I’m exhausted this evening, but I can’t get to sleep without at least commenting on the ever-evolving NY-23 race.

First, I think Sarah Palin’s endorsement of Conservative party candidate Doug Hoffman is as much about her sticking a toe back in the political waters as anything else. Her disappointing resignation from the Alaska governership aside, I think she’s fantastic. A lot of people think she is, but then a lot of people can’t stand her. There’s no denying she’s about as polarizing a political figure as there is, so it’ll be interesting to see how her endorsement of Hoffman plays out. My opinion is that it probably won’t hurt considering that Hoffman’s base up to this point is primarily composed of conservatives who are in all likelihood Palin supporters anyway, so not a lot of risk there. However, as Allahpundit at hotair.com opines, there is a definite risk of Palin’s entrance into the fray galvanizing Democrat opposition to Hoffman.

What remains to be seen - and really, what is in many ways more important in a big picture sort of way - is how much more of the vote she can bring to Hoffman. If she succeeds in putting Hoffman over the top, the shockwaves through the Republican establishment will be immediate and rather brutal. They will have no choice but to reevaluate the wisdom of continuing to run liberal candidates such as Scozzafava, and will have to weigh the risk of doing so against the potential for permanently alienating the conservative base and remaining the minority party in perpetuity.

And, inasmuch as this election has now pretty much become a referendum not just on fiscal and social conservatism in general vs. the ‘big tent’ Republican, but also on Sarah Palin, the values she represents and her future viability in the political arena, a conservative win in this election holds the very real potential to set in motion either the reversal of the GOP’s staggering decline, or the acceleration of its final descent into irrelevance.

No matter how this shakes out though, the one message the GOP better be getting loud and clear is that they need us a whole lot more than we need them.

Between you and me, I’m looking forward to the day when I can once again proudly display an “R” next to my name.

…..

-Cnation

…..

Related:

CNN:Β Major cash haul for conservative third-party candidate in NY