Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Sarah Palin: Parts Greater than the Whole

Former Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin has been out of the spotlight for awhile. Aside from endorsing some successful candidates, she has made very headlines. Her quiescence is most becoming, yet in some uncharacteristic.

She pushed against the Establishment GOP in her home state of Alaska, then took down the incumbent Governor to become the outspoken yet controversial governor. She brought in cost-cutting measures, she led the charge for real conservative values in the state. She shook up the otherwise lackluster Presidential race.

The majority of Republican voters who turned out that year stepped up because they loved Sarah Palin, who was more appealing and engaging than the Presidential candidate John McCain, whose maverick record put him at odds with major segments of the GOP.

Palin's selected elements are greater than the whole. She was an upstart radical in her state, yet she resigned after two years in office. She is conservative, yet to many her bite is more than most swing-voters can bear. She is provocative, a winning streak for stoking the base, yet her gross unpopularity with undecided voters put her out of the race in 2012, and she should bow out gracefully again in 2016.

Palin did not actively campaign across the country in part because she would draw as much drama as support. She would also alienate the fiery Tea Party base which supports and supplies her contributions and buys her books. The Tea Party needs to stay independent, and all future candidates need to distance themselves from any one group of conservatives in order to reach out to every voter.

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