Palin unveils her plans

As revealed in an interview with Sarah Palin in the Washington Times, Palin has the original idea, never before heard in modern American politics (and the mark of a truly unconventional person who always thinks outside the box), that what is needed today is a new kind of politics which … goes beyond partisanship. Yes. going beyond partisanship. That’s what we need. And what Palin means by going beyond partisanship is working with Independents and Democrats who share her beliefs in a strong national defense and smaller government.

Of course, going “beyond partisanship” is the perennial call of, well, liberals, people such as Colin Powell, G.W. Bush, John McCain, Barack Obama, David Brooks and an endless host of other worthies, who, very simply, want partisanship to go away because they want conservatism to go away. Real conservatives, by contrast, understand that they are in a last-ditch battle with liberalism, and that any demand to “end partisanship” is simply a demand that conservatives surrender to the prevailing liberalism.

The elimination of partisanship is of course the organizing principle of European politics, where consensus under unaccountable elites is the rule, rather than the free contest of opposing views. Palin is too lacking in any conservative formation to understand that her “beyond partisanship” ideal is not conservatism but the time-honored method of subverting conservatism. Similarly clueless is Tammy Bruce, who headlines her item on the Palin interview thus: “Palin Hints At Independent Conservative Movement.”

EXCLUSIVE: Palin plans to stay in politics
By Ralph Z. Hallow

ANCHORAGE, Alaska | Brushing aside the criticisms of pundits and politicos, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said she plans to jump immediately back into the national political fray—stumping for conservative issues and even Democrats—after she prematurely vacates her elected post at month’s end.

The former Republican vice-presidential nominee and heroine to much of the GOP’s base said in an interview she views the electorate as embattled and fatigued by nonstop partisanship, and she is eager to campaign for Republicans, independents and even Democrats who share her values on limited government, strong defense and “energy independence.”

“I will go around the country on behalf of candidates who believe in the right things, regardless of their party label or affiliation,” she said over lunch in her downtown office, 40 miles from her now-famous hometown of Wasilla—population 7,000—where she began her political career.

“People are so tired of the partisan stuff—even my own son is not a Republican,” said Mrs. Palin, who stunned the political world earlier this month with her decision to step down as governor July 26 with 18 months left in her term.

Both her son, Track, 20, an enlisted soldier serving in Iraq, and her husband, Todd, are registered as “nonpartisan” in Alaska.

Mrs. Palin, who vaulted to national prominence when Sen. John McCain, Arizona Republican, chose her as his running mate last August, left the door open for a future presidential bid.

But she shot down speculation among Republicans that she might challenge incumbent Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski for the party’s nomination to the Senate next year, and she blamed her resignation as governor on the nasty, hardball tactics that last year’s presidential campaign brought to her state.

“I’m not ruling out anything—it is the way I have lived my life from the youngest age,” she said. “Let me peek out there and see if there’s an open door somewhere. And if there’s even a little crack of light, I’ll hope to plow through it.”

Posted by Lawrence Auster at July 13, 2009 12:05 PM | Send