WHY PALIN IS THE FUTURE OF THE GOP, November 2008

The next generation of the Republican Party is Governor Sarah Palin, despite the political malpractice of the McCain camp, and the current rumblings of the old guard (emphasis on old) of the GOP establishment.

In this year's election she was the GOP's most valuable player, and like any MVP her political athletic ability is a force to be reckoned with. She has youth on her side which will make her viable for the next two decades (at least). She posesses the supernatural ability to draw tens of thousands to a rally. Her fundraising potential is boundless and her biography is politically seductive.

She is slightly damaged from the Presidential election, not by anything she did, which is why it is possible to overcome the hurdles, the naysayers and heal her two biggest bruises:

First, the one trick ponies on the McCain campaign tried to staff her as they did George W. Bush: as a propped up, stilted, artificial attack dog and full throated conservative, because McCain needed that base to succeed. But this is not the real Sarah Palin. Most Alaskans will vouch for that, especially the Republicans.

Palin is a populist powerhouse who has spent years taking on her own party's corruption. She seemingly works better with Democrats to put points on the board for the benefit of her state rather than get locked in the partisan gridlock and posturing that cripples male politicians. She is razor sharp and savvy when it comes to maneuvering. (Too bad she outmaneuvered her McCain handlers too late).

Second, Team McCain was fairly anemic when it came to assets this election cycle, but one thing they did have on their side was time. Instead of choosing Palin earlier in the summer which would have given her weeks for preparation on issues like national security and the economy, they shoved her into the fray before she spent sufficient time grappling with complex national issues. Imagine the Couric murder board taking place in early summer and not late fall?

Time is now on her side. Here's what she needs to do:

Give major policy speeches. She dazzles the audience when she addresses the energy issue. This is a logical starting point.

Campaign and fundraise on behalf of Republicans. It will be imperative for her to build an army of allies. The next RNC Chair should be her first priority.

Begin to harness the power of her grassroots support. I'm fairly certain Palin doesn't have access to the McCain fundraising and grassroots lists of this past election, which is why she needs to create her own. Palin has millions of Americans at her beck and call. She needs to start organizing this asset by collecting names, emails and phone numbers.

Write a book (on substance, not moose chili). It's time to get serious. The snowmobiling was cute for a while but the current state of our nation requires thoughtful policy and real deal solutions. We're faced with crisis of ethics. As someone who cleaned up Alaska, she should write about the lessons she learned and apply them to kitchen table concerns.

Get some ink in her passport. Obama has very little but was somehow inoculated from criticism after he took a highly publicized trip east. She should do the same, frequently.

Do a weekly radio address. The topics should be major issues of national importance. She should do the research and writing herself.

With the doom and gloom of the current economic climate and total Democratic rule set in place to govern, the ground will be seeded for a Palin comeback in 2012, though it won't be easy. She'll have the far right behind her, but she must run as herself this time, as the pragmatic, centrist reformer she is to truly be successful.

This isn't the first time, nor will it likely be the last.

What might be more shocking is the public's muted reaction to its passage. Sure the news of the death of the King of Pop eclipsed last week's legislative session, but when Nancy Pelosi, the Queen of Socialism, is proposing the largest tax increase in our country's history you'd hope the population would be paying attention. Aftter all, the Congressional Budget Office estimates it would raise costs per household approximately $3,000.

This is the left's punitive action toward the audacity of electricity. Historically, this is what incites revolutions. Where is the outrage?

When it comes to health care the reality is equally as petrifying. The bill is a slapdash ball of obscurity that is shaping up to go down much like the cap-and-trade drive by. We don't have a final idea of cost beyond a staggering "upwards of $1 trillion." We've yet to see details on everything from public option to the taxing of employee health benefits. None, I repeat, NONE of it is up for debate. We're getting mugged and we don't even have time to assess what the folks in Congress took from us.

What baffles those of us who follow this unsolved mystery is that though the president's approval numbers are starting to slip, they should be tanking. Under his leadership, the administration has been bossy, nosy and bullying, and yet the White House manages to remain bulletproof while simultaneously feeding us a bunch of bull.

During his inaugural Obama insisted that only government can fix what ails us. His actions to date reaffirm this belief in the most absolute of terms. Recently he tried to convince a crowd that "government can't be everywhere." Really? All the evidence from this White House is to the contrary.

During his first live prime time press conference Obama said he doesn't want to run a car company or a bank, yet he has managed to flex his muscle by exerting a frightening level of control over almost every sector of commerce: insurance, health care, finance, banking, and automotive. Not even Bill Clinton got away with this type of deceitful doublespeak.

His stimulus is not working. Unemployment is growing. Inflation is imminent. He said he wouldn't raise taxes on those making less than $250,000, but he is poised to reverse his promise. The country is weaker, not stronger. Still, no overwhelming outrage.

The uproar won't take place until costs start to hit home. And believe me, they will, in no uncertain terms. These two colossal pet pieces of legislation -- climate change and healthcare -- if passed would have a catastrophic, debilitating effect on every corner of our country. They will affect our cars, our homes, our jobs; no person, no family will escape their affects.

When life is permanently altered for every single American, and not for the better, that's when we'll feel the outrage. When we are waiting in line to see a doctor, when see our electricity bills quadruple, when we are paying crushing taxes on everything from income to health benefits to gas, we'll feel the fury. But by then it will be too late.

President Obama puts a feather in his cap and calls it macaroni, credibility seemingly still in tact. While I still believe that health care will ultimately end his honeymoon, he is getting away with a radical, blitzkrieg of legislative lunacy thanks to his carefully crafted words, and an overly stimulated, distracted public.

Yes, apparently, they can. But dammit, they shouldn't. Not without a fight.

**Author's note: This piece is dedicated to my mom, the inspiration for this column, and the one person who, without question, is feeling the outrage.