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November 08, 2008
McCain's Staff Give Up During Campaign and Now Attack Palin
Over Before It Began
By George Neumayr
According to Newsweek, "On the Sunday night before the last debate, McCain's core group of advisers -- Steve Schmidt, Rick Davis, adman Fred Davis, strategist Greg Strimple, pollster Bill McInturff and strategy director Sarah Simmons -- met to decide whether to tell McCain that the race was effectively over, that he no longer had a chance to win. The consensus in the room was no, not yet, not while he still had 'a pulse.'
This spirit of defeat explains why McCain staffers spent the last week or so of the campaign leaking against Sarah Palin. By the end of the race, the choicest pieces of inside-the-beltway elitism were coming not from Barack Obama but from McCain's own staffers. Palin and family, the staffers let it be known, were clinging to their God, guns, and newfound Neiman Marcus items.
"Wasilla hillbillies looting Neiman Marcus from coast to coast." That is the description Newsweek received from an "angry aide."
That the staffers had given up by October also explains why the most potent attack on Obama came not from the campaign but from pure happenstance outside it: Joe the plumber's accidental meeting with Obama.
McCain acted like that was the first time he had ever heard Obama's thoughts on economic redistribution. Had the campaign exhausted its opposition research budget at Neiman Marcus? To anyone even remotely paying attention, Obama's understanding of taxation as tool of economic redistribution was clear long before Joe the plumber arrived on the scene. Obama had used the word redistribution repeatedly in his writings and speeches.
McCain's last-minute reliance on the gimmick of Joe the plumber made it easy for the media to dismiss his charge of "socialism" against Obama as feeble name-calling. Many months early, the McCain campaign could have been developing that case, and it wouldn't have taken much effort: Obama had let slip socialist, even Marxian, assumptions in his thinking several times, from his Marxian description of religion as an opiate for the masses to his bald calls for "confiscating" the profits of oil companies to his open class warfare.
By the end of the race, the McCain campaign seemed to depend on the latest Drudge Report links for the few talking points it could rouse itself to make. Obama's casual comment about bankrupting the coal industry had been gathering dust for months, only becoming an issue via Drudge at the last moment.
Even when the campaign occasionally stumbled down a promising avenue of attack, it would stop and dart down a new cul-de-sac. Take the ad it ran early on about Obama's work with Planned Parenthood to spread sex-ed propaganda in elementary schools. That ad hit its target squarely enough to generate days of grousing from Joe Biden and, in a rare moment of irritation, Barack Obama. Obama's surrogates in the press also spent days frowning over the ad, another measure of its effectiveness. But where was the follow-up?
The McCain campaign could have rolled out a series of such ads. Instead, social conservatism was henceforth treated by the McCain campaign as a no-go area. For example, the day after the Connecticut Supreme Court imposed gay marriage on the people there, McCain said nothing about the decision. Not a word as far as I could tell was even spoken during the campaign about Obama's de facto support for gay marriage.
Meanwhile, Obama was running ad after ad about his belief in "parental responsibility," crafting an unchallenged image of himself as a centrist. Accidentally, Obama ended up doing more to pass the traditional marriage initiative Proposition 8 in California than McCain: the high turnout of blacks to vote for Obama meant they also voted on Proposition 8, which they supported overwhelmingly.
That McCain lost while traditional marriage amendments across the country, no thanks to him, won is a fitting final note to the haplessness of his campaign.
Wild Thing's comment........
These people that worked on McCain's campaign should be banned from ever again being able to work in politics for one thing. I am so furious about what is happening!!!!!
Nothing would surprise me about McCain.
The main thing I get from this is how awful the campaign workers are, how they threw Palin to the wolves and are bashing her thinking somehow they can look good ...BUT it is totally working the opposite.
Last night on FOX they were saying ( FINALLY ) how horrible the people are that are leaking the lies about Sarah. Finally and maybe after getting enough emails from all of us they are getting smart and realizing it is from McCain's camp and the leaks are lies.
We have had enough of this!!!
McCain could not have had a single chance of a win if it had not been for Sarah. She made the touchdowns, she hit the homeruns and she carried the ball from day one. And God bless her.
