Many Would Vote for Sarah Palin

Her biography is unique. Sarah Louise Heath Palin — daughter of a teacher and a secretary — was born in Sandpoint, Idaho, and after having earned various scholarships from universities in Alaska, Hawaii and Idaho, she graduated with degrees in business management, journalism and political science. Her hobbies include sports, beauty and cuisine. In terms of sports, she enjoys basketball, fishing, snowmobiling and marathon running. Regarding beauty, she was elected Miss Wasilla and Miss Congeniality and was in the finals for the Miss Alaska competition, thus becoming a beauty queen. And her favorite cuisine? Antelope burgers. As to her family situation, she married her high school sweetheart. After working in sports journalism and running her husband’s fishing business, she had a go at politics, becoming mayor of Wasilla, then governor of Alaska and, finally, candidate for the vice presidency of the United States, forming a ticket with John McCain.

Lately she has been writing books, holding conferences and giving speeches for $100,000 a pop. As a member of the Republican Party, the National Rifle Association and Feminists for Life of America, she defends the traditional family and criticizes abortion and same-sex marriage. Contrary to common belief, her inspiration is not George W. Bush but Ronald Reagan and his conservative revolution that revolved around “the four pillars of freedom”: individual liberty, economic opportunity, global democracy and national pride. That is to say, individualism, the rejection of intervention in private life and economics, international unilateralism and that classic American phrase: America for the Americans.

What is happening in the U.S.?

All this considered, some would ask how it is possible that a conservative — even an ultraconservative, from a European perspective — such as Sarah Palin could accumulate such a large number of supporters. What is happening in the U.S.? In old and know-it-all Europe, people are talking about the inevitable growth of populism and of a right-wing wave. This being progressive Europe, unsurprisingly, people also talk about the big businesses that generously finance Sarah Palin for their own glory and interests, thus returning to the imperialist conspiracy theory. This is not true, however, if we consider that SarahPAC — the committee in charge of collecting resources for her — $1 million per trimester — lives off individual donations averaging $337.

Let’s return to what is happening in the U.S. regarding Sarah Palin and the tea party that supports her. This phenomenon is not new: a spontaneous protest movement, decentralized, without a defined program and leadership. Sen. Marco Rubio could cover both the tea party and the Republican Party. A movement with a libertarian air about it, which rallies against the established politics in Washington, against Obama and against RINO (Republicans In Name Only) that do not represent change, but exchange and recycling of ideas.

And what about Obama? On Sept. 20, in a televised debate on a friendly channel, Velma Hart, an African-American, told the president that she was “tired of defending him.” Obama answered that the United States was on the right track toward a promising future. That night, Obama showed himself for what he really is: a politician like all the others. A great speaker, but nothing more. A man who talks big, who does not keep his promises and who continues to promise something he cannot accomplish. Hence the lack of trust and the frustration. Hence, the citizens, feeling cheated and disillusioned, do not vote and turn to a Sarah Palin or a Marco Rubio, who, far from big speeches, demand less state, less public expenditure, fewer taxes, less help for banks and more work. Tired of projects never realized, the citizens want that society of “free citizens and minimum government” that the founders of the United States proclaimed. Looking at it this way, many would vote for Sarah Palin.