Now Is The Time…

By Marion Algier – AskMarion

Do not listen to the nay sayers and doomsday predictors… Now is the time to stand-up and fight.  A coalition of conservative voices, fiscal conservatives, Constitutionalists, independent thinkers and Libertarians are on the verge of taking over the Republican Party and the taste for freedom is in the air around the world, like in Egypt… Yet OBAMA OFFICIALS to Offer Muslim Brotherhood Top Positions in Egyptian Government (Video)

Video:  We Are On The Verge Of Taking Over The Republican Party

The Republican Establishment, the RINOS, who are part of the power elite system that run both parties, are split; half think Average Americans are stupid and the other half fear Conservatives, Libertarians and all common sense thinking Patriotic Americans to the point that they will go to any measures to spy on Americans, manipulate the law and judicial rulings, subvert investigations, manipulate the media and entertainment industries, and destroy anyone who shows the slightest ability and glimmer of possibly becoming a rising star or strong voice of reason and opposition in the GOP or the media, especially if they are conservative minority voices. Opposing voices in the Democrat party tend to become Independents or Republicans rather than fight the leadership within their Progressive party.

The fight and focus for the revitalization of the Republican Party and to save America must be on the forefront and begin with the 2014 Election and then be continued through the 2016 Election.  The Democrat party is very aware of that and preparing for those battles and all the smaller ones leading up to the elections is at least part of what has caused many of the scandals plaguing the Obama Administration… as more and more people are speaking up and in-turn waking up every day.  The IRS investigations, auditing and holding up of ‘tax exempt status’ of hundreds of conservative and religious groups, as well as already existing groups like the Leadership Institute and the Claire Booth Luce Organization, that affected the outcome of the 2012 Election ‘was not’ an accident, just as the subversion of information regarding the Benghazi Attack including the purposeful hiding of witnesses is not a accident.  And sadly some of this comes from support of members in both parties.

It is time to clean house in the Republican Party and as Beck says, we have never been closer to taking over the reins.  It is time for every concerned American to step up their efforts or start getting involved  in the name of truth, honest and fair elections, the Constitution, a government that represents the interests of the people and a clear choice between two parties of differing ideologies.

As Beck mentions in the video, we are at the point where the Republican Party replaced the Whigs, resulting in the election of the first Republican President, Abraham Lincoln.

The Whig Party: In 1834 political opponents of President Andrew Jackson organized a new party to contest Jacksonian Democrats nationally and in the states. Guided by their most prominent leader, Henry Clay, they called themselves Whigs-the name of the English antimonarchist party-the better to stigmatize the seventh president as 'King Andrew.' They were immediately derided by the Jacksonian Democrats as a party devoted to the interests of wealth and aristocracy, a charge they were never able to shake completely. Yet during the party's brief life, it managed to win support from diverse economic groups in all sections and to hold its own in presidential elections.

Although unable to unite behind a single candidate in 1836, thus permitting Jackson's handpicked successor Martin Van Buren to obtain an electoral majority, the Whigs won a popular vote for their candidates that was close to the popular tally for the Democrats. And in 1840 and 1848, the party captured the White House. Their only loss in a presidential election during the decade occurred in 1844 when Clay lost by a hair to the Democrats' dark horse James K. Polk, who had greater appeal to voters favoring the expansion both of territory and slavery. But in 1852, as slavery's expansion became the great issue of American politics, the Whigs suffered a drastic decline in popularity. And by 1854 they had given up the ghost, no longer able to hold the support of 'cotton Whigs,' who found a more congenial political home in the Democratic party, or of 'conscience Whigs,' who helped form the new Republican party.

Historians have interpreted the Whigs in strikingly different ways. They have been seen as champions of banks, business, corporations, economic growth, the positive liberal state, humanitarian reform, and morality in politics, and as opponents of expansionism, executive tyranny, states' rights, labor, and the democratic suffrage, among other things. These dissimilar assessments are unsurprising given the heterogeneity of the party itself, in its leaders, policies and programs, political style, and rank-and-file supporters.

The Whig party was founded by individuals united only in their antagonism to Jackson's war on the Second Bank of the United States and his high-handed measures in waging that war and ignoring Supreme Court decisions, the Constitution, and Indian rights embodied in federal treaties. Beyond that, however, there were Whigs and Whigs. Some played the demagogic anti-Catholic game; others scorned it. Some spoke critically of working people; others, admiringly. Detailed studies of the Whig party in the states and biographies of such Whig leaders as Clay, William Seward, Daniel Webster, and Horace Greeley reveal dissimilar policies from one state to another and important differences in the character, beliefs, and actions of the leaders. Thurlow Weed was much more opportunistic than his New York State colleague Seward. Thaddeus Stevens of Pennsylvania was more high-minded and not nearly as pragmatic as Clay of Kentucky. For all Clay's political flexibility and his lust for the presidency, he could still inspire the young congressman from Illinois, Abraham Lincoln.

The tendency of Whig officeholders to vote as a bloc on certain issues, in opposition to Democratic blocs, helps account for the tendency of some historians to exaggerate the extent and depth of Whig single-mindedness. In Congress, Whigs supported the Second Bank of the United States, a high tariff, distribution of land revenues to the states, relief legislation to mitigate the effects of the great depression that followed the financial panics of 1837 and 1839, and federal reapportionment of House seats (a 'reform' likely to enlarge Whig representation in Congress). Studies of voting patterns in the states reveal Whig support of banks, limited liability for corporations, prison reform, educational reform, abolition of capital punishment, and temperance. Although the Whig party was hardly an antislavery party, free blacks and abolitionists overwhelmingly preferred it to more ardently proslavery Jacksonian Democrats.

The old notion propagated by the party's enemies-that the Whigs drew their support primarily from the rich and the well-to-do-has been sharply modified by modern scholarship. The relatively few rich men in the country did prefer Whigs to Democrats, but by a modest margin. Whigs fared well at the polls among people of all classes in economically dynamic communities heavily engaged in commerce. Jacksonian propaganda did induce many people to regard the Whigs as an upper-class party (not organized working men, however, whose leaders dismissed both Democrats and Whigs as 'humbugs'). Yet Whigs could win presidential elections, governorships, and state legislature majorities only because they attracted mass support. Although they received the votes of many small farmers, shopkeepers, clerks, and artisans, they appear to have appealed particularly to what some modern historians call distinctive ethnocultural groups: evangelical as opposed to liturgical Protestants; moralists and abstainers; persons unhappy with brutal treatment of blacks and Native Americans. In some states Whig leaders seemed so critical of political parties that they appeared to be religious zealots rather than party leaders. Yet for all their antiparty rhetoric, Whigs were as realistic and efficiently organized as their Democratic opponents.

