The mark of a true leader is that people actually want to follow them. Sarah Palin is that sort of leader. Sarah has proven herself as a leader from the time she was captain of her basketball team, and the leader of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes . When Sarah was mayor of Wasilla, she was also elected president of the Alaska Council of Mayors. And of course, as Chairman of the AOGCC and Governor of Alaska, she showed incredible leadership.

Though some were bewildered when Sarah stepped down as Governor, they just didn’t understand the dynamics going on in Alaska. Sarah has continued to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that she is indeed one of our nation’s strongest leaders. From taking strong stands against the unconstitutional attempts at the government take over of health care, to speaking out on energy and monetary policy, Sarah Palin has been the leading voice.

In fact, Sarah’s outspoken comments against ObamaCare stopped iTs momentum dead in its tracks. As Sarah talked about a system that would inevitably lead to rationing of care, see RomneyCare in Massachusetts, she called it “downright evil.” Sarah’s ability to distill down the idea of bureaucrats sitting in some government office, arbitrarily coming up with formulas for who will and won’t receive ObamaCare, based on how “valuable” they are to society, was brilliant. The idea of “death panels” is now part of the American lexicon.

The mark of a true leader though is the ability to risk it all when the situation calls for it. To go “all in” if that’s what is called for. This is just what Sarah has done with the Congressional race in New York’s 23rd district.

Some background on this deal first. This is a special election for the unexpired term of Republican John McHough, who was chosen earlier this year to be Secretary of the Army. There wasn’t a primary process to choose candidates to run for this seat, instead, this was a backroom deal where the party bosses chose who the candidate would be.

Unfortunately, the party “elite” chose an extreme liberal. At this point, the who’s and whys and “backstage intrigue” of it all, doesn’t really matter. Suffice it to say, the “elite” thought it better to run an extreme liberal in a safe Republican district. Not all that brilliant.

Enter local businessman Doug Hoffman. Hoffman, a very successful businessman in the district, and a CPA, has never held elected office, never run for elected office, but he is a rock solid Conservative, and understands that our nation is on the wrong path. Frankly, as Barack Obama allows America to turn into a financial quagmire, we could use a few more CPAs in Congress and a lot less attorneys!

For her part in what has become a national race, and a referendum on not only Barack Obama, but the direction of the GOP, DeDe Scozzafava couldn’t be less of a sympathetic figure. To call Scozzafava a RINO, Republican In Name Only,.is to insult other RINOs. DeDe is so far to the left, that she has been endorsed by the ultra-leftist group, the Daily Kos, over the democrat in the race!

Scozzafava is a darling of ACORN, supports card check, ObamaCare, all of the spending, and is married to a union leader. According to one ratings group, Scozzafava, a state assembly woman, is more liberal than 43 percent of the elected democrats in the state!

Moreover, Scozzafava is the most recent recipient of the Margaret Sanger award. Regular readers will recognize Sanger as the founder of Planned Parenthood, the “holy church” of the “progressive” movement, and the democrat/communist party. Margaret Sanger was, among other things, an ardent supporter of eugenics, she was an inspiration to such fine folks as Adolf Hitler and Josef Mengele.

Sanger, an associate of the Ku Klux Klan, and frequent speaker to the group, founded Planned Parenthood as part of her attempt to push for the abortion of black babies, who she called “human weeds.”

This is who DeDe Scozzafava is. A far left “progressive” that makes the democrat in the race look very attractive, even to Republicans. This woman is so far left that she has prompted popular columnist, Mark Steyn to coin a new phrase for her, and those like her: DIABLO, “democrat in all but label only!” Frankly, I hope this one catches on, and seeing how DeDe’s campaign manager reportedly approached the democrat party bosses about her playing on their team, this is quite appropriate!

Now for its part, the hapless GOP “elites” went “all in” for DeDe. The NRCC has sent an incredible amount of money up there to support this DIABLO. And Newt Gingrich, once the darling of Conservatives coast to coast, jumped in with both feet as well.

Enter Sarah Palin. Now Sarah wasn’t the first heavy hitter to come in and help Hoffman. Dick Armey and his Club For Growth were early supporters followed by Fred and Jeri Thompson. Sarah was the first person, however, to really stake her reputation on Doug Hoffman. Sarah was the first person considered a front runner in 2012 to lay it on the line.

In a statement on Facebook, she said it all:

“The people of the 23rd Congressional District of New York are ready to shake things up, and Doug Hoffman is coming on strong as Election Day approaches! He needs our help now.

“The votes of every member of Congress affect every American, so it’s important for all of us to pay attention to this important Congressional campaign in upstate New York. I am very pleased to announce my support for Doug Hoffman in his fight to be the next “Representative from New York’s 23rd Congressional district. It’s my honor to endorse Doug and to do what I can to help him win, including having my political action committee, SarahPAC, donate to his campaign the maximum contribution allowed by law.

“Our nation is at a crossroads, and this is once again a ‘time for choosing’.”

“The federal government borrows, spends, and prints too much money, while our national debt hits a record high. Government is growing while the private sector is shrinking, and unemployment is on the rise. Doug Hoffman is committed to ending the reckless spending in Washington, D.C. and the massive increase in the size and scope of the federal government. He is also fully committed to supporting our men and women in uniform as they seek to honorably complete their missions overseas.

“And best of all, Doug Hoffman has not been anointed by any political machine.

“Doug Hoffman stands for the principles that all Republicans should share: smaller government, lower taxes, strong national defense, and a commitment to individual liberty.

