While not readily apparent from the MSM, we have been through merely an election and not a total societal transformation. Victory may be sweet, but it is not permanent. Most of the campaign issues will arise again in public debate, sooner rather than later. But before relegating the election to history's dustbin, The View would like to take a final look at one particular facet; namely, the selection of Sarah Palin as John McCain's Vice Presidential running mate.
In the final days leading up to McCain's announcement, the overwhelming concern was that he would select a pro-choice VP. Joe Lieberman and Tom Ridge were the names being bandied about. When Sara Palin was introduced, many Republicans were immediately relieved, and then impressed, not only for her solid conservative positions, but also for the energy and enthusiasm she brought to the ticket.
Elections are, to some extent, about critiquing the opposing candidate. But the Democrats have a way of getting down and dirty fast. Recall how Gerald Ford was seen as a dope, in spite of graduating from Yale Law School near the top of his class. Ronald Regan was termed an amiable dunce and of course poor Dan Quayle was spelling-challenged. So when the left, aided and abetted by the MSM went after Palin, we shouldn't have been surprised. That the attacks went beyond the pale to her family, her church and her education plowed new low-ground. The fact that she had more administrative experience that anyone on either ticket was quickly brushed aside as she was held up to ridicule. Her personal life was combed through while Barack Obama got a pass on Jeremiah Wright. Palin was Called "dumb" and "ditzy" while Obama was simply "brilliant".
We expected the worst from the left and its spokesmedia, and we were not disappointed. But more importantly was the criticism that came from the right which questioned the orientation of palin's conservatism as being too closely aligned with the Christian right. This charge that somehow she offered the wrong brand of conservatism was, in some ways, a shadow of the criticism of McCain's tendency to reach across the aisle on occasion. Thus some found the McCain ticket wanting as it lacked conformance to a narrowly-proscribed conservative ideal. Estimates of the number of disaffected conservatives who may have sat out the election run as high as 4 million.
The Democrats seem to manage to unite its constituency in spite of differing goals. On the one hand, public employee unions support Democratic candidates who support big government and the construction trades work the polls on behalf of Democratic candidates seen to favor public works projects providing prevailing-wage jobs to its membership. At the same time, these groups have no organic reason to support liberal issues like abortion and gay marriage also favored by Democrats. Conservatives, on the other hand, are much quicker to turn their backs on a Republican candidate who fails to provide a full measure of commitment to their perception of orthodoxy.
The conservative agenda is based on a powerful set of principles that have helped this country not only survive, but grow and prosper. It has been recently defeated by a more liberal view that promises instant gratification in the form of short-sighted government programs designed to solve social ills via a re-distribution of wealth. Conservatives of all stripes must realize that the Republican Party is the only vehicle to regain influence. The United States does not have a parliamentary system allowing for the banding together of numerous splinter groups to form a governing coalition. Maybe its fun to boast about being a Libertarian, but that party, and most other third-parties, has a very long way to go before it fields a viable candidate. The Republican party needs to sharpen its focus and develop positive alternative solutions to the liberal tax and spend mantra. But at the same time, conservatives of all stripes need to recognize the benefit of banding together to achieve an acceptable conservative compromise. It is clearly better to achieve most of one's goals than to face years in the political wilderness. With a liberal president and a Democratic congress, we are about to get a taste of the cost of demanding a too-narrow band of acceptable politics.
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