Cairo Association of Teachers - Newsletter



CAT Tracks for October 28, 2008
PALIN POWER...FAILURE

Been known to go to great lengths for a joke...

Yesterday, it was 35 miles...to Cape Girardeau, MO!

Hey, I told you I was leaving home to go get my ticket to ride the Palin Express, which boards on Thursday at 8:30 a.m. sharp! Why would I lie about something like that???

Okay, actually, I left home to go to Walmart. BUT...Palin Mania did cross my mind and caused me to detour to Cape instead of Anna to do my shopping. Sure enough, when I completed my shopping, it was 3:15 p.m. Figured it would be a "hoot" to get a Palin ticket to post on CAT Tracks...to show my support! (Actually, I was planning to auction it off on eCAT...setting a minimum offer of 2 cents...hoping to get an offer!)

Well, the best laid plans of CATs and men...

While driving down Kingshighway looking for the Cape County Republican Headquarters, what did I see...

Hey...mid-40's AND a line!!! Sorry, CATs...silly, I may be...but NOT crazy! (PLUS, I feared that the raging white mob might sniff out my Obama leanings...beat me...carve a backward "S" or "J" upon my cheek...getting revenge for last week!)

So, no ticket...no possible economic windfall from my anticipated eCAT auction. (Probably would have been illegal...scalping free tickets to a national political event.)

Oh, well...

However, a perfect political storm DID occur. After catching Palin fever yesterday and receiving a tip from a friend in an e-mail, I have taken on a burden for the good of America. Putting my personal reservations aside, I have taken the advice of "John the Politician" and decided to put COUNTRY FIRST...

Breaking News... from CNN, the CAT News Network! (If, like I, you are on dial-up...go shoot and field-dress a moose, cast an early ballot, or something. THEN come back and click the "Election 2008" panel under my name.)

I am Ron Newell and I approve this message!


From the Southeast Missourian...


Hundreds line up for tickets to see Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin speak in Cape Girardeau

Jackie Griffith was first in line Monday at Cape Girardeau County Republican headquarters for tickets to see Alaska governor and GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin on Thursday at the Show Me Center.

Huddled against the office door to stay out of the chilly winds blowing along Kingshighway, Griffith said shortly before 3 p.m. that she had been standing in line since 1:20 p.m. after hearing Palin would visit Southeast Missouri.

"A little sacrifice is good for the party," Griffith said.

By the time doors opened 30 minutes late to distribute the tickets — with a six per person maximum — the line had grown to more than 200 people standing along the western side of the road. Hundreds more waited patiently in line at the Osage Community Centre, where an alternative distribution site was established to ease parking problems at the political headquarters.

Palin will headline a rally that local Republicans hope will be the kickoff to a massive get-out-the-vote effort. A major party candidate appearance helps rally the troops and identify volunteers who will make telephone calls, knock on doors and help drive voters needing a ride to the polls, said Donna Lichtenegger, former county vice-chairwoman and local leader of U.S. Rep. Kenny Hulshof's campaign for governor.

"It is always fun when the big guys come to town," Lichtenegger said.

Palin's visit will be the first by a major party nominee to Southeast Missouri since the national nominating conventions in August. Palin is the running mate of U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the Republican nominee.

U.S. Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, the Democratic nominee, visited Cape Girardeau in May before he had secured nomination.

While Griffith waited at the front of the line, at the end of the line just before 3 p.m. stood Karla Kiefner of Cape Girardeau County and Debby Schaefer of Cincinnati, who was in town for Southeast Missouri State University's homecoming and decided to stay after hearing about the rally. "I'm going to stay to see our girl," Schaefer said.

Kiefner said she hoped to get the full allotment of six tickets and said that if she did she would bring her two daughters, ages 12 and 16, to hear the Alaska governor.

"It is a historic event and she is a good role model," Kiefner said. "They are very aware of the political process."

McCain was not the first choice of voters in Southeast Missouri in the Republican presidential primary. Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee won many counties, while former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney carried Cape Girardeau County. There was no lack of enthusiasm, however, for the McCain-Palin ticket among those who stood patiently until the tickets arrived.

"She just made me more enthusiastic," Kiefner said. "She brought a real face to the ticket."

At the Osage Center, Jim Houseworth of Carterville, Ill., left work and drove to Cape Girardeau to make sure he secured a seat. "It's a big deal," he said, noting that he would be bringing his two college-age daughters and friends to the rally. "If people saw the truth, they would feel the same way."

If any tickets remain, they may be picked up at one of four sites around Southeast Missouri. There is a limit of six tickets per person and the person requesting the tickets will be required to give their name and full address. The information will be used to fill out databases of GOP supporters in the area.

For tickets, contact one of the following locations between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. today and Wednesday:

- Cape Girardeau County Republican Headquarters, 601 N. Kingshighway, Cape Girardeau.

- Butler County Republican Headquarters, 1901A Greenwood Drive, Poplar Bluff, Mo.

- Scott County Republican Headquarters, 900 S. Main St., Sikeston, Mo.

- St. Francois County Republican Headquarters, 301 N. Washington, Farmington, Mo.