Posted on 10/01/2011 7:18:31 PM PDT by el_texicano
I should be fair. Its not simply Karl Rove, but the whole GOP establishment class(which George Will says doesnt exist,) demonstrating this double-standard in media punditry. Despite her impertinence in other respects, at least S.E. Cupp included Christie in her demanding article of Friday, but Im beginning to wonder if all of the attention on Christie isnt intended for another purpose. While its difficult to stomach the hypocrisy of those who have argued that its too late for a Palin entry, saying precious little about a prospective Christie entry in the same context, this could be a media phenomenon with another purpose entirely. What if by holding forth all of this Christie speculation, the GOP establishment is trying to accomplish something else entirely? What could that be? With the sudden spectacle of an accelerated primary calendar, we must consider what else may be afoot.
The Bush people are still strong in Florida, much as they remain in Texas. The recent move of Floridas GOP primary to January was done with the advice and blessing of the GOP establishment there. This is widely seen as a way to prop up Romney, and to lessen the impact of insurgents, particularly of the Tea Party stripe. It may also be a manner in which to eliminate down-ballot challengers in what otherwise would have been hotly-contested congressional primaries.
The GOP establishment understands that if they are to have their guy, they probably will need to go with Mitt. They may view him as imperfect to their ends, but hes close enough, and they think he can win a general election against Obama (if there is one.) What moving the primaries up does to candidates is to shorten the time they have to grab mind-share in the electorate. At present, Romney is probably the clear front-runner, and to kill off any insurgents will require them to get this over with quickly.
At the same time, Christie may be used as a delaying tactic. If they can cause Palin to hold of just a while longer in entering, assuming she will, then the longer she holds off, the narrower her window will be, particularly in light of this accelerated schedule. For reasons weve discussed at length, there are many good reasons for Palin to hold off in the conventional schedule, and the GOP establishment knows this which is why they spent the entirety of the spring and summer trying to goad her into an earlier entry, to which they would have responded with a Christie or Daniels or even Jeb Bush.
With Romney now having withstood a serious challenge for the top spot by Rick Perry, theyve come back around to the realities which may mean that theyre left with Romney as their best remaining bet. Dont be surprised that after another week of speculation, Christie comes out and says Well, its just way too late now folks. This will then be used as a way to hammer Palin if she enters thereafter, so as to attack her with their continuing meme of sabotage. Of course, shell quickly overcome that narrative, and the establishment knows it too, which is why theyve hurried up the primary schedule: They will try to knock Palin out by depriving her of the time she needs to carry the ball all the way down the field in time to score. I believe this underestimates Palins appeal by a fair margin, and it may be the establishments last available timing-based play to keep her from the nomination if she chooses to pursue it.
If she gets in before Christie swears off his own entry, he might not demur at all, leaping in behind her, saying that while he thought its too late, if Palin can make a go of it, so can he. What all of this may boil down to is an attempt by the establishment to wrest control of the timing card from Palin. Theyre trying to place Christie into the position she has occupied all these months, and the willing media, particularly FoxNews, is willing to go along. The liberal press will go for anything that creates turmoil in the GOP, particularly between the establishment and the base, so theyre along for their part in this whole thing.
As I suspected, it will come down to careful timing, and as I believe based on previous instances, Governor Palin may be the master of this sort of thing. She has demonstrated very good instincts and this close to the end of the beginning, I dont think shes likely to make any missteps, thereby turning it into what the establishment hopes will be the beginning of the end. Expect the unexpected, and be ready to roll.
This sounds like someone that is looking for any reason not to vote for Palin. I'm not saying that you are but it sounds like an excuse I would hear from someone like that.
The GOP establishment that doesn't exist says you must declare your intention to run for President 1-1/2 years prior to the election otherwise some unspecified event will be triggered that may cause some subsequent event that may turn out to be bad. It's all very clear according to the "conservative" pundits on FOX, David Frum and George Will. It is written in stone and cannot be transgressed.
..assuming she won't
Bachman has earned more respect from me than Palin. Bachman is more professional, not easily angered by what is said about her, is much more camera friendly, highly intelligent, shows leadership qualities with a relaxed calmness which shows she is in control..much more than Palin who is fast becoming yesterday's news. Palin grabbed the limelight as much as she could, perhaps too much; innocent in assuming the party would run on forever--but I believe she and her family have paid the price of paticipatory celebritydom [and been paid handsomely for it]. Her future as a speaker or news contributor will remain; I am just disappointed she seemed to want to play games with those that are and have been very strong supporters.
Compare Palin to the participatory writer/journalist, George Plimpton, who once entered the NY marathon near the end of the race and crossed the finish line before the runners who had been giving their all, working through exhaustion, made their finish. Plimpton said later, he regretted the stunt for the obvious reasons.
Didn't say I will vote for Bachman..long time til that day; and I have said I would only keep my focus on a productive job environment platform [nothing more] from a true proven business leader with experience who has walked the walk and not just talked or taught the talk, not a politician--but Bachman can carry her own and could easily win in any intellectual debate against Obama.
I cannot wait til Obama has to debate WITHOUT TOTUS!!!
A lefty[family] said he hoped Obama would not run, that he should retire, has accomplished what he set out to do-- I said no such luck and laughed. The Left has already thrown in the towel.
My guess is Kraphammer LOVES Christie.
Christie goes berserk when ANYONE questions him or his policies.
He’s a bully and a thug.
I live in New Jersey - the Belly of the Beast - and I KNOW Christie is no conservative. He is farther to the left than ANY politician who has been named as a contender in 2012 OR 2008.
Next to him, Huntsman looks conservative,
Kraphammer is a closet lib. He’s only conservative about fiscal issues and some foreign policy issues.
Beautiful, Soon Christie will be sitting in there.
Rove loves Rinos.
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