Posted on 07/22/2010 2:16:03 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
First, she plucked little known state legislator Nikki Haley from obscurity to victory in the South Carolina GOP governor's primary. Then there was a helping hand for Susanna Martinez in New Mexico gubernatorial primary, Sharron Angle in the Nevada Senate primary, and Carly Fiorina in the California US Senate primary. Now there's an endorsement for Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel. Is Sarah Palin's Political Action Committee packing the GOP with female candidates in 2010?
SarahPAC made news this month, both for its fundraising prowess and its "Mama Grizzly" advertisement, which has gone viral on the internet. She's made a series of endorsements that give her a high batting average. And it's paid off for the latest recipient of her blessing. Handel easily finished first in Tuesday's Georgia GOP primary, putting her in an Aug. 10 runoff against former Congressman Nathan Deal.
Is the former Alaska governor trying to boost women, conservatism, or is there something else afoot with her support?
I like to pride myself on writing about the rise of women in politics in the past few years. But long before I ever wrote a column, back in 2001, syndicated columnist Matt Towery published his book Powerchicks: How Women Will Dominate America with Longstreet Press. It seemed like a risky move, given how few women were in Congress, the Senate, and governor mansions at the time. But you could say it was a decade ahead of its time.
So is SarahPAC an example of a PowerChick takeover? Let's look at the entire list of endorsements first before we conclude that Mama Grizzlies are devouring the male boars of Republican politics, with Sandra Fish's article "Sarah Palin's Endorsement: Curse or Blessing?" in PoliticsDaily.com.
First, she's endorsed plenty of male candidates, like Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn, North Carolina Sen.Richard Burr, South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint, etc. But several of them are running unopposed in their primaries. She's endorsed Rand Paul in Kentucky, but he ran against another man (Trey Grayson). The same can be said for Clint Didier (Washington Senate).
In fact, she's endorsed a few male candidates against female candidates. She opted for Texas Gov. Rick Perry against Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison in the GOP Primary. And she supports Joe Miller's insurgent campaign against Alaska GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski. There's bad blood between Palin and Murkowski, but that doesn't explain why Palin donated $5,000 to Murkowski last year, as Fish noted.
Maybe it is a conservative thing, given that Perry and Miller are the more conservative candidates. If that's the case, then why did she endorse the more moderate candidate in the Arizona Senate race (John McCain vs. J. D. Hayworth), Iowa governor (Terry Branstad vs. Bob Vander Plaats), and send a donation to South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham?
Let's see…backing an Iowa Republican who is more likely to win than govern conservatively, splitting donations between well-known moderates and relatively obscure conservatives (each would "owe" her), making picks in tight races where the slightest endorsement could tip the scales (Haley, Handel, Fiorinia, Angle)…it sounds like a 2012 or 2016 Presidential campaign strategy.
Frank was born Barnett Frank to a Jewish family in Bayonne, New Jersey, one of four children of Sam and Elsie. Frank’s father ran a Jersey City truck stop...which probably explains why he still loves to go to them.
I’m not familiar with McConnell of Virginia, but I stand corrected on Christie. No doubt, he is amazing.
Bob Jindal should be set aside from my male GOP wrath as well, just for the record.
>> Frank’s father ran a Jersey City truck stop...
Bet he’ll always remember Dad’s truck stop as the place where he ate his first weiner. HOT DAWG!
Wowzers.
add Hatch, Lugar, Grassley, Alexander.
You can count the good ones on one hand.
I hope so!! They have more testosterone than the GOP men!
Male Boars ? If the Vatican ever revives its castrati choir we could lose a lot the present Republican leadership.
Not "moderate". Disaffected pro-American women, which makes them more conservative than either Democrats or RINO men.
I think we agree generally: they’re a big block in play.
Are Collins and Snowe Powerchicks?
www.reneeforcongress.com
Wowzers.
Wubba wubba.
“LGBTCs”
Sorry NT, but I ignorant. What does LGBTC stand for?
Female capons.
I certainly hope so!
Women are much less likely to commit sexual transgressions, that can be documented,and then used to control them later.
If you doubt what I am alluding to, read “The Franklin Cover Up”.
Just wondering.
the “chicks” of the GOP are the only one’s that have a “pair”. Leslie Graham and John McCrap are still looking.
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