Women’s Health
& Annual Exams
Anne Marie Moore, WHNP-BC
541-393-2334
Friendly,
personalized &
compassionate
healthcare
Nurse Practioner, Board Certified
annemariemoore.com
a pint
viewpoint
BY JIM WEAVER
A Palin Presidency?
Political infighting could make it happen
M
any people fi nd it diffi cult to imagine Sarah
Palin being elected president of the U.S. I
believe she has a good chance. She may
not be able to achieve the Republican nomination,
but she does not need it. She may even be better
off running as an independent. She is well known,
has an aggressive base, and can make her own
waves.
Running as an independent, and concentrating
her campaign in a few choice states, she has only
to garner enough electoral votes in a very close race
to throw the election into the House. In the House the
advantage is hers. The House is now and likely to remain after the 2012
general election a widely conservative bastion. A swinging, loud-talking
candidate would be just its cup of tea. Palin is the very person to pull it off.
It may seem that an election in the House is a long shot (it has not
happened since 1824) but in today’s polarized electorate there are
four distinct camps: liberals, mainstream conservatives, the Christian
evangelicals and ardent Tea Partiers, none of them in their fervor willing to
make compromises. That makes it much more diffi cult for one candidate to
forge a coalition to gain a majority in the Electoral College.
President Obama lacks the enthusiasm he had in 2008, and with
continuing high unemployment a virtual certainty, his health-care law
a drag and the war in Afghanistan discouraging liberals, he will not run
strongly — especially in the South.
Mitt Romney, the likely Republican candidate, is a Northerner, a Mormon
and forced to defend his own Massachusetts health-care bill. He will
meet a lukewarm reception in the South as well. With weak Democratic
and Republican candidates the race will be neck-and-neck in the general
election. That is Palin’s opportunity to deprive either of a majority in the
Electoral College. She needs only to carry a few states with pluralities to
send the election into the House.
An election in the House is quite a different matter from an election
in the Electoral College. Under the 12th Amendment to the Constitution,
each state has but one vote. California with a 53-member House delegation
has one vote, as does South Dakota with one member. Only the top three
candidates in the Electoral College would be considered and one of them
would have to be elected. The one and two House member states — with
archly conservative delegations — would alone put her far ahead in the
House vote, so far in front that Obama and Romney would appear to
have little chance. Their House proponents are bunched in the few large
coastal and rust belt states that have no more clout than Alaska, Montana
and Wyoming. That would put enormous pressure on House members in
the middle ranking states such as Nevada, Wisconsin, Missouri, Indiana,
Kentucky, West Virginia and Palin’s new home state, Arizona.
The political infi ghting would be fi erce. The scramble for House members
explosive. Twenty-six states would be needed. But the odds would favor
Sarah Palin.
Jim Weaver of Eugene represented the Fourth Congressional District from 1975 to 1987 and is author of Two
Kinds: The Genetic Origins of Conservatives and Liberals.
is just right!
Visit us for cleaning, exams
& x-rays & receive a custom
set of bleach trays at no
additional cost!
$350 value
Dari Mart proudly introduces Lochmead ice cream in a convenient
snack-sized pint.
Count on Dari Mart for the freshest milk and ice cream.
All natural Lochmead ice cream, now in pints!
Binder
Family Dental
General Dentistry
for the Whole Family
New Patients Of All
Ages Are Welcome
1110 Fairfi eld,
Eugene, OR 97402
6 JULY 14, 2011 EUGENE WEEKLY
• Preventive & Periodontal care
• Oral surgery & Endodontics
• Crowns, bridges, & implant
restorations
• Dentures and partials
• Sedation options available
• Invisalign
Visa • Master Card • Care Credit Accepted
Insurance Services Provided
We off er a 5% discount for cash or check payment if
services are paid in full at the time of service
541-689-1645
WWW.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM • BLOGS.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM