The Republican Base

▸ adjective: not adhering to ethical or moral principles

“I believe she’ll be the first female president of the United States,” said Michael Levan, 54, a small-business owner who lives outside Williamsport. He said that her entry into the election was as if “Elvis had entered the building” and said, “She grabbed through the TV and grabbed me. She connects with ordinary people. Plus she’s not bad to look at.”

(For all the enthusiasm Levan expressed for Palin and McCain, whom he called a “straight shooter,” his true motivation for attending the rally seemed rooted more in his visceral, and racially motivated, dislike of Barack Obama. “He’s a little chimpanzee,” said Levan, who wore a shirt that said “Bada Bing” above the silhouette of a naked reclining woman, and attended the rally with his parents. “He’s a socialist, Marxist, Leninist little chimp.”)

Finally, they bowed their heads for a reverend’s prayer asking forgiveness for their opponents spilling “innocent blood through the course of abortions” and “trying to stop the sanctity of marriage” and trying to “remove the guns from our cabinets” and clenched their eyes shut as the pastor said, “Father, tonight I thank you for raising such a woman as Governor Sarah Palin,” and asked God to give her “the words and the wisdom and the great grace to continue.” Then local officials and candidates offered dry speeches that elicited no reaction from the crowd other than chants of “We Can’t Hear You.”

Also see: THE REPUBLICAN BASE: STUPID PEOPLE, by Erich Shulte