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Okay, I’m disappointed in the Times. There are several notable Republican/conservative pundits who’ve been critical of Governor Palin, folks prominent enough that people who aren’t complete political geeks might recognize and care about their opinions. So that’s the article I figured they were going to write.

Nope. We have...what?...three staffers. I barely care what the candidates and the actual pundits think about the governor being a player going forward, primarily because she is whether they like it or not. Imagine how little I care about what the staff pukes think. My reaction to Todd Harris is “Sorry, who?”. Oh, yeah, and “Miami Vice” is still a pretty cool old show. Stuart Spencer? You saw nothing that Sarah Palin added to the McCain ticket? Really? Pardon me while I slap some sense into your seeing-eye dog.

And Mike Murphy? The base is stupid? That’s your take? I mean, I’m a stupid grass-roots GOPer. I lack the view of the broader horizon, I guess. But it seems to me that if there’s a candidate out there that the base is really enthusiastic about, it’s a lot easier to get that candidate up to speed and build a majority on that base than it is to try to build enthusiasm from the bare ground up around somebody else. And telling the base they’re stupid would seem to make the job more, not less, difficult. And Mike...if you guys really can see that broader horizon, and you’re all as smart as you think you are, tell me this: How come you didn’t see the losses in ‘06 and last year coming and figure out how to avoid them? Well, good luck with your career there. And you stay classy.

And those congressfolks who don’t want the gov on the campaign with them...go find the T-Mobile Makeover commercial with the economists and Catherine Zeta-Jones. It’s on YouTube. Watch it and draw the obvious lesson.

Guys, you are terribly underestimating these people. After she went back to Alaska, the GOP beltway clique has continuously tried to derail her. They are full of fear and loathing about the governor. Kevin Madden, John Feehery, Carl Forti, Todd Harris-- these are all political consultants who have been taking potshots at her. I am sure they are spreading the nonsense that Parker n Noonan spout without thinking; stuff like she doesn't read, she's not taking advice etc is coming straight out of these people. I think these people have formed a Clique of sorts whose mission is to foil her plans. Guess what the people I named are also part of a downtown communications group hired by NRCC. Wouldn't it be easy for them to set Palin up and then disinvite her to make sure it produces bad impression? They've been taking potshots at her since the beginning. They religiously track what the governor is doing and behave as if she owes them to reveal what are plans are, they reacted with extreme suspicion when she started talking with John Coale, Greta's husband and made sure they leaked his emails, after all they are Becky Donatelli's friends, and remember once Donatelli was fired from running her PAC, the leaks stopped immediately. Then they piled on the governor during the NRCC dinner. Remember the hysteria they generated; it also mirrors what these people are going through. They are totally paranoid about her. What they are doing is trying to prise information about her and stop her next move and neutralize her plan. They made sure the governor lost the NRCC speaking gig because that'd have legitimized her as the leader in GOP. Now that she resigned, they reacted with barely concealed contempt but they must have been horrified to know that her numbers remained unchanged. Once it began to dawn on them that her next plan could be to tour the rubber chicken circuit and collect IOUs, they are trying to make sure that doesn't happen. They are trotting out the politicians they control to say that they don't want her to campaign for them. What they are doing is to try n figure out what her game plan is and then neutralize her moves, to make sure she is not effective. I believe this is organized, not spontaneous. Could Mitt Romney and/or Jeb Bush be behind this? Possible. But the Clique is trying to make sure Governor doesn't advance in the GOP. It's a serious matter and we should fight back.