Daria DiGiovanni: Palin, Haley and the Palmetto State Primary

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This commentary by Daria DiGiovanni at Parcbench.com is worth the read. We've excerpted the first few paragraphs:

When it comes to Sarah Palin, one thing’s for certain: her critics on both the left and right are incapable of constructive criticism. To the everlasting shame of the current state of our cultural and political landscape, we’ve become tragically accustomed to the depraved, illogical and relentless attacks on her from the Obama-worshipping crowd hell-bent on destroying their messiah’s most vocal, principled and courageous opponent.

But as the reaction of many Facebook conservatives to the South Carolina primary results indicates, at least some on the right have either lost the ability to respectfully debate on substance, or fallen victim to a less virulent, though equally unattractive strain of Palin Derangement Syndrome. If they are disappointed in Palin for endorsing Nikki Haley, it necessarily follows that her entire proven track record of reform, good governance and principled leadership suddenly disappears in puff of self-righteous indignation.

Thus the woman who successfully triumphed over Alaska’s “Corrupt Bastards Club” (CBC) is chastised as a “sell-out”, a self-serving member of the establishment and—most reminiscent of our friends on the Left—a dumb hick who, on second-thought, really doesn’t bear that much of a resemblance to Ronald Reagan after all. Never mind that Reagan often endorsed candidates with whom he had a few policy disagreements.

Ms. DiGiovanni is the author of a novel, Water Signs: A Story of Love and Renewal, and co-host of the "Conservative Republican Forum" program on Blog Talk Radio. Read her full Parcbench op-ed here.

- JP