***GOP Rumor: McCain will Replace Palin Soon ***

This is some political gossip and scuttlebutt that I would normally dismiss except the people that relayed it to me are good friends even though we don't see eye to eye politically and they are well connected in the Texas Republican Party. It seems to be the rumor going around with some well connected Republics here in town that McCain will very soon replace Palin. They are saying that Palin is becoming a "dragging anchor" for McCain and they cannot take any more chances. These are mega-money people in Texas that are involved with apparently a new search (or maybe the new replacement using the past search list) for a VP for McCain.

McCain is apparently getting big time pressure to replace Palin and it's possible there will be an announcement next week on a Palin replacement. No one here is saying much more than McCain will likely replace Palin. Speculation centers around Romney as the replacement as Romney would be taken much more seriously than Palin is now.

They also fear that the troopergate scandal is taking on a life of it's own and that they will lose control of it soon.

I'll pass on more as it becomes available.

-------------------

edit to correct spelling.

He did KNOWINGLY lie about WMD's. :hi:

You can take that to the BANK! Barack is like the son Powell never had.

NOTHING he would do would surprise me.

It shows how horrible his judgment was in choosing her to begin with. It would be political suicide.

and Sarah will tearfully take the top spot. I wonder how much of a sympathy vote she might attract?

They have been all aglow with the wonderment of Sarah and her divine appointment... it has basically what has shepherded them all back to the fold. If I were a spiteful sort of person, I would be positively gleeful if she did get replaced... hee hee

I don't care who McSame puts in there instead of Palin. The REPUKES are gonna lose.

but it would be amusing.

:popcorn:

I don't have any in my cupboard, and it seems like a really good time for some. Appreciate it!
:)

I just went out to get some more when I saw how long this thread has become.:D

Not being a jerk--I'm genuinely curious.

and that not voting is not in the list of options either. They're starting to panic because McCain is slipping quickly in the polls. They are going to act before it gets completely out of hand.

It ain't happening. If you really are hearing this rumor and not just making it up for your own amusement, somebody else is having some fun with you.

It wouldn't be surprising at all that McCain's post-announcement vetting team in Alaska has discovered information that would blow her out of the water. I can't see Troopergate doing this. But there could be plenty of other ugly skeletons. If they have found something ugly and don't think they can keep a lid on it, then your rumor makes perfect sense. Their only way forward would be to get it over ASAP while they still have 6 weeks left.

But really, if that happens, it is over anyway. The news media would be talking about the scandal, whatever it is, for two weeks. Then the talk would turn to McCain's poor judgment for two weeks, and then the election would be upon them.

wouldn't do its best to spin it though. How big scary bawak chased the loving mother out of politics. And then do their best to hype the new guy, whoever it is.

...the debates.

They know she's totally incapable, and that she would just embarrass McCain and the entire
Republican ticket.

Remember, these things are set up with wusses for moderators who are only interested in dividing the time equally. They will never press any candidates when they give goofy answers. And the format never allows either candidates to challenge the other directly.

They are not debates. They are a peculiar form of commingled, joint press conference.

Let's see how big her pouf is on debate day. :D

THE SARAH PALIN SCANDALS: CALL OF THE WILD
GOP VP candidate Sarah Palin has hushed up a series of scandals including her own brother-in-law's shocking criminal past!
READ MORE >>

