NINETY-EIGHT


On p. 98 of GR, Sarah continues her discussion of the Randy Ruedrich/Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission affair.

She writes, "That's when I knew the chief [Governor Frank Murkowski's chief of staff] had done nothing. My ethics supervisor was doing nothing, the AG was dismissive of the concerns I repeatedly shared with him, and the public was rightfully questioning the commission's integrity. I wrote a letter to Governor Murkowski. Basically, I told him that his appointee, the chairman of his party, was perceived as trashing the reputation of a state agency. Shouldn't he do something about it?

"As I typed out the words, I thought, [italics in original] This is it. I'm taking on the party and putting it in writing. My career is over. Well, if I die, I die."

These words, "Well, if I die, I die" are, I believe, among the Governor's most famous. They really do not require any reflections or commentary; they stand alone in noble and simple eloquence.

Still, I would like to offer just a few thoughts this morning, first, on the two paths that stood before the Governor on the day she "crossed her Rubicon" by sending this missive to the powerful Governor Murkowski, and, second, on the different world we would likely be facing today had Sarah not made her momentous and memorable decision.

Sarah stood at that proverbial "fork in the road."

On one side there stretched before her the smiling faces and siren songs of:

Money;

Advancement in the ranks of the Alaska GOP elite;

The Favor and Support of hacks, but powerful hacks, like Murkowski and Ruedrich;

The Opportunity to procure political "favors" for her friends and relatives;

Security;

Liberation from any fear and anxiety about financial matters;

The Applause of "this world."

On the other side there stretched before her the grim and joyless visages of:

The Loss of her six-figure salary (and the Palin/Heath family does not "come from money");

Exclusion from the exclusive GOP "club";

The Enmity of Murkowski, Ruedrich and a legion like them;

Inability to help her friends and relatives through her "influence";

Insecurity;

Uncertainty about money matters;

The Condemnation of "this world" for being "stupid" and "foolish" and "impractical."

She rejected the chains of the slave; she chose the thorn-strewn, but noble and right path; she remained a Free Woman!!!

What would America look like today had Sarah not taken this stand (and others like it)?

We would likely never have come to know her … for Sarah would not have been Sarah.

obama might have beaten McCain by double digits in '08;

The Democrats' victories in '08 in the House and Senate might have been even greater than they were;

nancy pelosi might still be Speaker of the House today;

harry reid's Senate majority might be substantially greater than it is now;

The overwhelming electoral victory of 2010 might never have occurred;

The vision of a second Ronald Reagan might be just a theoretical hope;

Tens of millions of Americans might have almost despaired of their country's future;

WE WOULD NEVER HAVE KNOWN ALL THE JOY, ALL THE HAPPINESS, ALL THE CLARITY, ALL THE BRIGHTNESS, ALL THE INSPIRATION, ALL THE LIGHT, ALL THE LOVE THAT THIS SPECIAL LADY HAS BROUGHT TO EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US, THROUGH HER SPEECHES, THROUGH HER BOOKS, THROUGH HER TV APPEARANCES, THROUGH HER BOOK TOURS, THROUGH HER FACEBOOK "MISSILES," THROUGH HER "SARAH PALIN'S ALASKA"… THROUGH JUST BEING WHO SHE IS: OUR DEAR SARAH; AMERICA'S SARAH!!!

How can we ever repay her for all that she has done and suffered for us?

We cannot, as I have often said here; only the Lord can.

What we can do is stand faithfully by her side; trust her; fight for her; support her in every way we can: Financially, politically, intellectually, and, above all, IMHO, spiritually!!!

OREMUS PRO SARAH NOSTRA--Let us pray for our Sarah!!!


Read It For Yourself:

Read It For Yourself:

Other Great Sarah Books:

Other Great Sarah Books:

Palin Essentials:

Palin Essentials:

Credits:

All sidebar photos are from Wikimedia. I have tried to post all royalty-free images or to get permission, but in a few cases I could not locate the original source of a photograph or find a way to ask permission.


Contact info: bbrianus@gmail.com.

Other Great Going Rogue Reviews:

Jedediah Bila:

"Palin’s inviting first-person narration that is sometimes whimsical, often confident, and always patriotic...Going Rogue is truly one of those reads in which you put the book down after your eyes graze the final lines and you somehow feel like the writer is someone you’ve known all your life."
John Ziegler:

"I was simply blown away by Going Rogue on almost every level. For many reasons, this is by far the best book and greatest literary achievement by a political figure in my lifetime..."
Brigadier General Anthony J. Tata:
"Her book washes away all doubts that any reader might have had about her readiness to be president. She comes across as exceptionally bright, dedicated, and passionate about public service. Her moral compass is strong, pointing true North in this case. And she has a wicked sense of humor."
Don Surber:
"Conservatives know why Palin is still standing — and standing taller today than those who tried to bring her down. What does not kill you makes you stronger. Thank you, Tina Fey."