....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Posted by Wild Thing at November 8, 2008 05:50 AM
Comments
This is such a shame. She's such a beautiful person inside and out. She has a great family and did her best as any mother could. As a mother, I support her completely. Being a mother is the toughest, most dirty job anyone would want and we get paid in kisses, hugs, temper tantrums, being yelled at and made fun of, but we wouldn't change one thing about our kids.
Sarah has done wonders for the women around the globe and we should be cheering her on, not making fun of her or blaming her. McCain could have done better himself, but he came off as an old fuddy duddy.
Posted by: Lynn at November 8, 2008 06:48 AM
Some say we are each other's mirrors and what these people saw when they looked at Sarah Palin was such a contrast to their own nastiness and pettiness, it made them more than just a little uncomfortable. Plus, with the great outpouring of support for her, I think they know that their type of RINO-conservatism is fast on it's way out. Very threatening for them. Must have kept them up at night. (sleep deprivation does weird things to a person.)
No more! I will not stand by and let this sort of thing go unchallenged - ever again. I'm girding my loins and wielding my spear and most certainly will not go quietly.
Posted by: yankeemom at November 8, 2008 07:34 AM
After McCain-Kennedy-Bush Amnesty debacle, the voters were suppose to be really 'pissed'. So what do these voters do ? They gave the democrats another 5 seats in the Senate and 18 new members in the House and a Left-wing communist president. Even though the congress approval rating was single digit.
The republicans are not only in trouble. I think they, we, are running out of time to take the country back. The left has been working on this leftist progressive crap for 60 years. The Universities are loaded ,now, with Liberal Professors teaching their leftist agenda for the past 40 years. So now they are working on the second generation of mind-numbed Obama bots to do their biding. Obama is the closet thing they have had to a real communist zealot.
The Republican National Committee and all the RINOs who believe reaching across the isle will bring in votes were just handed their head for the second time in two years. When all is said and done about this election the demos will probably have a Veto proof Senate, 60 votes, Biden is gond and Kennedy too, but their replacements will be more clones of the same mold.
With all of this going on, We as conservatives have no time to waste. We are running out of time. Before we are faced with the idea of a one party government. In fact we almost have that now. With a sprinkling of Republicans in the House and Senate to act as 'The fools' for the dems we are now a real minority with a lot of work to do in a short time.
If the RNC doesn't wake up soon I hate to think of the outcome and what that would mean to our country.
Posted by: Mark at November 8, 2008 07:51 AM
Did McCain run a campaign? Could have fooled me. He had about as much fire and energy as a melting iceberg. His staffers are apparently very jealous of Sarah Palin. She came onboard and almost saved a sinking ship. Her zeal and message resonated with conservatives.
Sarah's class and dignity were obviously above that of the professional DC insiders staffing the McCain campaign. McCain himself could show a bit of class and defend Sarah. What a sad show.
Posted by: TomR at November 8, 2008 10:51 AM
These people that are doing this to Sarah are the lowest of the low and I hope they are exposed as the liars they are.
Posted by: Miss Chris at November 8, 2008 11:53 AM
McCain and his staff concentrated on not alienating his future chances of fitting back in as the 'senate waterboy' for the team, it showed in his lackluster performance, all the ammunition was provided for him to use but he only fired over their heads or into the woods. We called it fear of fratricide in battle, the fear of hitting your buddies. In John's case the buddies were on the other side. He didn't play to win, Sarah did, Obama did, that has the McCain camp's panties in a wad. May as well have granted Obama the presidency, for that may very well be the future of the office. He only stayed in the race by the virtue of being the next to the last candidate to drop out ahead of Ron Paul.
Posted by: Jack at November 8, 2008 01:10 PM
I finally saw an article explaining where all of the vitriol was originating: these "unnamed" aides were actually transplants from the Romney primary campaign. Attempting to ensure a 2012 nomination for their former boss, they turned on Sarah to try to marginalize her from mainstream viability in four years.
Dealing with vicious attacks from the liberal illuminati and mainstream media is enough for anybody; it is shameful that they also have to originate from within her own party.
It just makes me want her all the more to get to Washington and shake up the old boys' club!
Posted by: Gippergal at November 8, 2008 02:23 PM
What goes around comes around. The Republican Party is dead. These political traitors along with a feckless RNC and Republican Congressional leadership along with an inept John McCain and his campaign staff have put the last nails into the Republican coffin. Sarah Palin is the voice of a successful future conservative movement and brought vitality to both John McCains campaign and the Republican Party itself. Attacking Sarah Palin from within has to be classified as nothing less than dumb ass stupidity. No more blind loyalty to a Republican Party that cannot be loyal to itself.
