Posted on 09/29/2011 4:34:38 AM PDT by RonDog
Thanks, RonDog...
I used to be a reporter in Iowa, I still have many contacts up there (especially in the Dutch Reformed world of northwest Iowa and Pella), and I've been able to see from an internal perspective some of the ways Gov. Palin has been mobilizing the key Christian conservative constituency in that state — people who would not be expected to be natural supporters of a woman from a Pentecostal background.
Later on in the primaries and caucuses, Gov. Palin will be able to rely on her natural consistency of Southern fundamentalists, charismatics, and pro-life Roman Catholics, but Iowa's Christian conservatives will be strange territory for her in many ways and would be in many ways a much better fit for someone like Rep. Bachmann who is from a traditional confessional denomination (in her case, the Wisconsin Synod Lutherans, at least until learning of the WELS position on Roman Catholicism).
I think Gov. Palin knows Iowa is going to be difficult for anyone from a background like hers, I think she is trying to make sure she's the consensus Christian conservative candidate in that state, and I think she realizes that she has to do very well in Iowa among Christian conservatives to have a realistic shot at the Republican nomination.
What's unclear to me is whether how much of what is going on to appeal to Iowa's unusual Christian conservative demographic is being deliberately planned by Gov. Palin, how much of it is being done by her supporters who know Iowa much better than she does (that's no criticism, it's just the reality of how politics works, and if anything it's a compliment to her for having competent people decide to back her), or perhaps how much of it is pure coincidence that worked out very well for her.
The South Korean situation, by contrast, is one which Gov. Palin likely knows very well from her own charismatic background as well as being a staple of conservative political discourse about the end results of communism and capitalism. If that wasn't planned, I'll be surprised. But who knows? Gov. Palin’s campaign simply isn't following the standard rules of American politics and I am not convinced any of the pundits on the outside really understand what she is doing.
I, for one, definitely don't want to be on the list of the media she periodically attacks for “making things up.” My guesses are guesses, and while I think there's a good chance they're right, I make no claim that they're anything but guesses as to her plans.
Whatever Gov. Palin decides about running, I hope she decides on it soon.
I think that God "began a good work" in Governor Palin, and He will "carry it on to completion." :o)
I am not currently a Gov. Palin supporter, but I could see myself becoming one. Personally I wish Gov. Huckabee were running, but he's not, and many of the same conservative Christian values and experience as a governor that are why I supported Gov. Huckabee apply also to Gov. Palin.
The focus needs to be on defeating President Obama, first and foremost. It's our race to lose at this point. There are things we as Republicans could do to lose the race, or to make a victory hollow by electing a RINO.
Why is that prospect of a hollow victory so dangerous? It's because our second priority must be building a national consensus (which includes victory margins so large that it ensures widespread Congressional support) to make huge cuts in our spending without gutting the Department of Defense.
One huge benefit of Gov. Palin is she has a long history of being a “bomb thrower” who refuses to “go along to get along.” Our national deficit problem is now so serious that extreme actions are going to be needed to fix the problem, and if the person we elect as president doesn't have enough political capital to place at risk by antagonizing huge numbers of Democrats, liberals, and their political backers, our newly elected Republican candidates are going to get thrown out on their rear ends when the economy continues to collapse.
The worst-case scenario would be gutting our military as part of a compromise deal. It's true that the Department of Defense is a huge part of the budget, but in reading some of President Nixon's campaign material from the 1972 election, he pointed out that for the first time ever, non-defense spending had become greater than military spending in his first term. That means it's been less than four decades since our country's budget priority was **STILL** national defense. The Constitution specifies very few things that the federal government should be doing, but defending the country is one of them, and we are at risk in the current budget chaos of forgetting why we have a government.
Obviously there is waste and inefficiency in the Department of Defense. I live and work outside Fort Leonard Wood and I see examples all the time. However, the fact remains that we wouldn't have most of our American freedoms without a strong military, and Clinton-style cuts in the Department of Defense are a recipe for disaster.
The day Palin announces her candidacy is the day I’ll believe she’s running.
Guess Willie Brown ain’t so smart after all.
Let’s wait and see what happens.
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.