The Scoop:
The Plum Line is reporting that Democratic strategists plan to focus more media attention on Sarah Palin, the next target of their ‘Rush Limbaugh’ strategy. Democratic politico James Carville has been quoted as saying “Her name conjures up all kinds of reactions in people’s minds. She’s an uncomfortable figure for a lot of Republicans. They want to move beyond her. We like her.”
My Thoughts:
I like Sarah Palin as much as the next conservative, but the sooner Republicans realize that she is the next Dan Quayle the better. She gave a rousing speech at the National Convention, which reflected the core values in which many conservatives believe.
Good for her.
I wish her success as Alaska’s Governor, but, like Dan Quayle, who also reflected typical conservative values and was unfairly attacked in the media, Palin simply isn’t Presidential material. Is it fair to write her off so soon? Of course it’s not. And I find it especially sad that fellow women like SNL’s Tina Fey and MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow are the persons most responsible for holding Palin’s glass ceiling in place, focusing more on Palin’s clothing budget (or lack thereof) than Palin’s actual politics.
That said, I view Palin’s politics as a female version of a young GW Bush’s: easy on the ears, but virtually untested. And that is not what the Republican Party needs right now. It’s time the members of the GOP, and especially those of us here in Iowa, take a look at the Republicans who actually have a record of proving themselves right on the issues over the last ten years.
We need to find Republicans who were right on WMD in Iraq (or at least admit they made a mistake); who voted for balanced budgets even during the Bush years; who voted against government bailouts of Wall Street; who warned against financial collapse before it happened; who don’t accept PAC money (aka legal bribery), and who we can trust to fight corruption at the highest levels of Washington and Wall Street.
The GOP doesn’t need a personality. It doesn’t even need a fresh face. It simply needs someone who has proven that, even in difficult times, they won’t stray from the values that have made our party—and our country—a success in the past. Any suggestions?
Comments
Good article. You're completely correct. Although I haven't completely written Palin off...I'd like to see her "stand on her own" in the public arena and listen to what she has to say. I mean, when you're John McCain's running mate, you only have so much to work with.
But that said, you have to ask, what is Carville and Rahm Emmanuel so afraid of? They have SIGNIFICANT majorities, O's still pretty popular and they have a lot of momentum behind them.
The fact is, they need a constant stream of diversions, "evil" villains, victims and crises to keep their socialist agenda on track. I think the last few months have shown them that when they don't have an evil villain to blame (AIG execs, Limbaugh, Palin, Dubya, oil companies, the healthcare industry), people start paying attention to what they're craming down our throats and their agenda becomes significantly less popular.
Fear, class warfare, crisis, socialism, pessimism, wealth redistribution, enemies lists...Now, THAT'S change.
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