American major parties develop their own distinctive auras that are no less real for being intangible and unmeasurable. In that time, Whig and Democratic leaders were strikingly similar in such significant characteristics as wealth, occupational prestige, a fundamentally conservative social ideology, materialism, and opportunism. These similarities help explain why both major parties were attractive to moneyed men. But it is unwise to discount the significance of the unique blending of moral values and social philosophies that some imaginative historians have recently discerned in Whig leaders, a blending that helps account for the Whigs' special appeal to one rather than another kind of individual.

Ultimately, however, the Whigs are best understood as an American major party trying to be many things to many men, ready to abandon one deeply held 'conviction' for another in the drive for political power. The party died not because its unique aura no longer appealed to voters but because it could not cope effectively or persuasively with some of the issues of the time.

The Democrat Party has already undergone its own change, morphing from the Democrat Party of our grandfathers to the Progressive Party that it is today.  But because the fresh voices on the right have been thwarted from both sides and were delayed in breaking out of their cocoon, leaving the Republican Establishment, that is all too much like their Democrat counterparts, in power, the opportunity of a real election choice has been stolen from the American people for several cycles now.

And it is the fresh voices within the Republican Party that are rising that the Progressive left fears, because they are an honest alternative choice for Americans.  It is why both the left and the GOP leadership fear (feared) and demonized the Tea Party.  It is why they feared Sarah Palin and why the biased left media created Palin Derangement Syndrome, based on lies, manipulation, and distortions, that little by little have bubbled to the surface in various forms of exonerations proving that Palin was purposely set-up by the left as well as GOP leadership.  It is also why the mainstream media ignores, minimizes coverage and distorts the words and accomplishments of other politicians like Senators Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, and Mike Lee; Mayor and Congressional candidate Mia Love; Representatives Michelle Bachmann, Jason Chaffetz and a long list of others; plus most anyone who speaks out against the machine that is in place.

It is also time to put the in-fighting behind us.  The bitter 2012 primary debates on the Republican side certainly didn’t help anyone.  And the arguments between people who are generally on the same side need to stop as well.  Time to see and focus on the bigger picture.  For those not aware, there has been an on-going, mostly one-sided feud between Mark Levin and Glenn Beck.  This past week Mark Levin recognized on-air that he got a nice note from Glenn Beck the other day and called it an “absolute class act”. He went on to say:

“I think it’s long over due that Glenn Beck and I do what we can in our own roles to help save the country and restore the Republic.”

Side Note: The one sided feud began in 2010 over the direction of the conservative movement. Glenn was bashing progressive republicans and Mark Levin was focused on winning back the House. They just saw things differently. It took off after Glenn Beck’s CPAC speech. But it was mostly Mark Levin ranting about Glenn. Glenn never went after Levin.

None of us agree with anyone all of the time.  If we can agree most of the time there is room for compromise to focus on the bigger issues and common enemies, a concept that President Ronald Reagan firmly believed in.  He was a master of constructive compromise. Far too many Conservatives, Libertarians, Evangelicals, Independents, and just plain concerned patriotic Americans forgot this in 2012.

Get-involved!! Educate yourself and then share what you have learned… not what the mainstream media is feeding you… with friends, family, neighbors and anyone who will listen, however hesitantly.  Get involved in a campaign.  Support issues and candidates locally, statewide and nationally with funds, volunteering or just sharing their message. Run yourself.  Start a blog.  Be present in the truth and if you are so inclined.. pray.

Now is the time to stand-up for choice, freedom, America and fresh voices within the Republican Party!!

New Book: Collusion: How the Media Stole the 2012 Election---and How to Stop Them from Doing It in 2016/Kindle

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Flash Poll Immediately After First Presidential Debate Found Romney the Big Winner, Independents Turn on Obama

Video: First Presidential Debate: Obama vs. Romney (Complete HD - Quality Audio)

A Newsmax/InsiderAdvantage Flash Poll conducted immediately after Wednesday's presidential debate finds that Mitt Romney won by a significant margin.

Asked who won the debate, 52 percent of respondents said Romney did, with 45 percent for Obama. Undecided/neither was 3 percent.

Pollster Matt Towery says "the results largely followed party lines, but independents broke in favor of Romney, moving the dial in his favor."

The poll sampled 373 likely voters nationwide, with a margin of error of 5 points.

CNN flash poll:  67% said Romney won, only 27 % said Obama won with 3% not sure.

Looks like they are leaning right… after Wednesday night

Anatomy Of An Ass Kicking

TPN: First things first, I usually only release these guys for electoral victories, but what the hey. Last night's Romney victory was so overwhelming, (and Obama's performance was likewise so underwhelming,) that I believe it is fitting to let fly the Baby Elephants.

I have two clips here for comparison on the analysis of last night's events. The first is from Michelle Malkin, who managed to catch some of the things that I missed in my euphoria last night. Suffice it to say that Willard Romney exceeded even the lofty expectations that came with Chris Christie's confident tossing of the proverbial gauntlet. What Mitt Romney did specifically was to take every single ridiculous canard ever uttered as a lefty talking point over the past three decades and use fact, reason, and plain English to use that canard as a weapon with which to bitch slap President Zero. Had John McCain showed half this amount of fight four years ago, he would be President today, defending himself against Hillary Clinton. How bad was the beat down? At one point during the evening's festivities, Little Barry pleaded with Jim Lehrer to change topics, the debate equivalent to declaring a TKO.

And now for something completely different, and by different I mean watching Chrissy Mathews come completely unglued in his, "objectivity," while describing his take on how the debate went. (I guess he didn't have that thrill going up his leg last night.) I will at this point in time point out that Jim Lehrer gave me an unexpected pleasant surprise with how he handled his moderating duties last night. The debate was not at all about Lehrer being the star, or about how slantingly he could phrase his questions. He merely stated a topic, gave it a gentle nudge to get the juices flowing, and then removed himself from the conversation. That was the first time in my memory watching the two candidates primarily having a substantive discussion on values, beliefs, philosophies, agendas, and policy positions in which they were able to speak to the issues and differences in any sort of a meaningful way. It was truly an argument in the arena of ideas. So how did Chrissy see it all?

When I was in High School, much longer ago than I certainly like to admit, my girlfriend was on the school's debate team. I went to one of her events, and two things immediately struck me. One, She was really quite a lot smarter than I was, and two, the rules of the debate seemed rather odd. Each team was given a week to prepare for the upcoming debate, but rather than assign differing sides to an issue, each team was allowed to choose which side they would take. They had to prepare rebuttals to both sides, not knowing which side the other team would take. I found it amusing that every team at almost every debate chose the same side to argue.

