Since the Palin team has been so tight-lipped about the project, it has been the subject of some speculation. Jamie Jeffords expects to see "a libertarian leaning, populist type initiative to counter the standard Republican, fit me for a toga line of Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty, and Mike Huckabee":
"I think it is a good idea for Palin to attempt reshaping conservatism into a populist movement. Yesterday, USA Today said the majority of the country’s wealthiest districts were represented by Democrats... a plutocracy with all the prerequisite contempt for the have nots..."Aligning herself with the TEA Party/Townhall movement may seem like a natural fit for the 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate, but Sarah Palin must tread carefully. She doesn't want to completely burn her bridges to the GOP establishment. She has a few friends inside the Beltway -- Fred Malek is one -- whom she doesn't want to alienate. There's nothing like having grassroots support, but if Sarah Palin wants to be president some day, she will need the support of big donors and the big campaign contributions they make to pull it off. And these money men are to be found almost exclusively among the members of the establishment. In The Art of War, Sun Tzu advised to never fight a battle that can be avoided because it wastes people and resources. He also advised that when you do decide to fight, choose your battles and battlegrounds carefully.
"Let us not forget the conservative elite, floundering though it is, and their contempt for Palin and the conservative base."
So the former governor must choose very carefully those candidates whom she will support, endorse and campaign for. A good example is the Nevada race to oust Senate majority leader Harry Reid. Sue Lowden and Danny Tarkanian are the two leading canidates for the GOP nomination. Lowden has stated that she's a Palin fan who views herself as similar in several respects, including her views on the issues. But Sarah's dad and her brother have been campaigning for Tarkanian across Nevada. Since Sarah has not interjected herself into the race, the help for Tarkanian from her family has so far allowed Sarah Palin to avoid alienating Lowden and most of Sue's supporters. It's a good example of the former governor wisely avoiding a costly battle which doesn't have to be fought.
Some other candidates shouldn't present such a problem. In New York's 23rd District, for example, Sarah can set herself apart from Newt Gingrich by giving her support to Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman, as have Fred and Jeri Thompson. Gingrich, rather inexplicably, has joined the RNC and NRCC in endorsing liberal Republican Dede Scozzafava. Meanwhile in Florida, now that Sarah Palin is no longer a governor, it also shouldn't be a problem for her to throw her support behind conservative Marco Rubio in his battle with Vichy Republican Charlie Crist, even though Crist was once Palin's colleague in the Republican Governors Association. It is in individual contests like these where Sarah Palin can go against the GOP establishment and still keep those friends she has and needs inside the Beltway.
Sarah Palin must walk a fine line between populism and party. By wisely using her new oranization to promote those policies which are important to her, and her existing PAC to support the campaigns of viable conservative candidates, she can position herself as the leader Republicans as well as independent conservatives and libertarians will want to follow.
- JP
Well mentioned, indeed. I don't think her plan needs to be too complex, however. To my mind, Sarah should continue to identify as a Republican "politician," but pound away with a straightforward, unmistakably conservative message. If she sticks to that unwavering message, and then sticks to it again and again and again, she can smile and march right through the chaos essentially unharmed, toward something viable in terms of a run. Again, if her message remains unwavering and clear, the conservative movement (currently in disarray) will reshape itself around ~her~ and not vice versa. Like Reagan, I do believe that Sarah possesses that rare, innate power of conviction, the gift that transcends so many of the standard political obstacles which tend to sink less genuine, less optimistic leaders. I have no doubt about her ability to draw the focus back to populist conservatism in the Republican party, once she makes her move and makes it clear that it's ~her~ move, and does not deviate from her conservative message.
ReplyDeleteThe overriding issue is going to be excessive spending caused by the Culture of Corruption in Washington, DC. If Sarah wants to put the country first, she is going to have to address Term Limits. I believe the Tea Party participants, the libertarian and the religious Republicans would go for that, but she'd loose the Republican Power Brokers [the ones having served multiple terms in Congress]. I trust she'll go against corruption and the power bokers.
ReplyDeleteRemaining with the GOP would be a losing strategy for Palin. Conservatives need to reject the GOP; they've already rejected us.
