Palin Will Fight for Energy and Against Crony Capitalism

Sarah Palin has decided against a 2012 presidential run and, with Chris Christie also bowing out, we are virtually guaranteed a more sedate and boring republican primary season characterized by overly staged debates. And the intense grinding and filtering associated with the vetting process will probably result in our being forced to accept a candidate less conservative than we had hoped.

But Palin made it clear in her interview with Mark Levin that she would work hard to elect conservative candidates at every level of government. She framed two key themes that will animate her fight as a political outsider as she works with republicans (not against them as a 3rd party spoiler) to prevent Obama’s reelection: energy and crony capitalism. Hardly a syllable about these issues has been uttered by the current candidates but now with Palin’s help they will get the attention they deserve. Her endorsement is highly coveted and to earn it a candidate will have to embrace these two subjects convincingly. Her unapologetic and knowledgeable advocacy for the development of American-sourced energy has been a Palin trademark for much of her recent career. But her recognition of the level of corruption achieved through Obama’s brand of crony capitalism and its fundamental immorality was a brilliant insight. Those candidates with careers defined outside the boundaries of Washington, DC, like Herman Cain and Mitt Romney, should use the charge of cronyism like a bludgeon against Obama’s hope and change mirage until it completely deflates and disappears.

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In Indianola, Iowa last month, in what was her best speech since the 2008 convention, Palin started to focus on her crusade against the “corporate crony capitalism” of Obama with a fervor equal to her discussions about the need to embrace oil and gas exploration. We can see the aptness of Palin’s cronyism charge by looking at specific examples of Obama’s reprehensible corporatism. While it’s hard to choose a particularly evil villain among Obama’s list of cronies, a group that includes Warren Buffett, George Soros, Jamie Dimon and the backers of bankrupt Solyndra, the true poster boy of Obama cronyism is Jeffrey Immelt, CEO of GE and chairman of Obama’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness. GE is no less Government Electric than GM is Government Motors. In her Labor Day speech in Iowa Palin said that cronyism “is not the capitalism of free men and free markets but the capitalism of connections and government handouts”, what Ayn Rand termed “the aristocracy of pull” in Atlas Shrugged. GE has benefited greatly from TARP and wind subsidies while escaping completely unscathed in the media (much of which GE controls through its part ownership of NBC) after declaring a zero percent corporate tax rate and moving GE’s X-Ray business to China.

Collusion of big government, big business and big finance

Palin railed against the “collusion of big government, big business and big finance” but GE’s Immelt seems to luxuriate in the collusion. “Governments around the world are firing as many bullets into this thing as they know how to do”, he said. “I think the governments are all in, and my own view is the government always wins.” Indeed government, essentially fascist government, always wins the corporatism game but as Palin points out it’s always “to the detriment of small business….. and the little guy.” Palin remarked confidently and seemingly without regret that she decided not to run because family comes first. What Palin might have really meant is that she decided not to run because family safety comes first. Out of Obama and the radical left there has oozed a form of derangement and hatred for populist figures on the right that must be truly frightening for the Palin family to behold. Obama’s goons become more unhinged and threatening every day whether they represent the union movement or appear in the form of pathetic, incoherent, spoiled middle-class street thugs defacing the sidewalks of lower Manhattan. So by declining to compete for the presidential bid at least we know that Sarah Palin and her family will be safe, or at least safer. If a secure and confident republican wins the presidency let’s hope that he/she will have the good sense to appoint Palin to a cabinet position where we she can radically alter our national energy strategy. The Department of the Interior comes to mind where can Palin review and issue onshore and offshore drilling permits faster than the media can condemn them. Even if that appointment never comes to pass we can look forward to that evening in Tampa in late August 2012 when, in prime time, some 50 million Americans will tune into a speech at the republican national convention that will rock the rafters and remind us of the depth and talent our remarkable political system continues to produce.