Tea Parties, Mainstream Republicans and Disaffected Independents...
Over at the Commentary blog, Jennifer Rubin has this to say about the Palin speech:
The issues she hit certainly comprise the core criticisms of Obama and will form the platform for conservatives in 2010 and 2012. Many of the issues she enumerated were positions that lifted Chris Christie, Bob McDonnell, and Scott Brown to victory, proving that there is not, in fact, much daylight between Tea Party activists, mainstream Republicans, and disaffected independent voters. [my emphasis]
This is all very nice, but does not get to the central problem for the GOP, which is not the small and easily crossed divide between mainstream Republicans and disaffected independents, but the gaping chasm between the GOP leadership in Washington and the people who were proud to call themselves Republicans when Reagan was president.
If Republicans and Republican-leaning independents simply wanted to get the Democrats, all they would need to do is rally behind the Republicans. The Tea Parties arose because it's clear that Republicans and Democrats alike consult K-Street first and the American people second when it comes how we are to be governed. The primary difference between them is which powerful and monied interests they're taking they're cues from, not which party is listening to the American people. It sounds like Sarah gets this. It's clear that many of her critics do not.
