Do not expect Sarah Palin to fade into obscurity. That is not part of the master plan and she clearly is not going away. Since losing the election, Palin has been interviewed by Greta Van Susteren (FOX), has appeared on Larry King Live and has done a two-part interview with Wolf Blitzer (CNN). Some Republicans believe she is the future of the Republican party while others believe she will be its downfall. With the leverage the Christian right has in Republican party politics, many believe that Sarah Palin will be a big part of the GOP retooling.
It's no easier to listen to Sarah Palin today. She is no eloquent speaker. However, listen I must and I have noticed a marked difference. Sarah Palin references God and her faith much more than she did during the McCain campaign. She is no longer restricted by McCain's campaign strategy.
Pre-Palin Dominionist politicians
Republicans have already elected Dominionist public servants, perhaps unwittingly. US Senator Sam Brownback, Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee and Colorado Representative Tom Tancredo are all Dominionists. All three ran for president in 2008, with varying degrees of success. Perhaps the most infamous, however, is former Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris – famous for helping George Bush win the presidency in 2000. She later went on to win a seat in the US House of Representatives.
In 2006, Harris went into a rambling, run-on explanation about how religion fits into government that rivals anything Sarah Palin said during this election season. Harris said, “The Bible says we are to be salt and light. And salt and light means not just in the church and not just as a teacher or as a pastor or a banker or lawyer, but in government and we have to have the faithful in government and over time, that lie we have been told, the separation of church and state, people have internalized, thinking that they needed to avoid politics and that is so wrong because God is the one who chooses our rulers.” Thankfully, God did not choose her return to the House of Representatives.
Amen, Katherine. You could almost miss the salient points if you became distracted and spent your time constructing sentences for her.
Today, Tancredo and Brownback still serve in the House and Senate. Tom Tancredo has announced that he will not run again. Mike Huckabee is still active in conservative Republican politics and will, no doubt, be back himself in 2012. Katherine Harris went from being Florida's Secretary of State to serving in the US House of Representatives from 2002 to 2007. She lost a Senate bid in 2006.
In the face of mixed results and a 'loss' in the presidential race, the Christian right and the Dominionists will regroup. As their schools turn out soldiers for the radical Christian cause, their ranks will increase and tactics sharpen. They must not be ignored.
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