|
|
October 1, 2008GOP: Hail Mary Pass or Go HomeI took a quick turn through the ’sphere and at my email and saw a lot of frustration from Republicans, who are getting fed up with the double standards that are standard for the media and the left. Yes, it’s there; yes, it’s every day. Yes, Gwen Ifill is a dreadful choice, a Obama-enthralled partisan moderating a debate, and she should be replaced. Go ahead, make the phone calls, make a stink - try to get her replaced. Whoever they replace her with will be just as “in the tank” so it seems pointless to me. It seems like a means of throwing off some restless energy for the people who need to “feel like they’re doing something and making a difference.” It feels false. It feels like a distraction. Like we’re all busily trying to patch a few mouseholes, while behind the wall lurks something much more destructive and threatening than a few mice. Fixing the hole of Gwen Ifill might make us feel like we did something “today” but tomorrow or the next day, the whole wall is going to tumble, and we’ll understand that our efforts were misdirected, futile and ultimately pointless. Kathryn Jean Lopez actually bothered to make the point that Gov. Palin has been Governor of Alaska for a month or two longer than Nancy Pelosi has been House Speaker! I read that and I just thought: that’s desperate. And it is totally besides the point. The GOP, for the GOP Punditry and the GOP ticket all keep acting like the political and media rules today are the same rules by which the games were played 50 years ago, and that if they just sit on the curb saying, “hey, guys, play fair! Hey guys, here’s the rulebook, play fair!” the left and the press will suddenly pull back and say, “hey, wow, you’re right! We haven’t been holding to the precepts of honest governance or ethical journalism! Thanks for pointing that out, and by Jove, we’re going to do better! We’re going to stop lying about Sarah Palin and those rape kits! We’re going to go ahead and ask those questions about Bill Ayers and we’re going to report on those Obama’s questionable tolerance of free speech! We’re going to demand for accountability from the Democrats and even be fair once in a while! It’s not going to happen. It’s time for the GOP and people on the right to realize that - for now - the rules have changed. There is a whole ‘nother rulebook being used, and sitting around flapping the old rule book and whining “c’mon, guys, c’mmmmmmon,” is not going to get the game back on track. John McCain needs to realize it today. So does Palin. We need to recognise it and begin to compete under these new rules, or just concede the game. John McCain needs to stop trying to act like a referee and start acting like the quarterback. By the way, we’re outnumbered. Team Mainstream has all the heavyweights, the guards, the tackles and the microphones, too - so they call the plays the way they see them, regardless of what is actually happening. The spectators are eating pretzels and wondering if they’ll win the office pool, but they’re busy listening to the color commentary rather than watching the game with their own eyes. How do we win? Maybe we can’t. Maybe things are too far gone. But I’m thinking McCain needs to make a very aggressive play, here - right now - to do or die. The steamroller media is about to sack McCain - to flatten him before he ever gets the ball out of his hand - and Palin, the wide receiver, has a whole pack running right along side of her; they’re effectively blocking her from all sides. Fretting about poll numbers a month out is pointless; things can turn on a dime. But nothing is going to turn as long as McCain keeps trying to wear the stripped shirt, and the rest of the team keeps pointing out dirty plays that - in the new rulebook - are no longer considered dirty, in hopes of coaxing a ruling in their favor. We’re looking at an Oval Office occupied by the most extreme leftist ever to make a credible run for it, a Pelosi-controlled house, a Reid-occupied Senate and as many as 3 comfortably-left leaning SCOTUS justices immediately escorted (nay, carried on shoulders) to their bench seats. The Hail Mary pass is about doing something bold, impossible and full of heart - something that is against all better judgment and rides high on the air of faith. If McCain hasn’t got one to make, or if Palin is not prepared to jump through the guards and make the catch of her life, then the rest of us had better haul out the rosaries, or we may not ever see another game. For my part, I’m praying that the American voters are guided in wisdom, and I’m remembering that John Paul II made Our Lady of Guadalupe the Patroness of the Americas just before the 2000 presidential elections, so I’m asking her to intercede for us with prayer. My own prayer is “Lord, let us know your will; lord, guide our nation in this election and help us to discern your meaning in its outcome.” If there are lessons to be learned, I’m just praying we learn them, and grow through them. And survive. I’m also fasting through October to election day, not a full-on-low-blood-sugar and passing-out fast, but I’m doing a Lenten-ish fast - penitential and focused - no sugar in my coffee (you KNOW what that means to me), no bread, no snacks, and one meal on Fridays. Some entities can only be defeated through prayer and fasting. Anyone care to join me? http://theanchoressonline.com/2008/10/01/gop-hail-mary-pass-or-go-home/trackback/ 26 Responses to “GOP: Hail Mary Pass or Go Home” |
October 1st, 2008 at 1:18 pm
I’m sick of the GOPs prevent defense. We’re always on the road with the MSM, so we need to play to win, not to tie. None of this west coast offense crap. McCain/Palin needs to play aggressive smashmouth football or we lose. We can beat the Dems and the media, they have the playbook, but we have the talent. Just win baby. We can’t afford to lose this one.
