Makes her yes yes and her no no
Fellow Tennessee blogger Dan Cleary writes regarding Sarah Palin's recent activity on behalf of her former running mate AZ Senator John McCain. Dan lays it out very clearly why McCain doesn't deserve conservative support. He gives Palin credit for her loyalty and asks: "Does personal loyalty trump conservative principles for Sarah Palin?"
I'll bite and answer no. From way over here it looks like J.D.Hayworth is a strong candidate and I doubt Palin's support will result in a real numbers change. What Cleary doesn't mention is the importance of a person's word being their bond. I remember when Reagan was running for president and we had Americans being held hostage in Iran. I remember the strong words of Reagan about the situation. I remember that it was obvious the Iranians believed him and while Reagan was being sworn in as President the Iranians were finalizing their release of those hostages. I remember the world being afraid we were going to elect another cowboy in Bush #43. They poked the bear and got 'shock and awe'. What every American president must have in dealing with the world, with the issues here at home, is the reputation for making their yes yes and their no no. I'm tired of politicians and their rhetoric. I'm tired of their slippery ways. I welcome leaders that will say X, mean X and actually do X.
The political payback is done. She's paid her debt and now Palin will move on with more wisdom about endorsements. Regardless, I will remember, as Cleary, implies, you make the best decisions you can based on what you know at that moment in time. I'm not looking for an all knowing God who'll meet all my needs...I've already got one. I'm hoping to find honest men and women who will protect my rights and freedoms and so my children's futures. I've no doubt Palin is one of those.
3 comments:
Showing up at the fake Tea Party convention in Nashville and now this?
Going Rogue?
Just looks like more of the McSame to me.
I contend that a true conservative would never have yoked themselves with McSame in the beginning. Calling it party loyalty....being loyal to a party that runs McSame as their presidential candidate (as if that's the best they have to offer), a party that keeps him on despite McCain-Feingold, McCain- Lieberman, all the bailout votes, etc. doesn't seem the wisest decision to me either (He was pushing legislation to regulate all vitamins and dietary supplements less than a month ago!).
If I am supposed to believe the loyalty bit, why the book and why the speech at the fake Tea Party convention?
Unless I'm missing something, when Palin got onto the ticket in 2008, she never signed anything saying that she'd support McCain's re-election campaign for Senate. She had no prior relationship with the man, and, by the end of the campaign, everyone knew very well that they didn't see eye to eye strategically or politically.
Which is to say that, had she turned around and backed Hayworth, it would have been a very exciting news story, but no one would have said, "Gasp! Sarah Palin's changed colors and turned turncoat!" To the contrary, anyone paying attention would realize the endorsement was perfectly in key with her past behavior and her politics.
Supporting McCain's a very smart move for Palin, of course. The Republican establishment will appreciate the backing, and her fans will be hard-line enough to brush it off. (Case in point: this post.) And it'll get her a nice bit of media attention, just like all her stunts.
But there's no expression of honesty or loyalty here. Palin's not "making her yes yes." It's just the opposite. The entire move only works if people assume that she doesn't mean what she says, that her endorsement of McCain doesn't signal real agreement with him. She's running with the fact that you'll take her yes to be no and her no to be yes, whatever she says.
This is precisely the kind of two-step we ought to expect from a politician. It's normal. But to see in it honesty or loyalty or freedom from the usual misdirection of politics is just turning the world on its head.
I was extremely disappointed in Sarah Palin's support of McCain. I am mightily trying to "brush it off" because I very much like what she is doing by keeping the fire stoked with the Tea-Party-type activism in this country. But it still bothers me.
I support JD Hayworth with my puny contributions and by talking him up everywhere I go and I'm encouraged by his poll numbers recently. I just hope Palin stays away from Arizona from here on out.
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