Posted on 10/06/2011 8:03:10 AM PDT by pgyanke
Governor Sarah Palin mattered.
She had gathered a terrific following and upset all of the right people. Conservatives loved her and liberals feared her. They were both right to do so.
For the conservatives, she had the unique combination of being right on the issues with a national presence, political machine, steel spine, gumption, charm and a salt-of-the-Earth attitude which comes from being one of the people--rather than one of society's elites. She was a fierce independent who battled both parties and their corruption. In every battle she fought her way (and 2008 was not fought her way), she won. She didn't rest on her victorious laurels, either... she cleaned house, reduced the perks of her own office and restored confidence in government offices. She did these things for Alaska... we wanted her to do these things for America.
To the liberals, she was a lightening rod standing up to their storm... and they hit her with everything they had. In every strike, her narrative was proven (emailgate revealed she was an engaged executive making day to day decisions--horror!) rather than destroyed. Like Sisyphus, the Left continued to push the boulder higher and higher only to have it crash down on them every time. They feared her because of all of the reasons the conservatives loved her... she didn't just TALK conservatism... she acted on it. Liberals will allow their leaders to say just about anything--just as liberals didn't fault Clinton for his Christian talk but faulted Bush for his Christian walk--as long as they toe the line in policy. Gov Palin took the greatest amount of flack from the enemy's guns because she was the greatest current threat to their view of the world... just as they were threatened by President Reagan a couple of generations ago.
Gov Palin now tells us that you don't need a title to make a difference in America. I agree with her... if you're talking about innovation or changing hearts and minds. Rush Limbaugh and other conservative talkers do that each and every day. I disagree with her in regards to our current troubles in this country... it will take conservatives in office to fix the problems. Sarah Palin wasn't popular with conservative voters because she SAID the right things... she was popular because she had a track record of DOING the right things.
I'm a fan of Rush Limbaugh, but let's be honest about his influence... if his voice could change America, we wouldn't have gone from Reagan to Obama during his tenure on the radio. I'm glad to have him (and others like him) doing what he does... but unless we have real conservatives in government offices (with titles), we will lose this country.
People didn't crowd Gov Palin's speaking engagements to hear her speak. They were there in the hope that she would run for President and take the wheel of a wayward ship of state. Yesterday's announcement will greatly diminish Gov Palin's voice and influence. We already have people who say the right things. She was uniquely poised to do what needed to be done. And now that is gone. I'm glad her priorities are in the right place... God, family and country are certainly the correct order. The problem is that the government of this country is quickly becoming the enemy of God and family. She gave up her chance to do something about that.
Now, it's time to settle for the next best candidate... and pray we don't end up having to settle for evil once again (albeit the lesser of two) in the general election.
Palin did not break her word, nor did she violate any principles.
It really comes down to this: how much are Palin supporters going to let our emotions influence us at this point?
The most prominent reasons for our support of Palin these past few years are exactly the principles by which we are obligated to minimize our complaints this morning.
As for the gloaters—they are liberals in sheeps’ clothing until proven otherwise. Remember who they are on this website—no real conservative would gloat at Palin dropping out of the race.
Disagree. Palin would only have a marginal impact, like Reagan. And Obama can only have a marginal impact. No matter how powerful -- within the American System, of course -- no one man can permanantly injure us. Or save us.
It is so difficult to watch this liar and several times I have wanted to kick my tv in when he lies. I am struggling to not break it now, but I like my soap opera Y&R. :)
I'm in the "that depends" category on this.
If Sarah goes home and just tries to raise her adorable family in what used to be a free country, "pissed" is far too mild. As Luke wrote: "For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more." Sarah has been give more leadership and speaking talent than almost anyone alive, and she has an obligation to use that God-given talent.
If Sarah did the numbers, figured that she could not win (I wanted her to run, but I was not sure she could take the nomination), and chose instead to work just as hard as would have been needed as a candidate but with less opposition, in order to create a conservative landslide in the House and the Senate, then I will applaud her decision. Okay, she's not running, which means we will have to settle for a lesser choice (although hopefully not Romney!). There are still two questions. What's next for Sarah? What's next for the rest of us. At least for me, what's next is working to elect a House and a Senate so conservative that neither Romney nor Obama can do much economic damage.
Magic powers? No. No more so than our political opponents, at least. What they have done to this country has not been the result of magic but policy. Gov Palin represented a significant hope to have an unabashed conservative set policy for a change. Nothing more... but certainly nothing less.
How is she unique? Exhibit A is the aftermath of the Gabrielle Giffords shooting. All other so-called conservatives were cowed into silence by the Left's fraudulent plea for civility. Sarah Palin came out swinging. All of the others came out in her shadow. That has been the story of the last four years. That is what I mean by "unabashed conservative." All of the others show some conservatism... where politically necessary.
No one I know is excited by the current crop of nominees... they are generally the "me toos" to Gov Palin's authenticity.
She does indeed matter. She is part of the future of the Conservative movement.
Some of these FReepers ( bless their hearts ) are acting like teenagers after their first heartbreak. They were so in love, she ripped their heart out, now they hate the crap out of her?
Not true. The main reason for supporting Gov Palin is gone... she was going to actually do something about the problems in America, not just talk about them.
All that clout that Sarah had in 2010 that impacted the congressional races...all that is gone now. Much of that “clout” was based upon her running for president and everyone knew it.
I dare say, that Palin may very well be toxic to races she otherwise have had influence in.
All that ability to drive the debate - gone. She had the media eating out of her hand and using that to drive discussion. Now, she has reduced herself to...well nothing. The media will ignore her.
