Palin, The Base, And The Northeast Corridor Conservatives

by J.R. Dunn - September 17th, 2008 - American Thinker

The selection of Sarah Palin as Republican vice-presidential candidate has revealed a serious chasm in conservatism, a chasm separating conservative elites – opinion leaders, pundits, spokesmen -- from the vast population of center-right Americans they purport to represent.

This is a great article, and indicative of why the American Thinker has burst on the scene to become a major force in the intellectual discussions that drive the conservative movement.

It is curious how few on the left see the struggle between various factions in the conservative movement as the valuable asset it is for conservative thought. The constant discussions allow for ideas to be brought forward that help our nation. There are social (Dobson) conservatives , good-old-boy (Hastert) conservatives , fat-cat (Rockefeller) conservatives, fiscal (no one stands out) conservatives, pro-life (Falwell) conservatives, paleo (Buchanan) conservatives, libertarian (Reagan) conservatives, neo-conservatives (Kristol), big-government (Bush) conservatives and various other factions that some see as important (like the Northeast Corridor Conservatives identified by Dunn for this article). The interesting thing is that most Republicans are sympathetic to (and identify with) more than one faction of the party. This unwillingness to be single issue conservatives the way we have so many who are single issue liberals is the key difference (to me) between the two American political parties.

I was astounded when Charles Krauthammer attacked Governor Palin. Though not named by Mr. Dunn in his article, Charles certainly is typical of what this article is talking about. Krauthammer seemed astonished with the ebullient acceptance of Governor Palin by people he thought should be rejecting her.

I am excited by the implication of the reaction to Governor Palin because I believe it is time for an old fashioned house cleaning to rid ourselves of some of the dead wood conservatism has accumulated over the decades. Governor Palin got rid of some of the worse Republican tendencies in Alaska. We need to do that across the party and across the nation. That is what the Republican base sees that Krauthammer seems to miss. The minions of Dennis Hastert and cronies of Jack Abramoff do not belong among the principaled people in the Republican Party. The 2006 demoralization of the base started with our inability to understand how so many of our leaders could think Abramoff was okay.

What I am trying to understand at this point is how someone I admire as much as Krauthammer can be so wrong on the essence of what Sarah Palin brings to the party. The writer, Mr. Dunn, has at least started to bridge this gap. As I said, great article.