http://www.nationalenquirer.com/



http://www.nationalenquirer.com/sarah_palin_scandals_call_of_the_wild_/celebrity/65443


~~~~~MAYBE IT IS THE DAUGHTER~~~~~

For the full story and ENQUIRER World Exclusive Bristol Palin drug video shocker pick up the new ENQUIRER - on sale now.

Yeah, we get that they are a family of wacko fundie hillbillies who like to drink and screw way too much. In that sense, this story doesn't change anything. But it could be that the Enquirer has other leads they are following that are getting too hot to handle for the McCain people trying to do damage control in Anchorage.

My guess is that if there was a hotter story brewing, we would have heard something by now.

The Republican Party's nomination of John Snidely McCain as their presidential nominee!

I'm not sure anyone else can uplift his withered image and make him more appealing.

eom

would look weak in the eys of the electorate.

It will make things worse for him, not better.
Palin energized the religious nut base. Once she's gone, they've lost these guys but will still have their money to campaign with.

he can't be trusted to make good decisions at all

However, Ms. Palin is so power hungry that I suspect she WILL NOT FALL ON HER OWN SWORD.

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Potential nightmare in the making for the GOP. Don't you love it! :rofl:

He lost the confidence of even George Will over his ridiculous call to fire Chris Cox.

He bounced around on AIG.

Then he lapses into bombastic populism.

What a tool.

care about a debate.

better to set up Romney or someone like him as head of the party so that they can start building for a rebound.

especially if the ticket sinks like a rock. He'd be better off keeping his distance.

I think this is a ridiculous rumor.

Dumping Palin would enrage McCain's base, and he can't afford that.

Stupid rumor, IMO.

the vp position and "puckhead" would be running for prez. :crazy:

If he dumps her, it will remind people of his poor judgement. That's bad just 6 weeks from the election.

keeping her is his best chance. They spent to much effort making her a hero to conservative wing nuts..he would loose more than he would gain and look weaker in the bargin.

just be another Repuke), it'll make him look bad for making a pathetic choice in the first place. As we keep saying about so many issues, what if the Dems did that? Can you imagine the ridicule from their side? What if Chelsea had been pregnant when Bill was running?!? ... etc.

Those people want to throw you in jail just for playing a few games of poker online...lol

The neat thing about this is - regardless whether it's a rumor or not - it's ALWAYS useful to spread this stuff around.

DESTABILIZE THE ENEMY. Or as LBJ would have said, after throwing out some lame accusation he knew wasn't true - "make 'em deny it!"

If it's a good rumor, juicy, even semi-possible (moneyed republi-CONS behind this might add a little credibility since money always talks rather loudly and decisively with these people), then it SHOULD be spread. If we can help sow the seeds of uproar, turbulence, disruption, discord, and other unhappy discomforts, it will help to further knock them off their game. The seeds of discontent. They're so solidly in lockstep all the time, but this is one way in which we can help chip away at that solidarity.


EVERY IMAGINABLE OPPORTUNITY, EVERY IMAGINABLE TACTIC - should be considered and then, implemented.

DESTABILIZE THE ENEMY, especially when the enemy's poll numbers are starting to get shaky. That's already done some of our work for us. We just need to build on it.

DESTABILIZE THE ENEMY. Make 'em crazy. Make 'em toss and turn at night. Make reaching for the Maalox bottle the first thing they do in the morning. Make reaching for the scotch bottle the last thing they do when they get home at night (and at all intervals in between). Make them shaky, nervous, miserable, upset, and bickering amongst themselves.

DESTABILIZE THE ENEMY. WHETHER THE RUMORS ARE TRUE OR NOT. All you do is wind up giving them more headaches, which is a VERY GOOD thing.

And if it just might be true, or it has even small shades of truth in it, so much the better! This might go a long way to making it true. And somehow, it'll get out on the blogs and in the media and soon enough, either way, you'll have headlines that read "mcsame Campaign in Disarray" - which is exactly what we want. THEN, you start spreading the meme - "gee, disarray, 'eh? THAT'S the hand you want on the wheel as we steer through the rough seas ahead? Uh -- don't think so!

We MUST show them no mercy. Especially since that's what we'd get back from them if the situation were reversed. Meantime, Barack sails above it all, cool, calm, collected, thoughtful, reasoned, in control, even presidential. And we spread THAT meme, too. You want your tumult and insanity and upheaval over there in that camp? Or you want calm, thoughtful, very together, and presidential? Into whose hands would YOU feel more confident entrusting the fate of our nation?

DESTABILIZE THE ENEMY. AT EVERY TURN. EVERY CHANCE WE GET.

as they are with Palin.

Can Romney learn to in a week?

I am a recovering ex-mormon. Technically, it is in their articles of faith that speaking in tongues is a "gift" for the faithful, but I never saw or heard of anyone actually doing it.

and it makes him look like a fool (I know he already did but just to the left, doing this will make the right think so too) for picking her in the 1st place

and this could just be wishful thinking on the corporatists.

those two factions. The "corporate types" feel they've lost too much control and are pushing back very hard. The word is they've convinced McCain to make the switch I think they feel McCain's first loyalty is to them anyway.

McCain has a slim chance of winning this thing, but it's a chance nonetheless. If he replaces Palin, that chance goes right out the window and Obama will win in a landslide comparable to what Nixon saw in 1972.

