By Conn Carroll
Last night on the Mark Levin show Sarah Palin made official what almost everybody believed was already the case: she will not be the Republican
nominee in 2012. In her letter to supporters Palin wrote: I believe that at this time I can be more effective in a decisive role to help elect other true public servants to office from the nations governors to congressional seats and the Presidency."
This is a mature and true insight on Palins part. She is a tremendous political talent and brings a much-needed voice and energy to the Republican Party. But as she proved by resigning as governor of Alaska governing is just not where her talents are best used.
So where are populist Tea Party-sympathizing conservatives supposed to go? The current Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney is a banker-turned politician who is the spitting image of the Republican establishment. The Republican office holders with the best chance of appealing to populists Harley-riding Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels Medicare-reforming House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin and straight-talking New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie have all declined to run. The Republican office holders who have entered the race including former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Rep. Michele Bachmann R.-Minn. have for varying reasons failed to capture conservative populist imagination at any enduring level.
In 2008 a surging Democratic Party appeared to be cruising to a White House victory after winning the 2006 mid-terms in a landslide when it found the dream candidate in then-Sen. Barack Obama. The combination of his thin record and rhetorical skills allowed every faction of the Democratic Party to believe that no matter what Obama actually said or did deep down he shared their world view. He became the vessel for the Lefts hopes.
That probably will not happen for Republicans in 2012 as none of the current contenders display anything like Obamas 2008 party unifying prowess. If Romney should now go forward to the nomination ambivalence will likely prove to be his greatest opponent. And maybe that is a healthy thing for the conservative movement. Since few would be invested in Romney as a personality conservative Republicans in Congress might be more willing to challenge him when he inevitably begins acting like an Establishment GOP incumbent more interested in re-election than reforming the government. In short it wont be a repeat of Bush-GOP Congress circa 2001-2006 when the GOP majority continually rolled over for the big-spending president.
