Brand Newt
October 28, 2009
Am I the only one who likes the sound of a Sarah Palin-Newt Gingrich ticket in 2012?
If one wanted to put together a conservative dream team to challenge President Barack Obama and Vice Presdient Joseph Biden in three years, one would be hard-pressed to come up with a stronger tandem than the former Alaska Governor and the legendary former House Speaker. A Palin-Gingrich ticket would unite all three factions of the American right, and would also appeal to many independents—and a number of moderates as well.
A Palin-Gingrich ticket would be an effective combination of outsider smarts and insider skills. Gingrich could help Palin navigate Washington’s rough waters, providing her with the wise counsel she will need as she endeavors to impose needed limits on the size of the federal bureaucracy.
In order to defeat President Obama, Palin will have to destroy the perception that she’s unfit to control Presidential aircraft. What better way to nullify that perception than by announcing that Newt will be her co-pilot? While Gingrich is certainly a controversial figure in American politics, he’s no more controversial than Dick Cheney was in 2000.
Yes, Gingrich has had his share of scandals, and movement conservatives haven’t always seen eye-to-eye with him. Yet his conservative credentials are impeccable, and those who desire an alternative to the Obama vision will find Gingrich more than suitable for the Vice Presidential role.
If the GOP pairs Palin with Gingrich, the party will not have to worry about insufficient turnout by the party base. Palin and Gingrich are the only legitimate heirs to Ronald Reagan’s legacy; both figures have the ability to put forth an optimistic conservative vision that could resonate with a voting majority.
Obviously, a Palin-Gingrich victory would not be a foregone conclusion. While Gingrich would likely break Biden like thin glass in a debate, Palin would have to demonstrate superior debating chops against Obama. In addition, she would also have to reassure the electorate that she will not go on some neoconservative foreign-policy spending spree as President; state-building can never be made palatable to the voting public.
For his part, Gingrich would have to confront unpleasant questions about his personal life. For years, Gingrich has been perceived in many parts of the country as a morality-for-thee-but-not-for-me figure, the sort of person who wants others to live up to a values standard he cannot attain himself. Gingrich must convince average Americans that he has learned from his past mistakes, and that a flawed role model might just be the best role model of all.
I wouldn’t bet against either Palin or Gingrich. Despite my past criticisms of both individuals, I respect Palin and Gingrich as intelligent, accomplished political figures who went much further than anyone originally expected them to. Palin and Gingrich would be able to articulate conservative principles in a way we haven’t seen from prominent Republicans in at least a decade.
Pessimistic conservatives would surely argue that Palin and Gingrich have sustained too many injuries at the hands of Fourth Estate assailants to have any hope of success. Let’s reject that cynical conclusion. There’s nothing the mainstream media can say about Palin and Gingrich that they haven’t said already. These two individuals have developed the thick skin necessary to withstand abrasions from ABC, nicks from NBC and cuts from CBS. Their immune systems are strong enough to fight off the disease of demonization.
A Palin-Gingrich ticket means peace for the troubled home that is the Republican Party. For too long, the party has been divided—social conservatives vs. social libertarians, heartland conservatives vs. the city-based center-right, foreign-policy idealists vs. foreign-policy realists. These fights have resulted in the party’s land being drenched by an unyielding, unforgiving rain. This rain will cease once Palin and Gingrich become the party’s official leaders; the floodwaters of intraparty acrimony will recede, and a rainbow of unity will cast a striking image upon the sky.
United, focused, determined to secure victory, the Palin-Gingrich GOP will be able to reach out to independent voters, convincing them that competence will at long last be restored to Washington. Palin and Gingrich will also be able to reach some moderates, assuring them that a Palin-Gingrich administration will not be intellectually inflexible or intolerant of other points of view. The only “rigid ideology” that will be found in a Palin-Gingrich administration will be the “rigid ideology” known as the Constitution.
Conservatives had to go through Carter to get to Reagan. Perhaps four years of Obama is the price that the American right must pay in order to be rewarded with a Palin-Gingrich administration. Let’s hope that on November 6, 2012, that balance will be paid in full.
