Why Palin? Why Now?

When I started this blog, I knew that most first-time visitors would be rather puzzled by my idea. After all, the idea of a Vice Presidential draft movement is rather unprecedented, especially when is centered on a newly elected governor from Alaska. To nominate Sarah Palin for Vice President of the United States would fly in the face of decades, even centuries, of conventional political wisdom. A skeptic would say that Palin is too undefined, too green, and from too small of a state.

So why are we doing so well? Simple: Conventional political wisdom on VP nominations is outdated, and has been for at least two decades. Let's break down some of the points of skepticism that I just listed.

Lame Argument #1: "Sarah Palin hasn't addressed key national issues (Immigration, Iraq, etc.), do you really know where she stands?"

Answer: I know where Sarah Palin stands on a wide variety of subjects including fiscal policy, abortion, the free market, gun rights, ANWR, the environment, and a host of Alaskan issues. On all of those issues, she has shown herself to be both a fiscal and social conservative. Furthermore, innovative proposals like the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act show that she capable of applying conservative principles in governing and knows how to deduce the conservative solution to a problem without taking a poll. No, she has not said anything about the Mexican border or the War in Iraq, and as Governor of Alaska those issues are totally irrelevant to her job. However, I would much prefer a leader with a defined conservative mindset to one who just knows the "right answers" to questions about individual federal programs.

Lame Argument #2: "Alaska isn't electorally significant!"

Answer: Geographic ticket engineering is dead, and it has been since at least 1992. Where the candidates are from makes absolutely no difference anymore, especially the veeps. Lets review: The 1992 and 1996 elections were won by the all-Southern Clinton-Gore ticket (AR-TN), followed by two victories for the all-Western Bush-Cheney ticket (TX-WY). In the meantime, Al Gore failed to carry his home state of Tennesee in 2000, John Edwards failed to carry North Carolina for John Kerry in 2004, and Jack Kemp didn't deliver New York to Bob Dole in 1996. And while I'm at it, I might mention that Dick Cheney is from a solid red state with fewer people then Alaska. People vote for tickets based on who the candidates are, not where they come from. Sarah Palin could bring in a boatload of votes from women, rural Americans, young people, gun activists, pro-lifers, and others. That's worth more than any one state in the union.

So now that we've laid those arguments to rest, why is Sarah Palin the BEST choice?

Well, if Palin's 90% approval rating and down-to-earth charm aren't enough for you, consider this: Sarah Palin is one of the rare politicians who has the ability to unite the Republican Party and the nation. Nobody has anything bad to say about her, and people from all parts of the GOP seem to love her with equal enthusiasm. The current "Blogs for Palin" roster illustrates this point, especially some of the people who are most active. For instance, consider the alliance between myself and Steve Maloney at Campaign2008Victory. We are both strong Republicans and pretty solid conservatives, but one could say that we represent very different wings of the GOP.

Steve has been around the political scene since the 1970s...I hadn't been born in the 1970s. Steve has a Ph.D.....I'm still working on my B.A. Steve supported the recent immigration proposal....I opposed it (not as vigorously as some, but I opposed it). Steve regularly expresses his distaste for Hugh Hewitt...I was inspired to start blogging by Hugh Hewitt's book. Steve supports Sarah Palin for Vice President...so do I.

Steve and I disagree on some current issues of division within the party, but we agree on a great many issues that form the basis of what it means to be a Republican: small government, free markets, protecting life, supporting our troops, law and order, etc. Those are a some of the main, defining principles of the Grand Old Party; and in her short time as Alaska's governor, Sarah Palin has articulated and implemented those principles with a resolve matched only by Reagan himself. That's why Steve and I are pushing for Palin, along with the EXTREMELY diverse group of supporters on our blog roll, and that's why you should join us in this effort.

Tags: Sarah Palin, AGIA, Alaska Gasline Inducement Act, Alaska Gasline, Vice-President , 2008 Election, President 2008, Running Mate, VPOTUS, Veep , Palin, Rudy Giuliani , VP 2008, Alaska, Mitt Romney , Tommy Thompson , John McCain, Fred Thompson , Republicans, GOP, Duncan Hunter , Mike Huckabee, Sam Brownback, Jim Gilmore, Tom Tancredo