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.”
Bobby Jindal of Louisiana.Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota. And Governor, maybe soon a senator, Charlie Crist of Florida. And Sen. John Thune of South Dakota. former governor Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, former governor Mike Huckabee of Arkansas.
Do this mental exercise. Imagine any of the above coming to speak in your town. Imagine the venue that would be required to accommodate the expected turnout.
Then
Do the same exercise with Sarah Palin.
Compare and contrast.
Agreed. And Palin may well be the best messenger for this message.
But she’s not the only one with that message, and it annoys me that some here seem bent on acting like she is. It almost seems there’s a desire on the part of many Palin supporters to build Palin up by tearing down the entire rest of the Republican Party, and that can can only end poorly.
I don’t think you got the joke.
Outgoing Governor Palin doesn't represent these views as eloquently stated by the Founder of FR?
Well, we would be delighted if you could name for us the perfect savior who does to your satisfaction; and please name for us the exact ones of those qualifications she in which is so grossly remiss. Documenting your contentions, of course.
I posted these comments earlier today at C4P. They also apply here so I’m going to be a “reposter”.
It appears that we have a new so-called conservative writer who suffers from PDS. Has anyone ever heard of Ronald Kessler? I didn’t either until Monday. He wrote the following article for Newsmax in which he basically said Governor Palin had lost her nerve and wasn’t ready for prime time.
http://www.newsmax.com/kessler/palin_resignation/2009/07/06/232320.html
In addition to regurgitating many of the phony talking points of the left, he also repeated the false meme that she had agreed to speak at CPAC only to back out at the last minute. There were a lot of snarky half truths in the article but I didn’t think much of it because I never heard of the guy and just assumed he was another “Kathleen Parker conservative” trying to gain favor with the liberal media.
However, today he has a new article out which is even more full of nonsense.
http://www.newsmax.com/kessler/sarah_palin_cpac/2009/07/09/233604.html
In this piece, he interviews David Keene, chairman of the American Conservative Union, which runs the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). The comments Kessler attributed to David Keene, if true, cause me to wonder why Governor Palin would want to attend CPAC next year, or ever, for that matter. First Keene calls Governor Palin a whiner and implies that she needs to be tougher.
“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. “
Really Mr. Keene? What is your political experience? Have you ever been a governor, or even a dogcatcher? What do you know about political toughness? Do you consider taking on your own party with no name and no family money tough?
After this, Keene goes on to repeat the false meme of her failure to attend CPAC.
“…Palin has proven to be unreliable when it comes to speaking engagements that help the GOP. For instance, Palin at first accepted an invitation to speak at the 2009 CPAC, where 9,000 conservative activists meet to listen to speeches by the major candidates, swap ideas and strategies, and get energized for the next election.”
“She confirmed that she will be speaking to CPAC in person,” Keene says. “Then her office said she was going to be there, they were just working out the logistics. Then all of a sudden she couldn’t be there. At the last minute she was going to do a videotape. We don’t usually do that, but we said OK. Then it turned out they couldn’t get the videotape done, they couldn’t figure out how to do it or something. And so she just didn’t come. Now that was our instance, and it also happened to a number of other groups.”
Why would a so-called conservative repeat the falsehood that she agreed to attend the conference when that simply did not occur. Is it just me or is Keene still upset that she was unable to attend and now feels the need to take pot shots at her. I’m not an expert in this area, but it seems to me that if he wants her to attend the 2010 CPAC, lying about her is not the correct way to go about it. I decided to look a little bit further into Mr. Keene’s background. A quick check of his biography in Wikipedia told me all I needed to know:
“In December 2007, Keene endorsed Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign.”
Here’s the link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Keene
It seems that both Mr. Kessler and Mr. Keene are Romneybots with a clear purpose to discredit Governor Palin in order to help Mittens. Exit question: Is there any wonder why Romney won the CPAC poll the last three years, given that the guy who runs CPAC is in the tank for him?
I’m glad you came along and repeated this post. It is powerful!
