For all the reports desperately arguing against Sarah Palin’s chances of beating Barack Obama in 2012 or downplaying her chances of getting the nomination, ask yourselves why the blogosphere and mainstream media are constantly abuzz with unprecedented amounts of coverage of the hockey mom from Wasilla compared to other politicians and potential presidential candidates. Judging through the lens of a biased mainstream media, one would dismiss Palin as presidential material. Since the media doesn’t give you the straight skinny, your view about Palin’s 2012 presidential aspirations may be based more on fiction than fact.
When polled on the issues without the injection of personalities, more Americans agree with Palin than they do with Obama. During the past two years, Obama has weakened our standing on the national stage, weakened our currency, overseen the wasting of trillions of dollars as part of a misguided approach toward creating jobs which still don’t exist yet and created one of the nation’s biggest political firestorms in decades with a highly unpopular health care plan.
Americans took to Tea Party rallies and town hall meetings to speak out against runaway spending, unfair tax policies and a drift toward statism that most find disturbing. The 2010 elections told Washington that Americans want a smaller government that spends far less than what it spends now and they reject Obamacare.
As inflation looms over the horizon and the price of oil spikes above $100.00 per barrel, most Americans watch as fat cats on Wall Street make millions while loans, mortgages and a strong housing market are no longer available to them on Main Street. Stimulus money and preferential tax treatment is directed toward large banks and brokerages while families default on their mortgages and are crushed by rising interest rates on credit cards. And, there is no coherent policy on Egypt.
The American people understand that what Obama is doing is destroying our country. They just don’t yet understand the great courage that will be required to undo this. Again, with no names attached, Americans will tell you they want drilling, they want entitlement reforms, they want spending cut to at or below 2008 levels, they want fairer and flatter taxes, they want more competition in the health insurance market (not government manipulation of it) and they want America to be strong internationally both militarily and economically.
Many presidents have been caretakers or overseers of a growing government not out of an ideological desire to see that happen, but out of the realities of the job. Those who would step out of line and propose bold changes that would shake up the power elites were marginalized, overridden by legislatures or mocked by the media. Those who hung in there escaped their terms with a few key accomplishments that they could talk about in their books or which would help redeem them in the eyes of history.
Even the great Ronald Reagan couldn't stop the deficit spending of a Democratic Congress. Yet, he pushed the hardest. He repeatedly asked Congress for a line item veto which they would never gave him. The next one to come along with his drive to push back the growth of government gets to stand on his shoulders.
Americans are comfortable when they can watch videos and read books about the struggles and courage of Ronald Reagan. But do they really know what goes into bringing about what Reagan brought about? Most young people today don’t know what it’s like to wake up every day thinking that a nuclear explosion could ruin the routine of that day. Most young people today don’t know what it’s like to wait in gas lines or line up for welfare benefits as prices soar out of control. Could they stomach that today?
We are too comfortable as Americans. Most Americans have basic substance and a roof over their heads. These are things the people of Reagan's era considered themselves blessed to have. Yet, we keep asking for more. Are we willing to make the sacrifices now and stomach the rough ride to get this thing back on track? The answer lies in how badly we want it. Most of the young people I referenced in the last paragraph also don’t remember the abundance we had during the 1980’s. They were too young or maybe not even alive when capital was abundant, the economy grew in leaps and bounds and you could go from job to job in order to increase your income.
The promise of the restoration of America comes with knowing that the reward for the tough work is that we will prosper as a nation again. We will do this by drilling for oil and gas in every possible location where it is available, cutting the size and scope of government and empowering the private sector to create jobs, providing the stability of a fair and flat tax structure, making us comfortable with good private sector health insurance plans, making us confident that there will be money there when we retire and freeing us from the fears of being destroyed by Islamo-fascism with a strong military and properly executed foreign policy. But, there will be those who will try to stop us from doing that. That’s where the hard work comes in.
The abundance and the blessings that God would bestow upon us because of the blood and sweat of our Founders is attainable if we reunite ourselves with our core beliefs, educate ourselves properly on the issues and come to grips with the reality that only hard work creates real rewards. But, there is a price to pay. Are we willing to pay that price?
Are we willing to suck it up for about five years to take the arguing, the gnashing of teeth by those who hate change unless that change is “progressive” and the temporary hardship which may come about as we restructure our spending priorities? Are we willing to watch the television everyday as stories come out about how evil the Republicans are because they want to take away our benefits and neglect the poor? Yes, we know it wouldn’t be true. But we will always worry that too many might believe that over what we are really trying to do. If we ever want to get this country back on track, we must overcome that.
We may not be taking the scenic route to get where we want to go. But we are good, fun loving people. We can sing and wave the flag through the manure patches between here and the shining city. That’s how it was as Reagan began his presidency and inflation and interest rates were in the double digits. That’s how it was when the Soviet Union was advancing in Europe while we waited to prop up the solidarity movement in Poland and Czechoslovakia. That’s how it was as we waited under the threat of nuclear annihilation for the Berlin Wall to come down. It was not easy at first. But we felt patriotic and we felt good.
