Sarah Palin…Yes Really
Gabriel Rom
The lady hasn’t been out in the political landscape for more than 24 hours and already, she’s being attacked from all sides, this site included. That of course is expected, she’s a 44 year gun-toting, anti abortion hockey mom from Alaska, but even so, the women is more dimensional than many are giving her credit for
Sarah Palin has an 80% approval rating in her home state, but like many Alaskian republicans has not been able to escape some of the corruption investigations that plagues the state’s party. Ironically, this is in part due to Palin’s relentless anti corruption crusades, taking on bigwhigs in the democratic party as well as her own.
You’re absolutely right on the cleansing that’s needed in our party, in the Republican Party.
- Sarah Palin [1]
The woman isn’t all talk though, she cannot and should not be written off just get as an empty dress (see bimbo) that was chosen just to court the evangelical and woman votes. Sarah Palin has taken on one of the most corrupt state parties in the country, she has made bitter enemies, and had to deal with (as of now) unsubstantiated corruption allegations, primarily propagated by the very people she has been trying to convict and/or oust. [2] She had to beat the incumbent republican to achieve her position, running on a moderate ticket for govenor that alienated many republicans, and additionally convinced the Lt.Gov. of Alaska Sean Parnell to jump into the GOP party to beat the incumbent.
Palin has also threatened to support democrats if GOP members wouldn’t support her tax and spend policies. Shes a shrewd, political, no-nonsense type of woman, and not the “beauty queen airhead” many have quickly pigeonholed her as.
That all being said, McCain’s VP choice is a risk, and a huge one at that. Palin does have blaringly obvious political purposes – Women, evangelicals (social conservatives), and McCain needs these votes. Barack Obama is winning this election, in the poll sna din the media, and McCain had to take a risk with his VP. But possibly unforseen by the McCain camp Palin’s pro-life anti-abortion sentiments pose a pandora’s box with voters. She may be able to bring in some hardline conservatives who were having doubts about McCain, but in the meantime she’ll also be losing a swath of liberal Hillary supporters who would have an incredibly hard time voting for a candidate who has a pro-life vp on the ticket.
What all this means for McCain, we will see in the upcoming weeks. I look forward to a Biden-Palin debate. I, and I think a good many others, have a feeling she’ll hold her own much better than the naysayers on left would wish to admit.