There are many people on the left and right who felt Barack Obama came in woefully under prepared for last night's debate. While that may be true, it is also true that Barack Obama is in the position of having to defend the worst Administration in America's 236 year history. He has no such choice as to which position of this debate he would like to argue. When you take away the smoke and mirrors, the spin, the lap dog media, and his stellar ability to read a speech from a teleprompter, this election, and mostly these debates will be about whether we should award another four years of America's future to Barack Obama.

In his first statement, Barack Obama told us that this election should not be about the past, but about the future. Them's not exactly fighting words, them's hiding words. In a nut shell, President Obama is walking a tightrope here. On the one hand he's happy to have the natural advantage of incumbency on his side in the upcoming election, and on the other hand, he would rather voters really not think too long or hard as to what kind of a job he's done during the previous four years. There's already been a lot of hand wringing on the left about why oh why Barack Obama did not bring up this point or that point, mostly pieces of the aforementioned ridiculousness concerning the supposed 47% gaffe, Bain Capital, war on women, etc. There is a reason for that. President Obama started trotting out the talking points early and often in the first ten minutes of the evening. He got what he thought were his best kill shots fired back at him in a manner that left visible marks on his person and psyche. After 20 minutes of that, five of his best punches having left its indelible mark on his squarely paddled backside, the rest of the evening became about Barack Obama's attempt to run out the clock and put an end to the misery of the left. Barack Obama's speech became noticeably slow, pretty much the same cadence one might find in the local police department drunk tank. He spoke long and slowly, and avoided anything even resembling a point, lest it be rolled up in stone and fired back at him as another candidacy ending salvo.

Mitt Romney on the other hand had another challenge. The Obama campaign has spent Hundreds of Millions of dollars in an effort to portray Mitt Romney as evil to his core, a man we should expect to see entering the debate sporting horns on his head and with a barbed tail protruding from under his suit coat. The only thing Romney needed to do in order to win was to walk out on stage without a red pitch fork and not eat a baby in some sort of ritualistic sacrifice. As no babies died in Denver last night, and Mitt Romney did not have any props which could be mistaken for a red pitchfork, everything else that happened was gravy. There was oh so much gravy. My personal favorite moment of the night was early on when Barack brought up my pet peeve of Democrat canards, those supposed oil subsidies, which as a matter of fact are nothing more than straight line expense deductions any business takes while preparing their income tax returns. (The oil industry happens to be the second most heavily taxed industry in our nation, with Tobacco being number one.) Mitt politely pointed out that in one year, Green Subsidies are 50 times greater than even the fictitious Oil Subsidies, and for a far smaller benefit I might add.

In the end it was nothing more than one small night which signaled that the race is not over yet. Mitt Romney is still in this race, and is probably ahead if looked at honestly. Special note to the Romney team, Barack Obama is not going to take this lying down. In the game of, "is the Republican Stupid, Senile, of Evil," there is only one choice that fits Mitt Romney. Expect the attacks to be stepped up immediately, and expect the next debate performance made by our President to look different. The good news is that the next one of these will be on foreign policy, just at a time when Obama's endeavors in that area have 25% of America's embassies set ablaze. It should be fun.

Cross Posted from Musings of a Mad Conservative.

Technorati Tags: 2012 Election,debates,Election 2012,Independents,Mitt Romney,Mitt Romney in 2012,polls,Romney wins,Romney-Ryan,TKO,undecideds,VOTERS

The Reality of 2012 Voter Turnout: The White Voter

Battleground Watch:

The largest divergence among conservative and liberal polling critics this election is the debate over who will actually show up at the voting booth this November. Differences between the amounts of Democrats versus Republicans included in the poll are frequent. But embedded in each of these assumptions are questions on the racial make-up and how that varies from election to election. Democrats consistently talk about the “coalition of the ascendant” where the fastest growing segments of the population are minorities. As such they make up an ever-increasing segment of the voting population but also vote overwhelmingly in favor of Democrats. With a shrinking white population and a growing minority population Democrats argue demography as destiny and count on political majorities for the coming generation. That may be true if everything in life moves in a straight line (it doesn’t) but is that true today?

This is the bone of contention between the competing Presidential campaigns and critics of today’s polls. Democrats want to argue the steep increase in minority percentage of the voting electorate from 2008 election was a fundamental shift in the electorate whereas Republicans want to argue the steep increases were a one-off bounce. Both agree on the general direction of the trend. Neither agree how severe that trend will be in 2012. This disagreement is the basis for Democrat over-confidence and lopsided polling today in an election where the two candidates are most likely within 1-2% of one another.

What’s missing in all this analysis is who did not show up in the 2008 election: White voters. Looking back at those results, every voter turnout rate by race (relative to eligible population) was up versus 2004 except the white vote according to Pew Research (April 30, 2009). Blacks were up +4.9%, Hispanics were up +2.7%, Asians were up +2.4%. But the percentage of White voters who showed up at the polls relative to who was eligible dropped -1.1% (Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, May 2010). This has nothing to do with minorities making up more or less of the electorate. This is simply saying from 2004 to 2008 White voter registration (which actually dropped 104k) and actual turnout of White voters (which increased 500k) did not keep up with voting age White population increases.

Within this drop of White voter turnout, over 3x as many men as women comprised those voters staying home in the election. This happened for any number of reasons ranging from a disinterested national party to a disorganized Presidential campaign to a demoralized voting block–all are true. But the bottom line is one of the advantages Barack Obama enjoyed in 2008 was that a meaningful percentage of white voters simply stayed home in 2008. Side note: for anyone who wants to pin the depressed turnout on racism, wouldn’t the opposite have occurred in 2008 if racism really were a motivating factor in the white turnout?

Where this trips up the Obama campaign.

In 2008 Democrats achieved incredible levels of voter registration and turnout of this “coalition of the ascendent” such that Blacks, Hispanics and Asians made up 24% of the voting electorate — all historic highs. Bolstering the appearance of Democrat advantage are countless media stories reporting on Mitt Romney’s struggle appealing to minority groups. Little attention is paid to Barack Obama’s (and Democrat candidates before him) difficulty appealing to White voters who made up 74% of the electorate. Such historic minority levels for the composition of the electorate are predicated on a demoralized and ineligible (meaning unregistered) white population much like in 2008, as demonstrated above.

If John McCain achieved a white voter turnout rate equal to George Bush in 2004, that would have meant 1.7 million more White votes. While all of these votes would not have gone to McCain (nor were they all in battleground states), a super-majority of these voters likely would have voted Republican considering the make-up of the missing voter (white male — Obama’s worst demographic) and the motivated nature of the Obama voter in 2008 (i.e. if they were Obama supporters, only a scant few percent would have stayed home). Those missing votes would have been more than enough to flip the results in any of North Carolina (14k), Indiana (28.5k,), Nevada (121k), Iowa (146k), Colorado (195k), Virginia (234k), Florida (237k) or Ohio (260k) where Obama’s victory margin (in parentheses) is based on a 43% vote share of a decreased turnout.

