Sarah Palin is not a maverick other than the fact that she is a woman doing a man's job. She hasn't compromised not one platform of the Republican party. Though she is being measured by those standards. She knows where life begins and she doesn't support civil unions. So she passes the smell test on that alone. Those are important issues to many Americans. I do think she used her office to get rid of her brother-in-law, but that's not a deal breaker. Regardless of the outcome of the investigation. He was out of control and his boss served at her discretion. Instead she embodies them in spite of her personal situation. Which says a lot about her character.
Her story is like a lifetime movie. Seems like she has had a guardian angel all her life. Starting when she was a guard on her high school basketball team. Though she wasn't a high scorer. Her skills wear instrumental in winning the state championship. She earned the name "Barracuda" for her tenacity on the court. She was persistent even then. She paid her way through college by winning beauty contests and scholarships. She eloped with her high school sweetheart and they have five children now. Since she has been elected governor her husband has quit his steelworkers union job and become a stay-at-home dad. The only thing I haven't seen is a dog and cat. If she has both or either of those. There goes the animal lovers vote. She gives me such a nostalgic feeling. It makes you wonder. Was Norman Rockwell in her family?
She has truly energized the republican conservative base.
ReplyDeleteShe isn't the typical Washington insider that most are. I think she is someone more people can relate and identify with. The left is doing everything possible to completely destroy her which will make more people vote for the McCain/Plain ticket possibly.
I believe she should be scrutinized and looked into like all other candidates but the way the left is going after her is wrong.
Conservative evangelicals see Sarah Palin as one of them
ReplyDeleteBy Lindsay Melvin (Contact), Memphis Commercial Appeal
Monday, September 22, 2008
After John McCain announced Sarah Palin as his running mate, Caroline Newman was delirious as she dialed Shelby County Republican Party headquarters.
Despite lukewarm feelings for McCain, Newman, 45, had resolved to vote for the Republican senator.
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But with Palin on the ticket, the Germantown homemaker turned diehard McCain fan overnight and now spends nearly every moment campaigning for the GOP nominee.
Newman and other local evangelicals have found in Alaska Gov. Palin what neither presidential candidate had offered -- someone in line with their Christian values.
A self described "Bible-believing Christian," Palin's pro-life stance, opposition to gay marriage and personal life have reinvigorated many faith-and-values voters.
"Everything that I'm seeing that she's presenting is where evangelicals are morally," said Tom Lindberg, pastor of First Assembly of God, a 2,600-member congregation in Cordova. "She surely doesn't hide her strong commitment to Jesus Christ."
Even the pregnancy of Palin's unwed 17-year-old daughter, Bristol, who plans to marry the father, has only helped solidify the vice presidential candidate's image as a woman with Christian family values.
"Yes, her daughter had sex out of marriage, but she hasn't chosen the easy way out by getting an abortion," Newman said.
Lindberg agreed. He said Bristol's decision to keep the baby is consistent with choices Palin has made, including not to abort her own infant son with Down syndrome.
Palin, 44, was baptized Roman Catholic but for many years attended an Assemblies of God church.
Assemblies of God claims to be the world's largest Pentecostal denomination and practices speaking in tongues and miracle healing.
Since 2002, Palin has attended a nondenominational Bible church in Wasilla.
"For evangelicals, it's important to have someone come out of that church background," said Daniel J. Earheart-Brown, president of Memphis Theological Seminary.
Tennessee has a long history of voting Republican because of its large evangelical base, he said.
In McCain, evangelical voters did not find similar values during the February primaries.
Instead, Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who is an ordained minister viewed as more politically conservative, won the Volunteer State.
"That was a dilemma a lot of folks were dealing with," Earheart-Brown said. "Mike Huckabee was the only one who connected with that constituency."
With Palin by his side, McCain is boosting his appeal with white evangelicals here and nationally, he said.
In fact, even influential evangelical leader and Focus on the Family founder James Dobson -- who said he'd rather stay home than vote for McCain -- has lauded the Republican nominee's pick for vice president.
"It really calmed the fears of some people sitting on the fence," said Bill Giannini, chairman of the Republican Party of Shelby County.
President George W. Bush relied heavily on white evangelical voters in his 2004 victory, capturing 79 percent of their vote, according to a survey by The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.
Before picking his running mate, McCain was leading Sen. Barack Obama 68 percent to 24 percent among white evangelicals, according another Pew Forum survey.
McCain received a slight bump after Palin came aboard, with 71 percent to 21 percent, the study shows.
But Earheart-Brown of Memphis Theological Seminary said not all evangelicals agree on where a Christian's priorities should be.
"There are a variety of evangelicals within the evangelical movement," Earheart-Brown said.
Palin is appealing to more conservative voters who might have stayed home on Election Day but most likely wouldn't have crossed over to vote for Obama, he said.
Meanwhile, Obama's evangelical appeal is among moderate and liberal evangelicals who put less emphasis on abortion and gay marriage and more on global warming and American soldiers.
"I think he'll get more evangelical support than Kerry or Gore did because he's put his faith out there," Earheart-Brown said.
Directly after Palin was tapped as McCain's running mate, talk of her Christian views was heard in churches from East Memphis to Arlington.
"It's like someone flipped on the light," said GOP Chairman Giannini, who suddenly had droves of people asking for McCain-Palin bumper stickers and lawn signs.
At his own church, which is evangelical, it's been the same way, Giannini said.
"They feel like she's one of them."