Posted on 07/01/2013 2:03:19 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
QUESTION OF THE WEEK
Sarah Palin rejoined Fox News as a contributor earlier this month, indicating that the polarizing former Alaska governor and Vice Presidential candidate remains a powerful voice in the conservative landscape. Is she beneficial to conservatives and the Republican Party, or does she do more harm than good?
Sarah Palin is undeniably useful and important as a face of the conservative movement. She is ineffective and even detrimental as the face of the conservative movement.
Unfortunately, that's exactly what she became when John McCain selected her as his running mate in 2008: the face of the GOP and conservatism. It wasn't by design. It was simply a function of sharing the Republican ticket with one of the least compelling, most ideologically void candidates for president imaginable.
Palin's presence in the race gave the media -- and the nation -- a fascinating and captivating presence to discuss and dissect; to celebrate and to use (unfairly) as a punching bag.
The reality was, and still is, that Palin's particular populist Christian views represent only a small fraction of the people who make up the political right in America. That makes her a poor standard-bearer for the party and the movement. Since, however, those stances reflect the ideology of many engaged Americans, and make great fodder for discussion and debate, she is custom-made for success in the media.
Palin is an important voice within conservatism's big tent. She's just not the person that should be standing on center stage. That's why in the media -- rather than in elected office or sitting on the sidelines -- is exactly where she needs to be.
-- The Free Press
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Victoria Jackson
Former "Saturday Night Live" cast member and author at Liberty Alliance
I'm thrilled that Sarah Palin is back on TV. She expresses the values, morals and faith of millions of us real Americans who are fighting to keep our freedoms. The left attacks both Palin and Michele Bachmann relentlessly because the left is afraid of these two. The left is afraid of facts. The left is afraid of truth, because it exposes their evil schemes and lust for power.
Palin is my hero and the mocking she takes from the progressives and the communists, and the uniformed and the ignorant, just reinforces the fact that she is right and strong and they are weak and wrong.
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Jason Pye
Editor-in-chief at United Liberty
Sarah Palin is still an influential figure in the conservative movement. She has significant influence among the grassroots and can help fiscal conservatives in the mold of Ted Cruz and Rand Paul win primaries against establishment candidates. That sort of clout is hard to dismiss or downplay.
Recent comments made by Palin about the need for Republicans to listen to libertarians were encouraging. She sees an ally in the fight against a government that is a threat to our liberties and the need for Republicans to take a libertarian direction. That's somewhat inside baseball, but important in the battle for the heart and soul of the Republican Party.
Palin's influence is in the primaries, which is important. But when voters step into the ballot box on Nov. 4, 2014, they're going to care little about her or what she's said. What will matter to them are the effects of the policies that have been pursued and enacted by the Obama Administration.
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Karen Handel
Former Georgia Secretary of State and candidate for U.S. Senate
Diversity of opinion in the broadcast media sadly lags behind that available in print and Internet outlets. While it is true that some of the weekend news and opinion programs have "conservatives" and "progressives," commentators with liberal views still outnumber those with more conservative viewpoints.
The lack of thoughtful and diverse opinion is partly responsible for lagging viewership of many of the mainstream media news programs. Fox News has determinedly bucked that trend. Sure, Fox has more conservative voices than the other networks, but Fox also presents a broader spectrum of views than the competition which gives more depth to the coverage of the issues of the day. The national conversation of important issues benefits from this diversity of viewpoints. And, it is clearly good for ratings as Fox has eclipsed all other cable news entities and routinely matches its broadcast brethren.
Gov. Palin is a strong voice for grassroots conservatives. She is a refreshing break from the typical media conversation mold. I applaud Fox for continuing to have the vision and courage to broaden the national debate with interesting and compelling contributors like Governor Palin.
Palin / Bachmann
Palin/West.....still....
“Uniformed’’? I think Vicky dear meant ‘’uninformed’’. Anyway, right on Victoria! We’re sure gonna need the hockey mom to clean this mess up, yep, you betcha’.
GOP better put forth an electable ticket... Rand Paul has great promise but there seem to be far too many people (here especially) to really say... Bachmann’s message is on point as well, but Palin/Bachmann will not win.
