Mavericks?

Samuel Maverick was a slave owning entrepreneur descended from a long line of Southerners. He became a Texas land baron, politician and cattleman before he died in 1970. When cattlemen adopted branding to avoid confusion over cattle ownership and to eliminate the violent confrontations that sometimes resulted from such confusion, Samuel was the only one who stubbornly refused to brand his cattle. When stampedes or wanderings mingled herds, the animals were separated by brands and the those with no brand, "Mavericks", were given back to Samuel. The name then started to be applied to a person with a streak of stubborn single-mindedness and apparent unwillingness to work cooperatively. Over time, perhaps aided 50 years ago by the James Garner western TV series, "Maverick", the name has acquired a more admirable association, as an individual who courageously stands up to abusive power.

John McCain has been a Republican all his life. Early in his long tenure as a U.S. Senator, McCain got into serious conflict of interest trouble involving campaign contributions. He was so scared by the experience that he turned in the other direction, proposing campaign finance limits, much to the chagrin of the Republican power holders who became annoyed at McCain and kept him out of the power loop in retaliation. McCain paid them back by once in a while bucking them on a vote and by cultivating good will with the press who liked his poking at Republican power. The Maverick label was applied, even though there was no question he belonged to the Republican herd. He was like a branded calf who occasionally strays for a little run and but always skedaddles back where he knows he belongs.

McCain has long had Presidential aspirations. For the 2000 election, he made his run. After a quick start, he was cut off at the ankles by Bush/Rove. He fumed about that for a while, but then as the very long 2008 campaigning was coming on, he thrust his sometime arguably marginal Maverick rump into the hot iron and became 90% Bush/Cheney branded.

Sarah Palin bears the brand of a Republican of extreme right wing views. She was hand picked for Republican boot camp, to learn how to work the culture wars and how to avoid giving honest answers on the issues. She played the Alaska Republican game and then, while serving as a commission appointee, she seized an opportunity to jump ahead by joining in condemnation of wrongdoing by fellow Republican commissioners and resigning the little time left in her appointment. Next, seeing the crooked incumbent Republican Governor was vulnerable, Palin claimed courageous reformer credentials as a result of her commission experience and entered a congested primary and won. For these actions, she is now claiming to be a fellow Maverick with John.

After eight years of Bush/Cheney, America is in terrible shape and headed in the wrong direction, as over 80% of Americans honestly admit. The branding iron shows McCain and Palin belong to the same Republican herd as Bush/Cheney. That is why they are claiming to be Mavericks. They don't want to be sent back where they belong, with the rest of the Republicans, to that bogus ranch in Crawford. Democrats need to keep riding herd to make sure everyone knows where these two head belong.