No way, this close to the election, can McCain spin dropping Palin. It will show him as lacking judgment and it'll result in a near-sweep for Obama.

mentality that made him pick Palin to begin with. Make no mistake. They are extremely desperate.

It'd be like bunting on your last out of the ninth down 2 runs.

than admit a mistake.

If anything, McCain is dragging her down.
Any replacement at all would effectively sink the repukes.
Not gonna happen.

other scandals that could be much more damaging. We have seen how she operates. She could have all sorts of other official or personal scandals in her background that have only now reached McCain. That is the only way this thing makes sense. Has the Enquirer come out with anything else recently?

That would shake things up, but either way it would seem to be a win for us.

And ask for a do-over? WTF? No way. He's stuck with her now.

...about the prime minister of Spain, then they won't admit that a major decision like VP nominee was a mistake.

to try to delay or tamper with the election... I put nothing past them normally, much less when they are totally desperate with nothing to lose....

He's the drag on the ticket. :sarcasm:

I think the political risk of dumping Palin outweigh the risk of keeping her. Well, until troopergate explodes.

No way. He can't appear anywhere without her. If he dumps her his crowds will diminish to monthly PTA meeting size.

You can.

On intrade. You will actually only make $60K if you are right, because those are the odds.

But the market is open.

is running.

Pailin is the only thing keeping McLiar in the race...

mistakes! Can you even imagine the tsunami in the media against McNuts & the Party if he ever did that? Naw, it ain't happenin.

and a helluva lot of money too.

that were lost in the market this past week sure as hell didn't come from MY POCKET! There's a lot of people who THOUGHT they were pretty rich and had lots of $$ to throw around had a bit of a personal earthquake!

If they were smart, they'd put Carribou Barbie atop the ticket and get Cheney to come back for a 3rd veep appearance.

I have been thinking the same thing for some time. They will spin it as a brave sacrifice to spend more time with her family.


Romney would be the obvious choice and with an economic meltdown in full gear people won't care that he is Mormon.

on edit

It would of course make it almost impossible for them to win in November but it would put into place a natural party leader so that they could start to rebuild for 2012 rather than go through another bruising primary effort. I am sure that there are Republicans who would now give their right arm to have Romney on the ticket at any cost even if it meant that they were going to lose (which they probably already feel that they are anyway).

Interesting speculation probably unlikely but I am sure that there are serious Republicans who are thinking it.

there are a few things that the pukes will benefit from. They will have the Palin albatross off their necks, they will catch Biden somewhat off guard with the last minute switch before the debates, and they will push a candidate who is very well versed in the economy into the race at a time when the economy is the most crucial element of this entire campaign.

I thought the deadline for changing ballots has already come and gone, but the pukes would no doubt find a way around this. They would potentially alienate their base that fawns over the moose, leaving McLiar to draw the big crowds.

I've read hints that this might happen since she was selected, and thus far, nothing has materialized. I don't think there is any way that she can leave this race without causing great harm to the puke ticket. Place me in the very skeptical camp.

needs more care... Trig is special needs anyway. It could work. it would be consistent with the image they're trying to cultivate for her and then she's available in 2012.

They will come up with some medical emergency = most likely the baby's - and then it will look legit and even draw sympathy. Plus babies with Down's syndrome often need heart surgery, so it could even be true. And maybe they knew it going in and just wanted to use her to get the fundie vote anyway and be able to dump her on demand.

Who in their right mind would want to spend more time with that family?

Ugh.

citing personal reasons?

his personal squeeze at this point.

He can't dump her any more than he can fire the head of the SEC.

He would have to go to the RNC and get THEM to boot her off the ticket. That's not going to happen.

This was discussed the week of the puke convention when all the crap about Bristol was leaking out. It was noted that McCain could drop her up until she was nominated formally at the convention. Once she was nominated, only the party could replace her.


TG

http://keystoneprogress.blogspot.com/2008/09/just-in-casernc-rules-for-replacing.html

quoting from

http://www.gop.com/About/AboutRead.aspx?Guid=a4cc4fcb-6043-4af2-860a-41ae912a2c42


RULE NO. 9 Filling Vacancies in Nominations

(a) The Republican National Committee is hereby authorized and empowered to fill any and all vacancies which may occur by reason of death, declination, or otherwise of the Republican candidate for President of the United States or the Republican candidate for Vice President of the United States, as nominated by the national convention, or the Republican National Committee may reconvene the national convention for the purpose of filling any such vacancies.

(b) In voting under this rule, the Republican National Committee members representing any state shall be entitled to cast the same number of votes as said state was entitled to cast at the national convention.

(c) In the event that the members of the Republican National Committee from any state shall not be in agreement in the casting of votes hereunder, the votes of such state shall be divided equally, including fractional votes among the members of the Republican National Committee present or voting by proxy.

(d) No candidate shall be chosen to fill any such vacancy except upon receiving a majority of the votes entitled to be cast in the election.

