You Can Tell a Storm is Coming When the Waters Get Rough

The clouds prepare for battle
In the dark and brooding silence.
Bruised and sullen stormclouds
Have the light of day obscured.
Looming low and ominous
In twilight premature
Thunderheads are rumbling
In a distant overture...

All at once, the clouds are parted.
Light streams down in bright unbroken beams...

Follow men's eyes as they look to the skies.
The shifting shafts of shining weave the fabric of their dreams...

-Jacobs Ladder by Rush


We're at the "distant overture" portion of the song. The clouds may not part for another year or two. We know by now that in the world of Sarah Palin, nothing is ever easy and nothing is ever handed to her. When it comes to stretching the fabric of existence or kicking a ball that sets a game into motion, Sarah Palin (although a victim of vicious smears, most unwarranted, and guided by divine providence) is very proactive and demonstrates the ability to create "mini big bangs" of political creation on her own with a blackberry, a laptop and now a Fox News camera and microphone. She is certainly creating a storm right now of her own volition, and many don't know what to think of it.

This entree makes its own sauce, but in a way not neatly categorized in a cookbook or a political science textbook for that matter. Palin is creating her own mix, combining isoltationist libertarians, internationalist moderates and right wing social and fiscal conservatives. The only thing she hasn't added to the mix is a liberal, and in Palin's political cookbook, there is no mention of any.

If this is the building of a big tent, many right now wonder if Palin can nail it down strong enough so that it can weather the major storm that is headed directly for Camp Republican. You know that storm is coming because the waters are getting rough and you can hear the thunder.

The left is in a tizzy. They will make up anything to smear her. They have claimed federal indictments that didn't exist, tax cheating while operating within the confines of a law that clearly shows it's not, non-existent divorces and a child that supposedly is not hers. Throw these loons out of the mix. There are no legitimate political arguments here.

However, there are legitimate polical arguments on the right. Palin's endorsements of John McCain and Rand Paul have caused a firestorm. And, dare I say, legitimate ones that are based on political decisions, political facts and political theory. In other words, the grown ups on the right are not making these things up and the children on the right are proving themselves unwilling to play with the rest of us; so they are picking up their toys and going home.

The grown ups are hashing things out. While the arguing may be loud at times, the smart ones are aware that how they behave will determine whether the movement is able to withstand the "duke it out" portion of the program that Palin laid out in an interview with Rush Limbaugh. Sarah Palin says this is healthy and will make the Republican party much stronger at the end of the day.

Sarah Palin has an uncanny ability to alienate those who don't get their way all the time while attracting those who realize that freedom and liberty sometimes requires that we allow people to co-exist despite their differences. Supporting Sarah Palin, even when she supports candidates like McCain and Paul is not selling out. It's called pragmatism.

Ronald Reagan knew that you would not build a coalition by pandering to one special interest. Instead, he allowed many groups into the tent. Although I am much more supportive of the religious right today than I was as a young college kid, as a Catholic and as a realist, I've not always agreed with their means, even if I've always agreed with their ends. Yet my hero, Ronald Reagan gave them a seat at the table, and in the end became a great president who did not rule the U.S. like Jerry Falwell, but created a U.S. where people like Falwell and his followers could be free to live their lives as they saw fit.

And if we want to live our lives as we see fit and support candidates who we like, than we need to allow others to do the same. This isn't a liberal versus conservative thing. Liberalism is a bankrupt philosophy. It does not count. This is a details versus the big picture thing. We're thinking this thing out; and even though some of us on are opposing sides, our opinions are legitimate and worthy of discussing.

We don't need to bash or harshly criticize those who think that Palin is doing the wrong thing by endorsing McCain or Paul. We need to respect each other's opinions and agree to disagree agreeably. I'm becoming increasingly more impressed with each passing day about Sarah's smarts and savvy, even if I don't completely understand what she's doing. Up until a few short days ago, I used to think it was necessary to attack every idiot that tries to portray Palin as dumb. After re-thinking this, I believe we should let them continue that line of attack without really responding. It's to our advantage that they continue to underestimate her. We know how smart Sarah Palin is. Keep it low.

Sarah Palin can be over the top sometimes, but she always ends up at a bottom line that equals the same one I have. And there is always some component of my philosophy that gets exemplified in her doing so. Take my belief that we should infiltrate the pop culture and offset the liberal bias. I didn't exactly say, go on Conan O'Brien and mock William Shatner. I said we need to infiltrate the media. I didn't exactly say, go on Fox News and become a contributor. I said we need to do to the left the same exact things that they did to us (it's their game, let's beat them at it). I didn't exactly say turn the word "retarded" into a PC issue and use PC against them like they've done to us. I said we need to welcome libertarians into the coalition. I didn't say to endorse Rand Paul.

When looking at each part individually, it may not make sense to those want to critique and pick apart her every move. But, when the right discusses these things, they are legitimate discussions and must be looked at with much more respect than the stupid stuff like whether or not Levi Johnston saw Todd Palin drinking beer in his shed. But in the end, the discussion should lead us to understand that the whole is the sum of the parts and not just individual pieces.

When the storms clears, you will find that the beach has been cleaned of all its debris and that the waterways once clogged with kelp and seaweed are now opened for the fish to freely swim through again. When the clouds part and the beam of sunlight shines through, we will all look back and smack our heads, saying aloud "now I get it."

Read Going Rogue: An American Life. It tells you exactly how this woman thinks. It may be a little outside of the box for many of us. And, it may not seem realistic to some. But if past performance is any guarantee of future returns, look for Sarah Palin to tear this thing apart and rebuild it again is such a way that even those who disagree with her on McCain and Paul will benefit in ways never before imagined.


-cross posted at Liberty's Lamp