Now enter Sarah Palin. If the pain and the struggle is not worth it and if there is uncertainty and a lack of confidence, then let’s scratch this whole plan now. Let’s resign ourselves to the next thousand years of liberal darkness or maybe a thousand years of Republican Establishment RINO twilight. But let’s not kid ourselves. We are not getting to the Shining City on a Hill if we’re not willing to suck it up.
Sarah Palin has withstood the opposition and attacks from those in her own party in Alaska. She had the courage to speak out and shake up the good ole boy network. She has withstood the media driven vitriol, lies and slander thrown at her relentlessly during the 2008 vice presidential campaign. She has withstood the knee-capping and the leg cutoffs that came from the Left who kept going after her even after the election was over because they feared she would come back stronger. She risked it all by resigning her governorship rather than be a political sitting duck for her enemies fully knowing that it would be used against her should she ever decide to run for public office again. That’s courage.
She continues to be attacked by a hateful opposition for every word she speaks, tweets or types. She is mocked and ridiculed by the culture and the elites. The environment tells you that you can’t do it and that you can’t be successful. Yet, when you stop listening to that environment, no matter how critical it is and no matter how many obstacles it puts in your way, it’s the only way to be successful. The more she does it right, the louder the resistance and criticism is from the elites. The more she wins people over, the more others turn from her. The more she demonstrates her resilience, the harder the punches and the meaner the attacks are.
Proving herself against all of this shows that she can stand up to Islamo-fascists or take on special interests and the good ole boy crony network in Washington. Do you have the courage to stand with her? This restoration of America is not for the faint of heart, the lazy or those in love with the status quo.
Ladies and gentleman, supporting Sarah Palin and getting the country to see past the media smokescreen is not about a political faction or a fan club trying to get its guy or gal into the White House. It is about the future of America for all of us. Many don’t see it yet. Some never will. But it becomes our job to properly inform all that the media has lied to them and that Sarah Palin is worth the emotional investment. If you want anything less, than you aren’t thinking big enough and you’re not willing to take the risk associated with achieving greatness.
The choice is yours. Stop trembling every time the media tells you she’s down in the polls. An Abc Poll (May 1980) showed Carter led Reagan 58% to 40%, an 18% Spread. A Public Policy Poll (February 2011) shows Obama leads Palin 55% to 38%, a 17% spread. (h/t Conservatives4Palin and Politicons.)
There are those of you who like Sarah Palin but who are not yet ready to make the commitment. I understand. You think she’s not popular enough to win a national election. You think she may make some mistakes. You think she’s too high pitched or she talks too fast and you can’t understand her accent. I understand that. Ronald Reagan made mistakes and had to deal with how people perceived him versus who he really was.
But we found out who he really was, didn’t we? And boy were a lot of people wrong.
It's understandable that there would be people who are uncertain about her right now. Part of it is the image the media has planted in some people's minds. Part of it is your own personal discomfort level. You’re not ready to be talked off a ledge like many of us were after Troopergate broke. You’re not ready to stomach the “what if it’s true” story after story only to find out later that it's not true.
You’re not ready to watch the media and Saturday Night Live just go to town with a Palin presidency. I understand that. Go watch the video by Genesis for “Land of Confusion.” Go find some old audio tapes of Bruce Springsteen just ripping Reagan. Go find some comedy skits that mock Reagan as a bumbling actor. I had to stomach that. You can do it.
There are many people willing to go to the mat for Sarah Palin. Just as there were writers who ran cover for supply side economics and a confrontational policy toward the Soviet Union despite the vitriol heaped on Reagan by the mainstream media, there are writers and pundits who can run cover for a drill, baby, drill energy policy and a confrontational policy toward Islamo-fascism. If you can’t find the muster, borrow some of ours.
Most of all and most importantly of all, what’s the alternative?
How many people can honestly go into that voting booth in 2012 uncertain about Palin yet pull the lever for Barack Obama after all the crap he has put this country through? How many people can honestly say that 8% of the people in America are going to switch their vote from Republican to Democrat because Palin’s at the top of the ticket? If you are a fence sitter, or someone who isn’t sure about Palin, can you pull that Obama lever or press that button on the touch screen as horrific visions of healthcare, trillions of dollars flushed away, nanny state government and craziness in the Muslim world flicker through your head because you’re afraid to vote for a the Palin that has been planted in your head by the media?
Ronald Reagan didn't win in 1980 because everyone thought he was the political giant they think of him as today. He won in 1980 because anything was better than Carter. He convinced his legions of supporters that he was worth fighting for and he convinced those who were uncertain about him that they at least could be confident enough that he would be better than Carter. Sarah Palin can do the same.
