Then why is there this bullshiite fear of “she’ll suck the air out of the room”? Either she’s popular enough to win or she ain’t popular. Which is it?
Well, traditionally the party regulars vote in primaries. They can be a dedicated, almost rabid bunch. (This applies ALL of the time, not just in the age of Trump/Palin.)
They could throw their weight behind her, blowing all other contenders out the window. The others would have to resort to supporting her (a losing cause) or get nasty. Neither of those would be good for the party.
I think we can agree the media would savage her—not letting her get away with the crap that our current leadership says or does. I don’t think she could stand the onslaught and would almost certainly come up short in the general election.
The long and short of it is that we need to get candidates who don’t carry that baggage, but who have the credentials.
Do I know who those people are? Nope. I live in MA where the only votes I cast that matter are for Select Board and School Committee.