Posted on 05/11/2011 8:17:16 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and businessman Donald Trump have formed a political bond, one united by their populist ideology and contempt for the mainstream media.
Their kinship grew during the height of the birther controversy. As Trump called on President Obama to release his birth certificate, Palin rose to Trump’s defense, excoriating the press.
She blamed the media, not Trump, for the business mogul’s fixation on birtherism, telling Fox News: “Donald Trump is the one being really treated unfairly, I’d say … in the press when they’re hammering him about the one issue … he’s merely answering reporters’ questions about his view on the birth certificate.”
To Palin, Trump’s crusade was merely a curiosity stoked by the media.
“The media is loving the fact that some curious Americans are actually asking the questions, and they’re trying to make those curious Americans sound kind of crazy,” she said about the birther movement one day before Obama released his long-form certificate.
When Obama released it, Palin promptly credited Trump for the action, tweeting, “Media, admit it, Trump forced the issue.”
For his part, Trump reveled in the attention Palin helped bring, telling The Wall Street Journal that she was “so gracious to me on the birther issue. I mean, she really thought that I was doing a great service.”
For better or worse, Palin has attached her seal of approval more clearly to the Trump phenomenon than any other potential presidential candidate.
This is surprising — not just because it’s a controversial link, but also because the two share an ideological base, and in a normal political universe, that means they’d be natural foes when competing in a zero-sum game.
Yet Republican consultant Matt Mackowiak says that hasn’t exactly happened.
“They appeal to the same segment of the base, but rather than compete, they are holding hands.”
For Trump, an association with Palin has obvious benefits. She has a rabid fan base, more political experience, a more serious mien, and a legion of followers who, ideologically, line up with Trump. Palin’s seal of approval is a powerful one, and if she vouches for someone, others often follow.
But it’s a risky prospect for Palin. Most think that her association with Trump can only hurt her, but others see value for her — not because they think Trump is formidable, but precisely because they think he isn’t.
So is her link with him harmful or helpful?
Harmful:
Those subscribing to this theory think Palin sullies her reputation by praising Trump.
Fox political analyst and Daily Beast columnist Kirsten Powers draws the link.
“She has a real following; he is a circus act. She doesn’t need him; he is the one who benefits from the alliance. She diminishes herself when she associates herself with this kind of hateful crap,” Powers said.
Further, Powers says her fellow Alaskan “needs to take her responsibility more serious and not get down in the mud with people like Donald Trump.”
The essence of the argument is the proverbial saying that bad company corrupts good values. Or in this case, good political fortunes.
Helpful:
There are those who think Palin would actually benefit from a Trump presidential bid. At first glance, that appears ridiculous.
According to polls, Palin’s and Trump’s support overlaps. That means there’s a limited number of votes from which both draw, and theoretically, each would fare worse with the other in the race.
But that ignores a counterintuitive dynamic that might emerge and lift Palin outside her base and more firmly into the mainstream.
By all accounts, Trump is a celebrity first, politician second. If he entered the field, he’d be The Political Celebrity — the ultimate sideshow. Suddenly, Palin’s experience as governor of Alaska might look more impressive.
One GOP consultant, who asked not to be identified, described the heart of the argument: Trump’s entry, he said, “positions Sarah Palin closer to the establishment intelligentsia than otherwise possible.”
When presented against the backdrop of Trump and his orange mane, Palin might look more electable and serious.
“To the average voter who finds Palin an exceptionally polarizing and equally unprepared presidential suitor, the former Alaska governor doesn’t seem quite so bad when opposite the sheer vulgarity of Trump,” the consultant pointed out.
Indeed, if it’s clear that the conservative base isn’t going to let an establishment candidate win, then they could be drawn into the arms of Palin when confronted by the specter of Trump. It’s an admittedly unlikely scenario, but the logic of contrasts makes sense.
Palin’s controversial statements look positively pedestrian when compared to Trump’s call for seizing Iraqi oil, cutting off all aid to Pakistan and imposing 25 percent tariffs on China.
Suddenly, mistaking “refudiate” for “repudiate” — as Palin did last year — seems far less noteworthy, and Palin herself more electable.
The question is whether she can avoid descending into Trump’s sensationalism and separate herself from him, thereby mainstreaming herself.
This is a poorly veiled attempt to paint Palin as a follower.
Palin and Trump do not appeal to the same base at all. She appeals to those well informed on the issues and Trump quite the opposite, drawing from the uninformed.
Palin has all the answere and they are all posted and fully accessable.
You have nothing but your hopeless misery.
Anyone that deludes themselves into believing that Palin isn’t running is neither current, nor in possession of any wisdom.
A sandbag at the bottom of the pile on the Mississippi has more savvy than that.
That is a bit cryptic typing. So you are sure she is going to run 2012? She never mentions the possibility of running anymore so I dont define that as running. But you are sure this announcement is coming?
Well not serious ones anyways.
If attack dogs were the idea candidate then Howard 'Scream' Dean would have been perfect in 2004. But I bet the same Republicans that want a screamer as the candidate laughed like hell when Dean made a fool of himself.
I don’t pretend to know whether your ignorance of the legal realities of our election process is real, or feigned, but to give you the benefit of the slight doubt, she cannot do anything to overtly affirm the fact that she is running without losing the most important communication outlets that she has.
She will declare her candidacy at the appropriate time next year. To do sooner would mark her as too much of a fool to be worth voting for, no matter what “sicko-flibs” says.
I understand. Anyone who thinks she is not running is stupid but you wont say you are sure she will run. Makes perfect sense in La-La land.
Trump’s not just a stalking horse, he’s actively running through the Obama minefield, swinging a stick. His motives are really irrelevant. He’s doing a lot of the GOP’s dirty work for them, weakening Obama’s armor far in advance of the race.
***
I wish I could agree with you, but I worry about Trump’s motives. I am hoping it’s just that he loves the attention. But learning that he had met with Soros and some other power player some months ago has me worried.
Was he given the task of stirring people up so that they would defend Obama against some of Trump’s accusations? Was his job to make all of us who question any of the Pharoah’s background look like buffoons as he does?
Too many questions here for me....
>> “ but you wont say you are sure she will run” <<
.
You have a massive reading comprehension problem!
You say anyone who thinks she wont run is stupid, yet you yourself won't say you are sure she will run . 2+2= ...
Who am I to defend you against yourself?
What is your game?
I’ve said unequivocally that Palin is running so many times, including the post to which you responded, that it must be physically etched into the hard drive, yet you cannot read simple english?
I’d suggest that you play marbles, if you had any.
That's good enough for me.
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