They know his health is precarious and they don't want Sarah Palin in charge of their financial future.

This actually makes more sense now that I think of it.

It is obvious that she is a putz & a nutjob Fundie that is loved by the RW Fundies. Swing Voters are most likely to vote for Sen. Obama & Sen. Biden. Unless something surfaces that forces her to resign she will not do so & McLiar won't force her out.

.....on fatcat rethuglicans financial future? You gotta be kidding. They'd put a ring through the her nose and lead her around any way they wanted.

that they would actually do it at this point in the game. But yeah, they have to be thinking wtf are their options.

the "problem" is troopergate. Rmember Bush's DUI in 2000? This will be worse, the evangelicals will be digusted, feel betrayed, and then what's the point of her?

They will have to do this, or be buried worse than if they change. They've been holding off as long as they could, hoping to turn the stories. They can't. Palin is liar, hell she mainlines the stuff. I think she pulled a lot of wool over people's eyes during the selection process, and now the damage control just can't keep up with it. Watching their campaign, desparate for energy, commit all the resources it has to just getting her into the mainstream, it's no way to run a race.

She is heading toward political suicide.

and as fun as it would be to watch them implode even more, I'm not buying it.

How bad could that be, considering how awful his first choice was?

And damn it, I like it.

"Is McCain thinking about dumping Palin? You decide"

If he dumps her, he loses the female vote he's been courting. If he picks Rommney, he loses the evangelicals. If he goes with LIEberman he'll lose the independants. He has no where to turn.

He would:

- Lose the Christian Right base immediately
- Be seen as careless on judgement
- Put his campaign into a tailspin with staff shakeup
- Have Palin on the loose ready to attack him

Hopefully, McCain jettisons here mid-October and will thus never recover.

that started slipping mid to late last week. My first thought was that it would hurt McCain more than anything. They never do anything without a well-orchestrated plan and a damn good reason. Especially with the stakes in this election.

It would look horrible for McCain to switch his VP. It would show bad judgment on his part. If he couldn't make the right VP choice, who knows if he will make the right decisions in the future. The only way Palin will be removed is if the "troopergate" scandal really, really destroys her image.

Romney is the only person I see being picked as a replacement since there's even less time until the election and he's really the only well known, realistic possibility. I would love having Mitt as VP because I know he would come here to Michigan to try to feed us some BS about how he's one of us...even though he left the first chance he got and hasn't lived here in 40 years. Having Michigan vote against the "hometown boy" would be great.

Can McCain even remove her after she has been officially nominated? Anyway, I just don't see it happening.

unless Palin were willing to say it were her decision. I don't get the feeling this will happen.

The reasons are:
1) It would solidify in many minds a concern for McCain's judgment.
2) The replacement would have to be as liked by the evangelical voters (which ruled out many good choices.
3) The choice might have to be a woman (not sure on this)
4) There is almost no time to introduce a new VP so it has to be someone very well known.

As to Powell and Rice. I doubt Powell will work for the evangelicals. Rice makes the "third term of Bush" attack work even better than it does. Once nominated, it may be political suicide to replace the VP, especially if she has gained supporters. To see this, turn it to a Democratic situation.

Though there were no scandals, imagine the disaster if in early September, Gore thought Leiberman was a drag and removed him. I know it would have had a negative impact - at least among Jews. (I am one.) Or, if that doesn't work, Shrum said that he thought Kerry wished he hadn't picked Edwards when Edwards wouldn't take direction. Tell me how quickly that would have sunk Kerry.

by the RNC, not that he did the choosing himself. It was such an obvious ploy to appeal to the fundamentalist base and to try and siphon off women from the Democrats.

For Sarah's political future in Alaska, it would be great if McCain dumped her. The longer she stays on the ticket, with McCain's goons here running our state, the more she is being damaged. If I were her, I would jump ship now, head on home and start answering questions, as she promised to do when the abuse-of-power investigation started. With a little kissing up here at home she could probably salvage her career.

I'd be shocked if this happened. Palin has rallied the frothing-at-the-mouth right-wingers to McCain, there's no way he'd throw that away. Such a shake-up (a very massive, VERY public shake-up) would also make voters question McCain's judgment and temperament...he'd appear to be disorganized and rash.

Too liberal.

I think that'd be the only real chance he has of winning.

David

with outrage at how such a joke of a pick is being imposed on the American people. If they aren't really going to replace her, make them wish they had.

It's turned into into a bizarre circus... or should I say carnival?

But I don't see it happening, because it would be the end of McCain poltically among women and evangelicals.

And it would call into question his judgment at a very late date.

It is disastrous to replace a VP candidate. It means admitting you messed up on your first major decision.

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

She holds all the cards. The doddering old fart would be 20 points down without her presence on the ticket. Yeah, it's tough that as people get to know what a fucking whack job she is, that advantage will be (is) disappearing, but for the moment, she has the hammer.

