Since Obama's historic win earlier this month, there has been what seems like a breakdown of sorts within the GOP. Not only has Sarah Palin embarked on a bizarre publicity tour that has done nothing but further cement her idiocy, but there have also been direct attacks on both the former vice-presidential candidate and her running mate John McCain. As most of us have surely heard by now, there have been a number of anonymous sources from the McCain camp that have personally attacked both Palin's personality and her intelligence. Leaking the budget for her campaign wardrobe and concentrating on her infamous missteps regarding Africa and NAFTA these sources have revealed a tendency that losing parties have to unravel from within once their campaigns have been disbanded and their immediate purposes have been suspended. Clearly, this kind of information would never have come directly from McCain's campaign during the election season for fear of jeopardizing the outcome. However, now that members of this group have seen the writing on the wall and have lost their chance at the presidency, they have not held back on their condemnation of Sarah Palin. And for those who think that this particular instance is just an isolated event, it would be important to also consider the fact that South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint has recently and publicly come out against John McCain. According to this prominent member of the party, McCain betrayed certain conservative values in his quest for the presidency. Those particular principles were named as "freedom, religious-based values, and limited government." Don't even get me started on why religion-based values should have no place in politics after our long ago separation of church and state. Beyond this issue, the comments made by the SC Senator also attacked actual policy ideas held by McCain including amnesty for illegal immigrants and support of global warming. And while the truth behind these claims are irrelevant at this point, they prove that the seeds of dissension have been sowed within the GOP after this difficult and embarrassing loss. I think it is important to remember that this was not just a loss, but it was a defeat in which the GOP lost sections of its electorate to a Democratic candidate, some of which have been solidly Republican for decades. This tendency to place blame and face a breakdown is surely a plague that affects any party on the loosing side. It is clear, however, that much of what Senator DeMint has said was opinion and indicated nothing other than a GOP member voicing frustration over a significant loss. What bothers me however, is that these anonymous sources from the McCain campaign have apparently known for some time that Palin was less than ready for the job of vice president but were willing to let this slide if it got their presidential candidate nominated. This is not an opinion. Someone who doesn't know that Africa is a continent really shouldn't be holding such a high political office in this country and I'm sure that the campaign knew that. Is this any different than any other political deception? No, but the fact that people would be willing to leave our country to a candidate without experience or ability is extremely upsetting.
Below are a few articles that outline this issue:
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/11/15/gop-senator-mccain-betrayed-republican-principles-2/
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