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August 29th, 2008
Here’s U.S. Rep Don Manzullo, R-Egan, on McCain’s pick of Sarah Palin for vice president:
“I had a hunch McCain would go with someone other than the first tier of people who were mentioned. It’s obvious that the Republican Party needs someone to shake it up, re-energize it, and bring some new life into the party and to demonstrate that Republicans are interested in the same social and economic interests as Democrats, and to articulate some solutions.
She’s only been a governor for two years, but she’s been kicking a lot of butt in Alaska. She beat a good friend of mine, Frank Murkowski, in Alaska, and he actually came in third in the primary (for governor.)
“So, here’s a person knows how to shake up elections and shake up the state by eliminating the bridge to nowhere, because she controlled the funding for it.. That bridge to nowhere, more than any other thing, was responsible for Republicans losing control of Congress in 2006. And here comes somebody who understands the significance of fiscal conservatism and is also a good speaker. I think she’ll fulfill an interesting roll on the ticket. I’m excited about it.”
August 29th, 2008
Here’s RRS Voters Panel member Terrence Egan’s take on Sarah Palin:
“First time I’ve heard of her and who is she?
What brilliant timing for McCain as none of the TV news shows are recapping the Obama speach just 12 hours later.
Palin could help secure the female vote - those who were so wild for Hillary and who are let down.
Did I mention most people have never heard of her? Who is she? Here’s a thought…. at McCain’s age this gal we do not know anything about could be one heart beat away from the Presidency. The news is reporting that she’s both a soccer mom and Moose hunter. How cool is that?
With Palin, there is an entire new race here. Game on.
August 29th, 2008
Terrance Egan, a new member of our Voter Panel, tells me that Ms. Palin is both a soccer mom and a moose hunter. Egan says, “How cool is that?”
I think, however, that upon further review, Ms. Palin just might be a hockey mom. I’ll check it out.
August 29th, 2008
The nation will be examining John McCain’s veep choice veeeeerrrrry carefull. McCain turned 72 today, and he’s had recurring bouts with skin cancer. So, there’s a more than average possibility that his vice preident could be thrust into the presidency.
That makes the Republicans’ argument about Barack Obama’s lack of experience less credible than it was yesterday. In picking Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, he’s chosen a 44 year old whose chief claim to fame is that she was Miss Wasilla, a small town in Alaska, and was runner-up in the Miss Alaska pageant. Palin has been governor less than two years, before that she was a mayor of Wasilla.
August 29th, 2008
John McCain has picked Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, 44, as his running mate. Read it here:
August 29th, 2008
I talked with Jan Klaas, chairman of the Winnebago County Republican Central Committee, about the possibility (probability?) that Sarah Palin of Alaska would be John McCain’s vice-presidential nominee.
“I just just read a biographical piece on her, and was very impressed with her accomplishments,” Klaas said.
“She has a family of quite a few children and she’s governor of Alaska too. She sounds very conservative,” Klaas said.However, Klaas thought that Palin was an up-and-coming politician who might be considered for national office in 4 years, not today.
Klaas, who like Palin is a conservative, gave her formula for GOP success: “The three legs of the stool for Republicans are: Strong on national security, promote capitalism for a strong economy instead of socialism, and promote strong, traditional family values to promote a health moral environment.”
August 29th, 2008
Many reports in the atmosphere this morning say that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, 44, is John McCain’s running-mate. She’s in her first term as governor of the nation’s largest state geographically, and is very conservative. A former Miss Alaska, Palin was a small town mayor before running for governor. She’s known as a reformer.
August 28th, 2008
Barack Obama delivered a stirring, yet specific speech to 70,000 screaming Democrats at Invesco Field at Mile High in Denver Thursaday night. He also challenged Republican John McCain to a debate about national security and who’d be the better commander in chief. In short, he hit it out of the park.
All the four Rockford area delegates I talked with were beside themselves, even the Clinton delegates. First, you might like to read the speech in full. It’s here, in the New York Times:
Now that you’ve read it, here’s what the Rockford delegates had to say about it:
“I loved the part that he’s going to retool the auto plants so we can start making and buying American cars again, and that’s dear to my heart. I like the idea that he wants to go line item by line item in the federal budget and eliminate programs that don’t work and improve the ones that do work. I think it’s an important thing for him to say. I like the fact that he wants (to reward) teachers but also to have more accountability. I loved the speech, I’m just sitting here in this big stadium, and it’s humbling to be part of this unique moment in our history.”– Mary Tuite, Rockford, an Obama delegate.
“I tell you, he brought me to tears. It was very, very emotional. He is so genuine and he talks about things people care about. He gives you so much hope that we can do better in this country, and we don’t have to accept things as they are, we can strive for what things should be. There’s no question that he’s the leader that we need for our future after all the problems we’ve been going through these past seven years, with the economy, the war, taking care of our military people who have sacrificed so much. He got very specific tonight. He talked about energy independence, that within 10 years we will not be beholden to the oil companies or the countries that our enemies in the Middle East. We can build on our own renewable energy to make new jobs. He committed $150 billion to do it, and I was very impressed with his dedication to do that, because we will finally have a leader dedicated to improving our environment. I was also impressed with his talk of education improvements, and early childhood education to get kids on the right track. I am definitely going to work very hard to elect Barack and Michelle Obama. Now, if you’ll excuse me, about 70,000 of us are trying to exit the stadium at the same time.” – Barb Giolitto, former state representative and a Clinton delegate.
