REPLIES TO THE CURRENT QUESTION

Our question last week was:

Who do you think the leading stars of the Republican Party will be four years from now, and why?

Here are your answers.  The name of a writer is included only if he or she actually placed a name at the end of the message.  Otherwise, we assume the writer wished anonymity and "name withheld" is inserted.

Sarah Palin.  Because she is a breath of fresh air in the body politic.  Politicians don't like her but real people do.  When the "real people" figure out that they have a lot more votes than the politicians, she will be around for a while.

Bobby Jindal.  He has to be a really terrifying prospect for the entrenched Liberalocracy.  He has all the credentials that they love but somehow took a right turn when he was supposed to turn left.  And, he is even younger than Sarah Palin.  He'll be around for a while.

Mitt Romney.  I am still a fan of his.  He will never be President though he would have made an interesting candidate in the current climate.  He will become sort of a den mother to the "kids" mentioned above.  He suffers from extreme competence which is considered a defect in Washington, see Joe Biden for his polar opposite in philosophy, ability and gravity.

Unfortunately, I live in a state where all of our senior political leadership is Democratic and  All of our media is in the tank Liberal, not liberal.  Consequently, my exposure to other conservative/Republican players on the national scene is restricted to what I can dig up on the Internet.  I am sure that there are others moving up into positions of responsibility who will have an impact 4 years from now.  Look at how Obama has come from nowhere with absolutely nothing to recommend him but a pleasant speaking voice and, apparently, a decent 3 point shot.  If, assuming that he wins the election, that's all it takes to be a viable President, there are a host of good conservative Republicans out there to step into the void left by those departing in the current fire sale.

Don Newell

Sarah Palin - the anti-feminist feminist.  She is an example of what feminism should be: a woman who has carved out her life based on no one's expectations other than her own.  She has great appeal to the Republican base.  Like no other American, she is the most like Margaret Thatcher who also had to challenge the entrenched interests of the Tories; from their go-along socialism to their old-boy Oxford-Cambridge network.  Sounds a lot like the current crop of Obamacons and Eastern establishment/Ivy League/Washington corridor Republicans doesn't it? She is intelligent and ambitious.  And she has the right values! She has figured out what the national election scene is all about and she would be well prepared to take on the MSM, assuming it is still around in 4 years (see the earnings report of the Times Corporation).  The MSM/Democratic Party alliance has figured that they can slap down anyone who does not conform to their idea of what makes a intelligent leader.  Her candidacy in 2012 should be a testament to the idea that they do not control the nation.  This is one great lady, which is why the MSM went to such great lengths to destroy her. The "Politics of Personal Destruction" is alive and well and has a comfortable home in Liberalism (which it always did). I hope she finds the time between her family and responsibilities as governor to speak across the nation on her own and for Republican candidates in the mid-term elections.  Her understanding of the intricacies of energy production alone should insure she has a place at the table.

Bobby Jindal - maybe the most intelligent Republican politician in an executive position.  He is in the Palin mold; a true reformer (unlike the soon-to-be President-elect).  He is not only a sitting governor with a high approval rating (sounds familiar) but he has also held executive positions in state agencies before he became an elected politician. He is from East Indian extraction which would stress that the Republicans are the true party of achievement regardless of ethnic background.  He is also a convert to Catholicism which should drive the liberal elite crazy!  I can see him as the VP for Palin or our standard bearer.

Eric Cantor - maybe the most intelligent Republican politician in a legislative position. He was rumored to be on the short list for McCain's VP. He is well respected in the House of Representations and can articulate the conservative policy agenda as well as Newt Gingrich without all the egotism.  He is also Jewish which should (possibly) put to rest the idea that Jews earn like Episcopalians and vote like Puerto Ricans. If there is to be another conservative revolution he can provide the intellectual heft from an elected politician.

McCain - His is the most important voice of all.  Not that he will be a candidate in 2012, but because with the inevitable foreign policy blunders that an Obama administration will perpetrate his sober and realistic perceptions from the floor of the Senate will stand in stark contrast to Obama's and will remind voters of their mistake in taking a chance on a vacuous celebrity.

It's going to be a rough four years for America.  The Obama years are predicated on transforming America into another European socialist state.  American exceptionalism is thoroughly rejected by these people regardless of how much lip service they pay to it to win elections.  An Obama adminstration will yield to the ambitions of the Russians, Chinese, and Arab Middle East because they believe America is problem.  We will need ambitious and articulate politicians to confront this fifth column to the idea of America if we are to regain our place in the world.

 I'm cautiously optimistic.  Remember, it was the disastrous Carter presidency that ushered in our greatest 20th century president.  With a lot of hard work and a little bit of luck we can achieve the same result in 2012.

Alan Weick

Whoever spends the most time over the next two years travelling
across the country and listening to the people under the guise of
building a reliable grass-roots news source.

Francis Drouillard
Novato, CA