David Brooks said on George Stephanapoulos’ Sunday program that he considers Sarah Palin “a joke.” What he didn’t say is that she was and is a joke played by the neoconservatives on the Republican party.
The Washington Post asks: “Is there something that could be called ‘Palinism,’ defining a political philosophy that could help her party win elections and turn her into a viable national candidate?”
Short answer: No.
Slightly longer answer: Where and when has Palin ever articulated a coherent alternative to the orthodox Republican doctrines of supply-side economics and endless war? She isn’t about to do it in her “book,” and she isn’t capable of it. What is especially irksome, however, is that there is indeed a populist champion of the Tea Party grassroots, someone with the knowledge, the organization, the proven fundraising ability, and the principles to lead the GOP out of its ideological and political morass: Ron Paul.
“Palinism” is a hairstyle. Paulism is a bona fide movement. The first has no future — no, she won’t be a major contender, come the presidential sweepstakes, as George Will predicted on the Stephanopoulos program. The second IS the future, if the GOP is to have a future.
