On The Palin Reconsider Movement...

UNCONVENTIONAL: Palin has repeatedly defied expectations

First, a disclaimer:  After supporting Sarah Palin for 3 years, I remain an uncommitted voter in the 2012 presidential race.  After investing 3 years into a Palin candidacy, I have wanted to remain cautious in my vetting of the candidates and not jump too soon.  Part of that is due to the volatile nature of the race, for sure.  Currently, I am looking seriously at both Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum for president.  Part of the reason for my delay is also because in 3 years of studying Palin, I've learned to expect the unexpected.

The inter-webs are a-buzzing with the news out of Conservatives4Palin that a commercial has been completed and will begin airing on Iowa television stations this week aimed at getting former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to reconsider her decision regarding the 2012 presidential race.  This is something that has been building for some time.  A long shot, sure.  But not without merit.
A few observations:

1.  The RECONSIDER movement is proceeding in a very respectful way.  They are not doing anything that will hurt Sarah Palin's feelings as some have suggested.  Additionally, if having people from across the country contributing toward and promoting a grassroots effort to show their support for your potential candidacy is something that would hurt your feelings, you have no business in politics.  Palin has endured more horrendous media attacks than any candidate since Ronald Reagan.  She certainly won't be crying over a bunch of folks telling her how great she is and that they really really want the chance to vote for her for President of the United States in 2012.

2.  Sarah Palin is UNCONVENTIONAL.  I'm not delusional.  This is likely not going to change Palin's political trajectory.  She will likely remain on the sidelines cheerleading for the GOP standard-bearer against Mr. Obama.  HOWEVER, she has never done things conventionally, promised that this election cycle would be "unconventional" and has seen a field that seemingly lacks the ability to carry forth her message of sudden and relentless reform, common sense Constitutional conservatism AND simultaneously attack and destroy the institutional crony capitalism and the permanent political class that are colluding to destroy our republic.  Each of the declared candidates falls short in AT LEAST one of those categories.  It is reasonable to think that maverick mama grizzly Sarah Palin would bite the bullet to push her agenda forward if this entire field fumbles the ball that Sarah Barracuda passed to them on October 5.

3.  The movement is GRASSROOTS,  This isn't the George Soros sponsored OWS or the astro-turf establishment euphoria over the candidacy of Mitt Romney.  This is a genuine movement of people inspired by Palin's remarkable political career and accomplishments in Alaska and her brief stint as the Vice Presidential nominee of her party.  The very fact that a grassroots group can put something together like this after having nearly 2 months to accept her decision NOT TO RUN is remarkable and a testament to how quickly a Palin ground game would be assembled.  In most states, there is at least the skeletal organization provided by Organize 4 Palin.

4.  Sarah Palin has done UNEXPECTED THINGS repeatedly in her career.  She challenged an incumbent mayor in Wasilla when nobody expected her to win.  She won re-election handily when people thought she was toast. She resigned her posh appointment to the Oil and Gas Commission in Alaska in order to blow the whistle on corruption in HER OWN POLITICAL PARTY.  She challenged a popular incumbent GOP governor in a primary--a governor who had been in statewide politics for over 30 years.  Underfunded and underestimated, Palin triumphed on election day, a feat that she repeated later that year in the general election against the prevailing Democratic headwinds that year and a popular former governor Democratic candidate.  Palin resigned her governorship to reclaim the narrative and push for the issues that mattered the most to her instead of just going along to get along.  Nothing in her career has been EXPECTED or CONVENTIONAL.  While unlikely, it is not unreasonable to believe that the UNCONVENTIONAL MAVERICK may choose to jump in this race after all.

5.  CORRUPTION, CORRUPTION, CORRUPTION.  With new revelations of rampant insider trading, crony capitalism and the unveiling of the sick symbiotic relationship between special interests, corporate fat cats and the permanent political class that infects BOTH POLITICAL PARTIES coming out each day, this political landscape has changed drastically from October 5.  Sarah Palin is uniquely qualified to carry forth a message of reform and ethics in governance at a time when the lid is being blown off on just how slimy Washington truly is.

6.  GOING ROGUE.  Again, none of this is born out of a batch of Kool-Aid.  Sarah Palin had reasons to sit out (which still baffle me) and will likely continue to do so.  She has known about the reconsider movement for some time, however, and has never stopped people from proceeding.  Knowing how considerate Palin is, one can surmise that she would have put the word out to stop the movement once people began investing large quantities of their own money into the effort.  The fact that she has remained silent raises questions.  Her supporters, however, were drawn to Palin as a political leader precisely because she showed a fearlessness in "shaking it up" and "calling it as she sees it" no matter the consequences to her own career.  The reason that these folks were drawn to that is because they are cut from the same cloth.  The "reconsider Palinistas" have every right to GO ROGUE and CALL IT AS THEY SEE IT in order to let Sarah Palin know how they feel about her as a potential candidate.

Unlike the mind-numbed zombies that chanted "yes we can" during Obama's ascendency in 2008, Palin's supporters are much like herding cats.  They each have their own thoughts, opinions and priorities.  Some have chosen to endorse other candidates in the race while some have moved on to down-ticket races in 2012.  Even if Sarah Palin remains out of the race and eventually endorses someone, her followers will make their own minds up.  Some will follow her endorsement, others will stick with the candidate they have chosen.  And this is good both for the movement and for Palin.  A rogue political leader taking on the status quo will need fellow independent rogues to help "shake it up" in the long struggle to restore Constitutional and fiscally sound governance in America.

This rag-tag group of political independents are not bound by party affiliation or the warm and fuzzies of the establishment cocktail circuit.  These are real people interested in sudden and relentless reform.  And like their leader, they tend to make waves and go against the flow.  Their refusal to sit down and be quiet is a testimony to how strong this movement can be.  Ever the political game-changing Goliath slayer, Sarah Palin will be proud of her feisty independent followers even if she ultimately doesn't agree with them.  They are showing the spunk and resolution needed in the fight to fundamentally restore America by taking on the permanent political class and putting an end to the Obama revolution.

Game on?