Uppity Wisconsin

Conservatives who subscribed last year to the osmosis theory of church and state -- the one that said public officials were responsible for and agreed with everything their pastors say and do, unless they specifically condemn or disavow it -- will be surprised to discover the liberal views of Scott Walker, Republican candidate for governor.

The Heartland Hollar blog features a remarkable video of Walker's pastor, the Rev. Jamie Washam, who -- unlike Walker --- opposed the state's ban on gay marriages.   [UPDATE: Walker now says he attends a different church, although Rev. Washam's church was listed in his campaign biography in 2005, the year she was marching against the Iraq war (above.)  More at end of this post.]

She also -- unlike Walker-- supports women's reproductive rights, and -- unlike You-Know-Who -- was an early, vocal opponent of the war in Iraq. The photo above shows her marching with Clergy and Laity Concerned in Washington in 2005, when US combat deaths totaled about 1,500.

Update: McCain Extends His Outreach, but Evangelicals Are Still Wary

Update: McCain's Evangelical Problem 

Obama advocates (especially voters in Wisconsin prideful that their state is the turning point in the destruction of Hillary’s Democratic coalition) concerned about the recent pro-McCain coverage on CNN and MSNBC as a precursor of biased media treatment to come can relax.

McCain is a fatally weak GOP candidate to face Obama, and it’s likely that many GOP movement wingers see him as a 2008 sacrificial sheep happily slaughtered to the 2012-2016 gods.

There's no open talk from GOP insiders of course, but there is a secret let-McCain-fall program: Call it McCainCon [a play on the secret EComCon conspiracy from the Seven Days in May movie based on the Fletcher Knebel- Charles W. Bailey II book].

I'm suggesting a plot by conservative movement officers to sabotage the GOP nominee for president of the United States.

And conservatives need only participate with faint energy in the campaign to add their support to this McCainCon conspiracy, watching a man they dislike take the fall in a Goldwateresque election for the GOP.

Consider some structural election facts and Democratic capabilities.

Assuming the GOP nomination is not settled by Wisconsin's primary on Feb. 19, one might believe that born-again frontrunner Senator John McCain would be a great fit for Wisconsin.

Self-proclaimed straight talker, with a reputation as a maverick, McCain has a lot of appeal.

But today's Wisconsin GOP is not that of 20 years ago, and McCain's appeal to political independents would fail here as his straight-talk express is revealed as another media creation lacking substance and conviciton.

Democrats, and the vast majority of Americans not adherring to rightwing ideology are looking forward to a John McCain GOP nomination for president, because it would come up way short.

McCain faces the impossible task of disentangling himself from George W. Bush and the close-to-impossible task of bringing along the religious right in a general election.