If the GOPe is allowed to put forth another deadbeat ticket that can’t win, like they did in the face of some long-legged Mack Daddy Muslim mulato that is hellbent on tyranny... we are effing doomed.
I don't think a woman pres. with a man veep would be.
Sarah Palin’s views are supported by a large percentage of conservative voters. She as are all conservatives are relentlessly trashed by the media. The media is force feeding a liberal agenda to our country which will destroy it if we don’t fight back vigorously. A lot of people have researched Obama and know who he is but the mainstream media will not report it. Instead, they demonize and marginalize all who don’t accept and parrot their ideas. The Republicans seem to think that we should move to the center, but whenever we do, we lose. The abortion and birth control babes will not vote for us, ever. We need to support people like Sarah and not care what the Republicans or mainstream media preach. They are leading us down the road to destruction. If we support the Sarah’s of this world, we might have a chance, otherwise we are lost.
Sarah Palin’s views are supported by much more of the populace than just those who label themselves “conservative”. Name me just one of her positions on the issues that’s not also supported by the majority?
The problem is that Palin was Alinskyed and a lot of people have bought into the idea that she’s some right-wing loon. The media continues to portray her as extreme and divisive, and unfortunately a lot of people are too uninformed to know the difference.
This is probably in the paper's style book. Any time Palin is mentioned, they have to use the adjective, like the "un-winnable" Vietnam War.
This is probably in the paper's style book. Any time Palin is mentioned, they have to use the adjective, like the "un-winnable" Vietnam War.
I think a woman president will win, but she’ll probably have to have a male veep if she’s the first one to do it.
Sarah Palin will not win because she was a blue collar woman who became governor and kicked members of high society in the nuts for being corrupt. Big money will never forgive her and one Teddy Roosevelt is enough. Corporate America controls this country. Hiliary Clinton should have been the Dem nominee and when she vowed to investigate the banks and hold them accountable, within one month big Wall Street money went to Obama, a known extreme leftist. That never happen in Dem history. A devil’s bargain was made. Dem leftist you get a chance to run America but in return do not investigate or prosecute the bankers and let the statue of limitation run out. Obama kept his promise. AG Holder even told Congress that Wall Street bankers were too big to prosecute without disrupting the fragile financial recovery.
It’s amazing..... I have NEVER in my life seen so much energy and political capital being used to keep one person out of politics and in particular from running for president.
Frankly I think she should do so, she’s already been given the anal-exam from hell and if she is a candidate she can point that out every time the try to smear her that Obama was NEVER checked-out and look at what he’s done to the country.
So yes, she’s very effective and I support her.
Another big lie...
But then two years later she supported his re-election to the US....unforgiveable. She has yet to renounce that very, very bad decision on her own. Where she was close to him, she should've made it clear what a fraud he was during that campaign.
She's good on Snowden. She's saying the correct things now about illegals and our pathetic sellouts. On recreational war-mongering and pro-corporate/elite global control? How do I know that any maneuver by her isn't just a way to siphon libertarian/conservative support away from Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, and the possibility of a coalition that cuts across party lines?
Here is what I say.
Sarah has to stop feeling that John McCain did her a favor in picking her for his VP. John wasn’t doing HER and favor, he was working for himself.
Her pick is what got John McCain as many votes as he got.
She does not owe John McCain anything and she has to stop her silence on him.
She needs to totally shun John McCain and she needs to call him the RINO SOB that he is. As long as she avoids attacking the biggest POS in the RINO camp she is not credible.
The best we got: Palin, Cruz, Gowdy, Sessions and a few more.
Curious - has Palin made any comments on last week’s DOMA or Prop 8 decisions? I know she’s had a lot to say about the amnesty stuff, and has talked about traditional marriage in the past. Any reaction in the past week, though?
This is from 2011.
Sarah Palin on Tuesday called the Obama administration’s decision not to defend the Defense of Marriage Act in court “appalling.”
“I have always believed that marriage is between one man and one woman,” Palin said in a statement provided to Maggie Gallagher, the head of the National Organization for Marriage.
“Like the majority of Americans, I support the Defense of Marriage Act and find it appalling that the Obama administration decided not to defend this federal law which was enacted with broad bipartisan support and signed into law by a Democrat president,” Palin said.
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