Today Barack Obama receives approximately 40% of the White vote in polls but often dips below this level especially when polls fail to massively over-sample Democrats. The President is also facing an increasingly enthusiastic bloc of White voters motivated to vote against him (this shows up in every survey) based on his poor record in office. Additionally, Republicans have aggressively targeted the above mentioned states with voter registration efforts reversing or seriously muting the registration advantage Obama enjoyed in 2008. Net gains for Republicans voter registrations in Nevada (53k), Iowa (140k), Colorado (91k) and Florida (240k) all speak to a very different and Republican electorate in those states. On top of registration, voter contacts from the Romney campaign surpassed 26 million eligible voters across the battleground states to date. This is as much as 10-15x as much as the McCain 2008 campaign. This does not dismiss the aggressive and active Obama re-election effort but it simply points out that compared to 2008 he is no longer battling an unarmed opponent.

All of this is to say when David Axelrod or similar Obama campaign talking heads argue aggressively for polls with a racial composition at meaningfully greater minority levels than the 2008 historic turnout, there is another side of that coin and it works heavily against the turnout models of both the Obama campaign and of the vast majority of polls being published today.

Want things to change? Help educate people and help get out the conservative, independent, evangelical and white vote!! Many are not registered.

Related:

Romney Double Digit Lead? 

‘Unskewed’ polls show nearly 8-point Romney lead

Race beginning to look a lot like 1980? What might Ronald Reagan’s victory path mean?

Calling All Concerned Americans to Stand-Up

Does Obama expect to lose? – Secret retirement plans

A Must Watch Before Voting…

Must Reads Before Election 2012

Technorati Tags: whites,polls,white voters,voter registration,voter turnout,voter fraud,Election 2012,2012 Election,Mitt Romney in 2012,Romney-Ryan,conservatives,independents undecideds,evangelicals,Christians,educate yourself,get involved,Caucasians

Letting Sarah Speak – Updated

Marion Algier – Ask Marion

It was just four years ago that John McCain surprised the electorate with his selection of then Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate, the first woman ever to be selected as a Republican VP nomination or part of the GOP ticket and only the second woman in all of U.S. history chosen to run for the #2 position in either party; Democrat Geraldine Ferraro, was the first woman on a presidential ticket in 1984.

The 2008 GOP Convention was the first time most Americans were introduced to Sarah Palin and she rocked the house the night of her convention speech and quickly changed the face of the McCain campaign. Palin soon overshadowed McCain on the campaign trail and within days the McCain/Palin ticket had surged into the lead. And for those who either don’t or choose not to remember that they were ahead in the polls after Palin joined the ticket, Greta Van Susteren just recently pulled out those old polls.

Palin took the 2008 presidential race by storm beginning with her speech accepting the GOP vice-presidential nomination in St. Paul, Minnesota with a performance that electrified the party faithful and received almost universal praise from previously skeptical pundits as well, a fact the has been conveniently forgotten or spun over the past four years.  Many people fell in love with Sarah Palin instantly after hearing her speak that first time and she rallied the party like she does every time she speaks and instantly became a tea party favorite, excited at the prospect of a fresh, inspiring, Reaganesque candidate that was a female to boot.

Tens of thousands regularly turned out for Palin’s 2008 appearances. It was at her first rally in Cali in October 2008 that this writer first saw Sarah Palin speak to a crowd of 23,000 in Carson, CA. I have been a supporter ever since and so are most who hear her speak live and actually listen!

So why isn’t Sarah Palin speaking at the 2012 Republican Convention on Tampa?

Why aren’t any of these people speaking? UPDATE (Aug. 17): It appears that Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich will now be speaking at the GOP Convention; announced since the so-called final speakers list was released after which the poster and campaign below were launched.

Why?

After realizing Sarah Palin’s popularity with the grassroots elements of the Republican party and with average everyday Americans from all parties in 2008 and since, even after their attempts to demonize her, plus Sarah’s overall charisma, it scared the left as well as many within the Republican establishment who quickly developed a case of the phenomenon known as Palin Derangement Syndrome which was promoted by the those who suffer from it and those they control like the leftist mainstream media. ‘They’ were and are afraid that Sarah will speak her mind (Going Rogue), are afraid that they can’t control her and even more are afraid that she could win as the #1 spot on the GOP ticket or perhaps even on an independent ticket in the future. Nobody puts this much effort into someone that has no power or couldn’t upset their apple cart!

Plus, it seems fairly obvious that the RNC and the Romney-Ryan campaign’s strategy is to highlight voices that will excite party loyalists in the campaign hall while excluding those that could possibly turn-off independent voters watching on television at home, possibly giving some credence to the rumor that Palin was asked to speak during the day… when fewer people would see her. (As Rush Limbaugh has often said, “Wow what power we have given the independents!”)  That is a strategy that could backfire!  Everyone of the people in the photo above should be speaking at the Convention and Sarah Palin should definitely be speaking and speaking in prime time!

Kevin Fobbs has started a campaign to: Let Sarah Speak and the Tea Party launched a campaign to let Allen West, Rick Perry, Newt Gingrich, Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, Donald Trump and Sarah Palin to speak.  Join them.  Call and email the RNC, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus who had said earlier that he hoped Sarah would have a speaking role, and the Romney Campaign. Also, sign this petition or start your own.

It is not too late to change things or add speakers.  On August 17th the word was that Ron Paul and his delegates had been embraced by the RNC and it appears that both Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul will now be speaking (or were given the invite) at the GOP Convention; still no specifics available on Ron Paul though. On the 21st the RNC struck a deal with Ron Paul delegates and  Sher Valenzuela (Who… When you could have Palin or Bachmann?) landed a prime speaking slot.  And on the 22nd it was announced that  Ann Romney will Keynote the First Night of the GOP convention.  Also, Donald Trump Is Now To Play a 'Surprise' Role At Republican Convention. So there is still time and room for Sarah Palin and the others listed above!

This is not in anyway an anti-Romney-Ryan movement!  They are the comeback team that America needs right now.  But the GOP needs to create a bigger tent!

Update on Maggie’s Notebook (08.22.12):

Snippet:

Mark Levin interviewed RNC chairman Reince Priebus and asked if Sarah Palin was offered a speaking position, in prime time, at the Republican National Convention beginning next week in Tampa, Florida. Priebus says (snippet): (see video below)

PRIEBUS: Governor Palin was definitely invited to speak at the Convention, and it wasn’t like in the afternoon or anything like that. She was invited to speak one of the evenings. I don’t know if it got to the point of what time and date, and which particular period of time, but she was invited to speak and it just turned out that in her schedule, I think she was planning on staying up in Alaska anyway, and it didn’t work out….

