[No] Change GOP Style

Some things never change no matter how much lip service the Republican Party talking heads give to moving the party more in the direction of most Americans. The themes of God, guns and gay bashing just seem too well loved among the he GOP base to give up. New evidence of this reality comes from both sides of the country. First, in Virginia we have the new "moderate" Bob "Taliban Bob" McDonnell announcing that he will campaign around the Commonwealth with Mike Huckabee - the same Mike Huckabee who made statements on national news shows that he thought the U. S. Constitution should be conformed to the Bible. Here are some highlights from the Virginian Pilot:

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Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas and a GOP presidential candidate in 2008, will be in Virginia Beach on Tuesday to raise money for Bob McDonnell’s campaign for governor. Huckabee also will join McDonnell at fundraisers in Roanoke and Bristol on Monday, according to the McDonnell campaign.

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Then, all the way across and to the far north of the country, Sarah "Bible Spice" Palin has tapped an extreme homophobe to be Alaska's Attorney General. Not only is her nominee, Wayne Anthony Ross, against equal rights for gays, he has gone so far as to call LGBT Americans as ''immoral, '' ''perversion'' and ''degenerates.'' It's probably a fitting selection for Palin since, Ross, like Palin seems to be a legend in his own mind. Or at least he wants to be. Here are some highlights about Ross from the Anchorage Daily News:

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Though widely known for his gun-rights stand, Ross has been active for 23 years -- on both a personal level and as a lawyer -- with Alaska Right to Life, lead organization in the anti-abortion movement. A devout Catholic, Ross believes his big remaining task on Earth is to help stop abortion, a practice he sums up as ''killing kids.'' ''I feel I have a good relationship with the good Lord (but) if I could overturn Roe vs. Wade, I figure I got my ticket, '' he said.

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Like David Copperfield, Ross is determined to be the hero of his own life, painting his public portrait in extremes and reveling in the reaction. His personalized ''WAR'' license plate is instantly recognizable; directions to his home include reference to a drawbridge and ''the moat, '' neither of which is strictly true. (The moat is a slight ground depression encircling the house.) He admires the legend of Teddy Roosevelt and has been accused of cultivating a slight physical resemblance to the dead president.

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''He's arrogant and opinionated, '' Mendel said. ''He shows up (in court) with his cowboy boots and cowboy hat and doesn't stand up when the judge comes in. . . . He has a very definite view of the world.''

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During a fight several years ago over gay rights, Mendel helped organize Anchorage lawyers in support of an anti- discrimination ordinance. Ross wrote a nasty letter to the Bar Association newsletter, using words like ''immoral, '' ''perversion'' and ''degenerates.'' The language went way beyond reasonable disagreement, Mendel and others said.