October 1st, 2008 at 2:24 pm
I go back in my history, and in Biblical history, as well, to encourage myself. How many times have the ‘good’ guys won a battle, turned a culture, in a most unexpected way? Esther and Mordecai, in the right place at the right time. Joseph, a man who was Secretary of the Treasury and Health and Human Resources with the right ideas.
Washington, courage in the midst of ferocious fighting during the French and Indian War. Washington, again, taking his soldiers across the Delaware River under cover of fog. English troops, escaping from France across the Channel when fog covered them from the Germans. The defeat of the Spanish Armada. So, we pray for mercy, for liberty to endure longer, and that cover ups will be exposed for all to see, for courage, and truth to be more than spoken, to be proclaimed loudly. And then, having done all, stand.
October 1st, 2008 at 2:25 pm
I have been thinking about this and I think that since John McCain has seen true evil, what the media is doing to him is nothing. This is not evil like he has seen, he doesn’t see them as the enemy. He thinks as Americans, they will follow the rules because there ARE rules and it is the honorable thing to do. He doesn’t know that these people have no honor and he doesn’t seem to see that the Democrats would do anything they could to defeat him, legal or otherwise. Until he does he will continue to fall in the polls. People need to see that he will stand up for himself and his party and say “enough is enough!” If he can’t stand up to Democrats, what will he do with world leaders, who want to kill us all?
October 1st, 2008 at 2:40 pm
Sarah Palin was the Hail Mary Pass.
The problem is, after she caught the ball for a spectacular 70-yard gain, instead of using her to drive into the end zone, McCain decided to punt.
And then, while the play was still going on and the ball was still live, he decided to stop playing and walk away from the ball, letting the Dems pick it up and run down the field with it.
October 1st, 2008 at 2:42 pm
[...] GOP: Hail Mary Pass or Go Home [...]
October 1st, 2008 at 3:09 pm
It’s very odd. I hear my normally fairly rational Dem-Left-ish friends go on about how McCain has gone all offensive and horrible and wouldn’t it be nice if he’d play nice like Good Ol’ Barry, and I think: Really? Do they really believe what they’re saying? Is cognitive dissonance so well programmed into so many that they have no clue that their perception bears no resemblance to reality?
Yeah. I’m afraid it is.
Anyone care to join me?
I’m in.
October 1st, 2008 at 3:14 pm
The Hail Mary pass is about doing something bold, impossible and full of heart - something that is against all better judgment and rides high on the air of faith.
Sounds good to me. Based on the team’s performance during the quarter just past, I’d be delighted to see another “Hail Mary” pass from McCain come his next possession. It’s just the sort of play that yields up a nice tasty interception run back for several yards.
To pray “that the American voters are guided in wisdom,” seems reasonable (to the extent that faith and reason travel in tandem — opinions differ, as you know), and so does “Lord, let us know your will; lord, guide our nation in this election and help us to discern your meaning in its outcome.” I am myself inclined to think that many on Red Team with whom these prayers might resonate will be disposed to believe that Number One will have been granted in the event that McCain prevails and denied (for God’s own worthy but inscrutable purposes) if he does not; likewise that when it comes to discerning meaning in the outcome the inclination will be to regard a McCain win in the light of divine mercy and an Obama win in the light of stern providential justice visited upon an errant people. I don’t anticipate a lot of you concluding that the Almighty could look upon an Obama presidency as a bounty rather than as a chastisement, but this is perhaps part and parcel of the useful elasticity of the faith that moves mountains, if not always electorates.
My own politics are not informed by Christianity, and possibly for this reason (and certainly because — yay! — Blue Team is ahead at the moment) I am not disposed to see the race in such apocalyptic terms. Certainly the prospect of “as many as 3 comfortably-left leaning SCOTUS justices immediately escorted (nay, carried on shoulders) to their bench seats” fills me with cheer: hell, I’ll offer a shoulder of my own if it’s needed. In the meantime I will attempt to hold some equanimity in reserve, rather than corrode it with premature exultation, should it be required of me on November 5.