LEVINE: But a prime time spot?

PRIEBUS: I don’t what you mean by prime time, but I can tell you between 8pm and…

LEVINE: You know, when everyone is watching TV

PRIEBUS: Yeah, between 8pm and 11 at night, I think that’s a prime time spot. Yeah. It wasn’t at 7 o’clock or 4 in the afternoon. I can promise you that. It was a time when all the delegates would be in the hall and everyone would be there attentive and ready for the evening of major speakers. Yeah.

Something here doesn’t pass the smell test. I can’t imagine that Sarah would rather be in Alaska during the time of the Republican National Convention, if she had an opportunity to further her small government, integrity-driven government agenda. In fact, I can’t imagine she would not want be at the Convention, but I don’t think a 10pm or 11 pm speaking slot can be considered desirable or an appropriate offer, if that was the offer.

##

As highlighted by Ask Marion and by Constitution Daily Palin has rented a hotel space in Tampa during the Convention time, so maybe she is not staying in Alaska. I can’t imagine that she will, but then I can’t imagine that she wasn’t offered one of the best spots on RNC speaking roster.

Stay tuned…

Related:

Palin Not Speaking at GOP Convention in Tampa… Huge Disappointment to Many – Mistake or Smart by Romney Campaign?

Palin Derangement Syndrome Continues

Romney-Ryan: America’s New Dream Team and a Clear Choice

Vice President Joe Biden will be in Tampa as the GOP Convention Opens, another sign of how desperate the Obama campaign is. It has always been tradition that the opposite party stay out of the limelight while the other party has their convention.  I guess this move leaves it wide open for the Romney and Ryan to campaign during the Dem’s Convention.  Greg Gutfeld of The Five commented that perhaps the Dems are sending Biden to the GOP Convention on purpose and telling him that it is theirs, hoping he will think he has already attended the DNC Convention and misses it thereby cutting the chance of more Biden gaffes.

The Blaze: Three Notable Snubs From the GOP Convention

FOX News announces GOP convention coverage schedule

Official website of the 2012 Republican National Convention

One GOP Convention Session to be Themed “We Built That”

This article/campaign is absolutely not an anti-Romney-Ryan piece… They are the right team for the times, certainly compared to the alternative, but they would be helping themselves and the party in letting Sarah Palin speak!

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Optimism for a Change

By: Terresa Monroe-Hamilton – The Noisy Room

My husband and I woke up this morning at 6 AM to the happy news of Mitt Romney’s VP choice – Paul Ryan. Seriously – we were so happy we were laughing and crying. Optimism for a change.

Wielding an economic sword, with a military backdrop and the shield of faith, Romney and Ryan will wipe the progressive floor with action, devotion and truth. Time for the Snoopy Dance! Ryan is the Tea Party pick and with a devout mindset, the line between the light and the dark has been drawn and sides are now chosen. I choose the light.

Can you imagine the gnashing of teeth on the left with a humble Mormon and a devout Catholic saying the kinds of things Reagan used to say and meaning it? Furthermore, can you imagine a debate between the intellectual leader of the conservative movement and the progressive… what would you call him? The progressive jester? Fool? Dunce? Incompetent nitwit? So many choices, so many idiots.

Yes, it’s the clean team versus the dirty duo. Can you imagine what would have happened if Reagan and Kennedy had managed to run on the same ticket? Instead in 2008, we got Sith Lord Palpatine and Jar-Jar Binks pushing debt, doubt and despair.

Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan – America’s Comeback Team. Optimism for a change.

Full speech: Romney at Nauticus

Here is Mitt Romney’s Speech in Norfolk, Virginia (highlighting is my emphasis):

Ladies and gentlemen:

It’s great to be back in Virginia and here in Norfolk. Your city’s beauty is only matched by its proud heritage as a defender of freedom. Today we take another step forward in helping restore the promise of America. As we move forward in this campaign and on to help lead the nation to better days, it is an honor to announce my running mate and the next Vice President of the United States: Paul Ryan.

Paul Ryan is a leader.

His leadership begins with character and values. And Paul is a man of tremendous character, shaped in large part by his early life.

Paul’s father died when he was in high school. That forced him to grow up earlier than any young man should. But Paul did, with the help of his devoted mother, his brothers and sister, and a supportive community. And as he did, he internalized the virtues and hard-working ethic of the Midwest.

Paul Ryan works in Washington – but his beliefs remain firmly rooted in Janesville, Wisconsin. He is a person of great steadiness, whose integrity is unquestioned and whose word is good.

Paul’s upbringing is obvious in how he has conducted himself throughout his life, including his leadership in Washington.

In a city that is far too often characterized by pettiness and personal attacks, Paul Ryan is a shining exception. He does not demonize his opponents. He understands that honorable people can have honest differences. And he appeals to the better angels of our nature. There are a lot of people in the other party who might disagree with Paul Ryan; I don’t know of anyone who doesn’t respect his character and judgment.

Paul is in public life for all the right reasons – not to advance his personal ambitions but to advance the ideals of freedom and justice; and to increase opportunity and prosperity to people of every class and faith, every age and ethnic background. A faithful Catholic, Paul believes in the worth and dignity of every human life.

With energy and vision, Paul Ryan has become an intellectual leader of the Republican Party. He understands the fiscal challenges facing America: our exploding deficits and crushing debt – and the fiscal catastrophe that awaits us if we don’t change course.

Paul Ryan combines a profound sense of responsibility for what we owe the next generation with an unbounded optimism in America’s future and an understanding of all the wonderful things the American people can do.

Paul also combines firm principles with a practical concern for getting things done. He has never been content to simply curse the darkness; he would rather light candles. And throughout his legislative career he’s shown the ability to work with members of both parties to find common ground on some of the hardest issues confronting the American people.

Paul and I are beginning on a journey that will take us to every corner of America. We are offering a positive, governing agenda that will lead to economic growth, to widespread and shared prosperity, and that will improve the lives of our fellow citizens. Our Plan to Strengthen The Middle Class will get America back to work and get our country back on track.

We offer solutions that are bold, specific, and achievable. We offer our commitment to help create 12 million new jobs and to bring better take home pay to middle class families.

To strengthen the middle class, we will provide our workers and our children with the skills to succeed. We’ll cut the deficit, have trade that works for America, and champion small business. And finally, we will unleash our energy resources to achieve North American energy independence.

We will help care for those who cannot care for themselves, and we will return work to welfare. As poverty has risen to historic and tragic levels, with nearly one out of six Americans now having fallen into poverty, we will act to bring these families into the middle class. Unlike the current president who has cut Medicare funding by $700 billion, we will preserve and protect Medicare and Social Security. Under the current president, healthcare has only become more expensive. We will reform healthcare so that more Americans have access to affordable healthcare, and we will get that started by repealing and replacing Obamacare.