Sarah Palin and other conservative leaders need to field dress the Republican Party starting with the RNC no different than field dressing a moose. When finished, they need to rebuild the Party/RNC with all new conservative parts to do proper battle with the Socialist/Marxist Democrats in the White House and Congress in 2010 and 2012.
Posted by: Les at November 8, 2008 04:52 PM
I was PROUD to help out with BUSH-CHENEY 2000 campaign here in this pathetic blue state of materialism & socialism, and now I know why Karen Hughes, Karl Rove and Ari Fleischer wiped the floor with the McCainiacs in the 2000 GOP primary! Sarah deserved BETTER... big time!
Posted by: darthcrUSAderworldtour07 at November 8, 2008 05:29 PM
Lynn, I agree, she sure motivated me and she always will. Women like you Lynn and Sarah, women that show that having a husband, children, work and all the other things are possible. It is work yes, but you both pull it all together in such a marvelous way.
Posted by: Wild Thing at November 8, 2008 05:43 PM
Yankeemom, that was so well said. You nailed it. I think that is why they liked Bill Clinton when he was President and defended all his gates and crimes too, they liked that he was like them, corrupt and not a good man. It took the pressure off of them.
Posted by: Wild Thing at November 8, 2008 05:47 PM
Mark, YESSSSSsss exactly. 2006 killed us, I know we on here voted but so many did not. I remember seeing some blogger bragging how they were not going to vote. It kicked us right out of being in the majority.
"The republicans are not only in trouble. I think they, we, are running out of time to take the country back. The left has been working on this leftist progressive crap for 60 years. "
I agree with this too. I want to keep thinking positive and there are people out there, good ones. But it is not going to happen over night.
Mark, this is the thing, like you said the RNC has got to wake up, it has got to see it is destroying our party we did not ask for this. They keep putting people in charge that favor their rino's and it is killing us.....and America.
Posted by: Wild Thing at November 8, 2008 05:52 PM
Tom, she sure did...."She came onboard and almost saved a sinking ship."
When he picked her it made all of us feel better about having to vote the ticket. She was the ticket for all of us.
Posted by: Wild Thing at November 8, 2008 05:55 PM
Miss Chris, I hope so too. I want to know who is doing this, I want them to be shamed and really they should never be allowed to have jobs in politics. They cannot be trusted and work against their own employeers. From what I have heard these people make good money with what they do and so here they are being paid while they are bashing Sarah. sheesh
Posted by: Wild Thing at November 8, 2008 05:57 PM
Jack, "He didn't play to win, Sarah did, Obama did"......that really is the bottom line. He really with all his heart cares too much about the other side liking him.
Funny how that is like Rush Limbaugh has said many times and I agree with him. He ( Rush ) does not feel he is doing his job if the left are not attacking him.
Posted by: Wild Thing at November 8, 2008 06:03 PM
Gippergal, thank you for sharing about that/ I heard something like that I think one of the peoople is Steve Schmidt not sure. But someone that used to be in Mitt's camp and then joined McCain after Romney pulled out.
Posted by: Wild Thing at November 8, 2008 06:06 PM
Les, yes this is what has to happen.
"they need to rebuild the Party/RNC with all new conservative parts to do proper battle with the Socialist/Marxist Democrats in the White House and Congress in 2010 and 2012."
Posted by: Wild Thing at November 8, 2008 06:09 PM
Darth, yes it was fun back then.
I agree Sarah does not deserve this.She gave 100%.
Posted by: Wild Thing at November 8, 2008 06:11 PM
This in-house treatment of Sarah Palin has disappointed me more than the election loss. I have voted for (I think) fourteen straight Republican presidential candidates starting with Eisenhower in 1956 and never thought a Republican election committee would try to damage its own candidate. We are back to Watergate days and that wasn't this bad because those guys weren't sticking knives in their own people. I have lived too long and have run out of trust. Turn the lights out when you leave.
Posted by: horace at November 8, 2008 10:49 PM
Horace--
I'm younger than you, but I have watched this, too. It is sickening. I don't see any rebuilding, because it is the Republican party itself that has done the demolishing.
I grieve for my country.
Posted by: Trish at November 9, 2008 12:40 AM
