Decker: Palin power - Fight like a girl

Her Madison speech reminds why she would be a formidable candidate
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Editorial page editor Brett Decker, in a Sunday Washington Times op-ed, takes issue with naysayers -- most of them from the left and the Vichy Republican camps -- who subscribe to the corrupt media's meme that Gov. Palin is not electable. On the contrary, argues Decker, she would be an impressive candidate to be reckoned with:

Sarah Palin gave a rip-roaring speech in Wisconsin on Saturday that excoriated President Obama’s deficit spending and took swipes at Republicans inside the Beltway for going along to get along. ... Mrs. Palin’s weekend tour de force to a Tea Party Tax Day rally delivered a simple message: Don’t forget about me; I’m still out here, I’m really conservative, and I have a strong following.

The former Alaska governor’s pep talk reminds why she would be a formidable candidate. Not only did she hammer away at the substance of today’s economic and moral crises, she was exciting.... The anger she showed for recent budget deals strikes a raw nerve among important Tea Party voters.

Sounding like a candidate, Mrs. Palin told the Madison, Wis., crowd, “The 2012 elections begin here.” She should be underestimated by the rest of the primary field at their own peril because lots of Americans support her message and the passion with which it’s delivered. Working to appeal to a new, strong conservative brand of feminism that is becoming an important political force – what Mrs. Palin calls Mama Grizzlies – she said, “What we need is for you to stand up, GOP, and fight … GOP leaders need to learn how to fight like a girl.

It’s too early to know how the Alaskan would fare on the campaign trail, but it’s time to put to rest the simplistic wave of the hand that many use to condescendingly dismiss Mrs. Palin – that is, that she’s unelectable. We’re talking about a public office that has been occupied by Jimmy Carter and Barry Obama, after all.

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- JP