Posted on 10/29/2014 7:32:43 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Not the near future, necessarily, just the future, so if youre taking this as a hint that shes ready to shock the field by jumping into the 2016 race, readjust your expectations. If Cruz werent in the race she could try to fill the tea-party niche; even if she ended up losing, she might pull enough votes to re-establish herself as an electoral force within the party, the way she was circa 2009 as the GOPs unrivaled grassroots conservative superstar. But Cruz will be in the race, almost certainly, and Palin will just as certainly end up supporting him. Besides, if she wanted to make a splash at the presidential level, the obvious time to run was in 2012. Grassroots righties ended up bouncing from Gingrich to Cain to Santorum in trying to find a Not Romney they could live with. Most would have preferred Palin to all of them, and like I say, even if Romney had ended up winning, her clout as the voice of the grassroots would have been fully restored. As it is, Cruz seems to fill that role now more than she does. (Interestingly, her old sparring partner Chris Christie may have made a similar error. If he had run in 2012, he would have been a legit threat to Romney as a more charismatic center-right alternative. Now hes at risk of getting lost in the shuffle among the Jebs and Rubios and Walkers of the world.)
So if shes not running for president, whats she running for? Hard to believe shed be satisfied with being a backbencher in the House, so its either the Senate or the governorship in Alaska. Governor will be tricky, though: The seat wont be up again until 2018, and even if the incumbent isnt Republican Sean Parnell, hes likely to be an independent who was just endorsed by Palin herself. Plus, would Alaskans be willing to reelect her to an office from which she resigned once before? In terms of the Senate, Begichs seat wont be up again until 2020, and according to the current polls, itll probably be Republican Dan Sullivans seat by that point. Shed have to primary the incumbent to win. A better bet would be to primary Lisa Murkowski for her Senate seat, which will be up two years from now. Murkowski famously beat Palin-backed Joe Miller in a write-in campaign in 2010 but also famously lost the primary to Wilson, suggesting that theres room for a conservative groundswell to knock her off. Murkowski wouldnt get caught napping by Palin the way she did by Wilson, though; shed prepare thoroughly, a la Orrin Hatch, Lindsey Graham, Pat Roberts, and other Republican centrists whove survived tea-party challenges. Her approval rating, if you believe lefty pollster PPP, is a respectable 46/39. Could Palin raise enough dough nationally from excited conservatives to overcome the huge support Murky would get from the GOP establishment? Itd be a hell of a race.
I hope it doesnt happen, though. And the reason I hope it doesnt happen is because theres another Senate race out there on the horizon in 2016 which, lets face it, the entire political world wants to see Palin involved in. Theres enormous tea-party bitterness towards the incumbent and, wouldnt you know it, Palin just so happens to be a state resident, so shed be eligible to run. We all want it to happen so lets cross our fingers and hope: McCain versus Palin. Duel to the death.
Update: Oops, had a case of brain freeze above. I wrote Joe Wilson but meant Joe Miller when referencing Murkowskis 2010 opponent. Fixed now.
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It didn’t say what she would run for but there is speculation.
Yeah, so let’s run Jeb Bush.
There is “speculation” that her youngest child is really Bristol’s baby and I put about as much stock in that as I do half the nonsense that comes out of Allahpundit’s mouth.
So you think this is an either/or situation? If not Palin then it's got to be Jeb Bush? Ted Cruz, Scott Walker, nobody else factors into your thinking?
In the 2012 cycle we speculated about her possible run though she never mentioned it. Now she has made it official quite clear for those who can read between the lines.
All Freepers should recognize this as Gov Palins official hint at a POTUS run in 2016 and donate to her PAC immediately.
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