A few people commented that Sarah Palin is a sage because she understands that she doesn’t need to wield governmental power in order to have influence. I’m sorry, but that’s not the issue. She was elected to serve at the pleasure of the voters of Alaska, and is violating their wishes by leaving, unless the legislative process determines otherwise. Also, this “gem” of wisdom deserves the same amount of congratulation as if she were to just discover that “sharing things makes people happy.”
Now, I understand that the disenfranchised chunk of the conservative movement sees no use for government — and especially so when a democrat sits in the Oval Office, at which point government is more useless and hateful than a hole in the head. So, when the government is the enemy of the people, it might look benign for a public servant to abandon ship — even commendable. AGAIN, that’s not the point — the other team is going to win some rounds, folks. When that happens, it doesn’t mean the system has failed. It means the system is functioning. If one team wins all the time, the system is broken. So, what ought we to do? Work to maintain the system that serves the people, rather than punishing the system for allowing the other team to run it. If Palin took her oath of office seriously, she simply would not be resigning (at least until further legislative process gave sufficient reason).
Finally — a third party based upon family values, Christianity, guns rights, low taxes, unrestricted markets, and anti-foreignness would never be viable. It has nothing to offer except a pressure-release for like-minded citizens. There’s no cohesive foreign policy stance, beyond the general sentiment that all things American are likely superior to any alternative. No plan for the maintenance of peace, except the faint hope that a constant reactionary stance will intimidate the fur’ners who only respect power and only fear violence. No plan for domestic policy, aside from the faint hope that our huge infrastructure could somehow be magically maintained and improved by the ingenuity of enterprising Galts who are just waiting to pop out of the woodwork at any moment (with their millions of sweaty dollars) and save the world. And finally, it leaves out a large chunk of the future ranks of the Conservative movement — folks like me, who value knowledge, do not fear tolerance, and realistically understand that the future owes me nothing.
