Now that the election is over, the leaks from Republican insiders about Sarah Palin’s behavior have turned into a full-blown flood. It’s gotten so bad that even Fox News is reporting disparaging stories about the former Vice Presidential candidate.
It seems that Republicans have divided themselves into two groups after losing to Obama, those that support McCain and those that support Palin. The intellectuals of the party are attacking Palin for her lack of experience and knowledge, while the more blue-collar members cling to her telegenic personality and proclaim her the second coming of Regan. I have to admit, not even I believe some of the more questionable accusations against Palin, such as that she didn’t know that Africa was a continent. It just goes to show that Republicans can be as cruel to members of their own party as they are to the Democrats.
The infighting probably won’t cause a split in the Republican party, but it will affect their overall mentality for next several years. Losing both Congress and the Presidency was a humiliating experience, and it’s not surprising that they’re looking for someone to take the blame. Most Republicans agree that at least one of the scapegoats should be Bush, but the question remains as to whether Palin will be resigned to the same fate.
Actually, the Republicans were badly split well before the Palin nightmare. For most, if not all, of the Bush 43 regime, conservatives were split over the tactics, ideology, and policy positions of the so-called Neocons (I believe ‘Neocon’ is a euphemism to obscure their truly extremist nature).
Gov. Palin was a pawn of the GOP and has now become their scapegoat. The current barrage of accusations surrounding her has simply given visibility to the deep divisions within the party. For a little more insight on those divisions, check out the National Interest Online (www.nationalinterest.org), a publication of The Nixon Center. There you will a wealth of articles by sane conservatives, many of whom openly and harshly criticize Neocon ideas, leadership, and personalities. We may not agree with these conservatives on some things, but they are thinking people with whom dialog and civil governance is possible.
As for the Neocons, they have become the fringe element they should have been all along. If the GOP gives them a strong voice in the party, it will become a fringe party. Personally, I don’t think that will happen, but it’s going to be interesting to watch.
Thanks for the link, I’m always looking for sane opinions from the political right. I used to browse the WSJ opinions, but those are usually pretty hit-or-miss. It will certainly be interesting to see how this all plays out; the GOP doesn’t have the same experience with party fracture that the Democrats gained after the Dixiecrats left in ’64. But yeah, I doubt Palin will try to pull a Teddy and create her own party. More than likely, the neocons will die with a whimper, not a bang.