Mrs. Palin is not a conservative. Conservatives being so scarce around here, I can see how so many are mistaken.
Conservatism is not an ideology. It has principles, not an agenda. It honors the past not because it’s perfect, but because it’s known to us and therefore less likely to conceal nasty surprises. Conservatism assigns high value to tradition and stability, approaching change warily and counseling restraint in matters of politics, commerce, arts, and social mores — all in recognition that human folly and error and bad intent are real things that shape the way life in this world is lived.
America is by nature and origin not a conservative place. Americans by and large believe in second (and third and fourth) chances. Americans are mistrustful of authority, do not identify with a stable community, are puzzled by appeals to continuity, and in general consider good any innovation that leaves them materially better off or at least allows them to gratify their appetites and impulses. Americans largely see America as the great chance to escape the prison of the past — personal, religious, ethnic, historical, and familial. For these reasons and more, there are very few “real conservatives” active at FR.
Methinks you are stuck on a misguided definition of conservatism. Insofar as it applies to American politics, conservatism references an adherence to the founding principles of this country, as written in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
Governor Palin does indeed adhere to the small-government principles of a representative republic as originally envisioned for the country.