Topic: Palin OUT

[charlesoakwood]

I'm still not even sure we will have elections next year, so the whole thing may be moot.

Hope for the best prepare for the worst.

[charlesoakwood]

Seems appropriate to  put this here.  

Regarding Sarah Palin: “Tell ‘Em You’re With Tina Fey”
Eric Erickson

There is a strong notion out there that I do not like Sarah Palin. That actually is not true. There are many of her supporters who I have come to clash with a routine basis and I think the cult of personality that grew up around Sarah Palin became insane and unstable. But I have always liked Sarah Palin and her husband.

At one point I very much wanted Palin to run. In fact, for the longest time I would have preferred to lose with Sarah Palin fighting for liberty than win with one of the candidates pushing a Republican brand of creeping socialism. But it became clear to me she was not running. And as it became clearer and my platform at RedState and elsewhere rose and I said this, more and more of her fans piled on.

There is a lot of news out there tonight and suddenly the twitterverse and media have moved on. Nonetheless, I want to toss out a few thoughts on her.

In 2008, many of us were unenthused by John McCain. We voted for him because of Sarah Palin. Here at RedState, after the campaign and the piling on of Palin by Nichole Wallace and others started, we formed Operation Leper. I went on Glenn Beck’s radio show and pledged to root out the McCain campaign leakers.

At one point, an extremely prominent radio show host called me and asked me to take Steve Schmidt off the list because he was innocent of the infraction and was getting all sorts of heat. I took him off, but later put him back on when it became clear he was, along with Wallace, a source. I remember one night last year visiting with Nichole Wallace (who I’ve since gotten to know and realize she’s actually very nice) and someone who asked her why she’d left politics to become a writer. She looked over at me and said it was because of me. Well, really because of the loyalty of so many who thought Sarah Palin had been mistreated by the McCain campaign.

Sarah Palin deserved better than what she got. She took a lot of bullets for Team McCain, and while we may be right or wrong, it seemed that long after McCain surrendered, Sarah Palin kept fighting.

Her verbal positioning of death panels, who Obama palled around with, etc. really gave a lot of us lines to use and rally too as we opposed the administration.

Back in 2010, my friend Nikki Haley called and told me Governor Palin was going to endorse her. She asked me to cover over and be on the steps of the South Carolina State Capitol with them. In the picture above, I’d just gotten a text from my mom that all her friends were calling her because I was on TV with someone who looked like Sarah Palin. Governor Palin replied, “Tell ‘em you’re with Tina Fey.”

But for Sarah Palin, we might not have Governor Haley. We might not have Governor Perry either. Sarah Palin rallied conservatives in Texas for Rick Perry against the entire Republican establishment who’d lined up to oppose him. Her early support really helped him.

Governor Palin became a champion of many who otherwise might not have gotten a voice. We did not always disagree. But I never stopped liking her.

I’m not sure what the good Lord has in mind for Sarah Palin and her family now, but I do wish them all the best. And I suspect we have not seen the last of Sarah Palin on the campaign trail, fighting it out for the good guys. I’m sure we won’t always be on the same side of an endorsement, but we’re all fighting for a better country, a brighter future, and that shining city on the hill.

[LadyVirginia]

I'm afraid it will be ABO--Anybody But Obama.

Not necessarily in my case.  If the Republican nominee is not to my liking, I will vote Libertarian.

I've done it before, and I can do it again without batting an eye.

I am done with voting for the lesser of two evils, and I mean it this time.

I'm not a libertarian but I have voted for the clear underdog who had no chance because I have to sleep at night--- usually in primaries and then I just skip that category in the general. 

[Glock32]

Well, this is certainly disappointing.  However, I've been saying since September 2008 that I wouldn't blame her a bit if she turned her back on the slime pit that is American politics.  It's her life and her family, after all.  She doesn't owe me a damn thing.

Maybe it was for family reasons, or maybe she studied the polls and decided she couldn't win.  Or maybe it was because she realized that the situation is too far gone and a collapse is inevitable.  Some mistakes are unrecoverable, and that might be the case with America's election of Obama.

It may be time to stop discussing how or whether or when the collapse is coming, but rather how to weather it and pick up the pieces afterwards.

I've compared her to Joan of Arc before.  That comparison may still be valid.  Maybe she will end up as the leader of the American Resistance.

This has been my position for a while now. I also -- and I know there is not really a pleasant way to say this -- hope that is what happens. I literally see it as the only chance this civilization has. There will be no resurrection with the existing power structures in place. Something calamitous has to derail the current order, otherwise it will just limp along and stomp on any nascent efforts at reform, until finally it just withers away under the weight of its own bloat and incompetence.

[charlesoakwood]

IIRC Kudlow calls it creative destruction. Failing businesses or business models are destroyed and in the
process new, strong, and vital business replace them.  It is a pattern of ultimate growth.

[AmericanPatriot]

I can't do Romney and I can't do Perry.

If either of those are the nominee, I'm looking at the Constitution Party in the fall
I voted for Palin only last time. Not McCain.

I'm not holding my nose anymore

[IronDioPriest]

I'm pretty sad. Maybe a bit distraught. Not so much because Palin isn't running, but because of what it means. It signifies that strong conservatives will be demonized until they are destroyed, and that the public can be manipulated by evil into turning against good.

