Othewise known as my RNC thoughts round two…
It became apparent to me last night, that the speakers were being spread out as evenly as possible. By far, however, last night was it. Romney did well, Huckabee rocked, Rudy dug in and attacked, and Palin – well she was amazing.
The “angry left” disagrees I’m sure, yet I’ve heard much buzz around these parts here today. My classes are typically full of left leaning peoples, so for people to be happy with an RNC speech is amazing.
Personally, I felt between Huck and Palin I was going to be overloaded with motivation. I don’t care what they say about Mike, he was a great candidate. He truly connects with the people and is genuinely funny. I think his speech set a great humble tone for introducing John McCain, and I wish they had saved him for that purpose. They could have given Romney a little more time and let him fuss and storm a bit more.
Romney did get to go on a little warpath. He got in a few good punches too; I suppose its kiss and make up time for all those snide remarks between him and McCain during the primary. Once again I echo the same words I said after Fred’s speech; Romney did better here than he did in the primaries. Now, I can not say I’m sure I would freely go and vote for Romney now; but he did do a good job. I am a little troubled by some of the things he may have implied, but it seems that McCain is following another Arizona Senator to a large degree. McCain’s campaign seems now to be steadfast on bringing about reform to Washington, and if you pay attention to a lot of the rhetoric it seems oddly reminiscent of Barry Goldwater.
“Last week, the Democrats talked about change. But let me ask you — what do you think Washington is right now, liberal or conservative? Is a Supreme Court liberal or conservative that awards Guantanamo terrorists with constitution rights? It’s liberal! Is a government liberal or conservative that puts the interests of the teachers union ahead of the needs of our children? It’s liberal!
Is a Congress liberal or conservative that stops nuclear power plants and offshore drilling, making us more and more dependent on Middle East tyrants? It’s liberal!
Is government spending — excluding inflation — liberal or conservative if it doubles since 1980? It’s liberal!
We need change all right — change from a liberal Washington to a conservative Washington! We have a prescription for every American who wants change in Washington — throw out the big government liberals and elect John McCain!”
While I resoundingly agree with this statement 100%, I am somewhat confused by what he said. For instance, the Supreme Court is very much split at the moment with 4-1-4 in terms of how they are composed ideologically. Kennedy would be the moderate, and he leans to the right a good amount of the time. I don’t know that we should just go throwing out that the Supreme Court is liberal; and even if we can, it would not be had H.W. Bush made a better selection. So is this an attack on the 41st President? The oil and energy stuff is right on. The spending, well spending went up with a Republican Congress – I’m taking this as a veiled attack on pork, which McCain is vehemently against.
We’ve heard a great deal about how Palin is a reformer, and how McCain is a maverick. I’m hoping that this means they are going in to slash spending and reign in the Republicans who lost their way. For all my issues with Ron Paul, the one thing he said that I consistently agreed with was that we need to get spending under control. Do it McCain, I believe in you – and apparently Romney does too.
Now, I’ve long made it known that I am a big Huckabee supporter. He didn’t lose me last night either. As witty and charming as ever, Mike truly understands the common man. I do take offense with him on one matter though:
“I get a little tired of hearing how the Democrats care about the working guy as if all Republicans grew up with silk stockings and silver spoons. In my little hometown of Hope, Arkansas, the three sacred heroes were Jesus, Elvis, and FDR, not necessarily in that order.
My own father held down two jobs, barely affording the little rented house I grew up in. My Dad was one of those guys like so many of your dads, worked hard, lifted heavy things, and got his hands dirty. The only soap we had at my house was Lava.
Let me explain that. I was in college before I found out it wasn’t supposed to hurt to take a shower. “
We had Lava soap too, and I don’t recall it hurting that bad. You know I get asked a lot “Why are you a Republican” and hear “They only help the rich” a lot. I get sick of it actually. Governor Huckabee gave the most eloquent response thatI have ever heard:
“I’m not a Republican because I grew up rich. I’m a Republican because I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life poor, waiting for the government to rescue me.”
Amen. That’s all I know to say about that.
But the show didn’t end there, next up was former Mayor Rudy Giuliani. I can’t say I agree with him all the time, I can’t say I’ve supported him in the past, but Rudy is a good attack dog – and he sunk his teeth in deep.
“On the other hand, you have a resume from a gifted man with an Ivy League education. He worked as a community organizer, and immersed himself in Chicago machine politics. Then he ran for the state legislature — where nearly 130 times he was unable to make a decision yes or no. He simply voted “present.”
As mayor of New York City, I never got a chance to vote “present.” And you know, when you’re president of the United States, you can’t just vote “present.” You must make decisions.
A few years later, he ran for the U.S. Senate. He won and has spent most of his time as a “celebrity senator.” No leadership or major legislation to speak of. His rise is remarkable in its own right — it’s the kind of thing that could happen only in America. But he’s never run a city, never run a state, never run a business.
He’s never had to lead people in crisis.
This is not a personal attack … it’s a statement of fact — Barack Obama has never led anything.
Nothing. Nada.”
Rudy’s words do not need to be explained, nor paraphrased. They speak for themselves. What he said was true. However, he said one thing I would like to expound upon:
“When speaking to a pro-Israel group, Obama favored an undivided Jerusalem. Until the very next day when he changed his mind.”
Oh how very poignant and true. Obama does change his mind a lot, I wouldn’t say he is a flip flopper – just that he is much like a college student with a general studies major; UNDECIDED.
Then the reckoning came and garnered 37 million viewers, Sarah Palin – Vice Presidential nominee and the future of the party. Quite simply she delivered a great speech. She made one remark, that has been floated around:
“You know what they say’s the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull? Lipstick”
Let me tell you, I can’t speak for many hockey Moms – but Palin has A LOT of bite. Palin packs a big punch, she was throwing Rocky style “hurtin’ bombs” last night. She stood up for herself, her family, and her party. She brought out the issues and addressed them, proving she is competent. And most of all, she took the fight to the Democrats and specifically Obama. She tackles him on every criticism he has dished out for her, and she’s fired back with her own. Obama, it’s your turn to reply. And this time, try to make an actual decision.
I’d love to continue this, but Senator Graham has begun to speak and I’m interested in what he is saying.
Had Fred issued declarations like this during the primary, I feel that he would have been speaking on Thursday night accepting the nomination rather than McCain. I digress, that is neither here nor now. Senator Thompson did stand up for Palin like only a true Southern Gentlemen could. He did so rightly as the media coverage of Palin has been the most ludicrous display of ignorance since Justice Thomas was confirmed.
