Another Corpulent, Dyspeptic, Pompous, Self-serving Son Of A Bitch Buys A Ticket On The Double Talk Express... To Nowhere

Most people just dismiss conservative direct mail guru and far right icon Paul Weyrich as a perennial malcontent and a kook. In fact, John McCain has been a good deal less generous in his descriptions of Weyrich, most of which can't be published at DWT because of McCain's overly colorful language-- even worse than what he calls Cindy! But in his 2002 book, Worth Fighting For-- no this isn't the one where he claims (falsely) to have invented the Blackberry, nor the hula-hoop, the Edsel, fire, marbles, paper-- McCain wrote that "Weyrich possesses the attributes of a Dickensian villain. Corpulent and dyspeptic, his mouth set in a perpetual sneer as if life in general were an unpleasant experience, he is the embodiment of the caricature often used to unfairly malign all religious conservatives.... I like to think I know a pompous, self-serving son of a bitch when I see one."

And Weyrich, though not nearly as potty-mouthed as McCain, has been no fan of his either. During the primary season Weyrich was regularly describing McCain as the worst possible case for the GOP and he vowed to vote for a third party candidate if McCain managed to get the nomination. "I will not vote for him. I can't." Of course, that was then.

As Right Wing Watch pointed out this morning, "like just about every other right-wing leader who once declared McCain utterly unacceptable, Weyrich has changed his tune:

They only started speaking again after nineteen years.  Both have been quite open in saying why they held one another in “minimum high regard.” Their animosity toward each other is well known in national political circles.

But Paul Weyrich, one of the godfathers of the modern conservative movement, put all of that aside last week when he strongly endorsed John McCain for President.

And how did this come about? Because McCain once again realized it suited his political interest to grovel:

After he nailed down the Republican nomination, Weyrich [said], the Arizonan “came to my office to see me.  We talked things over and he asked for my support.”

Apparently McCain decided that what his campaign desperately needed was the support of at least one more “corpulent and dyspeptic… pompous, self-serving son of a bitch.”

It was more than that though. According to a report in the National Journal one can conclude that Weyrich promised to support McCain if McCain picked a bona fide far right extremist as his running mate. McCain wanted Lieberman but was convinced that that would be the ultimate kiss of death.

About a month ago, conservative activist Paul Weyrich delivered a message to John McCain's campaign managers: The Republican presidential candidate should make Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin his running mate. Weyrich even dared McCain. "I don't believe he's got the guts to do it," he told a campaign staffer.

...[W]ith the selection of Palin, all is forgiven. McCain understood the stakes, Weyrich said. "He realized he had to listen to the base-- the base was clamoring for her."

And what about McCain's temperament? "He wants this [election] bad enough that he has been restrained," Weyrich told NJ. "I figured he'd be blowing up all over the place. He hasn't. Not once. He has shown extraordinary discipline."

"Palin is right on every issue-- she's better than he is," Weyrich added. "She's for drilling in Alaska and he's not. She doesn't support [the campaign finance law] McCain-Feingold and he does. She's good on immigration and he isn't."

Weyrich even said he will publicly endorse McCain-- a move he resisted when the senator from Arizona asked him earlier this year. "I was going to swallow hard and vote against Obama," Weyrich said. "Now I actually have a reason to vote for McCain."

Other right wing extremists in control of dark corners of the crumbling GOP who have changed their minds about voting against McCain because of Palin:
Phyllis Schafly, who says she hopes McCain will catch up with Palin.
Jimmy Dobson: "A lot of people were praying, and I believe Sarah Palin is God's answer."
Steve Scheffler: "Picking Palin ignites the bonfire-- people will be excited. I will walk on broken glass or do whatever I can to get this team elected."