Hurricane Sarah

In less than a week’s time, Hurricane Sarah Palin has cut a wide path through the Republican Party that has done more than simply stir up the media. As the G.O.P.’s official nominee for Vice President, Alaska’s Governor Palin has not just put another crack in the glass ceiling, she has punched a hole in it.

In the media churn that has followed her sudden appearance on the national scene, we have learned … among many startling revelations, that gun toting, bikini clad Sarah Palin (shown in this fake, photoshopped pix, wearing the American flag as a bathing suit), was once was a card carrying member of an organization that called for the succession of Alaska from the U.S.

In her role as agent of change, Palin may have also shattered the glass ceiling over the marriages of fundamentalist Christian women across America. In fundamentalist Christian homes, women have long been subjugated to their husband’s authority. A husband, in a fundamentalist marriage, even has the right to beat his wife.

In the Palin household, husband Todd, has now become “Mr. Mom.” In a classic photo of the Palin family, shown on stage at the G.O.P. convention, Dad is shown holding four month old baby Trig, while business suited Mom gives Senator John McCain a big hug.

It’s anyone’s guess how the events of this past week will ripple across the lives of the women in the Republican Party’s conservative base.

However, it’s my belief that the hurricane wide path that Sarah Palin has cut across the Republican Party, has scattered the seeds of its ultimate devolution.

In time, as faith-based women begin to follow Palin’s lead, the G.O.P. may experience a revolutionary shift from the party of an authoritarian, father image, to a more nurturing party – like that of today’s Democratic party. By 2012, the lines between the two parties may become blurred. Today’s Republicans may emerge as tomorrow’s Democrats, with both parties unified as ONE.

Over time, could this shift from authoritarian to nurturing – from fear based politics to those based on hope and a helping hand – create a seismic shift in American politics? Would it shift our role on the world stage from that of “the world’s policeman” to that of diplomacy and conflict resolution?