Topic: Presidential Campaign 2008
The RNC and the Big Winds It isn't just Gustave which has disrupted the Republican National Convention. It is worry about the other big windsby rtbohan
(libertarian)
Monday, September 1, 2008
So the Republican convention is shut down for the day. John McCain has indicated that the entire agenda might be trimmed to just the legally required events. Some professional politicians who were delegates have already left for home, as have many of the media personnel detailed to report on theConvention ([link edited for length]). McCain might want to just scrap everything except his acceptance speech to avoid real trouble.
Senator McCain has said that the convention should be curtailed because there is not time for a celebratory event when a hurricane may strike somewhere in the United States. This would seem to be a self-sacrificing move on his part, since he certainly would like to see the Republican Party, which rejected his candidacy eight years ago, celebrate his nomination. And he deserves to celebrate. Early in this year's campaign it appeared that he would have to end his candidacy because of a shortage of contributions. His victory in the South Carolina primary opened the purses of the interest groups and gave his candidacy new life. One by one his opponents dropped out of the race and (with the exception of Ron Paul) endorsed his nomination. The press revived the image of McCain as a "maverick" despite his rapidly abandoning many of his independent stances and supporting the policies of the Bush administration.
But eliminating his opponents and emulating President Bush, while it cleared the road to the nomination, did not bring McCain unanimous support from the Republican voters. The religious conservatives considered him suspect on abortion and weak on Supreme court nominations. The small government and libertarian Republicans still disliked him as a neocon and a big spender.
McCain pulled off a coup with his selection of Governor Sarah Palin as his runniing mate. She was strongly anti-abortion and anti-gay marriage and for low taxes and against gun control. The fact that her selection brokes the gender barrier in the Republican Party was a clear plus. The religious consservatives were reassured by the selection, and even some (clearly not all) libertarian Republicans were appeased([link edited for length]). Except for some of the Ron Paul delegates selected for the convention, the road to the nomination was clear.
But a national convention, now the it no longer possesses actual decision-making powers--is a ritualistic performance with its own requirements. In a party which holds the presidency, the common, but not unalterable, practice is to have a speech from the sitting President. For the RNC this year, both President Bush and Vice president Cheney were scheduled to appear today, along with the Republican Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger. But the record of the Bush administration is the record of a mismanaged war and a foreign policy which has vitiated the international good will the United States. It is an administration which supports torture and under which the economy of the United States has declined and it leaves office in a situation of high unemployment and high prices and an astronomical debt. This is not a Republican record Senator McCain wants people reminded of when he is nominated, at least at his own convention. Governor Schwarzenegger, while he was hailed as a Republican hero when he was elected Governor of California, has a record of raising taxes, supporting abortion and approving of gay marriage in California and as a matter of federal law ([link edited for length]). The libertarian and social and religious conservative Republicans would not be favorably impressed.
The Keynote Speech, scheduled for tomorrow, was assigned to Rudy Giulianni. At this time this seemed like an excellent choice because the former Mayor of New York is as fixated on his actions after 9/11 as McCain is fixated on his time as a prisoner of war. A speech from Giulianni might ignite a new enthusiasm for the intrusive and oppressive "War on Terror" But the former mayor is also a supporter of abortion rights and gay marriage and gun controls. He also has an unfortunate tendency to get off message. ([link edited for length]).
Fortunately for Senator McCain, Gustav showed up and took aim at the Gulf Coast. Senator McCain cancelled today's festivities, apparently on the grounds that he must be ready to help New Orleans. Apparently he believes he can control the weather, if not the convention. Today he is talking about limiting the convention to its legally requisite duties, which seems to mean the balloting and the accpeptance speeches. Presumably he will then begin the Campaign, although Hannah still lurks off shore. So the hurricane winds of Gustav may save McCain from the high winds and rough seas of the convention.
And everything will go off smoothly, as long as the delegates don't chant:
"Four more Years! Four More Years! Four More Years! Four More Years!"
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