Thanks for your thoughtful response. You are correct. I do NOT want to disuade Palin from running. I like her. I said earlier on another thread that when McLame announced her as his running mate I sent in the largest campaign contribution I had ever sent and it wasn't because of him.
I agree she SEEMS to be a fighter for principle. But I have been disappointed before. Her recent endorsement of McLame was one of those. I understand the loyalty thing and how failure to support him could have hurt her by branding her disloyal. But loyalty to principle is more important.
She could have said something like," While I appreciate Senator McCain's choice of me to be his running mate in 2008 and I thank him for it, everyone knows he chose me to balance the ticket with a conservative philosophy to his moderate to liberal philosophy. I believe that loyalty to principle is more important than loyalty to an individual. Senator McCain has drifted leftward in his past two terms evidenced by McCain-Finegold and his support of amnesty and citizenship for illegal aliens. While I thank Senator McCain for his many years of service, I now find that Congressman Hayworth holds positions of principle that are more closely in line with my own and I endorse his candidacy to be the next Arizona senator."
When the attacks came afterwards, she could use the situation as a teaching tool about her character and being true to her beliefs. "You can count on the consistency of my beliefs even when the decisions are difficult. I believe in Life and would not abort my Downs Syndrome son. I believe in conservatism and will support the most conservative candidates."
Anyway, I'm interested in the most conservative and electable person as the Republican nominee. It seems right now 2 years out, that she is the most conservative. I mostly have questions about her electability. It's not that these can't be overcome. Reagan was too old and too stupid. W was stupid. Yet they won.
What I was looking for from this thread was a list of cogent reasons why she is electable. She will be attacked for:
1-Lack of REAL executive experience
2-Extremist views on many things, life, etc.
3-Ability to stand under the pressure
4-Dysfunctional children
5-A Tea Partier
6-Inexperience in national economics
7-Inexperience in foreign affairs
8-Inexperience in defense issues
9-Poor judgement in becoming a 'reality show' principal
10-Another neophyte in national politics that wants to be the leader of the Free World. How'd the last one work?
11-Total animosity and disdain from the press
12-She is just not smart enough
13-Very little international experience
Before the flames start:
READ THIS !!!
I don't believe this stuff.
But the attacks will come.
It's not gonna be good enough to say she has as much as this guy or that guy had. She has to articulate a positive electability persona of her own. Not in comparison to past candidates or office holders. Not because shes better than this or equal to that. She also has a higher bar because she is a woman. She has to present a vision of the what the future of America can be. Like Reagan's "Morning in America".
Perhaps something like," People have stated that the 20th century was the American century and that the 21st belongs to China. Well I'm here to say that not only was the 20th century America's but so is the 21st, and the 22nd and all the centuries to come. Not because we are somehow superior genetically. Not because we are somehow superior technologically. But because of the superiority of our belief that all people are 'Created equal and are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights. That among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That no one can be truly free any where until all are free everywhere. And that all people have the God given right to secure the blessings of liberty for themselves and for their posterity for the infinate number of generations to come."
She's got about a year of craziness before the real insanity begins. I'm looking for FReeper input before it begins with complete ferocity.
I agree with a lot of what you said. And indeed she will be criticized for the list of things you presented...rightly or wrongly...but then like I said, that’s what a campaign is for.
Her record shows she’s an accomplished executive. Her record shows she’s not a demagogue...but actually governs based on what the law says. Her record shows she has experience negotiating with international influences. Her record shows that she’s principled and savvy.
It’ll be up to her to make people aware of who she is and what she’s done and what she can do if elected.
As for the McCain thing... I didn’t love it either but I understand it.
Like Palin said though, we’re not always going to like what a political figure does or all of the endorsements they make. And that’s fine. I agree with most of them and a few ones I don’t care for aren’t enough to turn me off on her. In fact, the only thing that would have turned me off was if she had attacked a conservative in order to forward a moderate or liberal republican.
Fortunately that’s just now how she rolls. So we’re all good there.
As for the rest of it...it’s important that we don’t get to a point where we worship or follow a political figure blindly. I don’t and I know you don’t either. It’s also important to recognize that if elected, she WILL let us down at some time or another. Hopefully it won’t be on a matter of principle. But it’s a foregone conclusion that she’s just not capable of pleasing us 100% of the time. No one is.
