I caught a piece yesterday in Politico penned by Roger Simon, entitled: Sarah Palin Is At The Top Of Her Party. Is she really? I like Simon. He seems like a pretty intelligent guy. He wears glasses. Could he be right, though?
I hope not.
Simon trots out as proof the following query: name a bigger name in the Republican Party today? In that vein he is probably accurate. Tough to turn on a cable news channel without hearing a too-cute-by-half Sarah Palin sound bite. But could it be – and I am just spitballing here – that the reason Sarah Palin is the biggest name in the Republican Party is because Sarah Palin is the only Republican folks in the media talk about?
This is not to say there is anything wrong with Palin. I like her. She is for better or worse unique, and does indeed energize a base. As a moderate Republican, however, I shudder to call her base my base. If Palin is at the top of the ticket in 2012, brace yourself for another hollow heaping of Hope through 2016. The thought of her going toe-to-toe with Obama in a debate is frightening.
My opposition to Palin is not rooted in intellectual arrogance, as it so tritely is for many on the left. She is no dummy. Would she be my first choice to cheat off in a college history class? No. She would likely fall third … ahead of Keith Olbermann, but behind Chris Matthews.
Heck, given my geographical disinclinations, she could stand alongside me on a sandy Alaskan beach and say: “Hey, look, Russia!” I would break out the binoculars.
I liken her rather to the fictional character Steven in the great “Van Buren Boys” Seinfeld episode. In discussing George’s selection of the underachieving Steven for a merit based academic scholarship, Jerry asks:
“Is he smart?”
George replies defensively, “He knows how to read. And he also knows finishing an entire book doesn’t prove anything.”
That, in a nutshell, is Sarah Palin. She is Steven. At times likeable, and otherwise blissfully average.
It is the little things about Palin that are so maddening. A rabid band of left wing “Journolists” secretly and deplorably plot your political demise, and your best retort is to call them a bunch of “sick puppies.” Hell of a come back, there Sarah. My four-year-old nephew could – at the risk of a “time-out” – do better.
Or the giddy pride she exudes when using the childish phrase “lamestream media.” Who fed her that line? It is weak and altogether cringe-inducing.
And this is a cheap shot, yes, but if your daughter willingly shacks up with that wormy little deviant Levi Johnston, I don’t blame the daughter … I blame the parents. Where is the trickle down common sense? Correct me if I am wrong, but isn’t it legal in Alaska to lock your teenage daughter up to prevent further shame being brought upon the family name?
If GOP power brokers truly believe Sarah Palin is the great Republican hope in 2012, we are hopeless. To nominate her simply because she “energizes the base” is to exercise the same short-sighted naivety of those who believed that electing a black guy head of the Republican National Committee would implicitly attract black voters.
It doesn’t work that way.
I would rather lose in 2012 with a good candidate than win with a bad one. Well, maybe not. But there are good candidates out there. Why are folks not talking more about Paul Ryan, for example? This guy is good. He has the telegenic appeal of Mitt Romney and the intellect of Newt Gingrich; and is more likeable than either one of them.
And he is from WISCONSIN. Dishonesty is a mortal Lutheran sin out there. It is one of those Midwestern Wobegon states where the women are strong, the men are good looking and the children are all above average. Who knows, maybe he is a stud behind the controls of a “snow machine” to boot.
At the very least, he deserves a roster spot somewhere on the 2012 GOP ticket. There are others in the classroom. Senator Thune is one. The “lamestream” media will continue to largely avoid them, of course. They will focus instead on Palin and her habitual verbal miscues; Romney and Gingrich, the proverbial GOP punching bags; Bobby Jindal because he is, um, odd.
At the end of the day, conservatism is an old brand in need of a new face. Anyone? Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?
Ben Clarke has worked in Washington, D.C. as a political consultant and speechwriter for the past 10 years. During that period, he has served as chief political writer for GOP strategist Frank Luntz, speechwriter for Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, and communications consultant for Rudy Giuliani’s 2008 presidential campaign. He has worked on countless House, Senate and Gubernatorial campaigns across America. He has also worked on or covered campaigns in Ukraine, Georgia and Greece. He may be reached at benclarkeopinion@gmail.com.