Has Sarah Palin Saved The GOP?

That's the question Paul Goldman, a Democrat political consultant and a former chairman of Virginia's Democratic Party asks in a piece in today's WAPO.

Goldman points out that in spite of all the carping from the GOP establishment, Governor Palin has kept the party strong by keeping the Tea Party inside the GOP tent, instead of encouraging these anti-establishment voters to form a third party and mount insurgent challenges in the the 2010 primaries and in the general-election.

She could very easily have done just that, and put the new party to work on her own political ambitions.

He contrasts her with Teddy Roosevelt in 1912,who, faced with the same circumstances split the party and ran under the Bull Moose Party flag - which enabled Democrat Woodrow Wilson to slither into the White House.

Unlike the GOP establishment, Goldman sees the taking down of several RINOS in the primaries as a necessary sacrifice to keep the Tea Party insurgents in the fold, and he gives Sarah Palin credit for holding things together.

I think he's entirely correct, although Senator Jim DeMint deserves a lot of credit as well...and he's another Republican not so well thought of by the GOP establishment.


The Republican establishment as part of the Ruling Class fails to realize the depth of the anger that the electorate is manifesting these days, directed at both establishment Democrats and Republicans. It's that kind of elitist outlook from both parties that is fueling the Tea Party movement, and Sarah Palin was not only one of the first politicians to tap into that energy but the one who kept it channeled within the Republican Party.

Goldman sees her as a rare "bottom-up," not a "top-down," leader, and one who is trusted by conservative voters, because her word appears to mean something.He's got that right.

Paul Goldman is no Palin fan, as his op-ed makes clear, but he definitely understands her political strengths and appeal and her contribution to the GOP's vastly improved prospects in the midterms.

Ironic that a Democrat political operative who doesn't like her in the least was able to put those feelings aside to assess how important Sarah Palin has been in resurrecting the Republican Party...when a lot of the GOP establishment apparently hasn't.

(A smile and a wave to Soccer Dad, for sending this along.)

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