We need to accept that we won’t always agree with everything she says and does and that it’s okay. We can still support her while disagreeing with this move or that move.
But she can stay true to her principles... and it’ll be our job to help her stay on that path and to hold her feet to the fire should she be the nominee.
But because of the superiority of our belief that all people are ‘Created equal and are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights. That among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
I’ll try to address some of the points you are concerned about.
1-Lack of REAL executive experience
— Executive experience is about making decisions. Mayors make decisions and get immediate feedback. They see their constituents on the street and she must have been effective as she was re-elected overwhelmingly. That experience also aided her to be successful as a governor with a high approval rating pre-McCain.
2-Extremist views on many things, life, etc.
— Simply untrue. She is conservative and believes in smaller government. She is pro-life as are a majority of Americans. She believes in God but does not belong to a church or attend church regularly. Charges of extremism are meant to separate a person from voters and are always made against conservatives. Gov. Palin passed her programs with much democrat support. She did not govern as an extremist and her office always was open to both sides of the aisle.
3-Ability to stand under the pressure
— Can you imagine the pressure she was under at the 2008 Republican convention? or at the debate with Biden? She is fearless under criticism.
4-Dysfunctional children
— The children seem normal enough to me. Most people won’t find them unusual.
5-A Tea Partier
— Most people identify with the tea party movement. Only a liberal would consider the tea party as a negative and they won’t vote for any Republican.
6-Inexperience in national economics
— She understands business much better than any of the democrats. She has run a business and made a payroll. Her response to Bernanke on monetary policy was applauded by conservative economists.
7-Inexperience in foreign affairs
— She understands that we should support our allies and oppose our enemies. Obama doesn’t. She knows that America should be a beacon of freedom to the world and Obama thinks we are just another nation among many.
8-Inexperience in defense issues
— Was Commander in Chief of Alaska Natl Guard and was given daily briefings due to Alaska’s strategic Air Defense manned by NG troops. She also knows that a nation’s borders must be defended. Obama sees the intruders as new voters.
9-Poor judgement in becoming a ‘reality show’ principal
— That was a great decision. She is rebuilding her bond with the American people that the media did their best to destroy. She can’t do that in a campaign as it would distract from policy, so she’s doing it now.
10-Another neophyte in national politics that wants to be the leader of the Free World. How’d the last one work?
— So we should only elect the same people? Reagan did OK.
11-Total animosity and disdain from the press
— She thrives on animosity and disdain. Turns it right back at them.
12-She is just not smart enough
— BS. She is too smart for her opponents. They can’t stop her. She has orchestrated herself to be in a position to decide on a run for the presidency and be the front runner, in spite of a losing VP race and resigning from office, and has gotten paid to be in that position. Her current Alaska TV series pays her big money for exposure that others would have to pay for. She and Todd are the architects of their own destiny and there’s no Karl Rove calling her shots.
13-Very little international experience
— No governor has international experience and no senator or House member has executive experience. Much easier to learn about international politics than it is to learn to be an effective executive. In Obama’s case, he hasn’t learned either.
So much for dealing with the negatives. How about the negatives for the other candidates?
1. Gov. Palin has a national cadre of dedicated supporters even before her campaign has started. Where are your supporters?
2. Gov. Palin endorsed over 80 candidates in the 2010 election, many in the primaries. Over 70% won. She targeted 20 House seats and 18 of her candidates won. How many new conservatives did you help get elected?
3. Gov. Palin went to Arizona to support Gov. Brewer after Obama brought the Justice Dept against their immigration law. Where were you?
4. On the matters of Obamacare, the Ground Zero Mosque, and monetary easing, why did you wait until after Gov. Palin took a position to voice an opinion? Is she just faster at coming to a decision, or did you have to consult polls or political advisors first?
5. Gov. Palin appeared at many tea party events this year. She has also given them legitimacy with her vocal support. Have you supported the tea party?
6. As Republican women have been attacked and called whores, witches, and worse, did you come to their defense, as Gov. Palin did, or did you stand by hoping as many establishment Republicans did, that they would fail?
7. Gov. Palin has been at the forefront of a movement to restore America. This movement involves the tea parties, the 9-12 groups, and religious organizations. What part have you taken in the effort to restore America?
If we ask the negative questions about Gov. Palin shouldn’t we also ask the others?