Posted on 05/17/2010 6:33:38 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Over at The Washington Post, Chris Cillizza has some interesting thoughts up today on Sarah Palin and the "mama grizzlies." Said grizzlies are — Palin's definition — conservative, pro-gun, pro-life women. Palin first described herself as one at least as far back as October 2008; lately she's been bestowing the name on her like-minded supporters. But Cillizza is the first to suggest that her endorsement of several GOP electoral candidates is part of a broader effort to become den mother to a sleuth of political mama bears. I think he's onto something.
The candidates Palin has endorsed — Carly Fiorina for Senate in California, Susana Martinez and Nikki Haley for governor in Arizona and South Carolina, respectively — would be conservative rainmakers should they be elected. They would, additionally, be powerful regional allies in a 2012 Palin presidential bid. As Cillizza points out, securing their loyalty, and, presumably, at least part of the female vote on purely sisterhood grounds, would be smart strategy even this far from the contest.
But even if Palin doesn't run for president — and I still don't think she will — even then, what she's doing makes sense. (In fact, given that Fiorina and Hayes are trailing badly in their races, and Martinez is running at a time when the GOP is tanking with Hispanic voters, it may make more sense than if she were planning a White House run. Backing a loser carries useful underdog/victimhood symbolism for political figureheads, but it isn't something you want to be saddled with as a candidate.) It makes sense because for all the noise it makes, the anti-Washington right isn't very popular or very powerful. Which means that it's unlikely to have a clear elected leader any time soon. Unelected leader, however...
The impression, fed by her undeniable star power and fanatic fan base, is that Palin is that leader already. But it's not true. She is not terribly popular within the Tea Party crowd, which (again) is not a very big group to begin with. And Palin herself, of course, has to this point styled herself as a lone political rogue. So the evidence that she is embracing other politicians is news in itself. That she appears to be doing it in specifically the name of fellow mama grizzlies may indicate a sea change in her political career. The move may well be aimed at the White House, but my first read is that it's aimed at consolidating a power broker role. Palin may not like running for office (or, clearly, holding it). But she likes power. And being the de facto leader of a voting bloc the Republican Party lusts after would give her a lot of it.
They assume they know everything.
Although I wouldn’t mind being called a ‘Mama Bear’.
LOL, keep it spouting, Timmy. Then run back to Hillary for your pat on the head and new Tool instructions.
Zero out of two is not too bad..if you are running for most cluless person of the year award.
“Susana Martinez and Nikki Haley for governor in Arizona and South Carolina,”
What wrong with this sentence; oh I know Susana Martinez is running for the Gov’ship of New Mexico. Jane Brewer if my fault memory is correct is Gov. AZ.
Sleuth??? what are they looking for? me thinks spell check works just grand! Now if they could just make a program that takes context into account. Possibly meant “slough” but didn’t know how to spell it, so when spell check kicked in, “sleuth” was a candidate...But what do I know?
Damn, these people on the left are stupid.
No end to the parade of morons the Left can trot out to spew the bile.
What a complete friggin idiot.
On the other hand, here’s some fresh catnip for such smug Manhattan elitists:
http://bostonherald.com/track/celebrity/view.bg?articleid=1255554&format=comments#CommentsArea
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