Posted on 06/20/2011 12:43:06 AM PDT by techno
In several threads recently at FR I have focused on the proposition that only the future candidacy of Sarah Palin has the potential to possibly derail Mitt Romney as he mounts a relentless campaign to win the GOP nomination next year and that indeed a Romney-Palin showdown is really inevitable.
Now I would like to address why I believe it is in the best interest of Sarah Palin, Palinistas, conservatives, evangelicals, and Tea Party supporters to make that argument much sooner in the GOP primary process than it would be later in the process or not at all.
Here are 10 reasons:
1)On a 24/7 basis the media will be completely focused on the premise that Sarah Palin cannot win the GOP nomination and/or beat Obama in 2012. The pro-Palin forces will need all the time available to them after Palin throws her hat into the ring to make the case for an inevitable Romney vs Palin showdown while at the same time facing a daily onslaught of MSM and anti-Palin disinformation and propaganda that Palin is NOT Romney's main rival, that Romney is NOT the prohibitive favorite, that the race is still wide open, that a dark horse could still prevail and that Michele Bachmann "is the new Palin". In other words it will NOT be clear sailing once Palin enters the race. There will be many rough seas, headwinds and countervailing forces that will be placed in our path by the anti-Palin forces that we will be forced to encounter and that will have the ability to blow us off course or occasionally we may hit a patch of doldrums that will tend to arrest our progress in advancing the premise that the Romney vs Palin showdown narrative is inevitable.
2)The narrative of a Romney vs Palin showdown makes it easier for the pro-Palin forces to crystallize their political focus and energy on one central purpose (to stop Romney) rather than waste their finite intensity and vigor flailing out in several different directions at other members of the field who have no shot at winning the nomination.
3)By ASSUMING a Romney vs Palin showdown now rather than later, with the accompanying evidence at hand (my previous posts), pro-Palin folks will be able to get the ball rolling and achieve success sooner and eventually become more convincing in their argument that Palin is Romney's only rival when engaging skeptics and doubting Thomases along the way because of the repetition of doing the same thing over and over again. There are two old expressions: The early bird catches the worm and practice makes perfect.
4) By promoting the narrative of a two-person showdown between Romney and Palin, it will be easier for Palin to raise money. If you oppose Romney getting the nomination, you really only have one viable destination to send your money. It becomes a Hobson's choice.
5)The sooner the argument can be advanced of a two person showdown between Romney and Palin, the easier it will be to eventually coalesce conservatives, evangelicals, libertarians, and Tea Party supporters under one tent, the Palin tent. The longer Palin and her supporters delay advancing this narrative the harder it will be to pull it off imho. Spadework is required.
6)A focus on a two person showdown between Romney and Palin will make it easier for Sarah Palin to secure endorsements from prominent individuals and groups who oppose a Romney nomination. Furthermore, they won't waste their endorsement on someone who has no chance of winning the nomination.
7)The scenario of a two-person showdown between Romney and Palin will imho increase the attendance at showings of The Undefeated especially among those who oppose Romney getting the nomination but at the same time are NOT completely sold on Palin either. But for the scenario, some GOP voters might not be as motivated to go to see the movie.
8)The narrative of the two-person showdown between Romney and Palin allows Palin herself to tailor her message in the early days of her campaign to addressing Mitt Romney and especially Romneycare, his moderate positions and his many flip-flops over the years. It keeps Palin always looking ahead rather than in her rearview mirror. At the same time of course she will be exposing and gutting President Obama and tearing apart his radical agenda.
9)The narrative of a two-person showdown or inevitable confrontation is compelling and I would argue would attract a lot more interest in the general public as well as the millions of GOP primary voters who now would be seriously thinking which side they want to be on. Notice how much more riveting a golf tournament is when the two leaders are coming down the back 9 on Sunday dueling it out mano-on-mano for the championship or when two well-matched tennis players square off in the finals, with the spectators on the edge of their seats watching a very close match. Ask any sports executive, the dynamic of a two person showdown simply makes for better TV viewing or riveting spectacle as onlookers take sides on who might prevail, with the outcome still very much up in the air.
10)And finally advancing a two-person showdown narrative between Mitt Romney and Sarah Palin sooner rather than later allows our side from the start of the official Palin campaign to attempt to nip in the bud vote splitting among conservatives and the creation of PROXY VOTERS by anti-Palin forces by calling into question the wisdom of conservative vote splitting, casting one's vote for Bachmann, Cain or Santorum, that only serves to help Romney win the nomination because none of these folks has any chance himself or herself to win the nomination; and that Sarah Palin is the only candidate standing in Romney's path to the nomination.
In conclusion, I believe there will be a direct correlation between the level of success we eventually achieve to dampen down the desire of conservatives, evangelicals and Tea Party supporters to split their votes among several conservatives or to become PROXY VOTERS and whether Sarah Palin will be able to prevail over Mitt Romney in the end.