Then a funny thing happened this past Memorial Day. Sarah did her motorcycle ride as part of Rolling Thunder, and her own PAC website featured a photo of her with one of the event organizers. The photo, which was otherwise well composed featured Bristol, Sarah, and the Rolling Thunder organizer who was wearing his leathers with a patch that distinctly read, "Dictator", right next to Sarah. I simply made the comment that her staff needed to tighten up on this sort of thing...the MSM would be out in force to garner their own "gotcha" photos and interviews, and that her own people needn't hand them anything this obvious.
It was meant as a constructive comment, but the reaction I received here from so many was nothing more than bitter vitriol, being told that I was not a 'true conservative', that I was in league with Karl Rove (whom I've nothing but absolute disdain for), etc. etc. While I've always supported Sarah and see her views in alignment with my own probably more so than any other public figure, some of her diehard fan base really turned me off, not from Sarah herself, but from associating with many of the blocs that most ardently supported her. IMHO, it's tragic that so many otherwise rational conservatives would pin all their hopes and dreams to somebody who never ultimately declared.
To all those who have said this country is lost because Sarah opted to follow her own conscience I would simply say that if one single, solitary person, making one single, solitary decision to not do something is all it took, this country was already lost.
I still don't understand how you can one minute say how you honor our troops for their willingness to sacrifice all for our country, and then in the next minute, turn your back on that same country as it cries out for your leadership in its hour of life-or-death need.
I'm dangerously close to despising her for her gutless decision, and for ripping the beating heart out of the country I love. She has really pissed me off, and she may well have destroyed our chance of winning in 2012.
It's going to take an energized base to beat Obama, Acorn, SEIU, Soros, etc. I just don't see anyone among the current field that conservatives can get excited about.
"Buck up or stay in the truck!"
"If you can't ride two horses at once, you probably shouldn't join the circus."
"Don't retreat... RELOAD!"
What a bad, sad joke.
She’s a true American patriot, a rugged individualist, and an obedient follower of Christ. Did she not say that she prayed throughout these weeks leading up to the decision? Do you think her prayers did not find their answer? Has she not said that she will work to get many elected in the House, Senate, governorships, as well as the White House? Does that account for nil? Is she not classically American in doing what she can on her own terms, like a captain of industry? She will build an organization that will matter, and I for one plan to assist her.
The reasons for supporting her were the need for small government, moral accountability, individual liberty and self sufficiency.
They are not gone.
Small government, moral accountability, individual liberty and self sufficiency.
Normally, I would agree with you. However, the problems we are witnessing now go well beyond the usual policy differences. Debt is real. We will be stuck with the results of this man's check-writing for generations... if we last that long.
One person can make a difference... and a different hand on the checkbook is the difference we need immediately. I understand Congress is the real money-spender... but look what we have! We have no budget! By sitting on their hands, the Senate is implementing a crash and burn economic plan of continuing to spend at the rate the last Democratic House (Nancy Pelosi) established. Without a strong executive, there will be no change.
Rush Limbaugh's been doing that for decades. We didn't need another conservative TALKER, we needed a conservative DOER.
It’s not her fault if you didn’t believe her. She was CONSISTANT in her statements over the past three months. She said she was thinking about running, she had made NO decisions, she was looking at the other candidates to see if there was someone she could support.
She said she had to take her family into account. She said she didn’t need a title.
Yes, every time she said something that made it more clear she wasn’t running, one of her supporters would pop up and claim it meant the opposite, would claim to have inside information that she was definitely running, would claim that Palin was just lying to us about “thinking” in order to pull some great political trick.
Others, like me, consistantly took her at her word, as the honest person that she was, and cautioned that we should all be prepared for her to not run. Some of those who said so were attacked, I was told I knew nothing.
I don’t fault people who really wanted her to run, and who are dissappointed.
But I do fault those who, having missed EVERY sign, having refused to hear what she actually said, and having believed 2nd-hand anonymous sources over Palin’s quoted words, would now claim that she MISLED them. She never misled anybody. She said she was thinking, said she would make her final statement sometime in the september/october timeframe, and she did.
She WILL be a force in the future, because she has a voice, she has a solid conservative message, and, like the Tea Party, you don’t need a party to have a platform.
And it wasn’t you, but those who claim you only went to see Sarah Palin because you thought she’d run for President — that’s too bad, I wish you had stayed home so those of us who wanted to see her because we love her and just liked to hear what she said would have gotten more time with her.
If she ever comes around where I live, I can guarantee you that my daughter and I will be there to listen. I can’t believe ANY Sarah Palin “supporter” would do otherwise.
We don’t need a conservative doer.
We need to be conservative doers. Each one of us, individually.
As we have always said, and Palin echoed, the solutions will come from the people.
If we are talkers, we will talk around this point. But to be doers takes action on our part.
I respect her decision based upon family, although I do wonder why she hadn't thought of this months ago. Well, at least she made her decision known prior to dashing off to Seoul, South Korea for a (paid?) speech at the World Knowledge Forum.
She knew many people were backing her for president, and knowing this she should have spoken up long ago.
Before Undefeated. If all she wanted was celebrity well then good, but she continued to give speeches and make appearances, all the while letting people hope she would run.
As for her family, if elected she would have SS to protect them, which is better than what she has now. Also, a president needs to have no fear, none. He/she needs to be able to stand-up to criticism and threats. Many presidents have been threatened and they are still with us. Michelle Bachmann has stood-up and she has been getting blasted by the media and she is still in the race.
I applaud your sticktoit attitude, but we don’t need another celebrity, we need a President.
Perfect!
I think she was planning on running. She bought the bus, she bought the AZ property, she apparently had an important meeting about plans for a run in August. She still sounded gung-ho, during her Iowa speech.
Something happened. The GOP Establishment threatened to undermine her? Something to do with Trig’s health? The growing reality that the media would wage an insurmountable war of lies and smears? Something happened.
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