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CPAC Chairman: Palin Not Ready for Presidential Run [Dave Keene? Who's Dave Keene?]
newsmax ^ | Today | Kessler

Posted on 07/09/2009 11:34:08 AM PDT by jessduntno

Edited on 07/09/2009 1:37:13 PM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]

CPAC Chairman: Palin Not Ready for Presidential Run

Thursday, July 9, 2009 8:27 AM

By: Ronald Kessler

Sarah Palin needs to stop whining about unfair media coverage and get over the fact that some people don’t like her, Dave Keene, chairman of the American Conservative Union, tells Newsmax.

Palin doesn’t seem to get that politics is a tough game, says Keene, one of the country’s most astute political observers.

The American Conservative Union, with 1 million members, runs the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington and publishes an annual "Rating of Congress," the gold standard for ideological assessments of members of Congress.

“You’ve got to recognize that there are people who want you to fail,” Keene says. “And if you spend your time worrying about them, or whining about what they say, at the very least it’ll get you off your game, because you ought to be worried about what you’re going to do, not about what they’re going to do to you.”

Resigning as governor of Alaska only compounded Palin’s problems, which have been accumulating since the November election, Keene says.

“In the period leading up to the resignation, she needed to get over the fact that people didn’t like her,” Keene says. “Get over the fact that she harbored resentment for the McCain people that used her. All of those things are true, but she got more out of it than they did, and she had to begin to move on with what she needed to establish in terms of her own image, to move to the next level. And she delayed doing that.

"Now it becomes more difficult because of the way in which she bailed out on the governorship.”

David Keene, Managing Associate of the Carmen Group Lobbying Firm, and Head of CPAC, Alexandria, VA.

Political contributions in 2008 election cycle:

KEENE, DAVID, ALEXANDRIA,VA 22314 THE CARMEN GROUP/EXEC 5/1/07 $1,000 Specter, Arlen (R)

KEENE, DAVID, ALEXANDRIA,VA 22314 THE CARMEN GROUP/EXEC 12/19/07 $800 Specter, Arlen (R)

KEENE, DAVID, ALEXANDRIA,VA 22314 THE CARMEN GROUP/EXEC 12/19/07 $200 Specter, Arlen (R)

Add to this the fact that this bum also endorsed Romney in December 2007 and you got a guy that has "part of the problem" stamped on his forehead.

DO NOT DONATE TO CPAC!
86 posted on 07/09/2009 11:53:57 AM PDT by Antoninus (Time to fight back--donate to Free Republic, then donate to www.sarahpac.com)


TOPICS: Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: acu; conservativeunion; conservativevote; cpac; keene; keeneisright; palin; palin2012; palinresignation; waronsarah
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To: Turret Gunner A20
Doesn't sound like she "quit" to me. Or aren't you listening to her, instead of the "experts"?

Don't pay any attention to steve-b.

301 posted on 07/09/2009 2:37:32 PM PDT by Extremely Extreme Extremist ("President Obama, your agenda is not new, it's not change, and it's not hope" - Rush Limbaugh 02/28)
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To: jessduntno

As a conservative, we all get emotional over what we see is happening. I know you are probably feeling as I do. I want it to stop. We NEED someone to stand up and make it stop.

I think Palin really has a lot of courage and a very patient husband and family. Those qualities alone are very necessary to a woman getting the nomination. Without that, she can go nowhere.

I believe her family has made a committment to her and I applaud that.

Other than that, don’t sweat the small stuff.


302 posted on 07/09/2009 2:40:25 PM PDT by dforest (Anyone dumb enough to have voted for him deserves what they get.. No Pity!)
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To: jessduntno

I appreciate the post. Although I’m not sure her reform of the ethics laws was to her benefit.

I have no favored candidate at the moment, it’s too early for me. Too much can happen. I will keep Palin in mind, if she chooses to run.


303 posted on 07/09/2009 2:42:18 PM PDT by Unlikely Hero ("Time is a wonderful teacher; unfortunately, it kills all its pupils." --Berlioz)
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To: indylindy

If Keene had said that Sarah was not ready NOW to be POTUS I would agree with him but to make a blanket statement that she would not be ready in 2012 is ridiculous. If Mr. Keene doesn’t realize, Sarah Palin will be without a job after July 25th. What does he think she’s doing to do with her time-needlepoint, hunt moose, go to fashion shows in Paris, or become a recluse.

