John McCain isn’t in danger of losing Idaho. Or Utah for that matter. Or any area filled with traditional family value Mormon voters. But John McCain’s strong embrace of powerful women, such as Carley Fiorina or Cindy McCain, begs the question: will moms play a role in this election?
I can recall a conversation I had with a devout Mormon housewife shortly after McCain announced his running mate. They attend seminary every Sunday, have their 72-hour kits packed and generally adhere to Mormon teachings on proper living. Mind you, this person is no candidate for a Obama vote, but was only lukewarm on the subject of John McCain.
Being somewhat perplexed that a fellow conservative voter wasn’t enthusiastic about the Sarah Palin pick, as many around me seemed to be, I picked her brain a bit.
“I didn’t like how the cameras focused on Trig Palin so much” was her initial, and somewhat reserved reply.
“It just seems like she should be there for her kids” she said after a moment’s thought.
Ah ha. Mormon housewife meet hockey mom.
If I hadn’t heard the same argument from so many different Mormon folks, I wouldn’t be writing this post. But once too often living in this conservative Mormon state I have heard comments about Palin needing to put “family first” or “being away from her family too much” because of politics.
To be fair, I would suspect a lot of people face the same dilemma- can a candidate with a new child bear the burdens of parenthood while being effective in office?
But there is another element to the Palin story: her connection to the strongly anti-Mormon Assemblies of God denomination . Certainly that is doing her no favors in Mormon housewife circles. Add in the “she should be at home with her kids” factor and you can see some fraying at the edges of the conservative/Republican alliance.
It’s sad really. There are so many conservative women that Republicans can look up too. Locally I was raised during the Helen Chenoweth era. She fought federal intervention and regulation on Idaho lands. Then there is Deloris Crow from Nampa who aggressively fought tax increases and government growth. And Sharon Ullman, running for the Ada County Commission, who has always fought for open and transparent government.
On the national stage what about Pamela Geller who has led the fight against Islamo-Fascism? What about Ann Coulter or Michelle Malkin? And do I really need to remind anyone of Condoleezza Rice? I would hope not.
There are thousands more strong, conservative women- locally, nationally, even internationally, these are just some of the ones that have touched my life.
I’m willing to place a bet- I will bet that uncertainly around the future and direction of the Republican party is only adding fuel to the fire, so to speak. Women who may place family values as a strong first see the Republican party wandering off course and then suddenly get introduced to Sarah Palin out of the blue. It’s only natural that a little doubt would creep in.
But the good news: states that are overwhelmingly Mormon lean heavily Republican. So if McCain manages to pull off an upset special over the next 5 days conservative Mormon women will have 4 years to get to know, and be able to judge, the true character of Sarah Palin. Based on what I have seen so far, she will be able to more than easily dispel the myth that she is anything less than what Republican voters need her to be.
I think once time has given Palin an introduction in more households people will see Palin not as a woman and a conservative, but yet another strong, proud leader with the boldness to carry the Republican ideology. One need only to re-watch her speech at the Republican convention to affirm this belief.
That is at least the hope that Republicans can use to carry them through the next 4-8 years. God help us all if Palin is not what she is cracked up to be or if the cesspool that is Washington corrupts her. Another failed Republican leader would be too much to bear.
I think that you have also missed the possibility (currently unsubstantiated) that she represents the position that “rightly” belonged to Romney. Mormons really dislike Huckubee and they aren’t fond of how McCain went after Romney with a few of his own underlings directly attacking Mormonism. Then you have discussion of Romney as VP choice and, boom, he picks a no name woman from Alaska. Much of this is speculation, but it might play into the perceptions of her.
Comment by Jettboy — 10.29.2008 @ 09:04:18
The problematic issue with this election is there is no ‘right candidate’ for us to vote for. I have not been a fan of how McCain has gone after anyone, I feel that he isn’t being forthright about what he will do, only critizing what others may do. That isn’t very reassuring. I can think of many other women who would have been more acceptable running mates for him, that have more maturity, more experience, and have already raised their children. I think to emphasize Palin’s experience with ’special needs’ children is pathetic. She has only had a couple of months experience with this and hasn’t faced very much of the heartache yet, this doesn’t give her the ‘in’ with that group that they would like. A lot of us strong Republican voters are having a very difficult time this election year trying to decide if the Republicans are the right choice or just the lesser of two evil.
Comment by momofseven — 10.29.2008 @ 11:00:03