“It becomes necessary to every subject then, to be in some degree a statesman: and to examine and judge for himself of the tendencies of political principles and measures.”- John Adams, author A Defense of the Constitution of Government of the United States
As much credit as Governor Sarah Palin deserves for giving voice to the GOP conservative base in the last four years, her position as the Tea Party Standard Bearer on Fox News took a disturbing turn Tuesday night.
Governor Palin made an appearance on Bret Baier’s post Florida Primary coverage show, choosing to reiterate the position she has held over the last two primaries that though she is not backing any particular candidate she would encourage voters to vote for Newt Gingrich to extend the primary process. In essence Ms. Palin considers it wise to advise voters not to cast their ballot for the man they feel should be the next President of the United States, a very powerful ballot when you are living in an early primary state, but to simply vote for any man who is not in the lead. This would then extend the process in the ‘spirit of competition’, an American ideal she uses in her explanation of this position seemingly to hide her real agenda.
At this point it is clear Ms. Palin does not support Governor Romney, as it is her right, yet her current tact is not only disingenuous but insulting to republican voters and the foundation of a Democratic-Republic. If she wishes to endorse Speaker Gingrich then she should do so, which would obviously be a helping hand to his campaign, his cause, and ‘the spirit of competition’ she longs for in this primary. But through this false desire for competition Ms. Palin has created a strawman to re-enforce her direction to the voters, a damaging political strategy to the party that has not received the deserved scrutiny that would be heaped upon any member of the “GOP Establishment” for making a similar claim.
Since last year there have been nine entries into the race for Republican nominee for President. There have been summer straw polls, numerous fundraising events, five different ‘frontrunners’, sex scandals, 3,832 debates, four primaries, and now four candidates remaining; how much more competitive can it get? Does the nomination process really need to be artificially extended as Ms. Palin currently advocates? If a voter feels one of these men has a vision for America that he agrees with, no matter who the candidate may be, then he should vote for that candidate and let the chips fall as they may. For Ms. Palin to make up this phony premise in which one’s vote should be used to extend the election process rather than decide the outcome is irrational at best and maniacal at worst. Unfortunately in the shade of politics Governor Palin’s position wreaks of duplicity, used as strategy to give Speaker Gingrich time to make another charge at the nomination. If this is true then Ms. Palin has become the caricature of the typical politician she so elegantly once lambasted, using misdirection under the guise of patriotism to advance a hidden agenda.
Reading this it may appear that I am a Romney supporter or at the very least a Gingrich hater. I am neither. I still support Governor Mitch Daniels for President and will do so until we reach the New York primary and I am faced with the harsh reality when his name is not on the ballot. But more importantly I am a supporter of the democratic tradition. Votes should not be cast by the citizenry as a means to place the power of the decision in the hands of other voters. These people have a responsibility to their children, their country and to themselves to vote for whomever they feel is best suited to serve the country as its president. If one truly believes in Speaker Gingrich then that is why a vote should be cast.
The race to the nomination does not conclude until one candidate has amassed 1144 delegates. Right now the leader after four states is Governor Romney with 69, holding an awe inspiring six percent of the delegates needed. This process will be long enough without the help of Ms. Palin’s own version of Operation Chaos, an action she has implemented at the detriment to her own party. If Governor Palin chooses not to support Speaker Gingrich outright because she does not want to play the role of Kingmaker then that is her choice, and a noble one. But if she does choose to play a significant role supporting the former Speaker then it should be done in the light of day and not through a soft power strategy hidden behind the cheap curtain of support for American ‘competition’.
– John P. Burns
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