The Secretive Right-Wing Cabal That Met In Minneapolis To Vet Palin

Last week, while the media focused almost obsessively on the DNC's spectacle in Denver, the country's most influential conservatives met quietly at a hotel in downtown Minneapolis to get to know Sarah Palin. The assembled were members of the Council for National Policy, an ultra-secretive cabal that networks wealthy right-wing donors together with top conservative operatives to plan long-term movement strategy.

CNP members have included Tony Perkins, James Dobson, Grover Norquist, Tim LaHaye and Paul Weyrich. At a secret 2000 meeting of the CNP, George W. Bush promised to nominate only pro-life judges; in 2004, then-Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist told the group, "The destiny of the nation is on the shoulders of the conservative movement." This year, thanks to Sarah Palin's selection, the movement may have finally aligned itself behind the campaign of John McCain.

Though Dobson and Perkins reportedly attended the recent CNP meeting in Minneapolis, a full roster of guests would be nearly impossible to require. The CNP deliberately operates below the radar, going to excessive lengths to obscure its activities. According to official CNP policy, "The media should not know when or where we meet or who takes part in our programs before or after a meeting." Thus the CNP's Minneapolis gathering was free of reporters. I only learned of the get-together through an online commentary by one of its attendees, top Dobson/Focus on the Family flack Tom Minnery. (Watch it here)

Minnery described the mood as CNP members watched Palin accept her selection as John McCain's Vice Presidential pick. "I was standing in the back of a ballroom filled with largely Republicans who were hoping against hope that something would put excitement back into this campaign," Minnery said. "And I have to tell you, that speech by Alaska Governor Sarah Palin -- people were on their seats applauding, cheering, yelling... That room in Minneapolis watching on the television screen was electrified. I have not seen anything like it in a long time."

Minnery added that his boss, Dobson, has yearned for a conservative female leader like Margaret Thatcher to emerge on the American scene. And while Palin is no Thatcher, "she has not rejected the feminine side of who she is, so for that reason, she will be attractive to conservative voters."

The members of the Council for National Policy are the hidden hand behind McCain's Palin pick. With her selection, the Republican nominee is suddenly -- and unexpectedly -- assured of the support of a movement that once opposed his candidacy with all its might. Case in point: while Dobson once said he could "never" vote for McCain, he issued a statement last week hailing Palin as an "outstanding" choice. If Dobson's enthusiasm for Palin is any indication, he may soon emerge from his bunker in Colorado Springs to endorse McCain, providing the Republican nominee with the backing of the Christian right's single most influential figure.

Read more reaction from HuffPost bloggers to John McCain's selection of Sarah Palin as his running mate

Comments

[BottomLine2008]

... Uh, but Max, how do you know that? All you reported is they watched her get the nomination.

"The members of the Council for National Policy are the hidden hand behind McCain's Palin pick."

[BottomLine2008]

Hey, I love a good conspiracy.

[Cranberries]

This would have been more effective if you did not try to make it all spooky by using words like "secret" and "cabal." Any campaign is entitled to use top advisors with an expectation of confidentiality for a task like selection of a running-mate. After the fact, it is worth understanding how it proceeded and who was involved. But you'd be more credible if you were more straightforward. The facts speak for themselves and if you would not use those terms in describing the other side you shouldn't use them here.

[ceu]

Wonder who the 1st runner-up was, 'cause I'd lay odds that, come November, Palin's name won't be on the ticket.

[madhatter123]

She ought to step down right now.....

[Doofus]

They have a website. Hard to find though.

http://www.policycounsel.org/24508.html

What could they possibly be hiding?

[judi4obama]

It makes me a bit nervous to say this, but reading this article, and articles talking about Palin's "Troopergate", a question has popped into my head: did the GOP offer to "fix" the investigation for Palin if she would accept the VP slot? The investigation committee is dominately Republicans. It will be interesting to see how the investigation progresses these next two months. I'm hoping that sharp-eyed reporters will be watching closely as well.

[lazarusascending]

Max, I enjoy your reporting and unapologetic style. I'm not sure what to take away from this article though. A cabal of theocrats pull the levers of power behind the republican political machine, setting the agenda and passing judgement on the candidates. Didn't we already know this? These people prey on the religious to take their money and use it for political purposes. The question I would like a journalist to answer is.. "Why are these people allowed to mix religious money and political activism?" In my opinion, they should lose their religious credentials and tax-free status. What would it take to make that happen?

And seriously, I really do enjoy your reporting Max. This isn't a criticism. Just a question. Thanks.

[MalleusMaleficarum]

An intriguing portrait of a deeply dangerous cult of theocratic plutocrats with an agenda to destroy constitutional democracy and the open society in order to replace them with a chillingly Orwellian totalitarian state. Gore Vidal would call them "crypto-fascists," and their penchant for secrecy fits the mold of Robert Anton Wilson's demonic cult of the Illuminati. Thanks to Max Blumenthal for bringing even this sketchy report to light.

[lovetheworld]

Interestng piece Max. Never heard of this group. I'll do some research on them. You never know what you'll find.

[TheLar]

Another great exposure, Max. I can only hope we won't have yet another cabal pulling the strings of their idiot puppets in the white house like we have now. Frankly, I'm terrified of Palin's extreme anti-abortion views. Palin wants women to have their rapist's babies. Her words, not mine.

Check it: http://dwb.adn.com/news/politics/elections/2006/governor/story/8372383p-8266781c.html.

Quote: The candidates were pressed on their stances on abortion and were even asked what they would do if their own daughters were raped and became pregnant. Palin said she would support abortion only if the mother's life was in danger. When it came to her daughter, she said, "I would choose life."

[MPeter]

McCain hasproblems with AA Republicans. Take a look at this excerpt:
September 1, 2008
Recommend (4)

MARY MITCHELL [e-mail]
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- At least one black Republican won't be showing up in St. Paul this week for the Republican National Convention.
Andre T. Hammel, a 26-year-old recent law school graduate, switched his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican in 2003.
But this year, Hammel will watch the Republicans from home.
"I did not think I could go because really it is about supporting the candidate at the top of the ticket. My support is with Sen. [Barack] Obama," Hammel told me during a phone interview.
Despite being the political party of Abraham Lincoln, and the party that can boast that Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice ascended to the world stage under the Bush administration, blacks aren't clamoring to get their hands on a Republican pin or T-shirt.
It took Hammel a year of self-reflection before he joined the Republican Party.
"In certain circles, that is like the kiss of death," Hammel said.
"I switched over in 2003 because the ideals of the party represented my beliefs, personal responsibility and lower taxes. I don't agree with all of Obama's positions, but I do think he is open to new ideas," he said.

[griffintheuk]

Can anyone honestly say that if Sarah Palin was a man with otherwise identical credentials, this pick would have happened ?
No.

So she was picked because she is a woman.
And not for her talents as a VP, but because of her effect on the campaign.

So would this count as affirmative action ?