[Oh, I'm so relieved to know, Rand, that my prayer is acceptable to you and that you comprehend the "elasticity" of faith. Does it occur to you that the prayer is made in good faith, and - rather than mere, convenient "elasticity" it is about EXPANSIVENESS and BEING OPENED to meanings, and hence - ironically - a very LIBERAL mindset? No, somehow, people never seem to realize that. And thank you so much for "withholding" your premature exultation. I mean, I'm touched. If you get what you want, I hope it's what you thought you wanted. Additionally, you may claim to "seethe with goodwill" for me, but increasingly that sounds like a hiss, not only of condescension but of something quite different from goodwill. I don't know if I will continue to respond to it. -admin]
October 1st, 2008 at 3:14 pm
With you dear friend.
October 1st, 2008 at 3:34 pm
I will join you in your fast. Although I do feel deep in my heart that “something” is going to happen to show the American people the light of day, I cannot say what it is, I truly don’t know but am trusting in God’s Grace. It is unfathomable to me as to why so many are willing to buy into a lie, but that seems to be the case. At this point in time our best weapon is prayer. I have my bumper sticker posted for all to see, I will go and vote for the only possible candidate and leave the rest in God’s Hands.
October 1st, 2008 at 3:58 pm
I’ll fast with you through October, Anchoress, and here are my reasons:
Because I believe that we’ll not see another pro-life presidential ticket if the McCain/Palin ticket loses. No one will have that kind of courage again.
Because that video of the children singing for Obama that you posted yesterday literally gave me chills. The kind you get when truly frightened. To me, it looked like a Madrassa.
Because I believe that Obama is too liberal, too young and too full of himself to exercise proper judgement. He doesn’t know the things that only time can teach.
Because if Obama wins, superficiality wins also. We have too much of that already; we don’t need it to be institutionalized.
Because we can’t afford to reject everything McCain stands for (sacrifice, duty, honor, experience), and embrace everything Obama stands for (his own career).
October 1st, 2008 at 4:25 pm
Time for a Hail Mary pass?…
Quoted from a piece by the Anchoress:It’s time for the GOP and people on the right to realize that - for now - the rules have changed. There is a whole ‘nother rulebook being used, and sitting around flapping the old rule book and whining “c’mo…
October 1st, 2008 at 4:57 pm
The entire GOP, McCain included, seems to have *no idea* who they’re up against or what the stakes are. That one could even mention “bipartisanship” as a desirable principle under these circumstances is nothing short of appalling. Perhaps it will take the outrage of living under the tender mercies of our leftist betters to cause Republicans to either grow a pair or simply be replaced by those who are ready, willing and able to go for leftist jugulars. One thing I would not look forward to would be more getting rolled like a bunch of sissy boys even after we win, which is the typical pattern for the GOP (and even that is starting to look like a moot point).
But perhaps voters are simply lacking in data. The next two, four, or eight years are going to be one hell of an education.
If McCain doesn’t have one hell of a trick up his sleeve, then this thing’s already over. At the convention it seemed like he’d magically turned over a new leaf. But all I see now is the same old McCain. The same old “bipartisan” chump, whose governing philosophy is, at best, thoroughly incoherent.
I’ve already been fasting for the election. Also daily rosaries. My church is doing 2000 Hail Marys this Sunday. I’ll be continuing the fast until the feast of the Immaculate Conception (Dec
in thanksgiving, no matter the outcome.
October 1st, 2008 at 4:58 pm
It looks like my December eighth, above was rendered as a smiley…
October 1st, 2008 at 4:59 pm
Anchoress,
Count me in. I am with you.
I remember back in early July when Senator McCain and his wife visited the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City. I am praying that She, not only the Patroness of the Americas but the Patroness of the Unborn, will give McCain and Gov. Palin wisdom, courage, strength and protection.
October 1st, 2008 at 5:09 pm
I do not doubt that the prayer is made in good faith, Anchoress, and I said nothing about prayers being “acceptable” or not. At the same time, I do come to such a discussion as an outsider, insofar as religious faith does not loom large either in my temperament or in my evaluation of the world. I won’t pretend to a piety I do not possess, and when I speak of the elasticity of belief I refer to its readiness — or expansiveness or openness to meanings, if you wish — to see the hand of providence in every outcome. I obviously prefer and better understand my own stance; I don’t presume or attempt to repudiate yours.
I make no bones about hoping for an Obama victory. The responses here to such an outcome, in your postings and among your regular commentators, should prove
If Obama prevails, I do not doubt that the responses here, whether at odds or in conformance with my expectations as set forth in #7, will have something to teach me.
