Washington Times’s Kuhner: Palin “Chose Personal Enrichment Over Principles And Party”

Jeffrey Kuhner of the conservative Washington Times opines that Palin as pundit “sounds the death knell of her political career.”

If Mrs. Palin’s goal is to provide a lavish income for her large family, perhaps she has made the right move. However, if the former Alaska governor is considering a credible run for the 2012 presidential election, she has made a fatal mistake. She has chosen personal enrichment instead of principles and party

Mrs. Palin’s appeal lies in her populism. She represents the cultural values of Middle America. She is a pro-life social conservative who champions gun rights and limited government. She is unabashedly patriotic and strongly supports the military.

She is a hockey mom with five children – someone who rose from humble origins. She possesses a bachelor’s degree from the University of Idaho (known as Potato U.). Mrs. Palin climbed to the top based on self-reliance and traditional frontier individualism. She is not a Bush or a Kennedy; her success does not depend on wealth or power.

[…]

She is a product of our narcissistic celebrity culture. Instead of doing the heavy (and unglamorous) political lifting required of a national leader, she is embracing the luxurious life of a TV talking head. She has abandoned the very basis of her populist legitimacy: her outsider status.

She’s not “going rogue” says Kuhner, she’s going “establishment”. But doesn’t Palin have the right to make that choice?

By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.