On the first business day after the Anchorage Daily News endorsed “The One” for President, the McClatchy news bureau does a hit piece on Sarah Palin:
Just how big a drag is Palin on the McCain campaign?
Of course, McClatchy owns the Anchorage Daily News.
While the hit piece isn’t unsuspected, the conclusions they attempt to draw are humorous at best, most likely intended to slant or flat out lies at worse.
Of course, McClatchy relies on the same RINO assessments that we’ve been hearing since Palin was selected:
Prominent Republicans have echoed that idea. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., one of McCain’s closest friends, suggested that Sen. Joseph Lieberman, an independent Democrat from Connecticut, would have brought independents to the ticket. Last week, former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge said that had McCain picked him, the Republican Party would have had a better shot at winning his state.
Ah, no! Had McCain chosen Lieberman or Ridge for that matter, conservatives would have either stayed home on election day or just voted the down ticket races.
Beyond Graham and Ridge, McClatchy trots out a host of other unknown, local RINOs who complain that Palin has been an embarrassment. What’s McClatchy’s definition of “embarrassment?”
She also unabashedly identifies herself with the party’s conservative wing, alienating moderates.
“It reinforced the notion that John McCain cared little about people like me,” said former Maine state Rep. Sherry Huber, a Republican who backed McCain in the primary but now supports Obama. “She clearly does not share the values I and other moderate Republicans do.”
I’m trying to figure out which plank of the Republican platform that Palin violates which causes people like Ms. Huber to find her offensive? Prolife? Lower Taxes? Smaller government?
The only part that McClatchy got right on Palin was their begrudging admission that she does invigorate the Conservative Base:
The Republican base loves Palin.
“So many people can relate to her. She really appeals to everyday housewives, people who go out and hunt, and people who have done great things in their life,” said Bob Dodge, a retired communications engineer in Sarasota, Fla.
Whether McCain wins or not it’s clear that Palin has cut a clear line between what RINOs and Conservatives look like. The question will be whether the Conservatives will choose to fight for the party or allow it to further drift towards the Democrat Lite position.
If the Republican party goes down in flames this election there’s going to be a lot of focus on what went wrong. You can bet there will be a lot of focus on whether the messaging was right, distinguished from the Dems. Until then, RINOs of all shapes and sizes are working to make sure that Sarah Palin disappears like The Hollywood Argyles. Coincidence? I think not!
