Posted on 04/07/2010 1:32:58 PM PDT by rabscuttle385
Conflicting loyalties seem to have resulted in some surprising political decisions by Sarah Palin.
On Monday here at NewsReal Blog I argued that Govenor Sarah Palin’s active support of John McCain’s Senate reelection campaign makes no sense. Palin, after all, doesn’t owe McCain anything. Whatever debt she might have owed McCain she paid off during the 2008 presidential campaign.
In fact, if anything, it seems to me that McCain is indebted to Palin. This because his ‘08 campaign really did her a disservice, and also because McCain staffers have since betrayed the former Alaska governor with malicious and disparaging leaks to the media.
Many of the commenters to my post don’t disagree. However, they write, there is one laudable reason why Palin is actively supporting McCain: loyalty.
Fair enough. Loyalty is important. But it seems to me that Palin has competing loyalty obligations; and that she chose to be loyal to McCain when she just as easily could have chosen to be loyal to other people and other principles instead.
For example, Palin knows that some of her most steadfast supporters in the conservative and Tea Party movements have very profound and important differences with McCain.
These Palin supporters believe that on too many critical issues — including free speech (aka “campaign finance reform”), military modernization, and illegal immigration – McCain is a liberal wolf in a conservative sheep’s clothing.
What about loyalty to these people? What about loyalty to their issues and concerns? Why does loyalty to one man, one politician, outweigh loyalty to millions of dedicated conservative and Tea Party activists?
And why does personal loyalty to a man (McCain) outweigh loyalty to a set of conservative political principles?
No one’s saying that Palin had to actively oppose McCain. That might, indeed, have been awkward and ill-advised given that she was his vice presidential running mate.
But why did Palin have to go out of her way to actively support and campaign for McCain? Why couldn’t she have praised both McCain and his challenger, Rep. J.D. Hayworth, while remaining neutral in the Arizona Senate race?
I can think of two possible explanations offered up, respectively, by journalists Conor Friedersdorf and Matthew Continetti.
Friedersdorf says that Palin simply may not be the conservative her steadfast supporters think she is. She may, in fact, be a John McCain Republican. This would mean that she is liberal on some issues, moderate on others, and conservative about a few things.
Continetti notes that since being thrust into the national limelight, Palin has “become incredibly rich.” It may be — and this is me speaking, not Continetti — that because of her newfound riches, Palin feels an understandable debt, literally and figuratively, to Sen. McCain.
If true, that’s fine. Making money to support one’s family is honorable. But that’s a different type of loyalty, I think, than many of the governor’s defenders have in mind.
John R. Guardiano is a writer and analyst in Arlington, Virginia. You can follow him on Twitter: @Guardian0.
Hannity is going to have them on tonight......I think?
Skippy - Truth is only a word coming from you - YOU LOST ALL CREDIBILITY on this conservative forum.
How many people showed up for Mitt's new book intro? Thought so.
So, Sarah and Mitt are the only two possibilities? Thought not. - You sure are making some remote connections there and drawing some sweeping conclusions.
I think Sarah knows that we're not happy with her supporting McCain but we still support her other efforts.
The only thing that bothers me is her looking us straight in the eye and telling us McCain is a consistant conservative.
You should know better, they're both such RINO's....../sarcasm
What a wonderful moment that was for ohioWfan, and yet you use it here to try degrade her.
You’re likely beyond redemption, rabscuttle385.
You pitiful and pathetic.
TO stephenjohnbanker AKA Sarah is THE ENEMY
What part of ‘GO AWAY’ don’t you get. Stop clinging to me!
I don’t want anymore posts from your whiny liberal commie @$#.
I am a deeply happily married woman (married to a REAL man - something you don't seem to be interested in ever becoming). When that happened with President Bush, I told him everything, and he was THRILLED for me. He knew exactly what I was feeling (because we are so deeply in love and understand each other - something that you clearly will never experience).
Now, if you bring this completely off-topic 8 year old, STUPID argument and personal attack up again, I will post abuse on you (for the first time).
LAST TIME - GET OUT OF OUR WAY WHILE WE FIGHT TO SAVE THE COUNTRY.
You may not care about what happens to America, but WE do.
Only in your dreams.
Guilty by association of course!
And as I have tried in vain to say, my mature, Godly husband loved the whole thing.
To try to put it off as something dirty shows what's going on in his dirty mind.
He really needs help. (How long do you think it took him to find that? He's sick!)
At any rate, it's only a diversion from the FACT that he is doing nothing to fight for our liberty, and I AM.
That's the bottom line. I'm the real deal. He's a fraud.
Funny how that works, especially when it's right here on FR.
“Very sad for him if he needs her campaign ads that much, but if her campaign ads are all that are needed to win races, then we better send Sarah to make campaign ads for all the races.”
What happened to all the posters who repeated the mantra “She is just making one appearance out of loyalty” Now it appears that she is with him ALL THE WAY.
You’re incapable of replying to my entire posts.
You’re an agitator who doesn’t do any actual *work*.
I gave you several examples.
You’re MIA. You don’t work in the trenches or even work from your computer. Make phone calls? Nah, not you.
You’re a hater.
Everyone but a couple of your friends here see precisely what I see.
You’re pitiful and pathetic.
That post of yours to ohioWfan was completely enlightening.
Shame belongs to you. You’ll never “get it.”
All i see is you slamming Republicans for being liberal.
Please throw out some names of those who you do consider conservative. Just for reference.
Thanks.
She can be with him all the way. Just like I posted earlier on this thread, “tough for us who want him out of the senate.” She likes and admires him and considers him a close friend. I hope he values her just as much or more.
Perhaps Palin is not just looking to pay a debt, perhaps she is getting McCain to owe a debt.
Whatever Palin’s future will be, McCain is not just a bit nutty he is dangerous. He did untold damage to Bush’s agenda and has the power to do massive damage to anything Palin supports.
Furthermore, who do you propose would be an acceptably PURE Republican candidate in 2012. And before you answer that question, bear in mind that any of the currently nationally-known Republicans who voted for the McCain/Palin ticket in 2008 are disqualified.
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