And at a time when the President’s campaign is taking American politics to new lows, we are going to do things differently. We are going to talk about aspirations and American ideals; about bringing people together to solve the urgent problems facing our nation. And when that message wins in America, it will be a victory for every American.

Today is a good day for America. And there are better days ahead. Join me in welcoming the next Vice President of the United States – Paul Ryan.

It should be noted that Romney accidentally called Ryan the next President of the United States, but graciously came back up, said he goofed and welcomed his running mate in true Presidential fashion. When was the last time we had a real leader admit he goofed and not just for political grandstanding?

The Tea Party’s favored son, Paul Ryan, will save America from the fiscal cliff looming ahead of us. You know the one Obama wanted to push us over while framing Republicans for his own dastardly deed – it’s called projection. Romney/Ryan will rebuild the middle class, slash the debt and right the American ship. Instead of Obama’s “You didn’t build that!,” Romney and Ryan in one voice tell us that: “If you have a small business, you did build that!” They’ll also restore us to constitutional principles and consent of the governed, not ruling by the elite.

On to Paul Ryan’s remarks (highlighting is my emphasis – I dare you not to smile):

Thank you Governor Romney, Ann. I am deeply honored and excited to join you as your running mate.

Mitt Romney is a leader with the skills, the background and the character that our country needs at a crucial time in its history. Following four years of failed leadership, the hopes of our country, which have inspired the world, are growing dim; and they need someone to revive them. Governor Romney is the man for this moment; and he and I share one commitment: we will restore the dreams and greatness of this country.

I want you to meet my family. My wife Janna, our daughter Liza, and our sons, Charlie and Sam.

I am surrounded by the people I love, and I have been asked by Governor Romney to serve the country I love.

Janesville, Wisconsin is where I was born and raised, and I never really left it. It’s our home now.

For the last 14 years, I have proudly represented Wisconsin in Congress. There, I have focused on solving the problems that confront our country, and turning ideas into action; and action into solutions.

I am committed, in heart and mind, to putting that experience to work in a Romney Administration. This is a crucial moment in the life of our nation; and it is absolutely vital that we select the right man to lead America back to prosperity and greatness.

That man is standing next to me. His name is Mitt Romney. And he will be the next president of the United States.

My dad died when I was young. He was a good and decent man. I still remember a couple of things he would say that have really stuck with me. “Son you are either part of the problem or part of the solution.”

Regrettably, President Obama has become part of the problem,…and Mitt Romney is the solution.

The other thing my dad would say is that every generation of Americans leaves their children better off. That’s the American legacy.

Sadly, for the first time in our history, we are on a path which will undo that legacy. That is why we need new leadership to become part of the solution – new leadership to restore prosperity, economic growth, and jobs.

It is our duty to save the American Dream for our children, and theirs.

And I believe there is no person in America who is better prepared – because of his experience; because of the principles he holds; and because of his achievements and excellence in so many different arenas – to lead America at this point in its history.

Let me say a word about the man Mitt Romney will replace. No one disputes President Obama inherited a difficult situation. And, in his first 2 years, with his party in complete control of Washington, he passed nearly every item on his agenda. But that didn’t make things better.

In fact, we find ourselves in a nation facing debt, doubt and despair.

This is the worst economic recovery in 70 years. Unemployment has been above 8 percent for more than three years, the longest run since the Great Depression. Families are hurting.

We have the largest deficits and the biggest federal government since WWII.

Nearly 1 out of 6 Americans are in poverty–the worst rate in a generation. Moms and dads are struggling to make ends meet.

Household incomes have dropped by more than $4,000 over the past four years.

Whatever the explanations, whatever the excuses, this is a record of failure.

President Obama, and too many like him in Washington, have refused to make difficult decisions because they are more worried about their next election than they are about the next generation. We might have been able to get away with that before, but not now. We’re in a different, and dangerous, moment. We’re running out of time — and we can’t afford 4 more years of this.

Politicians from both parties have made empty promises which will soon become broken promises–with painful consequences–if we fail to act now.

I represent a part of America that includes inner cities, rural areas, suburbs and factory towns. Over the years I have seen and heard from a lot from families, from those running small businesses, and from people who are in need. But what I have heard lately troubles me the most. There is something different in their voice and in their words. What I hear from them are diminished dreams, lowered expectations, uncertain futures.

I hear some people say that this is just “the new normal.” High unemployment, declining incomes and crushing debt is not a new normal. It’s the result of misguided policies. And next January, our economy will begin a comeback with the Romney Plan for a Stronger Middle Class that will lead to more jobs and more take home pay for working Americans.

America is on the wrong track; but Mitt Romney and I will take the right steps, in the right time, to get us back on the right track!

I believe my record of getting things done in Congress will be a very helpful complement to Governor Romney’s executive and private sector success outside Washington. I have worked closely with Republicans as well as Democrats to advance an agenda of economic growth, fiscal discipline, and job creation.

I’m proud to stand with a man who understands what it takes to foster job creation in our economy, someone who knows from experience, that if you have a small business—you did build that.

At Bain Capital, he launched new businesses and he turned around failing ones – companies like Staples, Bright Horizons and Sports Authority, just to name a few. Mitt Romney created jobs and showed he knows how a free economy works.

At the Olympics, he took a failing enterprise and made it the pride of our entire nation.

As governor of Massachusetts, he worked with Democrats and Republicans to balance budgets with no tax increases, lower unemployment, increase income and improve people’s lives.

In all of these things, Mitt Romney has shown himself to be a man of achievement, excellence and integrity.

Janna and I tell Liza, Charlie and Sam that America is a place where, if you work hard and play by the rules, you can get ahead.

We Americans look at one another’s success with pride, not resentment, because we know, as more Americans work hard, take risks, and succeed, more people will prosper, our communities will benefit, and individual lives will be improved and uplifted.

But America is more than just a place…it’s an idea. It’s the only country founded on an ideas. Our rights come from nature and God, not government. We promise equal opportunity, not equal outcomes.

This idea is founded on the principles of liberty, freedom, free enterprise, self-determination and government by consent of the governed.

This idea is under assault. So, we have a critical decision to make as a nation.

We are on an unsustainable path that is robbing America of our freedom and security. It doesn’t have to be this way.

The commitment Mitt Romney and I make to you is this:

We won’t duck the tough issues…we will lead!

We won’t blame others…we will take responsibility!

We won’t replace our founding principles…we will reapply them!

We will honor you, our fellow citizens, by giving you the right and opportunity to make the choice:

What kind of country do we want to have?

What kind of people do we want to be?

We can turn this thing around. Real solutions can be delivered. But, it will take leadership. And the courage to tell you the truth.

