Posted on 07/08/2011 2:31:13 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Minnesota congresswoman and Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann has been rocketing up polls in early primary and caucus states of Iowa and New Hampshire.
Some grassroots activists, as the Iowa Independent reported, are convinced that former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin will jump into the race. How would that affect Bachmanns shot at the nomination in these early-voting states?
On the surface, Palin and Bachmann have much in common, including their support of the tea party movement. But the entry of Palin into the race wouldnt necessarily hurt Bachmann more than most other candidates, University of Iowa Political Science Professor Tim Hagle told the Minnesota Independent.
In a race where former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum and Herman Cain are all jockeying for the same tea party crowd, a new entry would likely pull from all those conservative candidates.
That group of voters that all those candidates are competing for would be divided up and that would leave room for a slightly more moderate Republican to come in and perhaps to get a victory, Hagle said.
Bachmann has risen into second place behind former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, whos widely considered to be the moderate in the race, in early polling in Iowa and New Hampshire. But being in the lead without Palin to attract some of the early criticism could be dangerous for Bachmann.
If it looks like she is as people have been describing her the alternative to Romney, then it means shes probably going to come under more fire, Hagle said.
Still, support in early polls for all Republican candidates is softer than in recent years, opening up the possibility that voters would more willingly switch their allegiances to a late entry like Palin.
It gives that opportunity for someone who really has that star-power and pizzazz and charisma to scoop up a lot of these people, Hagle said. Bachmann seems to have a lot of star-power but not as much as Palin.
If conservatives dont coalesce around one inspiring candidate, Palin could potentially wait as long as Thanksgiving to enter the race, Hagle said, because she is so well-known in conservative circles although no candidate has previously had much success with such a late entry in the state.
One of Bachmanns main strengths over Palin are her favorability numbers. In the most recent Iowa polls, she came in at the top with likely Republican primary voters, with only 12 percent viewing her unfavorably. Despite press coverage of some high-profile gaffes, Bachmann managed to carry a similar favorability rating into the poll release this week from New Hampshire.
Palin, because she is already well-known, will have trouble shifting the fairly high negative opinions people have already formed of her, said Hagle, whereas views of Bachmann have had less time to harden.
For both Bachmann and Palin, a repeat of the 2008 presidential campaign, where people construed some Democratic attacks on Palin to be sexist, could backfire for Democrats, Hagle said.
It caught a lot of Republicans off balance, they didnt expect that kind of attack on Palin, Hagle said. Even though Bachmann got a little of that already, I think there would be much more push-back this time.
Actually I had Palin as the fine cheddar, MB was the cheeze wiz.
I love cheese, but my heart Dr said if it taste good spit it out
I honestly don’t think Palin will be running. I think even she can see she does more good being the GOP cheerleader than she ever could as a political candidate. Michelle Bachmann has my vote, all the way.
Sarah’s da ma’am!
Palin should make a decision and if she’s not going to run, she should endorse a candidate.
Now.
I’m sure she will take your suggestion under advisement.
√Perry runs, Sarah endorses Perry, game over. Not an advocacy, just a prediction.I also don't advocate that, but also believe that's what's going to happen.
Popping popcorn for this thread..
I like that...lol. I also agree with your tagline. I would love to see her select West as her running mate! It would be an unbeatable ticket! West is sharp as a tack with a spine of steel.
love that. Palin is fine cheddar and MB is cheeze whiz!! Palin is fine wine, MB is boxed wine.... just goes on and on. Come on Sarah!!
Agreed. Although I think quite highly of Bachmann as a House member, she has about 10% of the experience that Palin has in preperation for the chief executive position. Should Bachmann rise to the challenge and win this nominating process, I would be proud to vote for her because she is ideologically great. By winning in this crowded field, she would deserve the nomination. Palin has the experience that I feel better prepares her for the office. Same for Perry and Pawlenty. Romney was a failed governor who couldn’t even run for reelection, so I will respectfully leave him off the list.
See, it can happen this way, too.
I can't see Palin settling for being a cheerleader.
However, Rick Perry was a pretty good one at A&M.
Yes, that could happen, and I would love it if it does, but I predict that it won’t.
Try this sometime, but be careful not to burn it.
From what I've learned, the movie will contain a lot of material presented in Palin's book "Going Rogue"; and that, folks, contains bombshell material about Palin cleaning up Alaskan politics.
Go Sarah!!!
Not to be rude, but it’s not as if politicians and staffers wake up every morning and think to themselves “Gee, how can we make things easier for our opponents?” That certainly hasn’t been the case for a lot of conservative/Republican pros when it comes to Governor Palin.
So Bachmann needs Gov. Palin to “attract some of the early criticism”. In other words, they fear that she may not hold up under a focused attack? Well, it’s coming, sooner or later. My main concern with Bachmann (besides no executive experience) is that she is NOT as articulate and on message as Sarah, and that if she’s the Pres. or VP nominee, she and Ed Rollins may not be ready for the fire. I’d rather see if my fears prove correct now, rather than when it’s too late. Bob
Actually I think one of Bachmann’s peculiar assets is that she is in fact more articulate and better-spoken than Sarah, with a better speaking voice. She’s also less of a polarizing figure. Either is fine with me, though, and I refuse to participate in denigration of either of these fine ladies.
NOW! lol. She will do it in her time. She is one smart lady
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