Sarah Palin: What will 2011 Bring?

In a year when she wasn't even running for office, Sarah Palin managed to keep things interesting and alive in 2010. From a successful book to Tea Party endorsements, not to mention a reality TV show, Palin proved she is a force to be reckoned with no matter what side of the aisle your politics fall. Many of the candidates endorsed by Palin went on to win major seats in Congress and helped regain control of the House for Republicans.

It is no secret that the mainstream media, news outlets, TV personalities and liberal journalists have it out for Palin. This assertion is based off the observation of months of a grueling vice-presidential campaign (where the public witnessed massive amounts of unprecedented attacks hurled on Palin and her family). However, even after the 2008 political season, the criticism and dislike for Palin has actually managed to grow amongst those least fond of Palin. Why?

As the old saying goes, “You’re not anybody ‘til somebody hates you.” In the flicker of time which has been Sarah Palin’s ascension into the political spotlight, a militia of critics has begun aggressive strikes against the potential threat to Obama and her criticism of his “fundamental change” of America. Surely there are other voices in the GOP that have well-articulated the dissatisfaction from the Right with the current administration and the direction of the country - people like Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich, to name a couple - but what scares the full-time critics on the Left the most is that Palin may actually have the conservative message sticking with mainstream America.

What exposes liberals’ fear the most is the assumption they have that Sarah Palin wants to run for President. There is widespread panic amongst the Left that she will run for president, win, crush Obama, and become the first female to hold the office…that is quite a scenario that even conservative supporters haven’t thought much about. It’s unclear if Palin has even thought that far ahead (even though 2012 isn’t too far away at all); but with her resignation as Governor, her outspokenness in the media, and her care-free lifestyle post-Governor, it appears that Sarah Palin isn’t playing by the rule book. If she really wanted all the things liberals fear, Palin would be conducting herself much differently...perhaps more like a typical politician. However, this firestorm of opposition may have actually ignited something within the Right. As Newton's Law states, "every action is accompanied by a reaction of equal magnitude." In this case, the reaction may be Palin herself.

It was just more than two years ago that Sarah Palin splashed onto the national stage and took hold of the GOP in a conservative “renaissance” – the term may sound a bit exaggerated, but there is something to be said for a serious female Republican candidate in the 21^st century taking charge of her party and stirring up new found excitement within the base. If there is anything to take away from all the criticism Palin faces and that we, the public, must endure, it is that one things is clear (even if Palin’s political ambitions are not): the Left has something to fear; rather than fear it yourself, investigate what that “something” is and make your own opinion.