Republicans for Obama has just sent out a press that says GOP Presidential nominee Sen. John McCain’s choice of Gov. Sarah Palin for Vice President has helped the group out:
It looks like “social conservatives” aren’t the only group of Republicans motivated by John McCain’s selection of Sarah Palin as his running mate. Another group– Republicans for Obama– is increasingly speaking out against what it sees as the latest example of the Republican party’s inattention to bread and butter issues such as the economy, fiscal discipline and national security.
The organization’s Director, John Martin, has seen firsthand the effect the Palin pick has had on this maverick group of Republican Party members. “Polls show that anywhere between 7 and 12 percent of Republicans will vote for Barack Obama in November. From what we’ve seen so far, more undecided Republicans have come on board because of the Palin choice– we’ve heard it in emails sent to our group, and all over our organization’s website. Even after Palin’s speech at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday, it’s still unclear how she will help John McCain address our nation’s ailing economy. Our party continues to be out of touch with the average American.”
Actually, we’ll know more in coming days after the GOP convention bounce is fully measured and both parties’ convention bounces wear off about Palin’s overall impact on the race. She has energized the GOP’s social conservative base and has energized Democrats to send contributions to Obama. The impact on non-social conservative GOPers and independent voters has yet to be fully measured. And then the question becomes whether McCain suffered a net gain or net loss due to the pick.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.