Posted by
Ron Devito on Sunday, January 29, 2012 10:12:07 PM
US for Palin has maintained a policy of not endorsing any POTUS candidates until former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin does. Our policy has not changed, and we remain neutral toward all the candidates, except as Gov. Palin directs. It is all rooted in this promise. Tonight, it is time to execute one more aspect of that promise....
Gov. Palin has issued the call to Florida voters to "rage against the machine" and vote for Newt Gingrich so that the vetting process can continue. This is not a matter of "Romney vs. Newt" and not a matter of any candidate's relative merits or lack thereof. There has been too much bickering amongst Palinistas over that and too many friendships destroyed. Our support and fan activities for Gov. Palin did not end on October 5 with her announcement that she is not seeking the 2012 GOP nomination. Yes, we are both fans and supporters and proud to be both!
The GOP establishment and many pundits would like to have us believe that Mitt Romney's nomination is "inevitable," that it's all over after Florida and we should just be good little boys and girls and accept it. The problem is not Mitt Romney so much as those who want to make his nomination a fait accompli as fast as possible. All these candidates need to be vetted and asked the tough questions. Whoever becomes the nominee, should do so because there was a thorough vetting and as a result, that candidate was truly found to be the best of the four to go against Obama in the general election. That cannot happen if those who want to "expedite the proceedings" have their way and secure a Romney win in Florida.
Gov. Palin's call to Floridians to vote for Newt Gingrich mirrors her call to residents of South Carolina. Though has undeniably spoken in highly favorable terms about Gingrich - favorable enough that many have construed her words as a de facto endorsement - the fact is Gov. Palin has not endorsed any candidate. SarahPAC has not provided any financial support to the POTUS candidates and Gov. Palin has not gone on the stump for any of them - actions that would rise above mere endorsement.
Why Gingrich?
"The math is the math," and that is what Gov. Palin's decision boils down to with the objective of seeing to it that proper candidate vetting occurs and this is not decided after four states. She has so much as said so. Romney and Gingrich are in a statistical dead heat in Florida. Santorum is trailing distant third behind them. Ron Paul is an even more distant fourth. Ergo, calling upon Floridians to vote for Santorum or Paul would make absolutely no sense as neither of them have the chance to pull off a win with little more than 36 hours remaining till Tuesday. Her call to Foridians is not about who is the most pure, or who has the best character. It's about vetting candidates and ensuring as many voters as possible have their say.
In Her Professional Opinion
Gov. Palin has nearly 20 years in this business. She's had more than her share of flowers and stones hurled at her. She's been through heated contested primaries. Her statements on the candidates are her professional opinion derived from her experience, and the knowledge she attains in in the course of analyzing this race.
Denial - It's Not a River in Egypt
About the only thing I disagree with Gov. Palin on is her statement that we are seeking the perfect candidate. It's not so much that we are seeking the perfect candidate. We found her three years ago. Our perfect candidate chose not to run, but she never led us down a primrose path to believe that she was running. We advanced the idea and summoned her to run. While nearly all Palinistas prefer Gov. Palin to any of the four declared candidates, she is not running. Part of support means accepting, not denying reality, understanding that our narratives belong to us, and should not be projected on Gov. Palin. As she said on the Tom Sullivan Show, "logistically speaking, I'm up here in Alaska, raising a family, and running businesses. I don't have the organization that could propel me to a position of being a viable candidate." How far is Gov. Palin from New York and Washington D.C.? From either city, take a flight to Warsaw, Poland, then take a train or rent a car and drive another 200 miles. That's right, you have to cross the entire Atlantic Ocean and more than half of Europe to equal the distance from New York and Washington to Wasilla, Alaska.
Gov. Palin does not live in a romantic world of talking trees, singing animals and pixie dust to steal from the FedEx commercial. She lives in a world of reality. Though Gov. Palin has her core values and convictions, she is a realist who sees the big picture. She has endorsed candidates who were "less than ideal" before, such as John McCain and Carly Fiorina, because other factors aside from conservative purism came into play. just like then, we need to watch Gov. Palin and listen to her words and execute them.
Test of Loyalty and Leap of Faith
I know Palinistas who absolutely hate, detest and loathe Gingrich for various reasons. The fact is, all four candidates have things in their records and aspects of their character that are Achilles Heels. They also have their strengths. We are not going to find a perfect candidate among the four - as Gov. Palin has said. They all need to be thoroughly vetted.
Gov. Palin has given a directive. If we are her supporters, if we have accepted her as our leader, we must execute her orders. Support is not always fun or easy. Sometimes, we have to do things we would rather not do. Whatever we think about Gingrich now - we need to support Gingrich in Florida - not on his merits, but as Gov. Palin said - to ensure that all four candidates are properly vetted and that as many of our 50 states as possible have their say in the primaries.
Now, therefore, everyone who lives in Florida, please vote for Gingrich on Tuesday, even if you are among those who hate him. Please put your hate aside. Don't do it for Gingrich. Do it for Gov. Palin - Sarah.