Nobody want to be slammed or ridiculed. When the left aims their derision at SP or other conservative leaders there is a tendency to duck or retreat. No one wants to associate with a loser; by the same token people tend to pile on a bandwagon when a winner is obvious, so that they can be seen to have been “right”.
Sarah connects with average people who may not have college degrees. They make up the bulk of our citizenry.
To say she resonates with your value system is to say you may not be an “intellectual”.
God has chosen the foolish things to confound the wise. “Professing themselves to be wise they became fools.” Romans 1:22
Sarah connects with pro-Americans. Sarah connects with common sense people - something you don’t get with a degree. I know PhD, MD’s, many professionals, blue collar and hourly workers - some are for her and others not sure. But with each one, I’m not surprised. Common sense is the key and not degrees.