August 2008 Archives

Below is a taste of the press release the conservative Catholic group Fidelis released this morning on the Palin announcement.

Obama has a Catholic running mate.

Now McCain does, too.

The fight for Catholics is going to heat up big time. God-o-Meter has said it before: this year is for Catholic voters what 2004 was for evangelicals. Catholics are in the spotlight. They're America's quintessential swing voters, and with both party nominees claiming to be post-partisan, they've become one of the nation's most important constiuencies.

Palin a 'Natural Choice for Catholics' Fidelis Urges Catholic Support for Pro-Life, Pro-Marriage Ticket

CHICAGO - John McCain's decision to pick a pro-family and pro-life running mate will make McCain-Palin ticket a 'natural' for Catholic voters, said Brian Burch, President of Fidelis Political Action.

"A presidential candidate's first major executive decision is selecting a running mate and John McCain's unexpected choice of Sarah Palin inspires real confidence that a McCain Administration will be a strong ally in the pro-life and pro-family cause," said Burch. "Governor Palin is the most pro-life vice presidential candidate ever to run. We are thrilled with this choice."

"John McCain and Sarah Palin have matched their public defense of life with their own personal commitment to life," said Burch.

Burch noted that earlier this year Palin made news with the birth of her fifth child, whom she welcomed into life despite a pre-natal diagnosis that revealed the child had Down Syndrome. The governor made national headlines when she proclaimed: "I'm looking at him right now, and I see perfection. Yeah, he has an extra chromosome. I keep thinking, in our world, what is normal and what is perfect?"

Below is McCain's statement announcing Sarah Palin as running mate.

There's a big omission: no mention of her being a social conservative, a darling of the Christian Right. Instead, she's framed as a bipartisan peacemaker.

The McCain campaign must figure that everyone who needs to know about her pro-life advocacy and other social conservative activism already does. Their right. Very smart. Very Bushian.

John McCain Selects Alaska Governor Sarah Palin As Vice Presidential Running Mate

ARLINGTON, VA -- U.S. Senator John McCain today announced that he has selected Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to be his running mate and to serve as his vice president.

Governor Palin is a tough executive who has demonstrated during her time in office that she is ready to be president. She has brought Republicans and Democrats together within her Administration and has a record of delivering on the change and reform that we need in Washington.

Governor Palin has challenged the influence of the big oil companies while fighting for the development of new energy resources. She leads a state that matters to every one of us -- Alaska has significant energy resources and she has been a leader in the fight to make America energy independent.

In Alaska, Governor Palin challenged a corrupt system and passed a landmark ethics reform bill. She has actually used her veto and cut budgetary spending. She put a stop to the "bridge to nowhere" that would have cost taxpayers $400 million dollars.

As the head of Alaska's National Guard and as the mother of a soldier herself, Governor Palin understands what it takes to lead our nation and she understands the importance of supporting our troops.

Governor Palin has the record of reform and bipartisanship that others can only speak of. Her experience in shaking up the status quo is exactly what is needed in Washington today.

God-o-Meter just hung up with Connie Mackey, senior vice president of Family Research Council Action, who is absolutely thrilled at McCain picking Palin.

She was also totally stunned.

I know that a bunch of conservatives had pushed her name, but with sincere doubts that it would happen. Needless to say I'm surpised and thrilled.

Mackey worked for Pat Buchanan's 1996 Republican campaign, when Palin was a big Alaska Buchananite. "That gives me double assurance that we've got a good person," Mackey says.

Mackey was assured still further about McCain by her time spent this week in St. Paul, where the Republican Party adopted what she calls the most conservative platform ever on issues like abortion and embryonic stem cell research (the proposed platform includes a total ban).

"You know how politics works--you don't usually get it all," Mackey said, her smile nearly visible through the phone.

Finally, after countless stumbles, McCain has hit it out of the park with the conservative Christian establishment.

A lot of people are surprised by McCain's selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate.

God-o-Meter was suprised when Southern Baptist Convention politicla chief Richard Land pushed for her so forcefully in a CBS News interview a few weeks back.

CBSNews.com: Who's on the list of people mentioned for VP that you think would most excite Southern Baptists and other members of the conservative faith community? Richard Land: Probably Governor Palin of Alaska, because she's a person of strong faith. She just had her fifth child, a Downs Syndrome child. And there's a wonderful quote that she gave about her baby, and the fact that she would never, ever consider having an abortion just because her child had Downs Syndrome. She's strongly pro-life.

She's a virtual lifetime member of the National Rifle Association. She would ring so many bells. And I just think it would help with independents because she's a woman. She's a reform Governor. I think that, from what I hear, that would be the choice that would probably ring the most bells, along with Mike Huckabee, of course, who's a Southern Baptist.

So McCain has finally listened to the Christian RIght--and on the most important decision of the election season. The Christian Right is elated, particulary with the news coming on the heels of rumblings that McCain was flirting with a pro-choice veep.

Multifaith and overtly evangelical at the same time (watch Hunter's special instructions the crowd ad the end):