I don't have much time for a lengthy discussion right now ( it is 11pm in the east ) But I think the evidence presented by GipperGal and others during the campaign would dispute your contention that she is not a Reagan Conservative.
Taking your 3 pillars for a start, I think the evidence is overwhelming that she is
1. A social conservative based on her pro-life record, beliefs and actual life choices.And will clearly have the religious Right on her side.
2)She has also demonstrated fiscal restraint in both her actions as mayor and Governor and by her positions in the last campaign ( leaving aside her dutiful support of the bailout..which I blame entirely on her loyalty to McCain). And should be able to garner the fiscal conservatives and small government libertarians as well
and 3. She is a military hawk when it comes to challenges faced by this country overseas.The defense and fro a strong America types will find her mucho compatible
I don't think you can make the case for her being a moderate unless her position on the gay rights issue in state is by your definition moderate. Also IMO she is a populist in the same sense that RR was a populist in attracting the Reagan Democrats. And as far as governing as a pragmatist: well, RR was the epitome of pragmatism if by that word you mean governing to build coalitions to get things done. She is a governing pragmatist in the Reagan tradition of always moving the ball in the direction of the ultimate goal of conservative principles by getting everything she can........as opposed to the GWB form of pragmatism that takes as it's first principle the abandonment of conservative principles just to get something done. RR never did that and I believe neither has SR in Alaska.
Finally, I think it was informative to know what you where referring to when you used the word "coalition". That means political voting blocks rather than Philosophy. So I tried to address that aspect of your argument.
I can give you a great example of how she governed like Reagan in one instance. One of my favorite Reagan stories is how he went right over the heads of Congress and the MSM to appeal directly to the people of American about the need to pass his economic plan. He gave a special address to the nation and asked people to wire and call their congressmen to tell them to get behind the Reagan plan. And the switchboards in D.C. were flooded! The response was unprecedented. Tip O'Neill was stunned and famously told Reagan, "you really beat us."
Byron York recounts this story about Palin:
And then there was the time earlier this year when she fought to cut Alaska’s business-licensing fee from $100 to $50 a year. (It had risen from $25 to $100 during the Murkowski administration.) Frustrated by the legislature’s inaction, Palin went to Alaska’s department of commerce and got the e-mail addresses of 23,000 business owners in the state. She then sent them a message, saying the $100 fee “has caused a hardship for those who are helping grow our economy, especially people who operate home-based and part-time businesses.” Legislators were angry — some accused Palin of inappropriate lobbying — but she won the day, and the fee was cut.
Classic Reagan manuever. Go over the greedy legislature and appeal directly to the people. Do you seriously doubt this woman's fiscal conservative creds?
BTW, one of the promises she made when she ran for mayor is that she would cut her own salary if elected because she fought the incumbent mayor when he got the rest of the City Council to raised his salary by $4,000. Once elected, she asked the City Council to vote to cut her salary by $4,000. And they did.
I am a Reagan Conservative with SoCon beginnings and deep SoCon, and Pro-Life roots. There is a resentment of her official Pro-Life position among my contemporaries. She will not be supported by those I know.
2)She has also demonstrated fiscal restraint in both her actions as mayor and Governor
I will ask you the same questions I asked GipperGal:
How do you explain a 28% increase in the AK budget this year? How do you explain her windfall profit tax (oops, again: fee) on oil companies? How do you explain her support of the bailout? And I will lso add, How come Wasilla pays more in taxes after Palin than before?
and 3. She is a military hawk when it comes to challenges faced by this country overseas.The defense and fro a strong America types will find her mucho compatible
That is yet to be proven. She talks the talk, admittedly, but there is really no way to tell what she will do in a crisis. Compare her, if you will, to what I would consider a standard for the Reagan template, Duncan Hunter... Or if you'd like, Alan Keyes, or Tom Tancredo, or any number of others of that caliber if you'd like to pick another.
Hunter's leadership is unquestionable, especially militarily. If this country is faced with crisis, I can think of no other man that I would rather have at the helm, and Palin, by comparison, is mere fluff. There simply is no comparison.
Even against Keyes- The level of conviction in the man is unfathomable, and in every category. What Keyes will do is not a matter of debate- He is as predictable as the rising of the sun. Palin misses by an order of magnitude when compared to these two gentlemen. It is the difference between a populist and a statesman, I might add.
I don't think you can make the case for her being a moderate unless her position on the gay rights issue in state is by your definition moderate.
No, that would be liberal.
Also IMO she is a populist in the same sense that RR was a populist in attracting the Reagan Democrats.
Except that the Reagan Democrats are no longer Democrats- You know them as the Christian Right, the SoCons.
And as far as governing as a pragmatist: well, RR was the epitome of pragmatism if by that word you mean governing to build coalitions to get things done.
Reagan built a single coalition. The most powerful coalition the US has ever seen, and ever since, all the Republicans seem to want to do is tear it back apart.
Finally, I think it was informative to know what you where referring to when you used the word "coalition". That means political voting blocks rather than Philosophy.
Thanks for that, but it really is both. To a Reaganite, it is a way of life- to embrace and support all facets of Conservatism, just as much as the individual pillars see their particular discipline as a way of life as well.
Thanks for your reply.