I was fortunate enough to live in a city that was on the list of stops for Governor Palin’s book tour.  Of all the cities and areas in upstate NY, I didn’t expect it to be mine!  However as an organizer for 2012 Draft Sarah Committee, I was happy that I could potentially get my book signed and meet the governor.  I ended up walking out with a signed copy of 'Going Rogue,' a signed t-shirt (that my awesome girlfriend made for me) and an awesome experience under my belt! 

There were people from all walks of life.  Some were your average blue-collar working class Americans.  Some looked like they came from a little bit of money.  Some had been there waiting since the previous evening.  They were white, black, Asian, Latino, eastern Indian.  All ages.  

 Despite MSNBC’s Chris Matthew's claim that Palin’s supports were only rich, white and elderly, I saw a true cross section of America.  Considering that I live in a liberal city in a liberal state, I was really happy to see well over a thousand people lined up by the time the store opened.  I arrived a few minutes before 7:30, and the line went halfway across the plaza. (Quite a large plaza I might add)  The number of people nearly doubled by the time the doors opened an hour and a half later at 9:00.  The biggest surprise for me was the large group of people who were under twenty-five years old.  It was so exciting to see.  Another wonderful thing to see - there were only a handful of protestors, all of which looked like they were transplanted from 1968.

There were other organizers and political peeps there as well.  It was great to stand and just talk with people casually who were like-minded.  Some of them were fans of her policies.  Some of them were women who had never seen a fellow woman in public office who shared their views.  Most people were there because they believe that they may have found their champion.

 The last two Republican presidents (Bush, and W. Bush) did some things that were really great, and made some pretty big mistakes.  Since the day that Ronald Reagan left office, conservatives have been searching for a true champion.  There is now a generation of young Americans that have grown up without a truly inspiring leader on the right side of the aisle. 

There are other leaders in the GOP that are decent speakers with some conservative cred.  Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee is now a member of the talk show crew, and his time as a Baptist minister certainly helps with the public speaking.  A lot of people are unhappy with how often Huckabee would try to get along with the democrats a-la John McCain. 

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney (Who I must disclose I am a huge fan of) is a very sharp speaker and looked tailor-made to be a president.  He has excellent economic credentials, ran the 2002 Olympics and was a successful governor, elected in a very liberal state.  However some people still have questions about the health care plan he tried to enact during his time in office.  He will no doubt have to answer those questions if he decides to run again.

Sarah Palin is a triple-threat.  She can rally a crowd while appearing personable.  She has conservative credentials, and she can tout a successful string of jobs.  She was elected to City Council, then Mayor, then was the Chairperson of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, and then finally Governor.  While she did resign her term as governor prematurely, she did so only because the frivolous lawsuits kept her from doing her job.  It was not often reported in the main-steam media that during her term as governor she enjoyed approval ratings in the high eighties.

She comes off like your neighbor.  She is hitting two cities a day, signing over a thousand books per stop.   When she entered the store and waved to the crowd outside, you would have sworn that Michael Jackson was in to sign copies of the Thriller album in 1984.  The cheers were deafening. 

She is a personable and genuine person, who is on what many people believe to be the ‘right’ side of the issues. (ba dum bum) For the first time in forty years, more people in the country are pro-life than pro-choice.  The tea party movement has not only shown disgust with the current administration, but with mistakes made from the Bush years as well.  They despise the rapid growth in government that has taken place since the year 2001.  Palin is a small-government reformer who could if elected to the presidency, reduce the size of bureaucracy and government the way Ronald Reagan did in the eighties.

That’s something we could all use.  Imagine a world with government half the size it is now.  Imagine a government not so politically correct that we have a ‘civil court’ trial for the 9/11 mastermind planners so that we can curry favor with the rest of the world.  Imagine a bureaucracy not so clogged with useless pencil-pushing jobs that soak up taxpayer money.  Imagine a government not hell-bent on pushing economic crippling bills like Cap-and-Trade and Health Care reform.  I imagine it every day. 

Run Sarah Run.

Before I really get rolling, I want to take a minute and talk about the horrific events at Ft. Hood that took place yesterday. 