I can't see any good coming of it no matter how much of a drag she is to the ticket.

I hope he does it!

But, I don't think he will.

or the reanimated corpse of Reagan.
Short of that, it'd be the stupidest move possible, aside from the fact that he picked palin to begin with :-P

are but modern day money changers looting the Temple of Democracy.

mike kohr

:)

Love, compassion, generosity, forgiveness, charity, equality. There's no way that RW evangelical fundamentalists would elect Jesus to anything.

"In light of the current economic crisis I have asked Sarah Palin to step down as my VP and chosen a candidate who is more experienced in the area of economics"

He may have a chance with another vice...But on the positive side, if mccain wins, it'll be a bit less scary...

I doubt they could spin that into a non-flipflop he'd lose if he did it so it won't happen.

The way I understand it, she was picked by McCain, but actually NOMINATED by the Republican Party at the convention. She is now THEIR candidate, not his.

Just sayin'. I think it would be GREAT is he tried, though! He thought the president could fire Cox, the SEC chairman, remember?

but it would be suicide for their White House run. They would lose every vote that the Palin nomination gained them, and then some.

Even if it isn't true, as LBJ once said, "I don't care if it isn't true. I just want to hear the son-of-a-bitch deny it!"

NO WAY they replace palin now. How stupid is this?

He's available and he's feelin' just a mite spry.

Hmmmm......

:popcorn:

has pix.

That's the only thing I think that would do it. The fundies won't give a flying eff about troopergate, but if there are pix of her with hubby's ex-biz partner -- or maybe his divorce docs -- she's toast with the fundies regardless. NE had pix of Edwards, maybe they have pix of her. She has tons of enemies in Alaska, so maybe someone with a cameraphone found a stored pic and sent it to NE for $$.

That's the one thing fundies won't forgive. Believe me, I worked in a snake pit full of'em last year and when the sex scandals around their political and religous leaders broke, their morale went into the toilet and they swore off politics for good.


In which case, better to jettison her now and replace her with Mitt, the corporate rethug, now that financial security trumps military.

;)

The National Enquirer ends Palin's bid after sex pix turn up....she's leaving the Motel 6 with 2nd Dude and 3rd Dude, (just some local moose-huntin buddies)...her hair's ALL uncoiffed and she's got that uh-oh, Moose in the Headlights Look. All the big money in the world can't cover it up...time for the John Edwards Church of Redemption...

...but he will be a laughingstock if he admits "his" decision was a bad one. I think he's toast, either way, so he will default to the Republican SOP of gritting his teeth and pretending all is well.

I think it's all been Posturing, getting set up for the next round of looting the Treasury - same old story, STEAL as much as they can carry, let the Dems win, the Dems build up the bank again while the Repigs blame them for the looting, once the bank is refilled and the public has forgotten the Repig language, which turns into Martian after eight years, the standard shelf life..

THEN they come roaring back, steal the Dem campaign and STEAL the election..

They are setting up the field for Palin and Romney..

She'll leave (Hopefully kicking and screaming), and say that the pressure of having the children, and a boy in Iraq is too much for now, everyone will forgive her in the next election and she'll be back yodelling garbage in our ears against Hillary..

They KNOW they're going to lose, it's all about positioning now.

Throwing grenades everywhere on the way out, with wheel barrows full of OUR Money.

I believe Gman, he's been here a long time, and never steered me wrong :)

Hope we see some of that manifested on November 4rth.

McCain replacing Palin with Romney would be the greatest thing that could happen in this election. Replacing one bimbo with another one. But you're just getting my hopes up, I know life is not that great.

More and more moderate fence sitters have become disillusioned with Gov Palin. You can see it in the upward trend in the polls for Obama. Given the new economic reality, if McCain was to replace Palin with Romney, many of those moderate fence sitters would shift their votes to a McCain/Romney ticket. Yes they may lose some of the evangelical base, but I bet they would pick up more of the undecideds and those leaning toward Obama just because he was, in their minds, the lesser of 2 evils. They will see Romney as a strong economic addition to the ticket. McCain is tanking with Palin on the ticket. Why would we want to see a reversal in that scenario.

No Way.

No How.

No Replacement.

He's stuck with her.

It would piss off the fundies and make McCain look like an idiot.....that would suck all the oxygen out the room for the next two eeks which means all the debates..... tThey have no choice but to keep her.

It's too late. A Palin step-down would lead to a collapse in the polls and complete demoralization of the republican base. It would also look like Mccain was once again caving to a "loony left," which would destroy his strength creds.

They have to sink with Palin. I agree that she's a drag on the ticket, and will turn out to be a costly, costly blunder indeed.

There isn't even a whisper of Dems dropping Joe Biden - his addition to the ticket was not particularly surprising and warmly received by most. Even better, he's not crazy! :kick:

watch his back. This bitch is crazy, imo, and has plans on BEING the president. Count on it.

The McCain campaign's got Sarah Palin to have and to hold even if Troopergate and other Palin gubernatorial administration scandals go on the boil. The Religious Right is a exacting, vengeful, constituency with a long enemies list and a long memory. If McCain forces Sarah Palin to do a Thomas Eagleton, he'll immediately lose most, if not all, of whatever support the Religious Right had given him.

