Sarah Palin is proving that an effective leader never has to apologize for being conservative, or stoop to empty aisle-crossing rhetoric when it comes to a winning election strategy. The clear, uncompromising delineation of bedrock party values allows conservative citizens to identify leaders that genuinely share their principles. The result? Conservative feet that stayed away in previous elections are now ready to storm the polls. If the past several weeks have taught us anything about the past few years, it's that the GOP leadership's watered-down attempt to lodge itself in some sort of political "blind-spot" has unquestionably betrayed us.
Clear voices inspire clear choices. To rally the understandably jaded Republican base, no one has to tell us what we "want to hear." We already know what we believe. That's why we're conservatives. Just tell us who you truly are and, if you meet the standards of conservative character and integrity, we'll be there.
Sarah Palin's whip-cracking efforts in the past several weeks have underscored this simple but spectacular approach. One hesitates to even call it a "strategy" because, in some respects, that word implies back-room dealings and capitulation these days. Palin has no use for the smoke and mirrors favored by so many fence-sitters in the GOP--sitters now scrambling to avoid the fallout of their own identity crises. The Palin endorsement of Hoffman was a clarion call that put Reagan-era conservatism front-and-center in the duty to save the party by remonstrance, if necessary. Now, Sarah's lending her inimitable voice to the gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey. In a robocall for Republican Bob McDonnell's campaign, Sarah says:
Palin has recorded a robocall message to encourage Virginians to vote on Tuesday, the Washington Post reports.
"Virginia, hello, this is Sarah Palin calling to urge you to go to the polls Tuesday and vote to share our principles. The eyes of America will be on Virginia and make no mistake about it, every vote counts. So don't take anything for granted, vote your values on Tuesday, and urge your friends and family to vote, too."Money for this call is coming from the Virginia Faith and Freedom Coalition, marking perhaps the strongest example yet of Sarah's public commitment to "values-voting" and its crucial role in the conservative destiny. Interestingly enough, McDonnell's campaign had opted last year to stop seeking Sarah's approval and instead pursue a McCain-style "let's aim for the swing voter" stance. With all due respect to Bob McDonnell, the landslide victory upon which he's currently poised is not going to be triggered by wishy-washy RINOs. The base had been galvanized, and is about to make its presence known. Much the same can be said for the New Jersey race, where Sarah proves that she does indeed have the GOPs rejuvenation firmly in her cross hairs. She's taken third-party candidate Chris Daggett to task on her Facebook page, wagging a finger at him for "playing loose with the facts" as Republican Chris Christie begins to edge his Democrat rival in the polls.
Thus, Sarah once again takes the most powerful and ahead-of-the-curve leadership role for conservatives in the nation. It was the work of Americans like Sarah and Fred Thompson who did us all the great service of forcing someone like Dede Scozzafava into the light of scrutiny, exposing her for what she truly is: poster-girl for the GOP's harrowing decline. But Sarah's not worried. Her battle is being fought for true conservatism, and whether you're a Republican or third party candidate, you'd better know who's buttering your bread by now. Clue: it's us.
We're called "conservatives." Don't forget it again.
- Ian
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