The links to all the FR threads on this subject:
1)Romney vs Palin (the need for the early advocacy of the inevitable)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2737058/posts
2)Romney vs Palin (The Huckabee decision and its ramifications)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2736981/posts
3)Mitt Romney vs Sarah Palin (the media denies the rivalry despite mounting evidence)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2736802/posts
4)Sarah Palin: Revisiting the concept of PROXY VOTERS in a post-Huckabee era
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2734823/posts
5)Mitt Romney vs Sarah Palin (refuting the arguments against proxy voters)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2736640/posts
6)Sarah Palin and the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy that is out to get her
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2735935/posts
The early primaries will give Obamney the big MO.
yitbos
Well, duh! If you have cancer, better to irradiate it, poison it, and surgically sever it from its host/victim as early as possible to thereby do the least harm to the victim and give him the best prognosis for survival. No offense, Willard!
I think it's still true. *Hoping she runs*
Thanks for the thought behind this post techno.
Sarah will continue to ignore the media’s attempt to create controversy between her and whomever the media dreams up.
Thanks, Techno. Good read.
Thanks Techno for the good read! You put a lot of time into this, cant say that I disagree with anything.
Only question is this? Where do the Bachmanites fit in? I assume they are for Romney.
Techno, appreciate this post and your others. Good analysis and it certainly fosters discussion, which is the premier reason FreeRepublic exists.
Palin/Romney is to me an indicator of the future of the GOP, as these two people exemplify the only two directions this party is goign to go from today forward.
It is either going to be Dem-lite full of RINO squishes, or it will once again become a party of conservatives who love America and want to go back to limited government.
The stakes are very high.
That is because this will be the LAST time such a choice is made, and such a clear fork in the road occurs.
Romney as President will only slightly delay the coming crash of America, and the Beltway elites will be pleased as punch—because whther Obama or Romney, that is merely two sides of the SAME coin.
Palin as President represents the only chance America has to return to its roots, and the final chance to re-form in the image the Founders intended. It is the last chance to reorder our national priorities to remain the last beacon of freedom and opportunity in the world.
That is why so much is arrayed against her. The financial pillaging of America needs to continue apace for the RINOs/Dems/Communists/Islamists to further weaken America while using its resources to institute the New World Order.
Obama is merely the point person to accomplish this, and it is not even a hidden agenda anymore. It is in our face.
Romney is a stealth proponent of these elites, and desperately desires their approval, hoping that while they are patting his well-coiffed head they don’t mess up his hair.
Palin, as an outsider and a rogue agent, has no allegiance, and owes no debt, to anyone in the Beltway. They know that her broom will sweep clean—very clean. And they are scared to death that their shindig will finally be over.
For the GOP, the stakes are whether the GOP will go the way of the Whigs, as they certainly will, if Romney is the candidate and he loses to Obama in 2012.A third party will arise after 2012, but it will be too late to save America from the one-worlders.
The people in power, since 1989, have crashed the housing market, tanked the stock market twice,increased taxes, wasted Social Security surpluses, squandered our futures by putting us in unimaginable debt, failed to protect our borders, eroded our rights(TSA,SWAT,etc.), allowed illegal wars(Kosovo,Libya), and have fought wars for one beneficiary—Islam, our enemy. The coming collapse of the dollar and of defaulting on the debt will reduce us to third world status, will fracture our union, and topple us as a world leader and bastion of freedom.
Palin is not money hungry, nor is she ambitious. She honestly loves this country and its people, and she has a core belief in an everlasting God. The Beltway elites cannot compute this because they are not like this.
Friends, there is a showdown brewing of epic proportions.
First, will be the fight to determine the future of the GOP.
Then will be the fight for America’s future.
The latter cannot be won without winning the former.
It doesn't have to be this ugly around here.
Once again, an excellent summary.
The argument can only truly be made until Sarah decides to run. She might already be the clear frontrunner if she had.
If she decides not to run, your strategy aids Romney.
Palin supporters should encourage her to make an announcement ASAP.
MSM girl Bachmann is out to be a spoiler, what else am I supposed to say!!!! For crying out loud!
So you just admitted you are not a Gov Palin supporter
Palin is my first choice but I’d gladly support Bachmann or Cain. Or even Perry if that is what it takes to defeat Romney.
_____________________________________________
Admitted? You make it sound like a crime. There are plenty of good solid Conservative Americans who are not Palin supporters. More, I think, than you would care to acknowledge.
It's like a reenact of the Salem witch trials with some of these people. It's insane.
You surprise me...I have noticed you as being an antagonist on Palin threads, perhaps I have you mixed up with someone else...HMMMMM
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.