Forcing Palin off the ticket would have other consequences. It would call his judgment into question. Even the lap-dogs and toadies in the broadcast and cable news networks would be forced to ask a question out loud that some R's are probably asking in private--what does picking Sarah Palin say about John McCain as a leader?

Replacing Palin with Mitt-sie would have other consequences. No matter how socially conservative Mitt-sie may actually be (Or choose to turn) or how much he may appeal to more mainstream Republicans, much of the Religious Right won't go for him. If Barrack Obama faces religious bigotry from the Religious Right, so does Mitt Romney. There is still an ongoing feud between the Evangelical Christians and the LDS (Mormon) church. The leadership of the Latter Day Saints may try to cover it up, the leadership of the RNC may try to cover it up, the McCain campaign's honchos may try to pretend that it isn't there, but for a very large portion of the Religious Right, being a Mormon is beyond the Pale, and so is voting for one.

I'd say that McCain dumping Sarah Palin, even if her scandals do explode, is tantamount to McCain deciding to throw the election. He's stuck with her, even if her scandals turn his campaign into flaming wreckage.

I'm a member of a small New Age church that Evangelicals don't like, either.

All I can say is: Confusion to the GOP!

:dem:

in the tundra..

"Hey, that doesn't look like a Wolf's leg!!.. Ooops.."

who claim thousands are dead in Galveston?

Gonna miss that bucket of fluff and I was getting so that I really really related to her.

events in California.

GOP rules say that changes to the ticket after the convention have to be approved by the party. McCain does NOT get to unilaterally make the decision.

They have until the VP debate at the beginning of Oct.

If true, this will be one to watch. :popcorn:


Wouldn't it be ironic if they only used Palin to re-energize the base and had planned to kick her to the curb all along? That woman has burned herself some bridges back home in the last few weeks. Couldn't happen to a more clueless, repugnant repig, imo!

and half of the BushCo stooges?

But "friend of mine" threads are almost always bullshit.

Remember McGovern/Eagleton?

McCain was having a senior moment at campaign headquarters. He saw life-size cardboard cutouts of himself and Palin. He went over to shake their hands. When he grabbed the hand on the Palin cutout, it fell off. He tried to catch it, but knocked the whole thing over and snapped it in two.

Someone said "We needed those for our fundraiser. We just got them from the print shop. Now, we have to replace Sarah."

McCain said it was his fault and he would take care of replacing the cutout. So, the party official got on the phone and said, "Jim, don't worry. Senator McCain said he was going to replace Governor Palin real soon."

And the rest is history.

Then McCain would be done for good.

in these terms.

Traditionally a set of circumstances that forced McGovern to replace Thomas Eagleton brought no benefit. I happened to like Eagleton a lot. Supported McGovern-Shriver enthusiastically and was crushed by the landslide percentage by which Nixon won.

There's no reliable sampling number to make a prediction were McCain to dump Gov. Sarah, but he'd be in a worse hole then than he is by having chose her in the first place. My hunch is that the Far Right nutbags wanted a fire-belching prayer-in-the-schools Creationist zealot on the ticket, and Palin more than qualified. All but completely unvetted, she is chosen as the veep pick, flown to Middletown, Ohio's Hook Field and dispatched up to the Nutter venue for national introduction.

She shimmied and she shook in St. Paul and now that the party is over and the cold light of dawn has crept over the horizon, Republicans realize that she's not going to be effective in winning McCain the White House and might even be hurting him more than he's hurting himself -- no small task.

And then I'm thinking, who else would they put in there who doesn't carry grievous negatives for at least one part of the Puke base. Franklin Graham could be such a horrifying and stunning choice that it might just work for McCain, but other than Franklin Graham and possibly Sam Brownback, the rest of the available field is either a) unavailable (as in, "Gee, thanks, John, but no thanks just the same") or b) as in (Hi, I'm Mitt Romney and I'd have carnal relations with farm animals to be named to the ticket.")

It would be an exciting piece of news but it would likely not gain McCain much ground, it would likely lose him the aura of "leader with good judgement," inasmuch as he ever had that to start with, and depending on who is named as replacement, it might piss the fundies off to a point where they just stay home.

McCain's up a real slow moving creek with no paddles.

A friend got an e-mail that's evidently been going around.

That's why I'm not taking any of the rumors seriously.

and said she "might" have even been a better VP pick than him, when someone asked him a question during a rally.

And before anybody gets snippy, I am going to donate another $100 to Obama after Oct. 1.

Either way, he has the political life expectancy of a mosquito in a RAID factory!:evilgrin:

People are saying on this thread that it's too late for them to change -- but isn't it the slate of electors who are technically being voted on for each state and not the candidates?

If that's the case, then it doesn't matter if Palin's name remains on the ballot -- the McCain electors can simply pledge to vote for McCain and whoever instead of McCain and Palin.

Am I right about this? Does anyone know for sure?

Na. Ga. Happen. Not unless there's some major (and I mean body in the chest-freezer major) scandal about to break. The fundies love her! If McCain dumps her, the fundies will revolt. And they're revolting enough already, frankly.

negative to his campaign, at this point he's stuck with her.

To ditch her at this late date would mean he'd lose about a third or half the fundie/wingnut support the pick got him, which is the only thing that gave him his now deceased bump.