Get real David-Sarah is about to embark on the path Ronald Reagan took when he was in the wilderness (no job between 1974-1980) and do a lot of reflection and reading to, just like Reagan, to provide her with the ammunition that she can use in her writings and her speeches. In addition she will be travelling throughout the lower 48 to shake hands, firm up her base and to raise tons of money. What about that don’t you understand Mr. Keene. First the Reagan Library, possibly next the Washington mall in Sept and then possibly Iowa in the fall.

Hey Dave you sound like the sports writers who told Tiger Woods when he came out at age 20 that he had no chance whatsoever to compete with the big boys. Why don’t you let it play out for at least 6 months before you come to that conclusion?


304 posted on 07/09/2009 2:44:19 PM PDT by techno
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To: techno

BTTT, great post


305 posted on 07/09/2009 2:46:17 PM PDT by dforest (Anyone dumb enough to have voted for him deserves what they get.. No Pity!)
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To: DoughtyOne
RE McCain: If the admiral's widdle kid had been elected, we'd have had 4-8 more years of s-l-o-w-l-y turning up the heat under that proverbial frog in the pot of water.

Pelosi would demand $800 million in spending and 44,000 pages of regulation, McQueeg would compromise on $785 million and 42,971 pages, and then pat himself on the back for being a "conservative".

Obama is turning the heat up full blast, trying to boil the flesh off the frog's bones right away. I'm not at all sure that conservatism is more damaged by that approach than by McCain's.

306 posted on 07/09/2009 2:46:43 PM PDT by Notary Sojac (Chains you can believe in...)
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To: Arguendo

Can’t stand the unvarnished truth, I see.


307 posted on 07/09/2009 2:48:18 PM PDT by Turret Gunner A20
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To: Unlikely Hero
She was governor for only 2 1/2 years. By design. Before that, she was a mayor of a small town.

Length of time spent in office is irrelevant to what she accomplished within that time span. Palin is the true example of a citizen politician, one who served the people and not the special interests. Anyway, when you look at it objectively, Palin has 17 years of elective and appointed experience in office. She has spent more time in political office than George W. Bush, John Edwards, Obama, and Mitt Romney, prior to the presidency.

2) Many of her accomplishments that I know of are Alaska-specific and difficult to analyze except for through a Last-Frontier-lens. She was successful in her dealings with oil companies and the pipelines from what I understand.

That and reducing spending, saving money for the future, and standing up for states' rights really sums it up and with Lt. Gov Parnell finishing her term, will make all the hubbub over her "lack of experience" disappear.

3) When she entered the national scene, she had been governor for what, 1 1/2 years? Much of her time governing has been either campaigning for McCain, or alterating between heroine-worship and demonizing, depending on the audience.

Again, length of time in office is unimportant when you consider the fact that McCain needed a dynamic, game-changing VP selection to even have a chance against Obama.

4) She has been hampered down by ethics issues—I won’t comment on the merit of them because I honestly don’t know the details.

All of them brought forth by Democrat/Obama operatives, all of them dismissed, designed to paralyze her going into the 2012 elections.

308 posted on 07/09/2009 2:48:22 PM PDT by Extremely Extreme Extremist ("President Obama, your agenda is not new, it's not change, and it's not hope" - Rush Limbaugh 02/28)
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To: cowboyusa

Look there is nobody that disputes that government leaders make decisions that affect people’s lives. But before they become entrenched in office they first have to compete in the arena of ideas, where the GAME of politics is played out. There is nothing wrong IMHO to calling politics a game -there is lots of strategy involved, maneuvers to best position oneself, chess moves that must be met with chess moves, war-like tactics etc. Just because something is serious doesn’t mean it is not a game.


309 posted on 07/09/2009 2:48:43 PM PDT by techno
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To: BlackElk; Extremely Extreme Extremist
You are beating on EEE for his virtues which is never a good idea.

Beating on him for his virtues? All I did was criticize his claim that Palin is the one and only Republican out fighting Obama (on more than just the stimulus), when in fact there are many Republicans doing so.

310 posted on 07/09/2009 2:49:24 PM PDT by Arguendo
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To: techno
Sarah is about to embark on the path Ronald Reagan took when he was in the wilderness (no job between 1974-1980) and do a lot of reflection and reading to, just like Reagan, to provide her with the ammunition that she can use in her writings and her speeches.

And it's entirely acceptable for any conservative to reserve judgment on Palin until that process has taken place.

