Posted on 08/19/2011 11:48:35 AM PDT by Brookhaven
I am not a Sarah Palin hater. As an Alaska native, I have some appreciation for the political skill needed to knock off Frank Murkowski and Tony Knowles in the same election – political skill that simply isn’t possessed by idiots. And I’ve watched with admiration as she has continually kept herself in the news while shaping the national conversation in subtle (and sometimes not-so-subtle) ways. But over the last several months, Palin’s unique brand of activism seems to have shifted – whether consciously or unconsciously – towards the will of the Republican Establishment.
Consider: Palin’s first break with grassroots/TEA Party orthodoxy came during the 2010 elections, when she endorsed establishment candidates Carly Fiorina and Kelly Ayotte over more conservative challengers Chuck Devore and Ovide Lamontagne. These moves were defended by Palin’s legion of loyalists as “smart political choices,” the reasoning being that Fiorina and Ayotte were the most conservative candidates who stood a reasonable chance of winning the general election. However, whatever the merit of this defense, it certainly did not apply consistently to Palin’s endorsements in 2010, as she nearly simultaneously endorsed the quixotic and doomed candidacy of Christine O’Donnell over Mike Castle in Delaware.
In 2011, Palin’s actions have trended more towards the wishes of the establishment. Palin has made absolutely no moves that are consistent with a candidate that is actually preparing to run for the presidency that I am aware of. She has hired no field staff, has put no organization on the ground in IA, NH, or SC, has not met with the big ticket donors that could kick off a campaign (especially relevant since Palin doesn’t have a large cache of personal wealth to draw from), and hasn’t to my knowledge had meetings with any of the state and county-level power brokers in these states to discuss their willingness to help her potential candidacy. All of the evidence thus far points inescapably to the conclusion that Sarah Palin is not running for President – or that if she is running for President, she does not intend to run the sort of campaign that is actually designed to win the nomination. And yet, she patently refuses to give an unequivocal answer as to whether she will run or not, leaving her most dedicated supporters in a position that they do not feel comfortable openly joining and volunteering for another Presidential campaign.
The end result of this equivocation is that a number of insurgent outsider campaigns (probably most notably Michele Bachmann’s) have been running without the full strength of TEA Party backing that they would otherwise enjoy if Palin had declared that she wasn’t running back in March. Her decision to upstage the insurgent campaigns of Bachmann, Paul and Pawlenty at the Ames poll by showing up and stoking the fires of speculation regarding her candidacy yet further at what was supposed to be a big win for at least one “outsider” campaign was the greatest gift the Republican establishment could have hoped for. Ironically, if Sarah Palin does decide to run, she will ultimately accomplish nothing other than completely sucking the wind out of almost all the non-Romney campaign operations on the ground.
In her latest pro-establishment move, Palin has issued a non-endorsement endorsement of Orrin Hatch in Utah. Palin’s comments on Hatch were characteristically canny, in that she refused to come out and officially endorse Hatch, which might alienate some of her base of support. However, at the same time it gives Hatch great press and shielding from the right, and signals pretty clearly that she will not be officially endorsing Chaffetz or any other TEA Party favorite in Utah.
In this instance, Palin doesn’t even have the excuse that she is endorsing the most conservative candidate that can win in the general; Utah is such a solidly Republican state that whoever wins the Republican nomination will be all but certain to win the general election. Palin’s deliberate shielding of Hatch serves no purpose but to ingratiate the Republican establishment who is terrified of the wave of conservative/TEA Party challengers in safe red states.
Because I believe that Sarah Palin is actually very politically savvy, I have to believe that she knows exactly what she is doing with these moves, and that their consequences are intended. It therefore saddens me to find that one of the party’s most effective outsider voices is now being used so effectively to serve undeserving insiders.
You might not have to be flame but this is a hit piece coming from the likes of all people RED STATE who claim Sarah is not Tea Party like when Red State is the ones who love Mitt alot over there. Why don’t you guys watch the video of her interview yesterday, she didn’t endorse Hatch per say just agreed with Greta that he was one of the original ones pushing for a BB amendment decades ago
You might not have to be flame but this is a hit piece coming from the likes of all people RED STATE who claim Sarah is not Tea Party like when Red State is the ones who love Mitt alot over there. Why don’t you guys watch the video of her interview yesterday, she didn’t endorse Hatch per say just agreed with Greta that he was one of the original ones pushing for a BB amendment decades ago
In all seriousness (I will give you a life-preserving tip), did you know that salmon is the absolute best protein that you can eat? I try to eat salmon every chance I get. Even if you decide to vote for Paul or Obama (forget Palin), the least you can do for yourself is eat SALMON! Seriously! Look it up.
Ok, now for the political side. Sarah 'will' run. So get ready, and be PREPARED!
This is one of those articles where you have to step back and realize that this guy is reading way to much into things. She endorsed who she endorsed for the reasons she stated at the time. It isn’t some grand plot to suck the wind out of true conservative candidates. And the idea that she has been subtly moving toward the establishment is nonsense. She has never been some 100% conservative firebrand. Politically she is probably most like — perish the thought — Rick Perry. That is why they get along so well. My bet his that she endorses Perry at some point this Fall when it would be most valuable to finally bury Romney.
