The most important thing McCain’s choice of Palin does, first and foremost, is put conservatism back in the lead as the guiding governing ideology of the Republican Party. With the selection of McCain as the nominee (and, as most of you know, he was my second choice) many were worried that conservatism was being relegated to the closet as the more moderate to liberal (i.e. Rockefeller) wing of the party was in ascendancy. If McCain had picked Ridge or Liebermann, and even in my opinion Pawlenty, I, like many others, would have been seriously concerned about the future of conservatism in this party, and hence the country. But I was willing to support this because of the horrors I believe would encompass an Obama presidency. Obama still may win, but really who can tell? But even if we lose in November, we in the conservative movement have already won.
With the selection of Palin, McCain has elevated not just one, young, charismatic conservative to prominence, but I believe a whole new generation (take Governor Jindal in Louisiana for example). And while I really hate making references to gender, the fact that she is a woman broadens the philosophy’s appeal, particularly to the youth who, throughout their college careers, are told that leftist politics are the only viable means by which to advance minority interests.
While the conventional wisdom had it that McCain was, during his Senate career, “ashamed” of conservatives and only paid lip-service to them in order to stay in office, ironically he has done for conservatism what not even reliable “conservative” leaders in Washington seemed to have had the guts to do— make conservatism prominent again for another generation. If for no other reason, then, the Senator deserves our unapologetic, and enthusiastic support.
In 2012, whether the Republicans gather to re-nominate McCain for another term, or gather to nominate a new ticket to challenge Obama, we can rest assured of one thing. And that is, conservatism will dominate and the Rockefeller Republicans will remain where they belong- on the party’s outer-edge grumbling their usual elitist utterances that could only originate in what many of them believe to be the center of the universe: Washington. Odd that it took a dynamic woman from a geographical periphery to demonstrate how mainstream conservatism is, and just how ideologically peripheral Washington remains.
