Audio: Palin hinting at 3rd-party run?

Hot Air ^ | 12/8/09 | Ed Morrissey

[Lou Budvis]

Allahpundit has this in the headlines, and it’s worth having the audio up here to catch the heavy qualifications Sarah Palin gives Lars Larson in this radio interview from last week. Larson asks whether she’d be willing to launch an independent run for the presidency if Palin was dissatisfied with the GOP, and while she didn’t say no, the conditions she lays down to remain within the Republican Party seem rather easy to meet (via The Right Scoop):

[Lou Budvis]

It's pretty obvious in Going Rogue that SP hates the GOP establishment, but I see this as more of a threat to get its act together.

[dfwgator]

Palin hinting at 3rd-party run?

Good luck with all that!

[evad]

She’s too smart to go 3rd party.

[Nachum]

It would virtually guarantee another four years of Democrat socialism by splitting the vote. Hope she doesn’t do it.

[GOPsterinMA]

Right - a third party run re-elects Barry 0. I don’t see anything about her that would want that to happen.

[Welcome2thejungle]

Great. Insure BHO’s re-election. Glad Ronald Reagan didn’t think that way. After he lost the Republican primaries in 1976, he came back in 1980 and did it the right way. He wasn’t a spoiled sport.

[Constitutions Grandchild]

I hope, for the country's sake, she thinks this through long and hard. I don't think the majority of Americans is ready for a third party (although most of us wish we had something other than what we have). I'm extremely concerned that a third-party run would pretty much assure another 4 years of our current administration — I know it's in God's hands, but I truly fear the result.

[AuntB]

Listen to Palin’s interview with Lars.

http://www.larslarson.com/pg/jsp/charts/streamingAudioMaster.jsp?dispid=362&headerDest=L3BnL2pzcC9tZWRpYS9mbGFzaHdlbGNvbWUuanNwP3BpZD0xNjcyMyZwbGF5bGlzdD10cnVlJmNoYXJ0dHlwZT1jaGFydCZjaGFydElEPTM2MiZwbGF5bGlzdFNpemU9MzA=

[DM1]

if she does that she will probably get a position in the next Obama term as reward for being the straw man
honestly any third party from the right is just going to equal more Dem dominance
then i will have to hear people on this site whine about how terrible the Dems are while they contribute to Dem dominance with these asinine third parties

[OldDeckHand]

"After he lost the Republican primaries in 1976, he came back in 1980 and did it the right way. He wasn’t a spoiled sport."

Don't forget '68. He was Nixon's primary conservative rival - and near the end, the only legitimate rival. Reagan easily could have come back in '72 as a third party candidate, but as you point out, he didn't. In fact, he campaigned vigorously and patiently, and built his resume, for 12 years after 1968 to finally reach the spot where he could win, and he was a better candidate because of it.

[FrankR]

The mere mention of a "third party" has the left going, "Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, and get the shredder ready for the Constitution."

After such fiaco, zero will be back in, and the coup will begin, in ernest.

Third parties are like secrets; three people can keep a secret if two of them are dead.

[FrankR]

fiaco = fiasco

[Eagle Eye]

Anyone who refuses to vote for her if she does go third party has proven themselves to be GOP Firsters.

[skeeter]

We could always run the old fashioned way - keep our heads low & count on public disgust with the deomcrats - and once we've won we can continue the 'same but slower' leadership that's worked so well for the party since Reagan.

No thanks. Our only chance is to give a very loud wake-up call for the poltroons in the GOP.

[Lorianne]

Why not?
What has she got to lose?

She has no vested peronal interest in anything that I can see, she can retire wealthy back to Alaska if she doesn’t win. Why not run as an independent?

Nothing to lose and everything to gain. She’s in an enviable place.

[Scythian]

I hope Sarah goes 3rd party.

[presently no screen name]

All Palin is doing is reminding the GOP that they can’t take generic unhappiness with the current Congress and administration for granted and just offer business as usual — and that’s helpful indeed.

I agree. IF the GOP gives us another RINO candidate, well then, they are the ones who went 3rd party.

[Robbin]

It’s up to the republican party. I won’t vote RINO again.
No Huck, no Romney, no Newt, and I could go on and on.
I’m done, they gave me the “If you don’t vote for McCain you elect Obama” line last time, well guess what, I voted Palin, which was still a vote for the Rino McCain and we still got Obama....

I will vote for Palin, Hunter or Demint. I will consider others, but I won’t vote Rino again.

[MNlurker]

If Palin lost the nomination I think she would back the nominee, but I truly believe that no matter what she would say, that if its a RINO people like me will not vote...I’m done playing that game.

The lesser of two evils is still evil and I’d rather get the revolution over with at that point.

[Lorianne]

I don’t think so.
Enough people are fed up with Republicans.

However, even if you’re right, Ms. Palin has nothing to lose by running as a 3rd Party candidate. The GOP was stupid to let that situation develop.