What the Reaction to Palin Tells Us About Republican Supporters
We all know by now that Republican presidential candidate has chosen Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his vice-presidential running mate. The choice was unexpected, and as such, most folks don’t really know a lot about her. Others have spoken at length about her relative inexperience. Many have discussed why she might have been chosen by Senator John McCain. I will defer the discussion on those topics to others.
I am fascinated, however, on the responses of leaders and organizations that have traditionally supported Republican or conservative causes. A number representatives from these groups, representing evangelical Christian organizations, firearms-rights groups, and other conservative causes, were withholding full support for McCain. They believed that his views were perhaps not “conservative” enough to suit their tastes. Despite that, It seems preposterous that they may have somehow decided to throw their support to Senator Barak Obama instead.
McCain’s choice of Palin makes perfect sense for the Republicans. Many conservative supporters had reservations about the choice of Senator McCain. He was too liberal, too free-thinking, too willing to work together with people of varying ideas for their tastes. The choice of Governor Palin adds a candidate to the ticket who follows the conservative line all the way. She is a caricature of the conservative ideal: unquestioning gun rights, desire to add a variety of Christian beliefs to the Federal law, and an unyielding tendency to not change one’s mind, even if conditions change, as a way to prove her loyalty to the party.
With the appointment of Governor Palin for the Vice-president slot, many of these same people seem much more comfortable supporting a McCain-Palin ticket. I would propose that this makes all of these Republican supporters a bunch of single-issue voices. They will only support a candidate if they support their particular issue, without considering their fitness for the job as a whole. That seems awfully short-sighted to me. Let me give you a few examples.
Pro-life abortion proponents are in a tizzy about the choice of Sarah Palin. She is a lifelong supporter of banning abortion, and is perfectly willing to restrict the rights of those who believe otherwise to make her beliefs the law of the land. For the single-issue abortion opponents out there, McCain now becomes the obvious choice. But lets take a step back. We have not yet addressed her relative lack of experience, her inability to bring the public or leaders to any consensus, or her fitness to deal with any of the myriad of other issues facing Americans. For those who can’t see past any issue other than restricting a woman’s right to her own body, she is the winner. She shows no inclination or pretense to take anyone else’s opinion into account. Does this make her a good choice?
Dr. James Dobson of the group Focus on the Family is a big supporter of Palin. He announced that he will now fully support Senator McCain for the presidency due to his choice of Governor Palin for Vice President. That seems just so sweet to me. The Reverend Dobson is well known for his organization that is “dedicated to nurturing and defending families worldwide and protecting family values.” Of course, like Palin, Dobson and his organization are known for nurturing and defending families. However, he only nurtures and defends families who are composed of exactly one man, one woman, that must actually be married, with some number of children; and who are of the same racial makeup; and who practice one or another sect of Christianity that are acceptable to him. As far as he is concerned, all other families can go to hell.
Governor Palin makes him happy. God help anyone who does not happen to fit into that mold. It appears then that Palin would only support representing a minority of the US population. I certainly do not see that as an appropriate situation. However, Dr Dobson does. Palin’s choice is palatable to those who want to impose their religious beliefs, by law, onto the rest of the populace.
Finally, the national Rifle Association and other pro-weaponry groups are giddy about the choice of Palin. Even Senator McCain, who fashions himself as a conservative and as a former warrior, has a realistic view about the need to regulate the availability of weapons to all. Palin has no such pretensions. She is proud of the fact that she welcomes the ability of all to be armed, and among her most loyal supporters are those who see her as the path to arming everyone with no restriction to the appropriateness to the weapons. This seems downright frightening ot me. It is a welcome sight to her supporters.
From looking at these accounts, I have learned something about the most fervent supporters of the Republican party. The Republican Party is made up of a great number of folks willing to look the other way are the real needs of our American society, as long as their need to have Christianity codified into law is met.
Please understand that I do not have any objection to anyone’s personal beliefs, to their spiritual beliefs, or to the practice of their religion. However, when the adherents of a particular faith want to require me through legislation to follow the tenets of their beliefs, that crosses the line for me. I respect the beliefs of these evangelical Christians. I encourage them to make arguments to encourage others to follow their beliefs. I encourage the followers of these religious groups to follow their belief system. If a law restricts their ability to follow their beliefs, I support them in the endeavor to change the law to meet their needs. In return, I would ask that they do not restrict my rights to follow my own beliefs as well.
Sarah Palin is perhaps a representative of the people she leads in her home state. She certainly represents the people who share her rather extreme views. Even if you hold conservative beliefs, Sarah Palin is not the correct choice for the United States. We need someone able to lead. We need someone willing to see the views of all Americans. Even if she represented the views of most conservative Americans, she might be an acceptable choice. She is, however, so beholden to the extreme views of a few special-interest lobbying groups that it will certainly affect her ability to lead.
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