[Not to worry Rand, I do think - or I like to think - that the readers here are the sorts who are thoughtful and magnanimous and not spiteful, either in victory or defeat. But I know from 2006, that I will not be able to expect a whole lot of magnanimity from the left should they win. One thing I never understood in '06 was how people could be so miserable in victory. And you did not complete your thought in your penultimate paragraph - admin]
October 1st, 2008 at 5:40 pm
[...] It’s time for the GOP and people on the right to realize that - for now - the rules have changed. There is a whole ‘nother rulebook being used, and [...]
October 1st, 2008 at 5:52 pm
[...] It’s time for a blitz October 1, 2008 The Anchoress thinks that McCain needs to make a Hail Mary Pass. The Anchoress has all but conceded the Presidential election. But watching this past week, I [...]
October 1st, 2008 at 6:49 pm
[...] the Anthill PennJersey.info Forums Michelle Malkin Blatherings Blog RedState Sooshi Soo Shopfloor The Anchoress The Palin Report Tech Support Forums - TechIMO.com Needs of the Many Constitutional Conservatism [...]
October 1st, 2008 at 9:16 pm
(the hazards of cut-and-paste and an incoming telephone call)
the penultimate paragraph (refreshing to see “penultimate” used correctly — but you are an editor by profession, I believe) and the last between them convey the intended meaning, albeit inelegantly.
[They do, but the incomplete sentence bothers me. It's untidy. -admin]
October 1st, 2008 at 9:25 pm
I am on-board, and started my fast with Fr. Pavone and the Priests for Life and their “40 days for Life” campaign. http://www.priestsforlife.org/40days/
No sweets, no between-meal snacks, no alcohol ’till Election day.
Small sacrifices, certainly, but done with great love. Well, it *is* the Feast of St. Terese …
October 1st, 2008 at 9:40 pm
The real issue is can a democracy survive with the media in the tank. I found it interesting to witness Ifill on meet the press being interview by Russert about Imus comments. she says the issue on his willingness to apologize is that he is only sorry because he was caught and the this was enough. Yet she has no understanding of the issue of her writing this book and not reclusing herself when asked to do the debate. She cannot even see a conflict so she will play the race card.
[edited to admit link - admin]
October 1st, 2008 at 9:54 pm
My family and I are in for the praying and fasting. I also have the sense that God has something up His sleeve to “deliver us from evil” this election. Let’s fast, pray, and then watch our God at work.
October 1st, 2008 at 10:59 pm
[...] the minds of many undecided voters. Being aggressive, with a smile, is probably her best strategy. As the Anchoress muses here, the media rules have changed and it’s essential for both Palin and McCain to realize it and [...]
October 2nd, 2008 at 8:22 am
Yes, I’m in on praying and fasting. I also am struggling very hard to love the enemy and to see Christ in all people, and if I can’t do that, then to pray for them (and I don’t mean the “Lord, smite them!” kind of prayer, I mean the “Lord, have mercy on their souls” kind of prayer). We cannot give in to hating the media, or the Dems, or Acorn, or the neighbor down the block with an Obama sign. If we do, we fall into the trap. This clearly is a spiritual battle being waged, and as Sarah Palin quoted Lincoln, we need to pray not that God is on our side, but that we are on God’s side.
October 2nd, 2008 at 1:53 pm
I’m in, plus a novena. Personally, I keep thinking about that quote attributed to Alexis de Tocqueville: “America is great because she is good. If America ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.” The way people have been talking (and writing), it seems that this election is a major crossroad on that road.
October 4th, 2008 at 12:43 am
Sarah Palin is phenomenal. Talk about a learning curve, five weeks in and all hopes rest on Sarah at the VP debate, no thanks to Katie Couric. Sarah knocks it out of the ballpark; again. However, there’s an observation I’d like to make about Democratic politicians. A faux pas they commit with increased regularity. I’m sure you’ve noticed. I call it the Bozo Factor. Now if you don’t like Bozo the clown, if you feel that he is a particularly bad clown and bad for the country, why then don a Bozo wig, a pair of size 14 shoes, and a rubber nose when denouncing Bozo? If there’s an official uniform of the president, it’s the pastel blue tie, white shirt, and dark suit first popularized by George W. Bush. The color scheme comes from the presidential flag. No other American president made those colors his distinctive style before George W. Bush. In 2004, Bill Clinton even had his presidential portrait painted wearing George W’s signature garb. Although the 1960 Kennedy vs. Nixon debate was televised in black & white, people still argue the importance color played during the election. But, there’s no confusion to this day about which candidate wore what color. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. And, the fashion police have long memories. Ms. Palin dressed for and aced the debate. Note: before castigating Bozo, please try not to emulate Bozo. It makes one look like a Bozo: http://theseedsof9-11.com