By: Kelsey

Let’s take a little trip down memory lane…

A year ago today we were going about our business mocking anklebiters, writing letters to Jonah Goldberg, and doing our best to watch the Governor’s back.

Then a new thread popped up, shattering the rhythm of our C4P day: Gov Palin to Make Announcement at 3:00.

Something’s up. Something big.

Speculation in the ranks:

gardunne63: She’s announcing that Piper will be filing an ethics complaint against Ramras? She was really born in Manitoba, Canada mainly surprising her critics that she can find Canada on a map let alone pronounce it correctly. Seriously, all plans I had this afternoon are now shot. Thanks ‘Cuda.

lonestar: She will announce Andree McLeod is her new clothing czar and Linda Beagle is her new ethics czar.

R. A. Mansour: She just wants to announce to America that she can still beat Jonah Goldberg’s wife at basketball.

As TV pundits began to speculate…

Anne: I think I may hurl. Veep debate nausea coming back…

KentonAK: Does anyone else catch the TREMENDOUS SYMBOLISM of this announcement on JULY 3RD???

(The day before INDEPENDENCE DAY!)

**********Sarah does!******

The first inklings started coming through:

Anne: Yep, CNN is all over the “breaking news: Palin won’t run for re-election” segment. Where is the freakin’ press conference!?

Rachael: CNN is also a flaming wad of crap. This decision has nothing to do with her thinking she might lose. [As a matter of fact, Dave Dittman had come out with a poll just the day before showing Governor Palin winning re-election hands down.]

The Monster: (The day before INDEPENDENCE DAY!) I was just thinking that. She’s declaring independence from the anklebiters.

AmeriCuda: When Pawlenty announced he wasn’t running again, one of the crickets in attendance had to report it.

And then, what almost nobody saw coming:

Bestbud: KTUU says Sarah will resign in July!! WOW

We still had not heard a word from the Governor herself. As a result, some were getting extremely perplexed, myself among them:

Doug (formerly DB): If she’s resigning in three weeks, that makes no sense to me at all.

Rachael: Honest to God I don’t know if I should laugh or cry or vomit.

Mountain Mama: Hiya, Gelston. I’ll be first in line for those sedatives, thank you very much. WHAT IS THE DEAL!?

Uffda: I’m going to be sick….My intestines are in knots.Why? Why, why, why? This is so out of the blue, what on earth is happening?

Finally, the networks got the tape. This is a compilation of the key parts of her speech. You can view the unedited version at here:

Okay, now that we’d heard it from the Governor herself, we were feeling much better, if not actually a little excited:

techno: Romney, Huckabee and Obama just all had heart attacks.

Rachael: Phew. I need a tissue.

Anonymoose: The last time she quit a job — at the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission — it was for principled reasons; and the next job she landed was Governor of Alaska. She deserves the trust she asks for.

Huskers-For-Palin: Okay folks, I’m a 43 year old dude who up until 2008 never really got into politics (with the exception of Reagan). After what I heard, I blubbered like a baby. I haven’t had this kind of passion in a long, long time. I’ve had a beer…feeling better now.

And the media? Well, let’s just say it was comical watching them fail to comprehend plain English:

A year ago today, there was a tinge of sadness:

And a lot of expectations for the future:

Here were my thoughts after I actually saw her speech and realized that she was not giving up the fight, but rather taking it to a better battlefield:

I believe that Sarah Palin has a true servant’s heart, and that servant’s heart leads her to want to be wherever she can do the most good. It just so happens that she has done all she can for Alaska, and she can now do more good elsewhere.

Also, I have to say, I love the party that many liberals are throwing. They’re sipping their champagne, wearing their little party hats and celebrating the idea that Sarah Palin is finished and done.

They were never more wrong.

They will look back and rue this day. The day they thought they had beaten her was the day that she beat them.

They just don’t know it yet.

So, Happy 4th of July to a now very independent Sarah Palin. Enjoy your new-found freedom.

After the C4P editors had taken some time to process the news, Tim Lindell led us in Sarah’s footsteps across the Rubicon:

In 49 BC, Julius Caesar led his army across the Rubicon River. As he did so, he reportedly muttered the phrase “Alea iacta est” – “the die is cast”. It was the point of no return.

Sarah Palin has crossed the Rubicon today. It’s a gamble of incredible proportions. None of us saw it coming, and we’re the most dedicated political junkies you will find anywhere. It took our breath away.

My political faith in Governor Palin was shaken today – I’m ashamed to say it, but it happened. So I did what this worldly, secular, guy rarely does unless he wants something – I took a knee and said a prayer.

And guess what – I found my rock. For me, it was an overwhelming feeling that I should look to Exodus, always my favorite book of the Bible. (Maybe it’s because The Shawshank Redemption is my favorite movie – yeah, I’m hopelessly corrupted by pop culture.) Wherever it came from, I got out my Old Testament and re-read Exodus.

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t think Sarah Palin is Moses. But, as with so many things, I found a useful analogy in God’s word to clarify my thinking. I won’t spin off a full-fledged sermon (will leave that to Pastor Rob, or to RAM, who is so much better than me at spiritual matters). But I did see an analogy. Moses was set loose on the waters, and found by Pharaoh’s daughter. And he lived with them, as one of them, until he could no longer abide the evil that he saw. So he slew the overseer and fled into the desert, building a life for himself and his family until it was necessary for him to return to free his people.

Take from that what you will. Castigate me as some kind of holy roller, but I stand by what I say unashamed.

In any case, Palin has crossed the Rubicon and made her stand clear. She gave us a hint before when she said “Politically, if I die, I die.” I think this was her equivalent of alea iacta est….

As for me, my feet are wet. Because I just waded across the Rubicon, too.

That was a year ago today.

The day after, Tammy Bruce spoke to a Tea Party in Tucson, Arizona:

I don’t know about you, but I feel like I get to celebrate two Independence Days.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

A year ago today we were going about our business mocking anklebiters, writing letters to Jonah Goldberg, and doing our best to watch the Governor’s back.

Then a new thread popped up, shattering the rhythm of our C4P day: Gov Palin to Make Announcement at 3:00.

Something’s up. Something big.