I’ve always been a staunch supporter of the United States Military, and its personnel. I was coming home from work and saw it on the news when I walked in the house. It was one of the most disgusting displays of humanity that I had seen since September 11^th. This man, Maj. Nidal Malik Hassan, did something deplorable. He was known to be politically against the war, and had spoken about how Muslims should not be made to fight other Muslims. He had had a recent past of poor performance reviews, and decided to take the coward’s way out.

Chanting “Allahu Akbar” (god is great) he turned his guns on his fellow soldiers. He killed 13 and wounded over thirty others. This country and it’s military gave him a chance, a life, and an education. Nearly half a million dollars I hear in that education too. It’s disgusting that this is how he chose to show himself. He ended up being a terrorist, a scumbag, and a disgrace to the uniform.

I want to say that my thoughts and prayers are with the men and women of Ft. Hood. I also want to say that I wish they had killed him when he was taken down.

Okay, now onto what I was originally had written, which deals with the election victories for the GOP this week.

I’ll admit I did a little bit of partying on behalf of the GOP victories.   After losing two straight elections, it was a pleasant surprise to see some life breathed back into the Republican brand. These were not RINO’s taking home the gold either. These people were running as Tax-cutting, small-government, traditional-valued conservatives.  

The State of Virginia was painted red across the board, as Republican Bob McDonnell beat out Democrat Creigh Deeds, 58% to 41%. To have a Republican win with a 17-point margin of victory in a state Obama won soundly last year is fantastic for the GOP brand. McDonnell is not the only one celebrating in Virginia today.   The Republican candidates for Lt. Governor and state Attorney General also won decisive victories. Three-for-three in ‘The Old Dominion State.’

Virginia showed quite a turnaround in exit polling from last year’s results. In polls conducted by Edison Research, we saw a dramatic change from last year. In 2008 the number of people who identified themselves as members of the GOP hug at about 33%. This year it topped 37%. During last year’s election, the number of self-described Democrats was at 39%. This year it is down to 33%. 

Creigh Deeds spent a decent amount of time trying to show that McDonnell’s conservative cred meant that he was oppressive towards women, but according to those polled, McDonnell took women 54% to 46%, and ‘working’ women even preferred him over Deeds 51% to 48%. 

The top issues in Virginia were the economy by 47%, health care by 24% and taxes by 15%. Conservatives and Republicans both showed up in greater numbers than in 2008, and it paid off. 

In New Jersey, it was nothing short of divine intervention. This is the bluest of blue states, and an incumbent Democrat governor should have sailed right through to victory. Christie in fact led the race for most of the past few months. Even with Obama coming multiple times to campaign for him, Corzine still lost, 48% to 44%. (Independent candidate Jim Daggett took the remainder of the vote) 

Independents made up twenty-five percent of the vote, and they favored Christie over Corzine, 60% to 30%. Members of the GOP voted solidly for Christie, 91% and 6% for Corzine. Registered Democrats were less loyal, going 88% for Corzine and 8% for Christie. Moderates for the most part were split, but still favored Christie, 48% to 45%. Conservatives, who were out in huge numbers in New Jersey, favored Christie by 88%.

The most important issues in New Jersey were the economy with 32%, Property Taxes (Highest in the nation) with 26%, corruption with 20@ and health care, 17%.  

In a brief note about the special election of New York’s 23^rd district, all conservatives and Republicans can learn an important message here:

1)      1)  Pick conservative candidates, and not traitorous RINO’s who will either NOT champion liberal causes’ or betray their party by endorsing the Democratic candidate.

2)       2)  Learn whom in the party to trust more. Sorry Newt, but Palin’s endorsement won that round. Not only did her endorsement put Hoffman in the lead for a while, she proved to be a true force to be reckoned with. Hoffman nearly won as a third party conservative candidate in a blue state. People do like Sarah, and her endorsements. 

The elections also brought other surprises. The state of Maine became the 31^st in a row to vote down Gay Marriage. Maine is no red state, and I was sure this was going to pass with popular vote. Barack Obama may have won in what was called an electoral landslide, but he did not win in an ideological one. Many people voted on their anger towards president Bush, which is just moronic. Ya know, because he wasn’t on the ticket! 

The United States is still a center-right nation. People may have voted in change last year, but it wasn’t what they thought it was going to be. This is only the beginning. They woke up the sleeping giant, and the conservatives are being led to the polls once again.