Palin hints at 2012 platform, endorses “Ryan Roadmap”

This is a fairly substantial move for Governor Palin since the plan laid out by Congressman Paul Ryan, known as the Ryan Roadmap, is a hard line plan for restoring fiscal restraint in Washington. The plan outlines conservative approaches to the topics of health care, entitlements, taxes, jobs and economic policy in general.

Report from Reuters:

With one op-ed piece in the WSJ, Sarah Palin has made a lasting impact on the dynamic of the upcoming Republican presidential race — even if she doesn’t run. (Though I think she will.) By strongly endorsing Rep. Paul Ryan’s outstanding Roadmap for America’s Future, Palin has set a floor for how radical and sweeping an agenda the 2012 candidates can offer. Anyone offering less will look timid and inconsequential and most un-Tea Party-esque. One of the big knocks against Ryan’s plan is that few of his colleagues are supporting it. Now the most high-profile Republican in America has given it her seal of approval. The Ryan Roadmap is quickly becoming the de facto GOP economic platform. And if Palin does decide to run, she immediately starts out with a specific and coherent agenda. Candidates beware: Bullet points and platitudes aren’t going to cut it.

It is true that many establishment Republicans have avoided supporting Ryan’s plan since they’re afraid to touch issues like the bankrupt direction of Social Security and Medicare. The entitlements need to be reigned in, however, few in Washington have the real political guts to do it.

For Sarah Palin to come out this early and stake claim to this plan says to me that she does indeed mean business in 2012. I have continued saying I personally wasn’t sure she would be running in 2012. This step says to me that perhaps she is thinking about running and perhaps she has already staked out her part of the conversation which one of strict fiscal restoration in Washington.

If you’re completely unfamiliar with the Ryan Roadmap, check out the executuve summary for some bullet point outlines of what the plan entails.