Palin Talks Up "Ohio-Alaskan Connection" in Buckeye State; Democrats grow fearful

By Chad D. Baus

The Washington Post is reporting that in her first solo fundraiser as the GOP vice presidential nominee in Canton, Ohio, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin highlighted what she calls "that Ohio-Alaskan connection."

After noting that her seven-year old daughter Piper "was wearing her Ohio State cheerleading outfit" as she bounded down the stairs to welcome her home last week, the life-long NRA member made it the point that she has taken a tough line against predators (approving the shooting of wolves from helicopters), just like Ohioans target coyotes.

"It's a pretty darn controversial thing up in Alaska, but you've gotta do what you've gotta do!" she declared.

From the story:

Palin made it clear that she and John McCain were focused on the state -- "Ohio has got to be a victorious state for us, for the ticket," she said -- and she recalled how warmly she felt about the state's delegation when she delivered her keynote address at the GOP Convention.

"There Ohio was right out in front, right in front of me. The teleprompter got messed up, I couldn't follow it, and I just decided I'd just talk to the people in front of me," she said, referring to the minor technical malfunction she faced. "It was Ohio."

According to local businessman Tim Timken, the fundraiser "raised just shy of $1 million."

Meanwhile, the Cleveland Plain Dealer is reporting that Democrats are worried that Palin has boosted McCain's prospects in the state, and that Obama has his work cut out for him if he wants to secure Ohio's crucial 20 electoral votes.

Stephen Madru, Democratic Party Chairman in Ross County in southern Ohio, said he fears Palin is attracting gun owners and religious conservatives in southern Ohio who previously were unimpressed by McCain.

"I thought they just wouldn't vote. Now I'm afraid they are going to vote, which tends to change the whole dynamics of the thing," he said. "It scares the heck out of me."

In Geauga County, Democratic Chairwoman Janet Carson old the Plain Dealer that McCain's choice of Palin was "a brilliant pick."

"Sarah Palin is exactly what McCain needs to appeal to a broader base of voters. It has made our job harder," said Carson.

Two polls released this week highlight Democratic concerns about the challenge facing Obama. The Ohio Poll, released Friday by the University of Cincinnati, shows McCain ahead 48-44. The Quinnipiac University Poll, released Thursday, shows Obama ahead 49-44.

In both polls, McCain has the edge among independent voters and is way ahead in southeast Ohio, a region [Ohio Gov. Ted] Strickland and both Clintons won. Quinnipiac shows 28 percent of Clinton primary voters supporting McCain.

"It isn't going to come easy," Dan Saks, a Clark County Democratic official, said of former Joyce Foundation board member Barack Obama's presidential hopes.

Saks said McCain's bounce in the polls after the GOP convention was "a bit of a wake-up call" for Democrats in his swing county, which sits between Columbus and Dayton.

"The newness of Sarah Palin certainly raised the excitement level" among Republican and independent voters, he told the newspaper.

Across the country, in states where gun rights issues are preeminent in the minds of voters, polls indicate a trend back toward Republicans as America becomes more familiar with Obama's history.

From the Washington Times:

Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama's hopes for carrying Montana have diminished over the past few months, and Montanans say it comes down to one word: guns.

"In Montana, we like our guns. We like big guns. We like little guns. We like shotguns. We like pistols. Most of us own two or three guns. Gun control is hitting what you shoot at," the state's Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer told the New York Times in April. When asked why he thought the Democratic nominee would not win his state, he replied, "guns."

After Al Gore narrowly lost the 2000 election, President Clinton said his support for gun control was partly to blame for his defeat. Then-Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe urged his party to abandon gun control issues in future campaigns. "I believe we ought to move it out, let the individual communities decide their gun laws and how guns ought to be treated," he said at the time.

Democrats have spent much of the past few years attempting to moderate their tone on guns. Where Democrat candidates are genuinely pro-gun, such as in Ohio's 2006 contests for governor and attorney general, campaigns have had success.

But gun owners are quite good at smoking out fakes. We didn't fall for John Kerry's Ohio goose hunt ("Can I get me a huntin' license here?"), and we aren't going to fall for it when Obama, who once sat on the board of the very organization that funds Ohio's home-grown gun ban lobby, adopts Monster.com billionaire Andrew McKelvey's strategy to hide his extreme gun control record in language designed to fool gun owners.

Chad D. Baus is the Buckeye Firearms Association Vice Chairman.

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