If you’re wondering why more conservative Republican women aren’t volunteering to run for higher office, or even for state races, witness the attempted destruction of Sarah Palin.  How many other women could handle such abuse with the grace and class that Sarah has shown throughout this process?  There are fair criticisms of her resume, just as there are legitimate concerns about some of the items on Barack Obama’s resume — like the time spent as a community organizer — but no public figure deserves the treatment she has received, even by some columnists most would consider conservative-friendly.

That leads me to National Review columnist Kathleen Parker.  She had previously written a rather unflattering piece on National Review Online about Palin questioning McCain’s judgment in picking her, and she received a lot of negative feedback for writing that column, including a few death threats.  I don’t believe in censoring opinions I disagree with, and I certainly condemn those loons who actually threatened Parker’s life.  There’s no excuse for such a violent reaction.  In addition to that, I think Parker raises a valid concern about Palin’s readiness for the national stage in that first article (written before the VP debate).  I’m sympathetic to that original argument.

What I don’t understand is the motivation behind her current article suggesting that McCain picked Sarah Palin because he had some kind of crush on her.  What would possess her to write something like that?  I have no idea.  I guess being a member of the conservative pundit class allows you to get stupid stuff like this published in National Review.    If McCain loses, all Republicans will be looking for someone to blame for it, and I get the frustration many of us feel because McCain and his campaign staff have missed many great opportunities to make the case for him and against Obama.  It would be easy and convenient for us to blame the Palin choice as the reason for a McCain loss.  It’s not the reason, and we should find another scapegoat…someone who looks an awful lot like John McCain.

Conservatives warned that John McCain was a very flawed candidate, but the party leadership, in keeping with current tradition, was more interested in the opinions of those indies and moderates than it was with our opinions.  We have what we have.  As for me, I will join fellow conservatives and other Republicans on November 4th and vote for John McCain.  Abandoning him now ensures the election of Barack Obama, and I refuse to have that on my conscience.  There are also local and state Republicans who have races to win on November 4th. Sitting this election out is not an option. It’s crunch time.  We can still fight on until Election Day and see what happens.  We are assured of a loss if we give up.  I’m not giving up until we count the votes.  Who’s with me?