311 posted on 07/09/2009 2:49:43 PM PDT by Notary Sojac (Chains you can believe in...)
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To: Turret Gunner A20
That was non-responsive. But I wouldn't expect anything more from you.
312 posted on 07/09/2009 2:50:24 PM PDT by Arguendo
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To: Unlikely Hero

“I appreciate the post. Although I’m not sure her reform of the ethics laws was to her benefit. I have no favored candidate at the moment, it’s too early for me. Too much can happen. I will keep Palin in mind, if she chooses to run.”

True, the ethics laws could have actually hurt her, but that is one of her endearing charms, politically, I think, because she obviously knew they could hurt her when she reformed them, yet did it anyway. I am not trying to proselytize...really...I think that this is a little like buying a house—you know, start with something with “good bones” that can be made into something special.

She has that opportunity to develop now, I think, as did Reagan when he did the unencumbered travel during his GE years, to touch bases and refine thinking and mesh them with her core beliefs. I think that is why she has done what she has. I would be shocked if she turned out to be something other than what she appears to be...and at this point in a fairly long politically active life, it would take a long ton to shock me.

I also left off the real defining factor in my heart and my mind to support her efforts...whatever they turn out to be...and that is the fact that this is a family that had ample opportunity to “not be burdened with a baby” as another famous politian has been quoted, when there were so many compelling reasons not to. I have some experience in this area and I know that she was well aware of what the courage of her convictions would mean to her. And I am, to say the least, deeply impressed by their collective decision.

I think there is some very serious stuff in this woman and in her family.


313 posted on 07/09/2009 2:53:52 PM PDT by jessduntno (NEVER say Cap and Trade Bill. It's the Electricity, Heating Oil and Gasoline Tax Bill....)
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To: Extremely Extreme Extremist

Respectfully, I’m still not entirely certain what those accomplishments are. You gave generalities that typically appear as campaign promises (reduce spending, save for the future, state’s rights). All admirable. But how much was the budget cut, what were to savings for future generations, what policy initiatives did she oversee, what state rights did she advocate?

At the end of the day, I’m not sure how much this will matter. Because for the vast majority of the electorate, it is personality and not policy that influences the voting decision. As a likeable personality that is easy to rally behind, I expect Palin to at least play a part in the upcoming campaigns.


314 posted on 07/09/2009 2:54:23 PM PDT by Unlikely Hero ("Time is a wonderful teacher; unfortunately, it kills all its pupils." --Berlioz)
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To: Arguendo
I take it you don't spend much time on Free Republic...

And I take it you don't know the definition of 'worship'

315 posted on 07/09/2009 2:55:31 PM PDT by Turret Gunner A20
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To: Arguendo

What you are saying is correct. Jim DeMint, Sessions, Pence etc; but you see...they are republicans in Congress and the Senate. Palin is not. Understand, people are sick of the status quo. DC has a low approval rating. Hence, the popularity of Palin. Hope and change is becoming a whole lot more than the status quo. It is even worse. Gee, makes me wonder why a whole new party isn’t in the equation. But...thats another new day.

The democrats know it and that is why they hate her.


316 posted on 07/09/2009 2:57:27 PM PDT by dforest (Anyone dumb enough to have voted for him deserves what they get.. No Pity!)
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To: Extremely Extreme Extremist
Why are you saying there are other Republicans who criticized Obama's policies when they clearly didn't?

Sure Sanford and DeMint and other Republicans fought the stimulus, but did they educate people on why they opposed it?

Sanford spent months traveling around the state, attending town hall meetings and trying to convince people of the danger attached to any Federal money. And here is Pence going into great detail about why Obama's health care plan is bad.

Any more broad and unsubstantiated claims you'd care to make?

317 posted on 07/09/2009 2:57:48 PM PDT by Arguendo
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To: jessduntno; indylindy
Great post jess and I truly commend you for your apology to indy. She had it coming. I was gonna stick my nose in but by the time I got back from another thread you had fixed things on your own.

Go Sarah!

Drill baby, drill!!!

318 posted on 07/09/2009 2:57:58 PM PDT by houeto (Defang the FEDGOV. Repeal the 17th! (actually, it might be too late... SECEDE!)
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To: jessduntno

American CONSERVATIVE Union my asss! Go away David Keene, and give Arlen MORE of your money!


319 posted on 07/09/2009 2:58:03 PM PDT by Ann Archy (Abortion....the Human Sacrifice to the god of Convenience.)
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To: MadIsh32

David, is that YOU??


320 posted on 07/09/2009 3:00:03 PM PDT by Ann Archy (Abortion....the Human Sacrifice to the god of Convenience.)
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