Sarah Palin is Coming to Town

Review by Stanley Fish:

When I walked into the Strand Bookstore in Manhattan last week, I headed straight for the bright young thing who wore an “Ask Me” button, and asked her to point me to the section of the store where I might find Sarah Palin’s memoir, “Going Rogue: An American Life.” She looked at me as if I had requested a copy of “Mein Kampf” signed in blood by the author....

A few days later...I had begun reading Palin’s book, and while I wouldn’t count myself a fan in the sense of being a supporter, I found it compelling and very well done....

First, the art. The book has an architectonic structure that is built around a single moment, the moment when Palin receives a call from John McCain inviting her to be the vice-presidential candidate of the Republican party. When we first hear about the call it is as much a surprise to us as it was (at least as reported) to her, because for six pages she has been recounting a wonderful family outing at the Alaska State Fair. When her phone rings, she hopes it might be a call from her son Track, a soldier soon to deploy to Iraq, but “it was Senator John McCain asking if I wanted to help him change history.”

And that’s the last we hear of it for 200 pages. In between we hear a lot about Wasilla, high school, basketball, college, marriage, children, Down syndrome, Alaska politics, the environment, a daughter’s pregnancy. The re-entry of John McCain into the narrative on page 208 introduces Palin’s account of the presidential campaign and its aftermath, especially her decision to resign the governorship before the end of her term....

Paradoxically, the effect of the neatly spaced references to the call is to de-emphasize it as a dramatic moment. It is presented not as a climax, but as an interruption of matters more central to Palin’s abiding concerns — her family, Alaska’s prosperity, energy policy. (She loves to rehearse the kind of wonkish details we associate with Hillary Clinton, whom she admires.)

Indeed, it is a feature of this narrative that events we might have expected to be foregrounded are elided or passed over. Palin introduced herself to the nation with a powerful, electrifying speech accepting McCain’s invitation to join the ticket. It gets half a sentence (“I gave my speech”)....

The only event that receives an extended discussion is her resignation. It is important to her because as an act it reflects on her integrity, and she has to be sure (as she eventually was) that she was doing it for the right reasons.

Resigning was a moral act for which she was responsible. The vice-presidential candidacy just happened to her; her account of it reads like an extended “what-I-did-on-my summer-and fall-vacation” essay.

For many politicians, family life is sandwiched in between long hours in public service. Palin wants us to know that for her it is the reverse. Political success is an accident that says nothing about you. Success as a wife, mother and citizen says everything...

I find the voice undeniably authentic...It is the voice of small-town America, with its folk wisdom, regional pride, common sense, distrust of rhetoric (itself a rhetorical trope), love of country and instinctive (not doctrinal) piety.

It says, here are some of the great things that have happened to me, but they are not what makes my life great and American. (“An American life is an extraordinary life.”) It says, don’t you agree with me that family, freedom and the beauties of nature are what sustain us?

And it also says, vote for me next time. For it is the voice of a politician, of the little girl who thought she could fly, tried it, scraped her knees, dusted herself off and “kept walking.”

In the end, perseverance, the ability to absorb defeat without falling into defeatism, is the key to Palin’s character. It’s what makes her run in both senses of the word and it is no accident that the physical act of running is throughout the book the metaphor for joy and real life. Her handlers in the McCain campaign wouldn’t let her run (a mistake, I think, even at the level of photo-op), no doubt because they feared another opportunity to go “off script,” to “go rogue.”

But run she does (and falls, but so what?), and when it is all over and she has lost the vice presidency and resigned the governorship, she goes on a long run and rehearses in her mind the eventful year she has chronicled. And as she runs, she achieves equilibrium and hope: “We’ve been through amazing days, and really, there wasn’t one thing to complain about. I feel such freedom, such hope, such thankfulness for our country, a place where nothing is hopeless.”

The message is clear. America can’t be stopped. I can’t be stopped. I’ve stumbled and fallen, but I always get up and run again. Her political opponents, especially those who dismissed Ronald Reagan before he was elected, should take note. Wherever you are, you better watch out. Sarah Palin is coming to town.

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