Mitt Romney is this kind of leader. I’m excited for what lies ahead and I’m thrilled to be a part of America’s Comeback Team. And together, we will unite America and get this done.

Thank you.

Video - Ryan eviscerates Obama on Obamacare in 6 minutes:

We won’t blame others, we will take responsibility… Wow. Imagine that… The adults have returned to our hallowed halls and somebody is going to get an ass whupping. Good times. And Romney and Ryan have the courage and conviction to tell the truth. We will be that shining city on a hill once more – I know it.

What do you want to bet Obama and Biden have never sat down and prayed together? I don’t know that Romney and Ryan have prayed together, but I have no trouble envisioning that. Obama and Biden? Not so much.

We have the comeback team. We have optimism for a change.

Paul Ryan: “This is our generation’s defining moment” 

Romney-Ryan is the right team for this moment!!

Romney to Announce VP Pick – Insider Says Paul Ryan Will Be Vice Presidential Running Mate

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Blowing up the Romney vs. Obama dead heat meme

Friday I spoke with WBYZ 94.5 Radio’s Wild Bill McKubby about my recent article, “Romney extends lead among Independents to 14 percent.”

During the interview we blow up mainstream media’s meme that the presidential race tied. We also take Obama to task for his $trillion deficits, his 50% increase in the national debt and his incessant Pinocchio campaign falsehoods.

You can listen to the interview here:

 

As of July 6, 2012, the national debt was $15,879,528,608,975.11 ($15.9 trillion). It was $10,626,877,048,913.08 ($10.6 trillion) when Obama became president. That’s a $5.3 trillion, or 50 percent, increase in less than four years. On July 3, 2008, Presidential candidate Obama said that adding $4 trillion in debt was “irresponsible” and “unpatriotic.” President-elect Obama warned us when he predicted “trillion-dollar deficits for years to come.” And President Obama promised to cut the deficit in half by the end of his term not once but at least five times.

Thanks to Wild Bill for having me on the show.

h/t to Red State

Related:

Obama Cannot Run on His Record and Side Stories Keep Backfiring

Romney Demands Apology For Obama Campaign's 'Felon' Lie

Technorati Tags: 2012 Election,Barack Obama,Debt,Deficits,Economy,Falsehoods,Immigration,Independents,Mitt Romney,ObamaCare,Pinocchio Campaign,Presidential Campaign,Election 2012,independents,alternative media,media spin,Team Obama desperation

Why Sarah Palin Will Be the Next President of the United States

On Sunday, July 17th, I braved heat and Harry, (No disrespect to fellow fans!) and traveled to Independence, Missouri to see The Undefeated, the documentary of Sarah Palin’s accomplishments as Governor in Alaska.  I left the theater certain of two things: Sarah will run in 2012 and she will win.

What convinced me?  Two things:  The Palin Platform and 80%.

The Undefeated chronicles the four areas upon which Governor Palin focused, the Palin Platform.

1.  Ethics Reform.  Governor Palin basically built a wall between those writing or enforcing the law and major corporations profiting from the shared resources belonging to Alaskans.  Before Sarah’s arrival, the conflicts of interest were such that politicians and Big Oil conducted business in a manner that mutually benefited each another while neglecting the best interest of the ordinary citizens.

2.  “Kitchen Table Economics.” When Sarah Palin arrived at the Governor’s Mansion, she was asked by the director to give a detailed list of what groceries she would like purchased.  The new Governor told the director that she wanted to use up all the food and supplies still in the pantry from the previous tenants before buying fresh groceries.  Sarah’s spirit of “using what’s in the pantry first” is indicative of her application of simple household money management principles to general government.  This spirit is detailed in the The Undefeated.  She literally sat at the table and, pen in hand, personally removed almost half a billion dollars of wasteful spending from the State’s Budget.  She spent money on building infrastructure that would bring business to towns and improve economy, rather than on wasteful programs.  She insisted on balanced budgets and that legislators remember they were spending other people’s money.

3.  Independent Energy Revolution.  Sarah lay the foundation for a total transformation in American Energy Policy and total energy independence for the United States from all foreign sources.  She worked to  open new areas for drilling and restructured the state tax code so that oil companies now receive tax benefits in proportion to the lowering of energy costs.  Sarah pushed for new privatized pipelines that would bring more American energy resources and new jobs to Alaska and eventually, the entire nation.

4.  American Exceptionalism-Inspired Foreign Policy.  Sarah believes that an energy independent America is the basis for a less tangled foreign policy, one that focuses on securing our freedoms and those of our true allies.  This independence permits America to stand for those unique values in areas of the world where these values are compromised by our dependence on oil produced by countries who hate us and our way of life.

The Undefeated begins with a five-minute montage of derision aimed at Sarah Palin by liberal media, celebrities,  and politicians.  Her opponents often spoke of her as ignorant or incompetent, but none ever attempted to address the significance of her 80% approval rating.  During the months preceding her Vice-Presidential campaign,  though she advanced legislation and reforms that had the potential to alienate many Alaskans, Sarah Palin’s approval rating never dropped below 80%.  This level of approval is unheard of in politics after the first three “honeymoon” months are over.  The only way Governor Palin could have maintained these ratings is if her policies were really and truly good for all her citizens, ordinary people as well as corporations and businesses in Alaska.

Policies generated by a metal dwarf, or an incompetent narcissist would produce chaos and please only the few who benefit from them.  Only well-balanced and intelligent government that weighs the common good of all can create the order in which people with varying needs are all, or nearly all content and find they are able to go about their lives and business uninhibited by intrusion or neglected where good intervention is needed.

I believe that Sarah will run because she believes profoundly in the efficacious principles of governing she applied, with great success, in Alaska.  The Undefeated presents the reality of Sarah Palin as an inspirational leader who is actually most apt, not at the podium, but in her ability to envision and execute practical solutions to state problems.  Sarah will run because she is passionate about her Platform of simple principles that she knows, from personal experience, will fix the crisis we are facing in America.

Sarah will probably announce in early September that she is seeking the office of President of the United States.  This announcement, contrary to what the media, Hollywood, the Democrats, and the GOP Luminaries have told us, will be met by a storm of enthusiasm and relief, support we have yet to see for any GOP Candidate to grace the field.  For the first two years his reign, Sarah was the most vocal opponent of the Obama madness and is the de facto, respected, seasoned representative of the Conservative electorate.  Once declared, her rapid rise as the logical and enthusiastic nemesis of post-American Obama will be met with ridicule by overconfident opponents until it is too late.  They will pay the ultimate price for ignoring her abilities, real record, tenacity, and proven Platform for the restoration of our country.