He'd completely shoot his credibility by reversing course on her now, worse than he did with moderates by picking her in the first place. I suppose they could manufacture family medical emergencies and what not that would cause her to resign, but this would still reflect badly on McCain and his vetting.

Even though he'll probably lose with her, his chances would be zero by casting her aside at this late date. He still has a shot at a narrow loss or narrow win at this point, even if it's a long shot. Ditching her would mean a guaranteed landslide loss at this point, just my opinion.

Lady of Shalott departure for Palin in which she holds a tremulous, tear-streaked address to the nation, bowing out because she can "no longer subject my wonderful family to the heartless assailants who comprise the liberal media (sob, sniff)."

"Senator McCain," she will go on to say, "You are a bold champion of liberty and I can only wish you the very best in your quest for the presidency. I only regret that I would be an impediment and must step aside so someone else can serve as your vice president."

Etc.

Then McCain will take the stage -- preferably with that LOVELY snot-green background -- and announce that ________ has agreed to step in "for the good of the country, and for God, and Liberty, etc." as the new nominee. Not sure whose name goes in the blank. Possibly Huckabee who would not frighten away any fundies and is a better campaigner than Palin; or Brownback who is even more to the right than Huckabee or anyone else; or -- if McCain has any sense of the theatric at all -- Franklin Graham.

I say Franklin Graham is the best option from McCain's point of view -- certainly the worst from ours -- because it would re-write all the narratives currently in place for the election. In most respects Franklin Graham is even worse than Palin, actually much worse, which is saying something, and in choosing him McCain would steal the negative energy from coverage of his poor judgment with Palin and would focus all the media on the "son of a religious legend" as "savior to McCain's dreams of the presidency," etc. blah blah blah.

It's the ace in the hole for McCain. He'd secure North Carolina, assuage the nutbags, and obviate negative press all in one swoop.

the OP shares some rock solid sources.

For example, I have a close friend who used to work in a high-up position on a professional sports team. When someone got traded, he'd phone me about the trade so I could post it on my favorite sports forum before the media got wind of it. People doubted me the first few times I "announced" trades, but hours later the media would make the big announcement. It got so even some of the media people started watching for my trade reports, lol. My buddy did this for me a few times a year as long as I promised not to reveal the source because it could have gotten him in some trouble.

steal it.

www.wearableartnow.com

Wearable Art! Thanks for the link.

Since we are past the convention, could it be done?

The Night of the Broken Glass Republicans are a huge portion of the republican base, and most of them hate McCain. They consider him to be a traitor to the conservative republican cause. They will not vote for McCain without Palin on the ticket. They will not donate to the RNC or to McCain's compliance fund without Palin on the ticket and they will not work on GOTV without Palin on the ticket. Without the Night of the Broken Glass Republicans McCain can not win.

Furthermore, McCain has never felt the thrills and and sexual pleasure he feels as he fiddles with his fingers and stares at Palin's ass as she delivers her canned speech of lies to her followers and worshipers. Her ass and lies are a greater aphrodisiac to McCain than even Cindy's multi-million dollar fortune. He truly loves being her Mini-Me.

His lust for power, his fear of losing yet another election for president, and his adoration of Palin's ass and lies would never allow him to even consider removing Palin from the ticket.

He might, however, insist on referring to his possible future presidential administration as the McCain-Palin administration rather than the other way around. But maybe not.

Given that the convention is over.

Any historical precedent?

Just seems like she's probably the strongest element for him in his campaign right now.

Replacing Palin would be a much worse blow to the campaign than her ineptness could ever be.

A candidate who changes the VP this late in the game would be easy to beat come November. It would go to the heart of the "judgment" question and would rub people wrongly and in the worst way. Next off since she is a woman, so to get rid of her so fast will just anger all the right wing females out there. This would be a disaster for McCain on so many levels.

He's better off just hiding her away and shielding her from the press and interviews because even though she's obviously not ready for prime time, the strategy is working so far with an uninformed and ignorant public.

Palin is McCain's last best hope. She's the one who brought life back into his campaign

in hopes to re-energize the base......since her favorability is tanking?

Scared hell outta myself.

Just sayin...


:tinfoilhat:

First of all, this probably ain't gonna happen, people are right there. But the again, why it might:

1. It won't happen because the right loves her, but because they stop loving her. Why would they stop? Because she lied to them about herself and the scandals mount. She lied to McCain about the daughter's pregnancy, that's obvious because of the delay between her VP announcement and when it got revealed.

Troopergate is more serious than people think, which is why the clumsy at-all-costs coverup that's been going on. Again, I think she hid this and its seriousness from the McCain people and the RNC. Palin is nothing but an extremely skilled liar.

2. Putting her off the ticket isn't about winning, it's about how you lose. If the scandals become damaging, McCain will lose. If he's going to lose, it's going to be because of her - her leaving is a script that doesn't make him or the party as responsible. Why would they want to blame her? See #1.

