Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s announcement of her resignation cannot be read in terms of the conventional wisdom of politics – i.e. that she’s getting out ahead of some damaging political revelation she knows is right around the corner, or that she’s finally fed up with the constant personal attacks on her and her family, or even that she’s running for president in 2012 and wants to be free of the constraints of office.
A close reading of her actual words in her announcement reveals otherwise. The key fact about Palin is that she is not a conventional politician. She actually means what she says, which is why her statement must be read in light of that fact, not with the assumption that she must have unstated motives. Her complete statement was posted on her official web site and it bears serious study, particularly this passage:
“Political operatives descended on Alaska last August, digging for dirt. The ethics law I championed became their weapon of choice. Over the past nine months I’ve been accused of all sorts of frivolous ethics violations – such as holding a fish in a photograph, wearing a jacket with a logo on it, and answering reporters’ questions.
“Every one – all 15 of the ethics complaints have been dismissed. We’ve won! But it hasn’t been cheap – the State has wasted thousands of hours of your time and shelled out some two million of your dollars to respond to “opposition research” – that’s money not going to fund teachers or troopers – or safer roads. And this political absurdity, the “politics of personal destruction” … Todd and I are looking at more than half a million dollars in legal bills in order to set the record straight. And what about the people who offer up these silly accusations? It doesn’t cost them a dime so they’re not going to stop draining public resources – spending other peoples’ money in their game.
“It’s pretty insane – my staff and I spend most of our day dealing with this instead of progressing our state now. I know I promised no more “politics as usual,” but this isn’t what anyone had in mind for Alaska.
“If I have learned one thing: life is about choices!
“And one chooses how to react to circumstances. You can choose to engage in things that tear down, or build up. I choose to work very hard on a path for fruitfulness and productivity. I choose not to tear down and waste precious time; but to build up this state and our country, and her industrious, generous, patriotic, free people!
“Life is too short to compromise time and resources… it may be tempting and more comfortable to just keep your head down, plod along, and appease those who demand: “Sit down and shut up”, but that’s the worthless, easy path; that’s a quitter’s way out. And a problem in our country today is apathy. It would be apathetic to just hunker down and “go with the flow”.
“Nah, only dead fish ‘go with the flow.’
In other words, Palin is indeed offended that, if she remains in office as governor, liberal Democrats and their allies in the elite media and blogosphere will continue manufacturing baseless but sensational accusations against her that require her and her staff to devote significant official time to correcting in order to set the official record straight. She sincerely believes Alaska should have a full-time governor, not one who is continually distracted by baseless ethics allegations that must be addressed.
And Palin is choosing to “turn a negative into a positive” by freeing herself to respond full-time to her critics and to build up like-thinking candidates and officials throughout America. (And don’t miss what is quite possibly the most important thing she said in her remark about such individuals being in either party or of no party).
Put otherwise, Palin is embarking on an independent path in national politics that, if she is successful, will lead to a new third force. Not necessarily a third party, but definitely a Middle America-based populist insurrection that could reshape Washington for years to come. Does the Tea Party Protests movement come to mind?
Prisoners of conventional wisdom almost certainly will miss the significance of Palin’s decision. But they’ve never understood why she struck such a powerful chord with everyday Americans in 2008, so we ought not be surprised that this announcement is completey beyond their ability to understand what is really happening.
UPDATE:
Erick Erickson offers a perceptive thought:
“I’ve had this running thought all day, perhaps because I was watching it on TV in HD for the first time, that this is kind of like Ben Kenobi letting Darth Vader strike him down. Palin is not going to run in 2012, but by doing this she can now become Barack Obama’s worst nightmare, and help rebuild the opposition to Obama. How? Because were she to remain a 2012 contender, she’d keep having stories by anonymous McCain campaign staffers and other 2012 contenders going after her and her family. Take that ambition off the table and it neutralizes a lot of that. So she can focus on candidates and ideas without an ulterior motive focused on 2012.”
I don’t know that the independent force path Palin is laying out precludes a 2012 bid, but it definitely can make her, as Erick puts it, a nightmare for Obama. But it also puts her in a position to be a nightmare for the corrupt GOP establishment types that are gloating today about what a terrible mistake Palin has supposedly made.