ReplyDeleteDisagree, Tom. Ronald Reagan said it best:
ReplyDelete"Well, third parties have been notoriously unsuccessful; they usually wind up dividing the very people that should be united. And then we elect the wrong kind–the side we’re out to defeat wins. I have been doing my best to try to revitalize the Republican Party groups that I’ve spoken to, on the basis that the time has come to repudiate those in our midst who would blur the Republican image by saying we should be all things to all people in order to triumph. Lately, we find that of the 26 percent of the people who didn’t vote, more than half of them now say they didn’t vote because they don’t see any difference between the parties. I’ve been urging Republicans to raise a banner and put the things we stand for on that banner and don’t compromise, but don’t try to enlarge the party by being all things to everyone when you can’t keep all the promises. Put up a banner and then count on the fact that if you’ve got the proper things on that banner the people will rally round."
Sarah needs to do what Reagan did, which is to revitalize the GOP, helping conservatives to take the party back from the Vichy Republicans from the precinct level on up.
The logistics alone of getting a third party organized is a staggering obstacle. First, you have to get it on the ballot in all 50 states, and the Dems and the GOP will fight that. Then you have to get boots on the ground - precincvt captains, county chairmen, volunteers, etc. Finally, the GOP has voter lists already plugged into a computerized database for direct mail and canvassing purposes. A third party would have to start building that kind of infrastructure from the ground up. Even if it were successful, it would take at least a decade to do it.
- JP
Josh, you need to retink this "Fred Malek is a supporter" meme. Mitt Romney's Free and Strong America PAC released its September financial statements yesterday, and they show Fred Malek contributed a maximum $5,000 to Mitt Romney on September 4, 2009.
ReplyDeleteIt's pretty clear that Malek has now signed on to "Team Romney". He may still remain friendly with Sarah, but his new political allegiance is clear.
Rusty, just because a person makes a contribution to a pol's leadership PAC does not mean that person is supporting that pol exclusively.
ReplyDeleteSarah Palin has made contributions from her own PAC to several politicians who don't share her political positions. One of them is Lindsey Graham, and I doubt that she supports him much, if at all. Her contribution to Graham was in fact just payback for a political favor. Graham had made a contribution to SarahPAC when it was just getting off the ground, and she simply returned the favor.
It's no secret that Malek is a moderate, but he has done some favors for Sarah that no other GOP establishment type was willing to do. He has introduced her to a number of Republican heavy hitters (not to mention heavy donors), and he has defended her both on his own blog and in sever RedState.com diaries. He is her firend, but that doesn't mean that he has other friends.
Fred Malek will support whoever the party's nominee is. He's a party man, always has been. Oh by the way, Malek has also donated to SarahPAC.
- JP
Typo - meant to say "that doesn't mean that he does *not* have other friends.
ReplyDeleteBTW, here's a source on Malek's contribution (at least $3,700) to SarahPAC:
http://texas4palin.blogspot.com/2009/07/sarahpac-raised-733000-in-five-months.html
- JP
The quote from Reagan is almost eerie, it's so perfect.
ReplyDeleteSarah should tread lightly with her support and only give her support where their commitment to her is firm. She should continue to be seen as one of the leading opponents and critics of the Obama Administration. I would like to see her began a new movement where those that have not been previously politically involved, will feel welcome to join.
ReplyDeleteI want her to remain in the GOP, but declare to the moderates she will not give one inch to their Liberal Lite agenda, in their pursuit to make the LEFT/MSM like them. The conservatives do not have to give any ground to the moderates. Mr. Schmidt has it all wrong about the election being run to the middle to win. The moderates will have to make their choice between Obama and the GOP nominee. If the nominee is a moderate, the conservatives will stay home. If the nominee is a conservative, ideally a Washington/Media outsider the moderates will take their no stance on the issues approach, hold their nose and go with the conservative.
Believe me the conservatives are willing go the distance and let the political pendulum swing as far LEFT as necessary for Americans to wake up to see that our nation has abandoned the Traditionalist lifestyle at their own detriment. Sarah doesn't have to be in a hurry to become President. If she is not the nominee and the nominee is too Liberal for the base? She should just stay home and her followers will gear up the next time. If the nominee is too her liking, this is where she should through all her support behind. If this leads to victory, she'll have earned herself a significant role in the new administration and improve her resume for the future.