Miss. delegates enthused by Republican convention
Mississippi Republicans weren’t too worried about the fall presidential race when they arrived at the party’s national convention here this week. After all, the last Democrat to win in the state was Jimmy Carter in 1976.
But some weren’t all that enthused.
That all changed with the selection and subsequent performance of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as the party’s vice presidential candidate. She injected energy into the convention that Mississippi delegates hope to take home with them.
“I think it was a game changer; it was an election changer,” 3rd District Rep. Chip Pickering said. “The Republican ticket is the ticket of reform and change.”
“They can’t define us as the same old Republicans, or Bush Republicans,” Pickering said. “If you look at history, the populist ticket always beats the elitist ticket. (After Palin’s speech) we became the populist ticket.”
Even before the Palin selection, polls showed Republican nominee John McCain with a double-digit lead in Mississippi. But her selection brought on board such prominent social conservatives as James Dobson of Focus on the Family.
Jamie Franks, Mississippi Democratic Party chairman, however, said McCain’s selection of Palin “highlights a serious lack of judgment.” He cited that Palin has been a small-town mayor and lacks national security experience compared with Sen. Joe Biden, Sen. Barack Obama’s running mate.
Clarion Ledger
9/5/8
Magnolia Tribune
