The Sarah Palin decision
Saturday, July 4, 2009 at 01:05PM I'm sure part of Sarah Palin's decision is as she said, because the attacks are beginning to destroy her family. But she knows the attacks won't stop just because she is not governor of Alaska, they will just make it impossible to lead the state and defend herself and her family. Is there some big scandal behind all this? I don't think so.
I think Sarah Palin and her advisers realize that something is changing in this country. The state has become a powerful machine which controls the major media, and in many ways is influencing much of new media. But, before I go into that, which will be another post, I'd like to say that Sarah Palin has a long way to go to develop a well-rounded political understanding to stand against her opponents, both Republican and Democrat attackers. I say "attackers" because that's what this constant barrage of insults, charges, rumors and snarky condescension has become, an all-out attack to destroy her. Objective critics who aren't afraid of her and what she stands for merely criticize her lack of experience, or her tendency to rely on platitudes, then let it go. But her attackers have to obliterate what she stands for. What does she stand for? Like it or not, she stands for the simple ideas of America that most people in this country hold -- freedom, national pride, pursuit of happiness, etc. Most people don't have a deep understanding of political philosophy. This is unfortunate.
But that's not only true of the patriotic right, it's true of the left, for the most part, although the left is more politically active in the form of special interest groups. Most people who consider themselves on the left seem to be as simplistic as the right when it comes to expressing their ideas regarding government intervention, equality, justice, etc. Very few people I encounter in real life or on the internet are very well rounded in their understanding of political philosophy. The populist, patriotic crowd is pretentious and limited and so is the crowd of emotional earth-savers and intellectual poseurs on the left. Each side is under the illusion that our two-party system offers them a route to vindicate their myopic world-views.
I believe Palin and her handlers are making a move outside politcs, the two-party system, to start their movement in an effort to directly appeal to the patriotic right/conservatives (independents?) who are dissatisfied with government. For this to not be an embarrassing disaster for Palin, she will have to broaden her understanding of history, politics, government and the many facets of the private sector as it stands in relationship to a statist government. There's a great opportunity for a charismatic figure to take power directly, outside the political status quo. Although they will have to step outside conservative or liberal roles as they are currently being expressed through government. Roughly half the voting age population is even active enough to vote. Who are the other half and what do they think about politics and government? I'm sure there's a diversity of thought among the non-voters, but many may be people who've simply decided that government is not worth spending much time on -- but, now, things might be different with so many changes coming directly from the government, and with the economy swirling in the crapper.
I might be off base, but even if Palin is not thinking about this strategy, someone ought to -- or some many ought to. We need a major private sector effort to redefine what type of government we want in America. It's time for the American people to wake up and pay attention -- this phony dichotomy between "elites" and "common folk", dancing left and right as if there's a nickel worth of difference between the two parties has run its course.
Sarah Palin, conservative, indpendents, liberal
Reader Comments (5)
Great post in every way possible. I hope you're right. And I do think she is going to need to bone up on stuff like foreign policy, etc. She's got the intellectual capacity to take on these issues. But being able to spar more effectively with the likes of Joe Biden, i.e., to not let him make stuff up randomly and without consequence, is necessary for any political future.
"Palin and her handlers are making a move outside politcs, the two-party system."
This sounds about right to me. She basically stated as much in her remarks yesterday. The fact that so many people seem unable to draw this simple conclusion demonstrates the extent to which they are stuck in the mindset of the duopolist ideologue.
Thanks Jay and d.eris. I've at the lake for a few days resting up -- now, I'll be punished tomorrow.
If Sarah Palin is thinking outside the 2-party box, I hope she is the next Liberatarian candidate in 2012. She could really make a difference in America by opening up the race to another political party. She would certainly solidify the party and I think americans would rally behind. The citizens of America need to say "enough" to both of the old parties!
She's almost there as a libertarian -- but I would suggest she immerse herself in the private sector, in libertarian ideas, political philosophy, economics and foreign policy, so that she can articulate the need for a limited government in such a way that she transcends the two parties and statism. She's smart enough -- it just depends on whether she really accepts libertarian ideas and if she will do the work to educate herself.