Posted on 01/23/2010 3:21:51 AM PST by broken_arrow1
Sarah Palin's decision to campaign for John McCain's reelection bid is dismaying some of her staunchest allies and defenders on the web.
This serves as a much-uninvited buzz-kill to conservatives, who finally had the beam of hope shone on them Tuesday night. Grassroots conservatism made a historic comeback with Scott Brown, who defeated Martha Coakley for Edward Kennedy's Senate seat in the very liberal state of Massachusetts.
Aside from her personal allegiance to John McCain, it is incomprehensible what Palin thinks this will do for the country or her political career, which has made her one of the main inspirations of grassroots enthusiasm.
Of course, there is no doubt that John McCain is an honorable man who proudly served his country. There is also no doubt that the Arizona senator has delivered on selective issues, like the current health care debacle that the majority of Americans disapprove of.
I personally am so humbled by McCain's strongest characteristics that I might even be willing to overlook his daughter Meghan's passive-aggressive dissent from the conservative wing of the Republican Party.
Like many conservatives, I am certain that Sarah Palin is grateful to McCain for plucking her out of Alaska and placing her in the spotlight, where her endless well of conservative energy has been able to flourish.
Truthfully, every grassroots conservative responsible for the surge of vocal dissent to Obama's policies knows that as the frontrunner in the 2008 election, John McCain gave real Americans and independent voters very little to believe in -- that is, until he gave us Sarah Palin, who became the first V.P. candidate in history to carry the entirety of a ticket's momentum.
Looking at McCain's political history, it doesn't take long to determine why he was unable to inspire the grassroots. While one person can make the case for McCain's patriotism, the next can make an equally convincing argument to question his conservatism.
McCain reached across the political aisle in 2007 to develop a soft-amnesty piece of proposed legislation with the late Senator Edward Kennedy. Condemned by critics like Michelle Malkin as a "crap sandwich," the bill proposed small fines to illegal immigrants. Not only did the fines lack the value of the infrastructure these immigrants had taken advantage of for years, but they also allowed them to stay. Americans were outraged, and the bill was never put to a vote.
Previously, McCain had again reached to the far left and crafted McCain-Feingold in 2002, which placed campaign-contribution limits and regulations on selective entities such as businesses and corporations. Coincidentally, that bill was overturned by the Supreme Court this week. This was such a success for freedom and democracy that it immediately won the scathing dissent of President Obama and Senator Chuck Schumer.
Next, John McCain used his power as a United States senator to hysterically denounce enhanced interrogation methods at Guantánamo, and he also became a strong proponent of the campaign to close altogether the prison where detainees are given three full meals a day, hours of free time for activities and religious reading, and the right not to be awakened for interrogations. The average detainee has gained forty pounds during his stay at Gitmo. How's that for "torture?"
Aside from health care, conservative victor Scott Brown campaigned explicitly on the Obama administration's soft treatment of terrorism (providing them with lawyers, having their trials on American soil, and proposing to relocate them to American prisons).
The independent spirits of Americans have responded. Obama's approval ratings have tanked, the life of the current Senate health care disaster has been doubted by Nancy Pelosi, and Americans have overwhelmingly denounced treating terrorists who seek to destroy our democracy and its accompanying constitutional fabric as common criminals with constitutional rights. They did it on Tuesday by giving a half-century-old liberal seat to a conservative.
Sarah Palin had a major effect on this by awakening the once-silent majority. We are now witnessing the loudest dissent against big government ever via average American independents.
Similarly, the Tea Party movement's effectiveness immediately earned it an unflattering nickname from the viewer-lacking hosts on MS-NBC and Air America radio. The movement has adopted all of the same commonsense approaches that Sarah Palin advocated from the moment she sat on the city council of Wasilla to the moment she was elected governor.
Naturally, Palin has earned the title of keynote speaker at the first-ever Tea Party convention, and her political action committee is bringing in massive amounts of money donated by real Americans inspired to continue to challenge the status quo.
Knowing that Palin has already repaid McCain by preventing his campaign from suffering one of the most embarrassing landslide losses in history, one wonders exactly why she would use her momentum stumping for him, especially when he is undeniably perceived by many members of the grassroots community as the same type of status-quo politician she's fought in the past. This sadly leads some to believe that this is mere political payback.
Sarah Palin is no longer a V.P. candidate being told what to say and do by a campaign. She is among the frontrunners of a movement far greater than simply running for president. This kind of a quick decision not only gives the media an open forum to further attack her, but it also purposely creates doubts among her biggest supporters.
While conservatives and independents band together to materialize such a movement in an attempt to undo many years of damage created by liberals and RINOs, Sarah Palin has the responsibility of using her newfound power wisely.
If she doesn't, the people can respond to her just as loudly as they responded in Massachusetts, thus making John McCain one political bridge to nowhere she'll never shake loose.
Sorry, but if Palin campaigns for McCain, Hayworth is history.
I have always said that Sarah Palin does not have handlers. If she did she would GO ROGUE.
Now that Mc Cain is ahead and she has a March date to campaign in Arizona for him, we should stop trying to micro-manage her. It is futile.