“I think he made a great speech. He was very specific about what he’d do for economic development, and to strengthen national security. He’s eager to debate John McCain about being commander in chief. He is well positioned at this point as he leaves Denver with a unified Democratic Party. He had high praise for the Clintons. We felt just fantastic to be here and see history in the making, to see a change that’s about more than Obama himself. It’s something great to see, just to be part of that.” – Ald. Victory Bell, D-5th., a Clinton delegate. (Vic and wife Carol were dressed in patriotic costumes and were featured on national news web sites.)
“He covered a lot of things we need to pay attention to. He talked about families and the crisis that we’re in because of the economy, and the fact that we need to go after Osama bin Laden with all the forces we have. He talked about the morality of the country and what we need to do to get it back to where it should be. There were so many things, I don’t know where to begin. It was marvelous, just fantastic. We had a lot of people who were very emotional. It was just a great evening. The weather turned out to be fantastic, it got cooler when the sun went down. To see the confetti and the fireworks topped off a truly great evening.” – State Rep. Chuck Jefferson, D-Rockford, an Obama delegate.
August 28th, 2008
This is from John Gustafson, former 9th ward Republican alderman and a candidate for mayor of Rockford in 1989. John’s a member of our Voters Panel, and he’s commenting on the presidential race. The following is an open letter to John McCain and Barack Obama:
Gentlemen, you need to pursue the following in order for me to believe that you are serious contenders for the presidency. Two simple tactics that will prove that one of you are deserving of my vote.
First, come down from your podiums and talk with me. I am not interested in high sounding words or catch phrases that may deserve publication in Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations as much as I am with simple, honest, and direct talk. Also, talk with me, and not to me !
In this great republic, I am just as important as you.
Forget the starlets, the movers and shakers, and the headliners when speaking with me. I am just the prairie farmer and small town mechanic, the urban cab driver and the classroom teacher. Just the average guy who can understand the hard blunt facts and accept the need for personal sacrifice. And listen to me! Maybe I could offer suggestions and ideas that are just as workable as those presented by you and your staff. Respect me not just as a voter, but as an informed citizen!
Secondly, you turn me off when you spend money on political ads attacking the other fellow. If I contribute money to your campaign, I would expect that you would use it to talk about yourself, your platform, and ideas. Why would you want to use my money to attack the other candidate with usually false and misleading facts?
Don’t waste my money ! Talk about yourself. And don’t forget to include your warts and imperfections. I will be turned off by you if you do not include them.
Both of you want to be elected as the 44th President and you want my vote. Earn it! Both of you, at this time, have a long road to travel to gain my confidence, and my vote.
John Gustafson
August 27th, 2008
I went tonight to Flinn Middle School for what was the most inspiring event to take place in a school in which a basketball trophy was not held high in the air by a victorious team.
Upwards of 2,000 people , mostly parents and students, turned out for a celebratory dinner and program thrown by the Sharefest volunteers led by Heartland Community Church. Some 3,500 volunteers from Heartland, three other churches, 43 corporate sponsors, unions, swarmed over Flinn, Ellen Stiles and East High School earlier this summer to paint, clean and improve those schools way beyond anything the school district could afford to do.
New Flinn Principal Todd France said he was overwhelmed by the turnout — he’d thought that maybe 50 or 60 people would show up. But the place was totally packed. Most of the people were students and parents from Flinn!
Volunteers from Heartland’s Men’s Fraternity cooked dinner for everyone, and every family received a gift bag of gift certificates, including one for $10 worth of gas from Road Ranger.
Superintendent Linda Hernandez, who reminded students to respect the 53=year old school’s new luster, and Mayor Larry Morrissey told the children that adults volunteered to fix up their school because they want students to have the best possible learning environment.
The celebration was an affirming statement as Rockford begins to reintroduce itself to its long-isolated school sytem. It wasn’t an anti-school system event, it wasn’t a take over, it was a mass realization that our children are the only future we’ve got, and we’d better take their learning environment seriously. We are all stakeholders in our children’s future.
Too often, that isolation has been pushed by some leaders in the evangelical and fundamentalist movements who demonize the public schools and urge parents to pull their children out of them in favor of home schooling.
Heartland seems to get it. They realize that these public schools belong to all of us, and that most children go to them, Christians and pagans alike. Sharefest speaks louder than any sermon could.
Christianity gained favor in the Roman world — even under Roman persecution –because people knew that the Christians would help them when nobody else would. People are tired of being lectured to and scolded by ministers. But as for the quiet labor of Sharefest? Now, folks were impressed by that. That kind of work does a lot more to spread the Gospel than all the fire and brimstone sermons you could fit in a shipping container.
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