"We’re often told that immigrants do the jobs Americans won’t do, and...this is true......cheap labor certainly benefits the economy as a whole...."
Posted on 04/07/2010 1:32:58 PM PDT by rabscuttle385
Conflicting loyalties seem to have resulted in some surprising political decisions by Sarah Palin.
On Monday here at NewsReal Blog I argued that Govenor Sarah Palin’s active support of John McCain’s Senate reelection campaign makes no sense. Palin, after all, doesn’t owe McCain anything. Whatever debt she might have owed McCain she paid off during the 2008 presidential campaign.
In fact, if anything, it seems to me that McCain is indebted to Palin. This because his ‘08 campaign really did her a disservice, and also because McCain staffers have since betrayed the former Alaska governor with malicious and disparaging leaks to the media.
Many of the commenters to my post don’t disagree. However, they write, there is one laudable reason why Palin is actively supporting McCain: loyalty.
Fair enough. Loyalty is important. But it seems to me that Palin has competing loyalty obligations; and that she chose to be loyal to McCain when she just as easily could have chosen to be loyal to other people and other principles instead.
For example, Palin knows that some of her most steadfast supporters in the conservative and Tea Party movements have very profound and important differences with McCain.
These Palin supporters believe that on too many critical issues — including free speech (aka “campaign finance reform”), military modernization, and illegal immigration – McCain is a liberal wolf in a conservative sheep’s clothing.
What about loyalty to these people? What about loyalty to their issues and concerns? Why does loyalty to one man, one politician, outweigh loyalty to millions of dedicated conservative and Tea Party activists?
And why does personal loyalty to a man (McCain) outweigh loyalty to a set of conservative political principles?
No one’s saying that Palin had to actively oppose McCain. That might, indeed, have been awkward and ill-advised given that she was his vice presidential running mate.
But why did Palin have to go out of her way to actively support and campaign for McCain? Why couldn’t she have praised both McCain and his challenger, Rep. J.D. Hayworth, while remaining neutral in the Arizona Senate race?
I can think of two possible explanations offered up, respectively, by journalists Conor Friedersdorf and Matthew Continetti.
Friedersdorf says that Palin simply may not be the conservative her steadfast supporters think she is. She may, in fact, be a John McCain Republican. This would mean that she is liberal on some issues, moderate on others, and conservative about a few things.
Continetti notes that since being thrust into the national limelight, Palin has “become incredibly rich.” It may be — and this is me speaking, not Continetti — that because of her newfound riches, Palin feels an understandable debt, literally and figuratively, to Sen. McCain.
If true, that’s fine. Making money to support one’s family is honorable. But that’s a different type of loyalty, I think, than many of the governor’s defenders have in mind.
John R. Guardiano is a writer and analyst in Arlington, Virginia. You can follow him on Twitter: @Guardian0.
Rabs is now posting articles from people he does not admire, all in an obvious scatter gun hatred of Sarah Palin.
He's really deranged.
No doubt there are a number of concern trolls trying to undermine support for her, but don’t dismiss everyone who has concerns as such. I was floored by Sarah Palin, and was ready to volunteer for her right then and there.
Her campaigning for McCain disturbs me, though. I’ve taken a wait and see attitude as a result. I have no desire to tear her down, but time will tell as far as I’m concerned. A good tree bears good fruit.
If she continues to be what I saw in her during the campaign and in the months following, and the whole McCain thing turns out to be just an abberation due to loyalty, I will be very pleased.
If not, lesson learned.
OK, I read it. FRegards ....
After 2008, I stopped being loyal to anyone with an (R) after their name, or any politician whose loyalty to the establishment is much higher than it is to the people they represent in Washington including you and me. McCain and Palin are establishment-types. They don't know me, and they don't care if my disability income was slashed by over 60% after the passage of Obamacare.
I knew that was going to happen, the GOP did too. Obama chalked it up to "fearmongering politics". Well, reality sunk in on the day Obama signed the bill into law because 3 days later I got a letter in the mail saying my SSI income was getting cut by 61% and if I had questions I was to call the SSA's 800-number, which I did and they verified that it was true. Sure enough, the April check rolled in and it's been cut 61%.
McCain was for Obamacare before he voted against it, and that's only because he had enough political cover on the political left to vote against it.
I didn’t vote for “BarryBoy” Einstein.
Preach it brother!
“YOU are NO BETTER than McCain!
MSM is on the side of Obama and so are YOU. “
Hmmmm....Rabs must be the only right winger in the United States for Obama......
We are in a working woman culture now. Palin didn’t create that. The left did. England got used to socialized medicine, and we got used to this. I agree that families are deteriorating, but excluding working mothers from politics is not modern conservatism. Some reactionism is good, but that kind is harmful.
Further, the word, “gratification” to describe her career? Bad choice.
Your posts about Sarah are exaggeration - lies. And you want someone to believe you now? LOL! You are a BarryBoy!
You speak like him, same mindset - throw out some lies and they will believe me.
Oh....that's right............NONE!
Sheesh, rabscuttle, you're not even pretending to be conservative any more, are you?
Rab wants McStain defeated, and I’m all for that. Screen likes Palin and so do I. FRiends, there are times when we need to agree to disagree on certain things.
I’m outta this thread. FRegards ....
Debunk my lies.
If he supports Ron Paul, he’s not a “right winger.”
The writer is pathetic. The poster is a Palin hater and PAULTARD. *I* think he’s here to disrupt. I note his absence on threads of national importance. Apparently, not concerned about Marxist Obama and the demonic democrats.
Those who say Sarah Palin is not Conservative are
followers of the anti war, Neo Leftist Ron Paul.
Bottom Line, the PaulBots don’t like conservaties to
begin with but try to divind conservatives on FR.
To: stephenjohnbanker AKA SARAH IS THE ENEMY.
Do you actually think anyone would listen to you when it comes to TRUTH? You’re a leftist pawn - coming against a conservative.
Are you saying that threads about McLame's lap dog Graham trying to jumpstart amnesty are not of "national importance"?
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