mavericks.jpgThe great myth being spun at the Republican convention is that John McCain and Sarah Palin represent some maverick, reformist spirit that will redeem the Republican Party by rejecting the politics and legacy of George Bush and Dick Cheney. It is a myth happily spread by a cynical Brooks and gullible Broder and those in the Beltway media who are not yet disgusted by the campaign’s astonishing mendacity.

But it is a false and dangerous myth.

The reality is that neither McCain nor Palin is a maverick; they are instead captives of the right wing religious and policy extremism that now defines the soul of the Republican Party.

The proof of their complete capture lies in the McCain campaign’s continuing insistence that, despite all the startling revelations concerning Sarah Palin, they thoroughly vetted her and found nothing disqualifying. And from the religious right’s point of view, they are right.

It doesn’t matter whether Palin abused her position in a personal vendetta, that she lied about her support for the bridge to nowhere and lobbied for earmarks, or that she and her husband hung out with an extremist states rights secessionist group. Nor does it matter that her claims to be a reformer are belied by her sponsorship of 527 committees to help reelect one of Alaska’s most corrupt politicians. None of those sins touches the core reasons her supporters are thrilled by her ascension to a heart beat from the American Presidency.

It doesn’t even matter that her exposure to national and foreign policy consists of hoping God will reveal whatever plan HE has for a gas pipeline that brings royalties to her state or an aggressive war that spawns manly heroes like John McCain.

What matters is that she shares a belief system with millions on the religious right that it’s okay to deny teenagers information about birth control and public support for teen mothers , that it’s essential children be taught to doubt biological science or global warming, that it’s okay to purge librarians and ban books that might challenge their narrow belief system, or deny equal dignity for women and gays. It’s a sign of good upbringing that she grew up and hung out with an extremist sect that would exclude liberals from heaven and looks for the rapture at the end of days.

What matters is that she can, without the slightest recognition of hypocrisy, express pride in her own and her daughter’s moral "decisions" without conceding that within their oppressive religious framework, there never was a real choice. Had she or her daughter even considered a different decision, the crushing weight of that social order would have crashed down on them and they would have been rejected, shunned. Hence, no real choice should be afforded to others, who, unlike true servants, simply cannot be trusted to make moral decisions on their own.

These appalling attributes should automatically disqualify Sarah Palin from any major public office, but to her supporters they are the very things that make her ideal. She is one of them, and now one of their own will become the model for American womanhood, the personification of public morals and the rationale for public service.

Forced by his advisers and the zealots in his own party from even considering Republicans who might have put a different face on the party, defined a different future, or allowed a genuine maverick to pursue genuine reforms, McCain has now shown he does not control the most basic function of any administration, the power to make appointments.

Panicked, running out of time, and motivated primarily by the need to step on Obama’s favorable news coverage, he too made a decision without choice; millions of Americans just like Palin will not allow John McCain to reject her. To remain a remotely viable candidate, he felt compelled to disregard the national interest and the concerns of a large majority of Americans who would never in a thousand years have selected Sarah Palin to be in line for the Presidency.

The Maverick is dead. The religious right tortured his candidacy until he gave in to the Party’s right wing extremists, and now they have captured him and his party. With their influence, they fully expect she and they will control Supreme Court appointments and appointments and decisions throughout the federal government, a Monica Goodling doing God’s will, vetting from the top. And McCain’s advisers know it, so they’re slamming the media for reporting McCain’s predicament.

America’s religious nut jobs are in rapture because they’ve captured the Republican Party, and their 72 year-old nominee, who once understood the need to keep these wackos in check, is either too weak or too ambitious to stop them. Heaven help us all.

Related posts:

  1. Late Night: Finally, I Agree with Fox – Napolitano Calls Palin a “Goofball”
  2. Sarah Palin: Not a True Libertarian’s Cup of Tea
  3. She can see NY-23rd from there
  4. Live Blog: Palin Speaks at Tea Party Nation
  5. Late Night: God’s Great Design for Sarah Palin