I am a Reagan conservative Republican. I was a Republican delegate to the Virginia State Republican convention. When I lived in New York, I was a registered Republican. In Virginia, where I live now, you don't register with a party on your voter registration, you simply join the party. I know many who I ally myself with do not consider themselves Republicans. They consider themselves conservatives or Tea Partiers. I, too, consider myself a conservative and a Tea Partier. I just happen to also be a Republican.
As a Republican, I believe I have a duty to my party to see to it that it does not become corrupt or lose touch with the people it is supposed to represent. In its darkest hours, the Republican party stood quiet when the media smeared George W. Bush. It also stood quiet while government spending rose under the Bush administration. It did not do its job. In its darkest hour, it nominated John McCain to run for president in 2008. With all due respect to the good Senator from Arizona, I was never more disillusioned with the political landscape of not only my party, but of my America than I was on August 28, 2008.
Michael Reagan explained my feelings best in this Townhall article written in February 2008. In anger, I voted for Mitt Romney in the Virginia primary, even though McCain already had the delegates to win. I was a Reagan conservative wandering leaderless in the wilderness, looking for the shining city on a hill. Romney didn't convince me he could take us home either, but he was the best candidate the GOP had at the time. John McCain would be at best a familiar face who could stop the bleeding and be a roadblock to Democrats, but he had long forgotten where the shining city was. He was lost somewhere between immigration reform and blocking drilling in ANWR.
McCain appeared before audiences of hundreds and would give speeches that could be barely heard over the sound of crickets. McCain campaign offices throughout the country were quiet, sparsely staffed and hurting for volunteers. That all changed on August 29, 2008. John McCain must have realized he could not lead us back to the shining city on a hill, so he found someone who could and he put her on the ticket. From that point forward, despite watching a gut wrenching Obama victory and a smear campaign that nearly bankrupted Sarah Palin, I had hope again.
The fact that Sarah Palin would have the guts to survive the media thrashing she took in the election and that she would be willing to risk her political career by resigning her governship rather than becoming a bloodied and broke candidate come 2012 gave me hope. The fact that millions of Americans stepped up to the plate at Tea Party protests and Townhall meetings across America gave me hope. The fact that socialism, liberalism and progressivism were proving themselves to be ineffectual ideologies for governing gave me hope.
It was not Barack Obama's win in 2008 which was our darkest hour. Our darkest hour was between Medicare prescription drugs and the day before Sarah Palin was chosen for VP. When Sarah Palin was chosen for VP, the light came back on. The torch was lit again.
So we lost an election and Sarah Palin was nearly bludgeoned to death by a bunch of ankle biting ingrate Alaskans. Our eye is not on the moment. It's on the future. It's more than even seeing the forest through the trees. It's about seeing past the forest into the shining city on the other side. If our girl takes a few shots along the way, we're going to need to stand up for her and help her get us home. We must always move forward, never to be tricked into giving up because people keep telling us of icebergs that aren't there.
Pimping My Friends
So, I come to my friends. You need to know who they are:
Karen Allen, editor of Palin Twibe Blog
Jedediah Bila
Tammy Bruce
Eddie Burke
Lori Calabrese
Bill Collier, manager of Team Sarah
Ron Devito
Camille Friend
Rachelle Friberg
Fay, editor of Sarah's Web Brigade
Gary P.
April Liesel
R. A. Mansour, founder of Conservatives 4 Palin
Josh Painter
Theodore Rhoades
Adrienne Ross
I know there are more of you out there who are fighting the good fight. There are many other blogs that I see along the way. What's great about the Sarah Palin movement is that there are SO MANY of you out there, I'm bound to miss a bunch. If I missed you, and you are a blogger or a broadcaster, please tweet me, email me or leave a comment. I will add you to this list and keep it posted somewhere where everyone can see it. We're building an army here, so be part of it.
Why do I believe so much in Sarah Palin? She made me feel good about America again in its darkest hour. I recognized that feeling I got during her RNC speech. I recognized the looks on the people's faces and I saw something in their eyes. I remember feeling that way and looking that way once. Ronald Reagan was president and it was morning in America again.
Editor's Note: On Thursday Mar 4, I will post "Sarah Palin's Army: The Strategy"
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