Posted on July 23 2011 - 2:41 PM - Posted by: Submissions (Guest Submission by Jeanette Pryor) at Conservatives 4 Palin  Cross-posted at Lipstick2012 and the Daily Thought Pad

Palin 2011

Video:  Palin 2011

Related:

Why Sarah Can Win

Long Lost Sarah Palin Emerges From Released Emails Victoriously

Comedian George Lopez Threatens to Flea America of Sarah Palin Is Elected President  -  I wrote him a note and suggested he leave now!  And from the looks at the comments at the bottom of the article seems that a lot of people would be happy to help him move!  I noticed he said he’d move to Canada… wonder why not Mexico?!?

Sarah announced that she will be in Iowa on September 3rd… perhaps that will announcement time??

Sarah on the Cover of Newsweek… I Can Win!!

Yes you can!

“Of course she is running. She just is refusing to play by the “rules” the establishment and the media have set. There isn’t the slightest reason to announce yet, all that would do is give the enemy a fixed target. It would force every aspect of every thing she does to fit into campaign law.

The bus tour would have been impossible.

If this was the 1980 election, Reagan’s announcement would still be several months away.  November 13th.

She is Sun Tsu, refusing to march onto a battlefield that her enemy is standing on, fully prepared, in a location they chose. And she is attacking elsewhere.

It is driving them bats*^t insane. They are running this cover to goad her. They exclude her from every poll to goad her (“see, we excluded her until she announces”… Guliani is in some polls but not Sarah)

Meanwhile, she is touring the primary states in the NE, Touring Iowa… etc

Oh yes, she is running. But she is employing asymmetrical warfare.”

By: Andrea Shea King  - The Radio Patriot

The Extraordinary Sarah Palin

by Dan Riehl  -  Big Government

When it comes to former GOP Governor and Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin, if any ordinary Republican politician could generate as much contemporary free media coverage, including a new high profile cover story from Newsweek, while a positive full length documentary on their legitimate political career, The Undefeated, was opening nationally on July 15, the Republican establishment and most all of the base would be clamouring for him or her to enter the race for President in 2012. But Sarah Palin is no ordinary Republican politician.

Based upon my own observations, along with some recent conversations with friends, including Andrew Breitbart, who recently spent some time talking with Palin, my image of Palin has been becoming more well-defined of late. Take, for instance, the only real criticism I could find in the Newsweek piece. It jibes with another criticism I’ve observed, that she too often engages her critics directly, as opposed to allowing surrogates to do it for her. Are these valid criticisms of Palin? Along with providing some insight into her - she’s a fighter, it might also tell you much about how you view Palin. If you’re looking for an ordinary politician, Sarah Palin ain’t it.

This formula—bucking Republicans and counting on the situational cooperation of Democrats—made for a fragile governing model, one further attenuated by the fact that political insiders found Palin too sensitive to criticism and too eager to deal in payback. But to the public she was a heroine, with an approval rating above 80 percent two years into her term, making her by far the most popular governor in the country.

Once I put aside any notion of a mostly plastic, glad-handing politician and contemplated how I myself might actually react in this, or that, situation Palin has faced, a clearer image of her as an every man politician began to take shape. There’s a good chance I’d have handled a good deal of the criticism precisely as has she in this, a new media age. And she is far more in touch with the concept of new media, than is almost any other American politician – hence the reliance on Facebook and Twitter to get her message out.

“The mainstream press is becoming less and less relevant,” she said, adding that she would have no hesitation in shunning media outlets she does not trust.

As The Undefeated makes clear (my earlier review here), she’s not in politics because her daddy held office, or won, or was denied a Presidential nomination, or election. She entered politics as an individual because she cared about the relationship between government and the people and wanted to make a difference. Sarah Palin was not schooled by some mostly Eastern U.S. Preparatory and Secondary school system one might think is the only acceptable schooling for serious American political leadership today. In fact, in many ways, that monopoly has all but driven America off a cliff - including under the current administration.

Of course, Ronald Reagan wasn’t a product of it, either, as a matter of fact.

Still, even some of her biggest fans may have a mistaken notion of the kind of politician Sarah Palin actually is. True, she’s a Conservative … but she’s also a common sense pragmatist, not an uncompromising ideologue, as portions of the media would have one believe. As wonderful as conservative ideals are, rigid thinking can not always solve every problem. As her tenure in Alaska demonstrated, first and foremost, Sarah Palin is a problem solver.

The centerpiece achievement was a significant tax hike on the profits derived from Alaskan oil, which pro-industry Republicans opposed, and which passed only because Palin allied herself with the legislature’s Democrats (who insisted, to Palin’s acquiescence, on raising the tax even higher).

So, why are there not more establishment voices calling for such a visible and pragmatic Palin to toss her hat in the ring? My guess is, because she is more one of us, than any political establishment. If you begin to understand – and accept that – you may be beginning to understand Palin and what she represents to so many. Unfortunately, as shocking as it may seem, the fact is, more than fearing the political opposition in the form of Democrats, or Republicans, what America’s political establishment fears most of all is “we the people.” That, in large part, is what Ronald Reagan represented leading to such strong opposition to him from the GOP establishment, as well.

“You know, I rarely use the term ‘bipartisanship,’” she said. “I use the term ‘independent.’ Piper’s middle name is ‘Indie.’ That’s the Alaskan way of life. Seventy-three percent of Alaskans aren’t registered Republican or Democrat, they’re independent. Todd’s not a registered Republican. Most of the people I know, they’re independent people saying, ‘Just use common sense.’”

If there’s a conclusion to be inferred from the Newsweek item, it would seem to be that she is running. Her family seems on board with it and that is the only real obstacle she mentions, after all. However, that’s merely an inference and, as with some other potential late entries, the question remains open. What’s also true of Palin is that, until she says it, assuming otherwise is no guarantee of accuracy.

What is clear is that her road to any presumed GOP nomination would not be easy, or typical. It would likely require a far greater number of people to actually understand Sarah Palin apart from the many characters and caricatures the media has made her out to be. That said, if it did, or does happen, I do believe that, not only could she win the GOP nomination, but she could win the Presidency, as well.

At this point thirty-years ago, Reagan was thought to be both unelectable and unacceptable, even as a nominee. Not only did he go on to win the nomination and Presidency in 1980, his landslide re-election in 1984 remains as a testament to the success of common sense, mostly conservative-based politics capable of reaching across, if not erasing, party lines in America.

I wouldn’t want to have to assign odds as to the likelihood that Sarah Palin could repeat such a hallmark record of achievement in American politics. However, if one thinks it impossible at this point, then one may not know, or understand, Sarah Palin and her appeal, or the American people, at all. After all, both are extraordinary and have proven themselves capable of accomplishing rather exceptional things before.

Why Sarah Can Win

Long Lost Sarah Palin Emerges From Released Emails Victoriously

Fear Factor: Palin Derangement Syndrome