Posted on 09/13/2008 2:16:50 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
KANSAS CITY, Missouri-Missouri corn farmer Phil Vogler doesn't need to listen to any more campaign speeches or see more political ads to know who he will support in November's U.S. presidential election.
Vogler's vote is going to Republican presidential nominee John McCain. The farmer cites as a key reason for his newly found enthusiasm not McCain's record but his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.
"She helps. She is probably more conservative than McCain is," said 38-year-old Vogler, a self-described conservative who farms 2,000 acres in northwest Missouri. "She'll be good on the economy."
Only weeks ago, rural America's 60 million voters were considered largely up for grabs as assorted economic woes focused attention on a need for "change" - the central theme of the campaign of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama.
But political observers now say the mood may be shifting in favour of Republicans following McCain's selection of the 44-year-old Palin as the nominee for vice president and the party's own agent of change.
The first-term governor's conservative anti-abortion, pro-gun views, along with her tough-talking complaints about government excess and her family life in a small Alaska town, is endearing her to many rural voters.
"She is a phenomenon and people are paying attention," said Dee Davis, president of the Centre for Rural Strategies in Whitesburg, Kentucky. "It's changed the dynamic for the moment for sure."
The centre is conducting a poll on how well the candidates are appealing to those living outside U.S. cities and suburbs and hopes to have fresh data within two weeks, Davis said. "Nobody is happy with the way the country is going. And early on, we saw that really favouring Obama," said Davis. "I don't know that is true now."
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
I want to relate a discussion I had at work this week.
A union electrician asked me who I thought I'd be voting for. I told him I had been thinking long and hard about it, even comptemplating sitting it out with NObama and McCain as my choices.
But then, Sarah Palin was picked by McCain and introduced to America. Told him that that had sealed the deal for me.
He protested, but weakly. Finally admitting that he has been hearing that alot lately.
A little harder to rig the vote to match the polls in rural areas too.
Cheers!
Palin is what the GOP needed!!
Interesting. Todd Palin in the Steelworker’s Union is yet another thing that Sarah has that the other three don’t. She can say truthfully she’s a union family. I wonder if that carries any weight.
Personally, I was unenthusiastic about McCain after the McCain/Feingold campaign finance reform bill which I still think is wrong-headed. (I want strict disclosure of contributors, not limits on donations.) But, I’ll forgive him that for this Palin pick which is nothing short of brilliant.
Palin in the Steelworkers? With the Construction Trades You gotta be kidding.
They hate factory union members. They're coerced into joining, not organizers, etc., yada, yada.
What these guys want and have been talking about, at least until up to the Palin choice announcement, is the EFCA.
I like to ask them why the EFCA? Apparently, it gets the union bosses off their butts for additional dues money for demoncRAT coffers if they get a ton more union members paying in.
Its a big issue for them with no discernible gain other than that. Pocket book issue.
I am from Missouri, and I have to be shown, in order to believe. Governor Sarah Palin has shown me! I am so proud of Gov. Sarah Palin, and I am on board!
Well, for starters, NW Missouri is conservative already. If this were true of rural Iowa I’d be more inclined to say this a great news. Iowa continues to elect the likes of Harkin and now its 2nd Dem Governor in a row. We’ll see if the trend among rural voters is as widespread as hoped when Iowa starts to shave points off it’s love for Obama.
Next Friday I'm working our Repub booth at a festival, it will be interesting to see what people say.
Mention to your union friends that Obama wants to tax per diems...
Neo!
McCain/Palin is a refreshing shoe-in come November.
The Dems can negate the rural vote by voter fraud in the big cities.
What projects did Obama work on as a community organizer, does anyone know.
Thanks for the correction-you’re right on target! LOL!
Yes, a projection to president of the U.S.A.
“As much as this shows how Strong her support is among conservatives, I think the underling agenda of the story is to try and paint her as someone those “hayseed hicks” support.”
Right....all 60 million of us. That’s a lot of hicks to have ticked off at once. Maybe McCain is figuring that out. I hope so. And that’s why this election turned when Sarah Palin walked on that stage.
I have seen CBS and other big media do what you describe....paint her and anyone thinking about supporting her as just not quite ‘right’. 60 million of us can take them down too, if we decide to.
“Conservatism wins elections, every time it is tried!
It would be nice if the RINO’s, other entrenched congress critters, and so-called blue-blood republicans would figure that out some day.”
Wouldn’t it though! Life would be so less complicated. I think Palin understands the value of ‘simple’.
K.I.S.S.!!!
“What projects did Obama work on as a community organizer, does anyone know.”
I’ll give you the quick ‘AuntB’ version. What I can make out of what I’ve read and heard is that ‘community organizer’ is the wrong term.
Obama started up a non profit funded with government grants and donations (usually by other ‘non-profit scammers). His wife becomes CEO or director..they train big city minorities to scam the US taxpayer learning how to organize and start more ‘non-profits’.
In other words, it’s just another scam. Sure once in a while they build a ‘gazebo’ or give a scholarship...to a kid to become another ‘organizer’.
Organized crime has nothing on this bait and switch.
Right-on, “B”!!
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