes lately that she is now honing to a fine, sharp point. She reminded the audience she wanted to visit Nebraska and not, as the pundits have alleged, because even reliably red states like Nebraska need reinforced. "I wanted to reach into that TV and say 'No. I want to [come] to Nebraska,'" she insisted. Having established a rapport with the crowd, she lit into her main target, Obama. He doesn't "see America" the way others like Ronald Reagan and she do as a "force for good," she said, and repeated the charge that Obama "work[ed] with" people who committed terrorism, referring to former Weatherman Bill Ayers. The acts committed by Ayers and his wife occurred more than 35 years ago, when Obama was a prepubescent boy, but Palin talked about Obama and Ayers has if they were lifelong friends and co-conspirators.
Holding the microphone to her mouth like a cold bottle of beer, Palin muttered the "liberal" charge, a reliable conservative shibboleth in every election cycle, calling Obama the "most liberal senator in the senate," an honor most of us thought John Kerry and John Edwards won in 2004. How Obama managed to steal the mantle from both wasn't made clear by Palin, nor did she mention where McCain ranked. Then came Palin's other theme of the moment: "We need to tap into the natural resources that God so richly blessed us with," referring, one supposes, to oil, though natural gas or methane from cow afflatus could have been the point.
Interviewed by the World-Herald, most audience members, not surprisingly, were entranced by Palin, finding her to be "down-to-earth," and unpretentious. "She just seems like someone you could have a conversation with," chirped Rebecca Albano of Papillion, Nebraska, without irony. (Presumably, Palin would speak to Albano coherently.) Using self-deprecating humor a la Ronald Reagan, Palin laughed and said "I was just trying to give [Saturday Night Live star] Tina Fey more material." (Indavertantly, one supposes.) The crowd cheered wildly again.
With that rather disconcerting thought, Palin exited the hall to applause, cheers, smiles, and general relief, whisked away to another anxious, red state audience.
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Here's my latest letter to the Omaha newspaper:
Nebraskans who support term limits and oppose career politicians have a golden opportunity. In both national and local political races, we can replace our careerists with fresher, wiser faces.
To our credit, the beauty of Nebraska's choices is more than skin deep. Scott Kleeb and Jim Esch are the sort of citizen-statesmen we need to steer us out of the ditch.
From a Nebraska ranching family, Kleeb graduated summa cum laude from Colorado, and earned a PHd from Yale in International Relations and History. Esch was student body president as an undergraduate at Creighton where he went on to take a law degree. These men have the character needed to repair our broken political and economic systems.
Both Kleeb and Esch are running against career politicians. Despite Johanns' and Terry's bravest words and best intentions, the status quo they represent has failed.
The team of Kleeb and Esch will fit in with the responsible, intelligent change Barack Obama is poised to bring our damaged republic. We have the opportunity to partner with the coming Obama administration and work for everybody rather than only those at the top. We can also repudiate the empty, deplorable, hate-bound politics Republicans have ridden so long and so deplorably.
Let's harness our best Nebraska talent. We need to saddle up Kleeb and Esch, and send the careerists packing.
"Anxious Nebraska Republicans" Sounds like a sequel to "Children of the Corn". I can just imagine all these people running rabid in the fields.... oh no! She's comming.... women and children first, better yet, every man for himself.
She truly has a gift. They should use her to attract all the criminally insane to her rallies and then just not ever let them out.
He-Haw Revival
Palin Scathing report Friday from Alaska Congress!
Palin-McCain Matche Wall Street Corruption and Fake Justification for War in Iraq
McCAIN MATCHED "WALL STREET CORRUPTION IN HIS POLITICAL CAMPAIGN" BY PULLING A "TRICK" WHICH WALL STREET OF LAST YEAR WOULD BE PROUD!
HIS MOVE ALSO ECHOS BACK TO THE "FALSE JUSTIFICATION FOR ENTERING IRAQ!"
When McCain heard that the Alaska Sureme Court denied the Delay he wanted and knowing that the Alaska Congress is releasing an "Authorized Misuse of Power Investigation Report by a Respected Investigator," McCain pulls a "TRICK" out of the "Wall Street Hat of Tricks." No it was not "naked shorts" or "excessive leveraging" or combining "risky loans into "AAA" paper!
