Saturday marks the one-year anniversary of Governor Palin’s surprising Independence Day-Eve resignation announcement. And if we’ve learned anything in the last year, it’s that Sarah Palin picks her battles wisely.
Fighting her deranged enemies in Alaska while chained to the governor’s desk and continuing to waste time and money on nuisance battles wasn’t helping anyone. It was a losing strategy. In the end, Palin won just about every single battle with the Alaska ankle-biters. What she didn’t do was allow them to dictate the battlefield and to continue to inflict collateral damage on innocent Alaskans. Governor Palin outflanked her enemies. By stepping down, becoming a private citizen, and handing the reins of power to Sean Parnell, she was able to leverage her strengths and minimize the unnecessary hits to her state. Palin genuinely means it when she says, “You don’t need a title to make a difference.” That’s a key difference between her and other politicians, in my view. She became involved in politics to serve, not to rule. Rulers cling to titles. Public servants put the public interest first.
Moreover, by resigning her governorship, Gov. Palin has emerged as the de facto leader of the conservative opposition to Obama’s socialist agenda. That battle was far more important than fending off the Andrea McLeods of the world. I haven’t even bothered to follow the details of the Alaska squabbles but appreciate others on C4P (including Rich Crowther) who have painstakingly documented these inane bottom-dwellers and their obsession with stopping Sarah Palin in her home state. They haven’t stopped her. In fact, they have made her stronger than ever. Palin saw an opportunity to make an even bigger difference than just on Alaskan issues. As an inspirational figure on the national stage she has given voice to the pent-up frustration of millions of Americans who have seen their federal government over-reaching its Constitutional constraints for too long without adequate checks.
I’ve now attended four Palin events and written a book and an e-comic book inspired by my experiences interacting with Palin fans. I’ve watched as Gov. Palin has inspired Mama Grizzlies throughout the country to run for office, and as she’s supported Tea Party longshot candidates to unlikely Primary victories.
More conservative women than ever before are running for office. More conservative minorities than ever are running for office. Governor Palin, unlike Pres. Obama, SUPPORTS contested primaries and thinks they are healthy for democracy. Palin is making an impact on the national debate. And what’s interesting to me, and encouraging, is that she doesn’t let temporary defeat bog her down. She could have let the 27 bogus ethics complaints completely deter her from fighting back. She could have said, “Too heck with all of this – I’m gonna make my book money and retire.” But she keeps fighting. She keeps bearing the brunt of the media criticism. And she’s not afraid to take on the administration full bore. I honestly think her courage is inspiring an army of patriots. I certainly have never felt inspired in this same way.
Who knows what all this is leading up to … a presidential run? A presidential victory?
The point is, you can’t win the war, if you don’t win some battles. And you can’t win some battles if you shy from the fight. Palin didn’t retreat, she did reload, and she’s kicking some serious behind now, with a ragtag band of citizen politicians in tow, the most to run for office in decades. And unlike Obama who sees primary challenges as a nuisance to be avoided even if that requries cronyism and bribery, Palin champions contested primaries so the "cream can rise to the top."
Palin’s war plan may prove to be Palin’s Revenge … but America is the ultimate beneficiary. "General Palin" is leading a charge to restore common sense and honor in our government … not unlike the battle she won in Juneau four years ago, shortly after stepping down from another position of power.
Maybe history will repeat itself. It’s hard not to imagine that kind of storybook ending. The plot lines are already falling into place.
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