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.
Steve Lombardo at LCG polling tweeted today:
"Say what you want about Palin but how many pols would give their right arm to draw 10,000 voters at a rally? #2012"
The FR "Sarah Palin is now the enemy" team needs to work harder to destroy her. Their left-wing masters cannot be happy with this performance. :)
There was quite some time when the handlers were publicly outspoken—and McCain wasn’t.
A very, very sharp corner.
(Thank you, dear friend. You KNOW me! That evening was a thrill, and I'm not ashamed to admit it........even 8 years later. :)
Just hit the off button each time those commercials come on, that's what I do.
As to Jeff Flake supporting McCain.....well, someone needs to ask him very publically what he thought of the legislation proposed by McCain making vitamin and herb suppliments subject to FDA approval. (If you don't catch my reference, go look up Flake's district.)
I am waiting the next Rasmussen Poll for the Arizona Senate Race. The primary will be held August 24, 2010.
McCain may seem like a clunker to those with preconceived bias. However, McCain is like a clunker that rides like a dream, performs perfectly and has lots of power to get you where you need to go. McCain still has a lot of miles left in him and it would be a sad waste if Arizona were to let him go.
McCain has sense come out against that vitamin legislation.
oops sense=since
The Texas governor’s race that Rick Perry won, had the largest primary turnout at 16% of voters that normally vote in the general election. Now, that was a very contested race, with the addition of the PAULTARD candidate, Debra Medina, and yet, Rick Perry managed to win with over 50%.
The average turnout for primary races is between 5% - 11%.
McCain will use a lot of his hefty campaign war chest to send out absentee ballots because the primary is in the scorching hot month of August. I anticipate that half will mark their ballots for JD.
The motivated still in Arizona are likely to go to the polls to vote for JD. In my thinking, the only way McCain wins, is the Indian reservations.
I knew about Flake. I’m at the point now that I don’t trust any politician, save for Hayworth, who is a proven conservative. Is Paul Ryan a homo?? LOL!
Thanks for taking the time to explain this. You made me feel a bit better.
LOL, of course he came out against HIS OWN legislation once he figured out how unpopular it is. The fact remains that the man consistantly supports illegal, unconstitutional legislation. Most of it written BY HIM.
LOL!!!!
Riiiight. What a moronic thing to say.
I'm sick of all the threads, per day, tearing down Sarah Palin when the real enemy is Obama and his thugs.
We are in a fight for our very freedom against the radical, Islamic terrorists some folks, and the left of our own country and all we see are multiple threads a day bashing Palin.
I won't give money to a site that allows itself to be taken over by anti war Paulbots that have nothing better to fight against than our most prominent conservative.
So you think Palin is not “up to the Presidency.” Then, tell me who do you think is “up to the Presidency.”
If you think that supporting traditional gender roles is sexist, you area a leftist.
Hayworth is a windbag. McCain hasn’t done anything detrimental to AZ, unless you consider campaign finance which the USSC took care of.
Funny how you missed that.
If A = B, and B = C, then A = C.
Oh, and, in 2008, Michele stated she saw a 'stark' difference between McCain and Obama?
Now, since you think McCain and Obama are socialists, doesn't that make her an ill-formed liar?
Or is she just playing the game?
We all know the answer.
Really? It seems dictionary.com agrees with me. Why do you think I included it a link to you? Did you click on it?
I think the first group had McCain up by a lot in a sample of Republican primary voters.
I'd love to hear you're right.
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