McCain had a Bogus Unauthorized Report manufactured which echos back to the Manufactured Justification for Going into Iraq by Bush/Cheney.
So this smacks of both the Current Corruption on Wall Street and the Corruption in the Bush Administration related to "Faking the Need for a War in Iraq stating Iraq had Weapons of Mass Destruction."
This brings McCain/Palin into the middle of the Corruption that McCain says he is trying to FIGHT and ELIMINATE!
This will further convince the AMERICAN PEOPLE he is UNFIT to Lead!
McCain could have been free of a VP candidate who is clearly pulling his campaign down and put in FRESH BLOOD!
But instead he decides to jump in the middle of this "Misuse of Power Findings" with both feet and make himself part of the dishonesty!
The blind leading the blind...or to put it another way...the dumb leading the dumber.
*"Palin wows the GOP faithful" blared the headline Monday morning.*
Yup, yup... All "5000" of them.
They could lose Nebraska only if Chuck Hagel would come out and endorse Obama! He knows he wants to. I heard his wife came out and endorsed Obama...COME ON HAGEL!!
She hasn't been cleared of this, and why isn't MSM running stories on this??
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/10/10/palin_chryson/
It was NOT a capacity crowd.
They did not have her in the main arena (10,000 - whe4re Obama packed the house for the caucus in February).
They had her in the music hass (2,500 ), and another 2,500 arrived.
Omaha CD 2 - Red to Blue!
Obamaha!
The results come out tomorrow on Troopergate.
Sarah,
You reap what you sow!
As Trudeau wrote of Nixon:
Guilty! Guilty! Guilty!
I love the fact that McSame has to spend money and time in "safe states."
I guess "North Carolina" is no longer one of those safe states -- but he did send his pitbull in a
lipstick over there.
I'm a transplanted Californian now living in Omaha, Nebraska. My daughter attends the University of Nebraska in Omaha, and she belongs to the College Democrats. She says she sees an awful lot of Obama bumper stickers and hardly any for McCain in the campus parking lots. Nothing would make me happier than to have at least Omaha turn blue this year. And from what I'm seeing around the community, I really think it could. When Obama came to Omaha some months back during the primaries, the lines wound around the building and the crowd was huge, much bigger than turned out for Palin , I believe. And on caucus day, they had to resort to going down the line of people waiting to participate and get their votes because they couldn't all fit into the various caucus sites. So yeah, Omaha is definitely in play, from what I can tell. And it's all good.
And Omaha has the most population. The Offut Afb area there is a lot of military but most of them are not residents of NE and if you listen clearly, their undertones point towards voting O! Don't forget Lincoln too.
Yeah! Thank you for sharing, I love to hear how things are going for Obama around our country.
I was Born and raised in Nebraska and my hubby and I are raising our kids here as well. I agree with Terriac. In my drive to the Library today my daughter and I counted about 10 Obama/Biden signs. (that's huge for Omaha and we were driving through a very affluent part of town). I also agree that when he came through here earlier this year the crowd was HUGE. (again in Omaha the Repub state that's big) I just read a public pulse comment in our Local paper that someone had their Obama/Biden yard sign stolen and when they contacted Obama's HQ here in town they were all out they're in such demand. I hope he comes through again before Nov 4th. If he does no matter what I'm taking my kids to see him!
We had our Obama sign replaced with a McCain Palin sign, so we are doubly blessed by the young Republican shenanigans.
After talking with a Lt. Col.who's worked in the Pentagon, I'm convinced the military fears McCain and will enjoy voting against him in Nebraska, at the Pentagon, from Iraq, and in Afghanistan. They think he's a bully. Who am I to argue with them?
The military, like Nebraskans, know the havoc a guy like McCain could wreak.
How can McCain/Palin run a campaign on hate, lies, and distortions and then talk about bringing people together? [When will someone ask about Palin's relationship with AIP?]
The GOP is having a hard time maintaining their "base" or keeping Bush states.
I like Nebraska (test marketed a rum-based drink there back in the day).
I'd like it even better if at least part of it turned bright blue.
Well... I was raised in Omaha and it WILL vote BLUE and the votes can be split in Nebraska..... GO OMAHA for OBAMA!!!!
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