I am not against criticizing Palin when the time is right - no one is perfect that we will personally agree with 100% of the time - but I would not preface my comment with that phrase. Freudian slip?
Duh! I wasn’t speaking about myself but the author of the ‘I do not hate Sarah’. Alaskan wild caught salmon is a staple in my house!
‘
If you say that then you really are. Trying to delve into the mind and strategy of Sarah Palin is a useless effort. You'd have better luck devising a foolproof system to beat the casino's.
Someone who raves about Title IX just might be a feminist.
Hardly anything to discuss. The author (Leon Wolf) offers the opinion that Sarah Palin has attempted to cater to the Republican establishment by endorsing what he considers non-conservative, unworthy candidates. He posits that Palin is doing this deliberately, apparently to curry favor with the GOP establishment who's animosity toward Sarah Palin is exceeded only by liberal Democrats. Mr. Wolf also believes that because Palin doesn't have a big 'ground' organization in the first three primary states (Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina), that is an indication she has no intention of running for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. He seems to disapprove of Sarah Palin 'teasing' supporters by showing up in Iowa and other venues where GOP candidates are attending events but refusing to say whether or not she will be a candidate. My overall impression is that Leon Wolf isn't a Palin supporter, doesn't think she'll run and doesn't like the candidates she has endorsed. But, he's "not a Sarah Palin hater". O.K., but he doesn't seem to think much of the former Alaska governor. Got it - and I've read 50 other pieces written 'more in sorrow than anger' that claim to admire Sarah Palin but go on to claim she's doing everything wrong and, all together now: 'she isn't running'. Well, we should know y this time next month because that is the approximate time-frame Sarah Palin has given to make her decision public. I can hardly wait.
She gave a “non-endorsement endorsement” of Hatch. Therefore she’s a RINO.
What f****g moron.
More blather about Palin. Somehow you don’t hear the same complaints about other candidates yet to enter or about Rick Perry up until this weekend.
I don’t know what the deal is with Palin’s Hatch love. Could be she’s already thinking of her prospective presidency and doesn’t want to alienate those whom she thinks will toe the small government line if treated well—and are likely to be reelected anyway.
Meanwhile conservatives are rebuilding the party from the ground up, and soon we'll have more truly conservative, viable candidates from which to choose.
And for the Facebook-averse, here’s Levin’s full post:
So now this nobody trashes Sarah Palin as going establishment Republican for, among other things, saying that Orrin Hatch should not be dissed by conservatives?
Sarah Palin Goes Native
http://www.redstate.com/leon_h_wolf/2011/08/19/sarah-palin-goes-native/
Now, I have endorsed Hatch. His opponent, Jason Chaffetz, has an extremely thin record. Prior to serving the last 31 months in the House, he served as Jon Huntsman’s state-wide campaign director and then his chief-of-staff. When I endorsed Hatch, Chaffetz called me to try to convince me to reverse course. But after I spoke to him, he could not point to any evidence of his conservative credentials apart from his votes in Congress. Prior to that, I can find no conservative movement or Tea Party credentials. And I told him so.
I think Chaffetz has been a very solid member of Congress. I support him for re-election. He has earned it. But beyond his 31 months in the House, his record is very recent, and I am not prepared to support his potential primary candidacy over Hatch. Despite some of Hatch’s votes, his overall record is very solid, and he was a crucial senator throughout the Reagan years. And if we are to measure the last 31 months, thereby comparing Hatch with Chaffetz head to head, Hatch has been every bit as solid as Chaffetz. Moreover, Hatch has been a leader on the balanced budget issue for decades, while Chaffetz was working on the Dukakis campaign in college. So, yes, I have some disagreements with parts of Hatch’s record, but overall, it is a good conservative record. He is no Dick Lugar, et al.
Back to the point, however. I have no idea who Leon H. Wolf is, nor do I care, but he posts on RedState, a website I respect. People are free to advocate for whomever they wish. But Wolf’s post is pathetic. If advocates for other candidates, perhaps Rick Perry in this case, think that by trashing solid conservatives like Palin will score points, as Karl Rove is now trashing Perry, it will not work. I saw Palin at Tea Party event after Tea Party event. I saw her breaking her back to help defeat liberal Democrats and RINOs in the last election. I don’t know where Leon was, or if it mattered. But we all know she is detested by the GOP establishment.
Incidentally, Leon, I will compare my conservative credentials and activities to yours any day of the week — from Reagan to Landmark Legal Foundation to Tea Party to whatever.
Rove is out to get Perry.
The guy was whining but not saying anything, he just wanted to emote some negative vibes.
When I got to the word “But”, I knew it was going to be garbage, so why bother.
As for flaming you, I just don’t think that’s worth it either, besides, to help me fight against the temptation to do so, I have put together something that calms me.
Now it’s not at all political, but I have a slide show of Palin that I play with the below music.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItfyoMvJnx0&feature=related
This exercice helps me to forget all about politics or flame some moron on the internet.
Enjoy the dance.
Note that she [as far as I know] has only praised his work on the Balanced Budget issue. I think that is VERY TeaParty.
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