An Open Letter to Sarah Palin

- by Lisa Graas
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Dear Governor Palin,

It's come to my attention that there is a rumor going around that you might have lost my support to some extent recently, so I think it's important that I set the record straight for all of my readers and for you, as well. The best way to do that, I think, is to just start from the beginning to explain why I'm here and why I'm not going anywhere as far as my support for you goes.

Though I have a long history of political involvement, a few years back a certain sense of defeatism settled into my soul which informed me (wrongly) that the powers that be were just too oppressive for this mom in central Kentucky to be able to make much of a difference beyond voting for the candidates that other interested parties select for me. After all, I have four children who keep me quite busy and, well, truth be told, I have a lot of fairly big things to deal with besides.

I don't even really remember what I was doing back in August of 2008, but it certainly wasn't blogging and tweeting. I do know that I had resigned myself to taking a back seat in politics. It had become too easy to tell myself that I was in far too much pain and had too many other responsibilities to be as involved as I had been before. Those concerns all evaporated on August 29, 2008.

Now, here's a familiar story because so many can relate the same experience themselves with only slight variations. I remember hearing that John McCain had selected a running mate and that it was believed to be Sarah Palin, the Governor of Alaska. I had no earthly idea who you were, but I was excited that we might have a woman on the ticket -- and I certainly hoped she'd be pro-life. I remember calling my elderly mom and sharing the news with her. She didn't know who you were either, but I was about to jump out of my skin with excitement to find out. Mom and I tuned in to C-SPAN (or maybe it was Fox), on the edges of our seats, watching and waiting as you were announced. I can tell you, we loved you before you walked onto the stage. We loved you A LOT. Your speech still inspires me.



This singular event changed our lives profoundly. Nothing has been the same since. It is very rare that a day passes without your name being mentioned in our house either in expressing glee over one of your triumphs or in discussing our hopes for the future of our country. (For days on end, my girls' favorite thing to say was "Right next to the mashed potatoes!") It's almost as though you are family here, and our support for you has not abated once since August 29, 2008. In fact, okay, I'll admit it. What I couldn't do for my mom in 17 years of pro-life activism, you did with one speech. The next day, Mom went out and registered to vote after having given up completely on government. (Her last vote had been for Jimmy Carter.) In November, 2008, she voted for a Republican for the first time in her 72 years -- the whole ticket, that is. All my time helping to write informed consent legislation, knocking on doors for pro-life candidates (just because they were pro-life) and being a crisis pregnancy counselor hadn't moved her. One speech from you and she's totally on board now, so............thanks. I appreciate that.

Having said that, I drink the proverbial Kool-Aid for no one. I want to be up front in saying that there have been two times when I have had my doubts. The first time was on the day of your resignation. I remember emailing one of my closest compatriots who follows the news about you even more closely than I do. I trust her judgment. I asked if there is "another shoe". She replied, "There is no other shoe." That, coupled with the fact that you asked us all to trust you was quite enough for me. No more doubts. In fact, it's not merely a metaphor when I say that my jaw dropped open in astonishment in my realizing that you (or anyone) would do something so utterly selfless. I understand sacrifice pretty well and I know it when I see it.

The second time I doubted was when you took time off to write your book. I kinda thought that maybe it wasn't such a good idea. Again, I turned to my compatriot and she assured me this was best. I put my trust in you a second time, though the doubt was very real...........but, you know, it's quite impossible to trust in the absence of doubt. Doubt gives us the opportunity to trust.......and I did trust you even as I doubted. At the same time, I decided that if you were going to take a break, I would too! I turned over the Palin Twibe to a few of my compatriots while I went back to work on my vocations site. It's important to note here that deep inside I knew very well that I'd be back for 2012. It was also a very real concern of mine that because of my online presence and support for you, there would be candidates crawling out of the woodwork looking for my support. I reeeeeallly did not want to deal with what I knew would be a flood of requests........so back to the vocations site I went.

As you know, things don't always work out the way you want them to. You can plan all you like, but life will ever be an adventure. There is always a decision to make, always someone trying to wreck the glory train, always the greater good that needs to be fought for in large battles or in small. It became clear to me fairly quickly that no matter what you might be doing with yourself, Governor, the opposition will be on the march against you. I just couldn't let that go on without saying something. Also, about those candidates, I was right. They were crawling out of the woodwork. I'm staying focused on Kentucky, though.

So, there you have it. That's the basic story on my support for you. I think it should be pretty clear to everyone now that I am back on board, full force. For the record, you never EVER lost my support. To the contrary, in the roughest times for me, when I have had some doubts, you have earned my deepest trust. I'm not going anywhere. Even if your own people give me a hard time, I'm in for the long haul. You couldn't beat me back with a stick. Not even a hockey stick.

Wishing you all the best for the future of America.

- Lisa

Lisa Graas is editor of the Palin Twibe Blog and several other websites. She is a regular contributor to Texas for Sarah Palin.