Christopher Massie's vetting of Sarah Palin

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Christopher Massie's CFP op-ed, "Vetting Sarah Palin—The Assignment of a Lifetime" is one of those pieces of work about which the oft-repeated blogger admonition to "read the whole thing" takes on special meaning. For it is simply one of the most outstanding articles ever written about Gov. Palin.

Massie sets the table for his editorial feast by by pointing to the attacks on Christine O'Donnell by heretofore conservative stalwarts Karl Rove and Charles Krauthammer. By attacking Ms. O'Donnell, the pair are by proxy waging war on Sarah Palin, who has become somewhat of a mentor for candidate O'Donnell. The author then moves on the significance of the timing of the attacks, coming as they do at a time when a larger war is raging -- one between the new guard (the TEA Party movement) and the old (the establishment -- for the very soul of the Republican Party. He points out that a crucial in an even greater war is fast approaching. The battle is the midterm elections just a few short weeks away, and this war is for the very heart and soul of the republic. Gov. Palin, says Massie, is supplying much of the momentum for the TEA Party movement.

And so his vetting of Sarah Heath Palin begins. Massie take conducts a historic tour through her political career, from her beginnings as a city councilwoman, through her terms as a mayo, on to the governor's office and into the presidential campaign of 2008. The unifying thread which runs through all of these stages is her fight against the corrupt status quo of political establishments each one of these venues. Sarah Palin's abiding faith in God saw her through these many battles and allowed her to keep her strong character and personal character intact.

But her own political party has pulled out all of the stops in its effort to stop her, and in the process has even adopt the political playbook used by the Democrats. Now the national Republicans have embraced the same Alinsky rules used against them by the Democrats to try to destroy Sarah Palin and the TEA party movement:

As this nation heads towards November, a crucial turning point in American history, Palin’s foes are making hay. Political strategists the likes of Karl Rove and Charles Krauthammer have emerged from the old boys’ network closet. The most infamous, nepotistically-influenced, former Palin competitor Lisa Murkowski has announced she will run again this November—as a write in. In these days, it is wise to recall the actions of Harry Reid in 2006 when he summoned then-Senator Obama, instructing Barack it was the Party’s intentions to have him run for the Presidency (even though it would not be until the summer of 2008 that Reid would publicly endorse the Senator from Illinois).

The Democrats (led by Reid) would have done anything to defeat Hillary—and they did it stealthily. The GOP is taking a page from that book. There is an all-too-familiar episode re-playing itself for voters to witness this season. The GOP loathes Sarah Palin. And the Party is now setting about to deeply unsettle those successful candidates she has promoted. The evidence is glaringly obvious. Murkowski has been unleashed; Rove and Krauthammer are doing their bidding. The events unfolding are towards one goal: the destruction of Palin’s bid for the Presidency.

Enough excerpts. Follow this link to the original opinion piece. Bookmark it, read it, email it to friends, no matter whether they are left right or center.

It's that good.

- JP