“Political parties must stand for something. When Republicans were in the wilderness in the late 1970s, Ronald Reagan knew that the doctrine of “blurring the lines” between parties was not an appropriate way to win elections. Unfortunately, the Republican Party today has decided to choose a candidate who more than blurs the lines, and there is no real difference between the Democrat and the Republican in this race. This is why Doug Hoffman is running on the Conservative Party’s ticket.

“Republicans and conservatives around the country are sending an important message to the Republican establishment in their outstanding grassroots support for Doug Hoffman: no more politics as usual.

“You can help Doug by visiting his official website below and joining me in supporting his campaign:

“http://www.doughoffmanforcongress.com/donate3.html.”

Several things to note. Sarah took a direct shot at the party “elite” when she pointed out that Doug Hoffman wasn’t anointed by the party machine. She also took a direct shot at the GOP letting them know in no uncertain terms that “politics as usual” would not stand.

Of course, as with most of Sarah’s speeches and writings, there is a healthy dose of Ronald Reagan added, showing that she gets it. While the “elites” in the party keep telling us “the era of Reagan is over” Sarah knows what we know:that Ronald Reagan is timeless. That’s a lesson she is about to teach all of the RINOs and DIABLOs in the party!

Bear in mind that when Sarah gave her unwavering support to Doug Hoffman, he was dead last in the three way race between himself, Scozzafava, and the democrat. This wasn’t a cut and dried “win” for anyone supporting Doug Hoffman!

Knowing this, so-called front runners like Tim Pawlenty came out with statements like this noted on The Hill’s website:

When asked on ABC’s “Top Line” webcast if he will endorse a candidate, Pawlenty replied “probably, yeah,” but said that he would need to take time to review the candidates’ policy positions.

But in the interview, Pawlenty only raised issues with Scozzafava and did not address Hoffman.

“As a conservative, I am worried about some of the things I’ve heard about how the person was selected,” he said of Scozzafava.

“The selection of this individual…seems a little cloistered,” he continued, raising issue about how the Republican Party selected Scozzafava as a nominee. Critics say that the nomination was not open and thorough enough. The party passed over Hoffman and a number of other candidates for Scozzafava.

“The process may not have been as open as it should have been,” Pawlenty added.

The governor also said that he is “concerned about some of the alleged issue positions that she holds.”

Real profile in courage there, huh!

Pawlenty has since come aboard and endorsed Doug Hoffman. What of the other so-called “front runners” Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee? Well, for Huckabee, while he says that he supports the ideas that Hoffman stands for, he has no plans to endorse, or have HuckPAC send any money. That’s kind of all you need to know about Huckabee. Seems like his career as a TV host, and bass player is firmly cemented now! Romney is AWOL in this deal. Not a single word.

What of the “Sarah effect” in all of this? Well, first of all, record amounts of money started rolling in! In less than 12 hours after her endorsement $116,000 came in. To put that in perspective, they had raised roughly $200,000 in the week before.

The most profound effect though was in polling. The Club For Growth polled after Sarah’s endorsement and it looked like this: Hoffman 31.3%, Owens (the democrat) 27.0%, Scozzafava 19.7%.

From dead last to first in just a couple of days! And this in a race that Newt Gingrich is still lecturing us that will only “split the party!”

For those that may have forgotten about the “Sarah effect” might I remind you about the run-off race in Georgia after the 2008 elections. Senator Saxby Chambliss was in a tough spot. He had won the election in a three way battle, but under Georgia rules, the winner must have at least 50.1 percent to take the seat. He didn’t have it. In the run-off election, Chambliss was locked in a dead heat race, according to the polls. Both sides sent all of their “stars” in to stump for their candidates. The democrats sent in Bill Clinton and rapper Ludacris. The GOP sent in everybody. No help, as none could draw much of a crowd on either side.

Sarah came in on a Sunday night and attended a fund raiser, and then on Monday, the day before the election, held four rallies, all to standing room only crowds. Chambliss won in a 16 point blowout!

More of the “Sarah effect” is apparent as new polling out shows Doug Hoffman’s lead in the race is widening. From Real Clear Politics:

“For the second time in two days, a poll released by a conservative group finds Conservative Party nominee Doug Hoffman leading the Nov. 3 special election race for New York’s 23rd District. Neighborhood Research polled the district for Minuteman PAC, the political arm of the Minuteman Movement, which has endorsed Hoffman and is airing ads on his behalf.

“Hoffman leads Democrat Bill Owens by 5 points and GOP nominee Dede Scozzafava by 20 points.”

This of course is great news and validates what Conservatives have been saying all along. When Republicans put up a real Conservative candidate, that candidate will win. Works every time it’s tried. Now obviously, with so many undecided this is not a done deal, but it certainly shows that being a conservative is what will win the day over being a squishy “moderate” or in DeDe Scozzafava’s case a far left DIABLO.

NY-23 is the rallying point for Conservative Americans, no matter what party they are in. As the latest Gallup polling shows, Conservative ideology is the leading ideology in America, and has been. Unfortunately, the GOP with it’s delusions of grandeur always has this “big tent” strategy of being all things to all people that only disappoints everyone.

This is not new though, this has been the basic GOP strategy for years and years. The few bright spots in GOP history are when brilliant Conservative leaders like Ronald Reagan emerge. Newt Gingrich, when he moved towards conservatism was able to break a forty year stranglehold the democrat party had on Congress, but alas, Newt has become another party “elite” squish.

Gingrich, who is being shown the truth about Scozzafava, has decided that rather than admit he was wrong, or just sort of fade into the background on this, that instead he would double down on DeDe and is now doing what the RINOs in the party do, attack Conservatives!