Again, I'm like 75% sure she's staying to the end. But that's still a lot of doubt - I would not be surprised.

Replacing a VP has only happened once in modern politics. That year the dems lost in a landslide.

Obama would jump on this as a lack of judgement:
"he wants you to trust him to make best decisions for this country, but he couldn't even make the best decision for a VP"
"it's 3AM and a phone is ringing....... do you want the man you could get VP pick right to answer it".

I figure you get the point.

Only Palin gets replaced is if some "nut" shoots her at a rally then some cop shoots the suspect to cover it up. PERIOD.

If McCain is down by 25 he won't drop Palin. Just like in Obama was down by 25 he wouldn't drop Biden.

There are other factors at work
1) There is an election in 4 years. Dropping VP is a guaranteed way (due to party despair) to lose the 2010 and 2012 elections also.
2) There are ballot deadlines. In VA if Palin was dropped from the ticket nobody could vote for McCain/<replacement>. Obama would VA plus likely 10-12 other states with similar laws by default.
3) There are some REP running for Congress who are in competitive races. Dropping Palin would likely sink them

So yes if McCain wants
1) guaranteed loss of the election
2) guaranteed loss of even more seats in Congress
3) guaranteed loss of support and funding for GOP in 2010 & 2012.

then he will drop Palin.

Palin may have sunk his campaign but she will be on the ticket till the very end. Maybe Obama will invite her to his inauguration.

not the party or Obama's brilliance. McCain's judgement would suffer, but that would be the case merely by naming a scandal-ridden VP and not getting rid of her - and McCain's lack of judgement and Palin's brassness would be why they lost, not the party itself.

And all we would hear from them is how "but for the fallen-on-her-sword VP, it would have been a fair fight".

But the main condition is that something would have to happen - and I think troopergate might be the agent, maybe - to make her lose appeal to the fundies. If that happens, she would toast for a party with a lot of jam to stick somewhere.

Agreed, though - unlikely. Still all that jam is gonna have to end up on someone.

A lot of repubs "down ticket" are hoping to ride Palin coattails, even if the national ticket loses. Having her off the ticket and having the national ticket go down totally in flames will take a lot of repub officials (federal, state and local) down with it. They aren't about to allow that to happen.

she wildly attracts the fundies===energizes the base

the anti-abortion, gun slinging, NRA types, etc....LOVE her

The 'thug base would flip out.

Currently, I see he has more to lose dumping her this late in the game.

Insert Reagan pic here.

I'm sure they loathed her from the beginning, and I'm equally sure they realize this year is a loss anyway (I'm "sure" in the sense that I'm an ex- Republican and know how the party works: I have no inside information, especially since all the party insiders I once knew consider me a pariah).

But they're not the only faction in the party, and they don't have enough power at this point in the process with this little time remaining to get their way, short of Palin getting arrested as a mass murderer, or thinking it's the Rapture and jumping out of the campaign jet without a parachute.

They want to win. If they really felt the way suggested, they'd keep her on the ticket since they'd have no chance to win if she's dropped. If the ticket loses, the business wing can argue for 2012 that Palin is a failed candidate and that a business wing conservative should be the nominee not a fundie candidate. And if by some chance McCain/Palin were to win, they could push for her to resign after the election if they really had that kind of clout.

They don't want the Theocratic wing to hold power, they want them to give them their votes. And by this point (as in the last week or so) it's clear that control of the party is all that's left for them to fight over.

They'll either find a way to stall the investigation or any results until after the election, or they'll find a way to spin the results of the investigation in Palin's favor (say that she was just trying to protect her sister from an abusive ex, etc.). I hate that I feel fairly certain that this is what will happen, but it just seems like the most predictable course given Republican M.O.

Replacing Palin is more likely to kill McCain's campaign, IMO.

Her nomination has energized the repub base. If she leaves the ticket, the whole thing collapses. SHort of her being indicted or hit by a bus, she's on the ticket to stay.

On the other hand, changing so close to the election would create enormous resentment and upheaval.

So I guess--in reality--It's a win-win!

McCain does that, he alienates the conservative wing and he kisses whatever remote shot he had at getting elected away.

If he does, Obama wins in a landslide.

Seriously, off the top of my head, even if he did it after a 'guilty' verdict comes back on the troopergate investigation, the following would likely happen if McCain replaced Palin.

-It would piss off women and others who were excited Palin as VP

-It would make John McCain look like an incompetent moron who can't even pick a good VP without properly vetting them first, this problem would be especially enhanced if he pulled her off the ticket after the verdict on the troopergate investigation comes out with a guilty veridct

-Rather then getting a bounce in the polls from his new VP, he'd likely get a drop in the polls due to the backlash over dropping Palin

the election if he should win. That is why McCain's people are putting Troopergate off until after the election. McCain wins with his base revved up by Palin but he doesn't want her around to overshadow him during his presidency so as soon as he uses her to get in, she is forced to resign as a result of the scandal.