Sarah Palin is missing the nucleus of what the Tea Party activists are all about. They are not looking for another John McCain or George Bush. While I sympathize with much of Palin's platform, she misses the entire isolationist sentiment of the movement.
Tea party activists want a return to the constitution. While they require that our leaders fiercely defend our country, they also do not want to conduct any more pro-active wars that bankrupt the nation. They also value the life of our young men and women more than the profits of Raytheon, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. There are many right leaning independents that will no longer support the use of military force to spread democracy and build nations across the globe.
Here is Mrs. Palin's interview with Chris Wallace on Fox news last Sunday. You could hear the votes dropping from true conservatives across the country when she uttered these words; "Say he decided to declare war on Iran..., which I would like him to do." Her comments were in response to the question how Barack Obama can improve his chances of re-election.
That means that President Palin would declare war on Iran, today! What kind of war Sarah? Many military experts claim that a messy and bloody ground war would be necessary, not just a week of "Shock and Awe" air sorties.
There is a nascent movement in Iran to overthrow Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the people of that country are using people like Mir-Hossein Mousavi to change their government's attitude towards Israel and the west.
Our country must vigorously defend attacks against our nation and her allies. But demagoguery and jingoism should not be used as a way to score political points. And war must be viewed as the last option of defense, not a way of life or a political ideal.
By the way Sarah, the President can't declare war on anybody, only congress can. But if you do get elected, will you remember which country to invade? Iraq or Iran...maybe you can write in on the back of your glasses.
No need to worry Mahmoud, if Palin's platform in 2012 is more Neo-conservatism, she will mush her way back to Alaska.
Michael Pento is the Senior Market Strategist for Delta Global Advisors and a contributor to greenfaucet.com