What decent person seeking to become a public servant for the right reasons would put themselves in the path of the evil she and her family endured?

This is a war - good vs evil. Nothing more or less than that. Good must kill evil, or evil wins. That's how it's always been. That's how it will always be.

[rickl]

This is a war - good vs evil. Nothing more or less than that.

That's exactly what I was planning to tell people if it came down to Palin vs. Obama.

Now what?

[IronDioPriest]

This is a war - good vs evil. Nothing more or less than that.

That's exactly what I was planning to tell people if it came down to Palin vs. Obama.

Now what?

Like she said on Greta tonight, it's not about her or any one person. It's about the ideas, and fighting to restore America, and fighting against the fundamental transformation into not-America. It's still good vs evil, even if it's good vs both party nominees.

[ttomm46]

I'm with Charles...A lot depends on weather We even have an election then if it's rigged..I don't even want to think about Obozo staying in..I'd like to see the slimy piece of trash removed from the high office that he stole..

[rickl]

"Whether", not "weather".

[IronDioPriest]

He didn't steal it, he lied his way into it with a concerted push from the media. Hair-splitting distinction, I know. But in the end, he was elected.

[ttomm46]

"Whether", not "weather".

I know it didn't seem right..spelling POLICE

[Libertas]

This is a war - good vs evil. Nothing more or less than that.

That's exactly what I was planning to tell people if it came down to Palin vs. Obama.

Now what?

Like Charles said - "Hope for the best prepare for the worst."

And I'm putting much more emphasis on the latter.  No more compromises with the Ruling Class!  Evil-lite is still advancing evil, that is over...and if economic collapse, social upheaval and civil war is the result...well...if God wills it, so be it.

[IronDioPriest]

Pitch-Perfect Palin

Last night, Sarah Palin's statement -- and her breaking news interview with Mark Levin -- stressed some extremely important ideas.  As such, her not running might well be among the least important topics she touched on.  Yes, I know that's the news that everybody was waiting for -- but what interested me most was what Palin said about her vision for America and how she said it.  It was crafted very intentionally --and it was simply pitch-perfect.

Palin spoke of ideas and priorities.  These were above and beyond what particular position she -- or anyone else -- might play in our arena of ideas.  That she's still very much in the arena -- and planning on making a difference -- is obvious.

In her written statement -- and her immediate follow-up interview with Levin -- she made it clear what was important.  Saving the country is all that matters, and the first step required for that task is to totally reverse our current course.  Of course, that includes removal of the current occupant in the White House.  Consider Palin's first action step:

[blockquote]We need to continue to actively and aggressively help those who will stop the "fundamental transformation" of our nation and instead seek the restoration of our greatness, our goodness and our constitutional republic based on the rule of law.[/blockquote]

Her message is transparent.  Obviously, fundamental transformation refers to an idea of Barack Obama, and stopping this idea requires defeating Obama.  If we don't accomplish this, nothing else matters.  Stopping this fundamental transformation is more important than Palin's running...and more important than any particular person...and more important than any particular issue.  Plugging the hole in the Titanic means changing presidents, and if this is not accomplished, anything and everything else is merely rearranging the deck chairs.

Thus -- with apologies to the many on the internet message boards who have been assuring us that she had a master plan to swoop in with a whole new movement -- Palin very directly asserted to Levin that a third-party run (by her or anyone else) would merely guarantee the reelection of Barack Obama.  This is a fate that must be avoided at all costs.  And by all costs, Palin means all costs.

On this count, Palin's choosing Levin's show for her initial interview post-announcement could not have been an accident.  Levin is a classic Reagan conservative, and as such, he is an instinctively pro-Palin figure.  Moreover, he is an "anybody but Obama" advocate, and while he will likely criticize certain Republicans (like he did McCain in '08) during the primary process, he will be violently opposed to any third-party or independent movement even if he's not thrilled with the GOP choice.  Palin made it clear she is of the same mind on that issue.  Read her lips: no third party...

More linked @ AmericanThinker...

[Libertas]

Obviously, I have no problem with any of the substance of what she said, but this "no third party" I will push back on...if you want that to stick, there is now an immense amount of pressure on Sarah and other power-brokers to ensure the GOP does not end up with a Ruling Class jackass for a nominee!  She better get behind Cain and early and support him often and attend a bazillion events with him...or the breakup of the GOP will occur before the general election!  I guarantee it!

[AmericanPatriot]

She better get behind Cain and early and support him often

I hope I'm wrong but I see her getting behind Perry

[charlesoakwood]

She's given Romney some solid body blocks she may continue in this fashion and allow Cain and Perry
more time to exhibit themselves before deciding.

[Glock32]

I kind of wonder how long her significance and relevance will persist. Much of it was predicated on how she energized the conservative base as VP candidate in 2008, and the carryover buzz about her 2012 possibilities. Now that she has eliminated herself from consideration, will she command the same sort of towering presence on the political Right?

[charlesoakwood]

Yes, her position is established by keen observation and intelligent analysis of facts coupled with clear and fearless expression. She is a leader.  She will continue as a force within the conservative movement for a long time.