Bill Hughes | July 20, 2010
Hello Save Jerseyans! What an honor to join such an impressive conservative site!
I recently wrote over on Examiner.com about New Jersey’s very own “Mama Grizzly” in the sixth legislative district, Anna Little. Little, a common sense conservative from the Tea Party set, won an upset victory in the June primary to claim the nomination in the fall race against 11 term incumbent Frank Pallone, Jr. Little is our very own representation of what seems to be a national trend this election year as a new wave of conservative women rises up to take back our country.
A year ago, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin held a press conference to announce that she wasn’t seeking re-election and therefore resign her office 2 1/2 years into her 4 year term in order to avoid being a lame duck. She claimed at the time that this was the best decision for her family, her state and the state of conservative politics. She also claimed that she as not retreating but reloading.
At the time, the hostile media circulated rumors of scandal. The Palins were getting divorced. There was a federal indictment looming. A year later and those rumors proved to be yet another in a long ling of malicious, dare I say sexist, attacks on a confident conservative woman that they deemed as a threat to their political power.
Now, I may differ with some of the good folks here at Save Jersey as to her political viability in 2012 (I think she has a very good chance indeed) but I think that folks from across the conservative spectrum can see that Palin’s contribution to this election has already been quite significant. Before Palin’s arrival on the national scene, most female politicians on the GOP side were, at best, squishy moderates, and in many cases, outright leftist loons. Her whirlwind candidacy in the 2008 election gave a face to the new conservative woman and inspired many to get involved in politics for the first time.
Palin’s resignation from office freed her schedule to become the conservative kingmaker that she is today. She has traveled the country in the last year on behalf of good common sense conservative candidates, many of whom were serious underdogs in their primaries.
Many of those she has championed are what she has called “Mama Grizzlies.” These pink elephants are women who have entered politics because they are frightened with the radical socialist agenda of the Obama administration and the left-wing pin-up girl and Botox enthusiast Nancy Pelosi.
Largely due to her influence and support, these women are prepared to take the political world by storm this November.
One such “Mama Grizzly” is South Carolina’s Nikki Haley. Haley, at the time of Palin’s endorsement, was in fourth place in the primary contest. In the week after the Palin endorsement Haley launched into a sizable first place lead. Haley has since gone on to claim the nomination and leads her Democratic opponent in public polling. Haley challenged the establishment Republicans with a no-nonsense common sense conservative approach and won. She looks like a winning bet in South Carolina and is poised to be the first woman and Indian-American to win statewide office in the state.
Another “Mama Grizzly” worth noting is Georgia’s Karen Handel, who also leapt to a lead in her primary contest after Palin’s endorsement. Handel is currently serving as the Georgia Secretary of State and brings a tough conservative sensibility with her as she campaigns for Georgia's top job.
Mama Grizzly candidates are also running for governor in Oklahoma where Mary Fallin is running for the state’s top job, New Mexico, where Susana Martinez is running for governor, and Arizona, where tough as nails current governor Jan Brewer (the female Chris Christie) is running for a full term in her own right. For the Republican party, the amount of strong female candidates running for statewide office is a great sign of the depth and strength of the party’s pool of candidates.
The party also has a plethora of good conservative women running for congress in the form of the aforementioned Anna Little in New Jersey, Michelle Bachmann in Minnesota, and Star Parker in California.
The great thing about the diversity of the GOP candidates this year is that they are right on the issues. RINOs are going down to defeat everywhere around this country as common sense conservatives are rising up to put a stop the menacing liberal overlords of both political parties that have been running this nation into the ground.
In the age of Obama, RINOs are no longer enough. We need tough and confident conservative men and women to aggressively take on the radical socialist agenda Obama has begun to put into place. It won't be enough to be the slightly less liberal party this time around. In the words of former President Reagan, this is a time for bold colors not pale pastels. The American people are hungry for an alternative to Obama-tinged socialism. They need to be presented with a bold common sense conservative agenda to vote for. If the GOP can do this, they are going to do very well this November.
There are many trends this election, but there is no denying the conservative uprising that is so evident in many of these races. In raising support for candidates across the country and advancing the cause of conservatism, Mrs. Palin has done well in her new role. 2010 is shaping up to be the year of the Mama Grizzly indeed!
Jersey's Top Lawman Denies 
