Friday, July 03, 2009

Whither Sarah?

Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin has just announced that she is resigning from office effective the 26th of July. My wife (The Good Democrat) is quite happy about this, because like many of those who ascribe to the statist philosophy, she loathes Palin. Which I find to be quite interesting, in that she is one of us more so than the pretend effete elite who consider themselves our betters.
The amount of attention that has been paid to Palin after the election (nearly all negative from the MSM) may help to illuminate what it is that they fear. And Sarah Palin is exactly that which they fear. After all, for Republicans to object to the selection of Joe Biden would have been ridiculous. Mr. Gaffe-O-Matic does more to call into question Obama's judgment so it is unlikely that any serious Republican would be calling for Biden's removal. Better to keep him propped up on the stage with his foot in his mouth than to have him hidden.
But I was curious about why she would resign now, instead of waiting until the end of her term. Then I listened to her speech where she said that she is willing to work to elect those who have the priorities of national security, energy independence and fiscal responsibility, and I began to realize that she just may be onto something.
For instance, 2010 is shaping up to be an excellent year for the Republicans. Obama's disastrous policies are going to destroy the economy as entrepreneurs sit on their hands rather than risk government intervention. Without capital, business will stagnate at best, and contract at worst. In other words, no growth, no jobs, no recovery. And that's without the disastrous effects of deficit spending added to the problem. By coming to close races, Palin will be able to provide the margin of victory that will come from independents and weak Republicans who are becoming more and more disillusioned with Obama. By establishing herself as a valuable asset, and at the same time establishing the connections that help to make the ground game work, she will be able to collect on the chits in 2012.
But why not do the same thing as a lame duck governor? Partly due to the unwarranted accusations that have been refuted but still continue to be brought forth on a continuing basis, it is a distraction. The other advantage to leaving early is that she can also help to recruit candidates that she wants to support, and if they succeed will be even more beholden to her.
The Governor's actions are definitely not in the usual playbook. Maybe that is why she is so interesting. If it works, she will be a hero. If it fails, no one will remember her. I'm betting it works.

3 comments:

Auntie Lib said...

I'm with you on this Steve. I think this could end up paying off big time for her and for getting the conservative Republicans enthused again. And that scares the hell out of the elite.

Steve T. said...

Josh Marshall said it best:

"... it's simply poisonous, toxic, fatal for anyone running for president. Setting side political and policy stances, the one thing really key about a president is that they be steady under pressure, not rash, and not prone to spur of the moment freak outs where they just walk away from the job to go to Disneyland. A lot of nonsense gets knocked around about 'character' in presidential elections. But this is the foundational question of character that really is critical...

She may resurface as a latter-day Hannity or she may found some Palin-specific Anti-Defamation League dedicated to calling out obscure bloggers who've written mean things about her. But what very little shot she had as a future presidential candidate (and it was a much longer shot than I think many realized) is over. She's done. She's back to what she was -- a small person looking for someone to be angry at."

Sounds about right to me. You'd better donate some money to Romney's campaign as soon as possible.

Steve said...

Romney is in a good position, no doubt about it. But I am looking at the non-Democrats of the country, and I really do believe that there is a fundamental sense of fairness that thye feel was violated in this case. Like I said, my wife (The Good Democrat) absolutely loathes Palin, but she is also still fully enamored with Obama. I am not sure that her opinion is indicative of anyone outside of the Democratic Left.

We will just have to wait and see.