I am blogging about her campaigning for Michele Bachmann (R-Minn)
I will pick up on the REAL CONSERVATIVE CANDIDATES for whom she is campaigning.
I am not going to get in the middle of Perry vs anyone or Mc Cain vs Hayworth. Hayworth will shine in some other venue!!!!!!!!
PALIN 2012 and to that end http://www.2012DraftSarahCommittee.com
###
McManiac’s dad was an Admiral, and John never got over it. Overall he is an oppornistic slop bucket.
Sarah’s good, but she isn’t that good UNLESS WE GIVE UP.
If Palin is a RINO, who do you support for 2012?
The commenters on this thread have lost their minds. I take a backseat to no one in Palin fandom, I very much hope she’ll be president someday. But, this isn’t a political move, it’s a human move. While she may have risen on her own over time, she was catapulted onto the A list by McLame. Assisting him is what a good friend does. Like we don’t all have dear friends that we disagree with vehemently on particularities but would run through a wall for. The wrong move by Palin would be to not go when he asked, or to go to AZ for an opponent. As usual, her instincts are spot on. Egad.
I have the opposite view. Notice the peculiar coincidental TIMING. Sarah announces she will campaign for McCain, THEN Hayworth quits his show and enters the race against McCain. ????!!!
Here’s what I think. Hayworth privately told Sarah he decided to run. Knowing this, Sarah announces she’ll campaign for McCain. THEN Hayworth announces his entry into the race. NOW, Sarah can say “I’ll be happy to campaign for my friend John IF & AFTER he wins his primary. But I’m certainly not going to campaign in a primary against a fellow Tea Party Conservative like J.D.”
It’s a win-win for Sarah.
I think Sarah is not only naive politically, she’s just naive. I also think she’ll grow up by 2012.
Palin’s decision to accept being socialist McAmnesty’s VP running mate was a question in my mind if she was a Conservative. Her decision to endorse McAmnesty in his reelection bid only reinforces my doubt.
Socialist McAmnesty’s should read socialist light McAmnesty.
If Sarah doesn’t endorse McCain, what would McCain do? Or not do? The last thing Sarah needs is to be sabotaged by McCain.
How about....NOTHING!
It all boils down to two opposing ideologies: REPUBLICAN/DEMOCRAT 'Party first' crowd, which are two sides of the same coin. They are not any different -- like rooting for your own high-school football team. Always voted Democrat, or always pulled the 'All Republican' lever.
The second, INDEPENDENTS, who are now opening their eyes to who the individuals are and saying party doesn't matter, substance matters -- these are now the INDEPENDENTS, -- willing to cross party lines (probably Republican to third party) if they don't like the Republican candidate's principles. This the Tea Party crowd, not the Rep-tards like McCain and Lindsay Graham.
Palin stated in the Beck interview that she is a registered 'Republican'. Palin is NOT an INDEPENDENT! She gives the impression of shunning her base and now going down the Republican party-first path with all the political paybacks. Not pretty! But maybe that is who and what she really is! Because she supported Huffman in NY-23 (Independent over Republican Candidate), we were all fooled into believing she was an Independent. One would have thought she would have preferred to have sorted out the conservative candidate in the NY-23 Republican primary.
Maybe going 'Rogue' was just to sells books. Maybe she mis-calculated, thinking that she could steer the Tea Party crowd to unflinchingly support the Republican party big Tenters, like McCain. Hopefully, not the likes of Charlie Crist over Marco Rubio. That would be the third strike, and I didn't see the second one.
If McCain loses....the liberals will never let Sarah alone...blaming her for McCain losing. And, I think Hayworth can beat McCain....regardless of those recent polls.
Its lose-lose for Sarah no matter what she does in this campaign. She should stay out of the campaign
Her Political Base? She isn’t IN politics anymore.
I'm reluctant to put her in that box, just as I'm reluctant to put her in the box where she's adopting the mantle of "insider" politician. If she explains that she's keeping a specific promise, that'd help. But as it is, she appears to be responding to a new request from McCain - either that or she's volunteering of her own volition that she thinks McCain's direction and (cough) leadership are the right one for the country. If that's the case, she's lost a substantial fraction of her support base.
-- McCain moved her front and center by making her his VP pick. ... How could she say no. It would have caused far more trouble. --
She's not in a "yes/no" dichotomy. That is, unless she expresses that McCain obtained her promise to give her time and effort to support him in a run to hold his Senate seat. And now that I think about it, if that sort of request came in 2008, it would have been a "stay by me if we lose" request. Anyway, my point here being that she can be "nuanced" in her support, just as McCain has been "nuanced" in defending her against Steve Schmidt, etc.
My sentiment at this point is still wait and see. I don't know enough about "why" or "what" she intends. But she's obviously lost substantial amounts of credibility and support by saying that the country needs McCain in Washington.
As always, I will be supporting the Reagan Conservative. Don't worry, there will be one... and if there isn't, I won't vote the top of the ticket.
DEMINT-BACHMAN 2012!!
I'll vote for DeMint 100%. Bachman, not so much - Not because of any perceived flaw in Bachman... But rather because I have not researched the record well enough to offer a qualified opinion.
But DeMint is the real deal.
What she is saying is I am a true conservative and, oh yeah vote form this liberal guy.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.