UPDATE II: Must-read Palin analysis in Commentary Magazine
Thanks to my Examiner colleague Noemie Emery for pointing me to Yuval Levin’s superb analysis, “The meaning of Sarah Palin” in Commentary Magazine earlier this year. Not sure how I missed it but it may well be the most perceptive piece I’ve read anywhere on Palin.
This graph is especially appropo:
“The reaction to Palin revealed a deep and intense cultural paranoia on the Left: an inclination to see retrograde reaction around every corner, and to respond to it with vile anger. A confident, happy, and politically effective woman who was also a social conservative was evidently too much to bear. The response of liberal feminists was in this respect particularly telling, and especially unpleasant.”
I would only add that the Left is not alone in missing what Palin is about and why. There are lots of Establishment types on the Right who have the same problem, witness the continuing anti-Palin campaign among some of the professional campaign consultants who were the heart of the John McCain presidential campaign.
The great irony concerning Palin, of course, is that those who most viciously attack her as a reactionary rural bumpkin are themselves among the provincial people in America, a fact Levin admirably sums up:
“The reaction of the intellectual elite to Sarah Palin was far more provincial than Palin herself ever has been, and those who reacted so viscerally against her evinced little or no appreciation for an essential premise of democracy: That practical wisdom matters at least as much as formal education, and that leadership can emerge from utterly unexpected places. The presumption that the only road to power passes through the Ivy League and its tributaries is neither democratic nor sensible, and is, moreover, a sharp and wrongheaded break from the American tradition of citizen governance.”
You can – and should – read the full Levin piece here.
UPDATE III: About those July 4th Tea Party Protests
Glenn Reynolds at Instapundit has an excellent round-up from around the nation. And a further update today from Instapundit. Frankly, I expected the TTP events this time around to show a distinct decline in attendance and enthusiasm, but I was wrong. The enthusiasm remains strong, there were more events than in the first round in April and there is every reason to believe Palin is correctly seeing an opportunity for her in this movement.
UPDATE IV: Palin, the day after
Palin posted a statement on her Facebook page Saturday. Like her original resignation announcement, it bears close reading by anybody interested in what the future holds for the Alaska governor:
“On this Independence Day, I am so very proud of all those who have chosen to serve our great nation and I honor their selflessness and the sacrifices of their families, too.
“If I may, I would like to take a moment to reflect on the last 24 hours and share my thoughts with you.
“First, I want to thank you for your support and hard work on the values we share. Those values led me to the decision my family and I made. Yesterday, my family and I announced a decision that is in Alaska’s best interest and it always feels good to do what is right. We have accomplished more during this one term than most governors do in two – and I am proud of the great team that helped to build these wonderful successes. Energy independence and national security, fiscal restraint, smaller government, and local control have been my priorities and will remain my priorities.
“For months now, I have consulted with friends and family, and with the Lieutenant Governor, about what is best for our wonderful state. I even made a few administrative changes over that course in time in preparation for yesterday. We have accomplished so much and there’s much more to do, but my family and I determined after prayerful consideration that sacrificing my title helps Alaska most. And once I decided not to run for re-election, my decision was that much easier – I’ve never been one to waste time or resources. Those who know me know this is the right decision and obvious decision at that, including Senator John McCain. I thank him for his kind, insightful comments.
“The response in the main stream media has been most predictable, ironic, and as always, detached from the lives of ordinary Americans who are sick of the “politics of personal destruction”. How sad that Washington and the media will never understand; it’s about country. And though it’s honorable for countless others to leave their positions for a higher calling and without finishing a term, of course we know by now, for some reason a different standard applies for the decisions I make. But every American understands what it takes to make a decision because it’s right for all, including your family.
“I shared with you yesterday my heartfelt and candid reasons for this change; I’ve never thought I needed a title before one’s name to forge progress in America. I am now looking ahead and how we can advance this country together with our values of less government intervention, greater energy independence, stronger national security, and much-needed fiscal restraint. I hope you will join me. Now is the time to rebuild and help our nation achieve greatness!”