I agree with the article that she is not presidential material. I like her but she is not the one. We’ll loose again after 8 years of Marxist Obama.
You should work on your English.
Specter stunk back during the Waco investigation, and the smell just got worse.
He left the GOP long before he made it official, and it was only Bush's intervention that got him reelected last time.
a lot of FReepers are ready to turn on ANYBODY, whatever their resume, principles, or bona fides, if they show even a hint of questioning whether Sarah Palin is the savior of conservatism and the country
Is she the Saviour of Conservatism? I don't pretend to know, but if you know of anyone with the Conservative credentials, credibility with the base, popularity, press exposure (even 'negative press' from the MSM could work for her--because most right-leaning people I know don't trust the press to get the story right), then by all means list them!
Romney has taken positions which really miss the mark as far as the gun-toting and anti-government health care crowd(s) are concerned, and these issues are one-issue voter stoppers.
He isn't going to win the POTUS election short of stealing the Obamavote, although he might be able to make some contributions.
So, who else is there?
Heck, I'm all for vetting the potential candidates early, we could save a lot of time and money later on.
You missed the mark this time. EEE posted that comment as a QUESTION to another poster. The point being that she does represent these views.
Thank you. Feel free to use copy and share as you wish.
I will then. Just directing some posters back to your first post of this have had the effect of total laryngitis of the fingers!
I'm a Palin supporter, and I'm not trying to drive anyone away. If you have an alternative with a track record of executive experience, someone who can weather incredible ad hominem attacks in the press, can weather ethics allegations and investigations and come out clean as a whistle, and who can energize the grass-roots conservatives in this country, then bring them out of hiding and tell us who.
Otherwise, we'll pprobably disagree about who is the best hope so far for conservatives getting anything out of the next election but another tour of the underside of the bus.
As I have said before, let's vett our candidates early and save us all the media sponsored melee we had last time which buried Duncan Hunter early on.
I see Palin as though she has to be the one to carry the water for the American People. She has to stand firm and make Americans believe there really is hope after the last Dem and GOP debacles. Reagan did that. We emerged out of the self hatred of the Carter years and started rockin’.
People want real honesty and they want the b holes in DC at the moment, replaced with non corrupt people (as if that will be possible). But, it can be done. I am willing to let Palin get the ball rolling. She has a couple years to start a fire, and... watching her, she just might do it.
It is up to her, and us. One thing I will not do is overlook falls from the conservative principles and pretend it is otherwise. We will watch and keep in mnd what she does.
It's probably a small, albeit very vocal, minority of her supporters. But they seem to dominate these sorts of threads.
If you have an alternative with a track record of executive experience, someone who can weather incredible ad hominem attacks in the press, can weather ethics allegations and investigations and come out clean as a whistle, and who can energize the grass-roots conservatives in this country, then bring them out of hiding and tell us who.
Unfortunately I don't. Six months ago, I thought Sanford showed more promise than anyone else in the party, but he's done a lot of damage to himself (both politically and personally) since then. Now, IMO, we really don't have anyone who's strong across the board. Who knows who will emerge at the top in three years? It could well be Palin, but I also don't think that her resignation helps her chances at the Presidency, should she choose to seek it. Though again, it's not like we have any other great candidates waiting in the woodwork.
As I have said before, let's vett our candidates early and save us all the media sponsored melee we had last time which buried Duncan Hunter early on.
Agreed. And "vet" obviously can't include attack anyone who mentions a potential weakness.
Thanks!
“Did you see post 86, dimwit?
“Please: NO profanity, NO personal attacks, NO racism or violence in posts.””
*****************************
Now come on...that wasn’t a personal attack on you steveb...he’s just pointing out the fact that your wit is dim :)
BTW, I hope that David is clued into this thread. I know he knows FreeRepublic. And, if he doesn't pay attention to FR in sampling conservative opinion, he is dumber than I ever thought.
Congressman Billybob
Agreed, the sheriff would be great. Being a sheriff makes him a politician and his performance proves he is dang good one—he conserves resources and this is why sniveling liberals hate him.
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