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This is Great News! For Sarah Palin! (Really)
FiveThirtyEight Politics ^ | 1.07.2010 | Nate Silver

Posted on 01/08/2010 1:32:11 AM PST by militanttoby

I find this truly remarkable: in a National Journal survey of 109 Republican "party leaders, political professionals and pundits", not a single one deemed Sarah Palin to be the most likely Republican nominee.

I've written extensive commentary about how I think Palin's chances are in fact pretty decent. I'd probably call her the "favorite", although "favorite" in this context might mean having a 25-30 percent chance of winning. From my list of ten bullet points, this one stands out as the most important:

8. Attempts by the Republican Establishment to neuter her may backfire. This is a corollary of #6 ["She's tough to campaign against"] above. If the Establishment, owing to electability concerns or whatever else, tries to put hurdles in her way by re-structuring the primary or delegate allocation process, it may only play into the victimization complex of Palin and her supporters. 2010/12 is shaping up to be an anti-Establishment cycle. The Republican Establishment is not popular, to a large extent even within their own party, and certainly not among "conservatives" more broadly, only 55 percent of whom have a favorable image of the G.O.P.

Palin has some obvious flaws as a candidate. But she's the best equipped to bridge the divide between the Tea Party and the Republican Party. In some ways, indeed, the "message" that she unveiled in 2008: a mish-mash of populism, everywomanism, and paranoia -- coupled with a light touch on policy specifics -- has proven to be highly prescient in terms of everything that has come thereafter. And most of the other candidates have flaws that are at least as significant: Romney has his Mormonism, his flip-flops, and his MassCare; Huckabee has Maurice Clemmons and is despised by the establishment every bit as much as Palin, and Tim Pawlenty has become the dweeb trying to keep up with the Cool Kids -- we live in a branded world, and in a branded world, the inability to differentiate oneself is death. John Thune comes out looking pretty good, I guess, but he's also the least exposed so that could change.

But back to the point I made in November -- there's going to come a time, probably in July 2011 or so, where the knives are really drawn on Palin and Republican pundits, strategists and candidates start saying in public some of the things they've been thinking in private. And that in all likelihood will play very well for her. Although the Establishment's concerns about Palin's viability as a general election candidate are well grounded, mostly they're just terrified of her because she doesn't need them.


TOPICS: Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: badromney; jealousromney; palin; romney; romneycovets
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To: sickoflibs; stephenjohnbanker

I think he will force the issue to be fired to promote the sale of his book. The person in his position is suppose to hold the party together, raise funds, and speak a coherent public party position. By any measure he has been a miserable failure at all three.


21 posted on 01/08/2010 5:30:53 AM PST by 1776 Reborn
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To: 1776 Reborn

Yep. Strike 3, he’s out.


22 posted on 01/08/2010 5:32:35 AM PST by stephenjohnbanker (Support our troops, and vote out the RINO's!)
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To: sickoflibs
I think she is happy with the rock star book signing life,...

What you think about her future is irrelevant. What matters is the one vote you get during the presidential primary. And she's got my vote. And I tink a hell alot more. I quote this poll.


23 posted on 01/08/2010 5:38:55 AM PST by McGruff (We're Going Rogue Baby!)
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To: stephenjohnbanker

If the Republicans don’t replace Steele it just reinforces what he has been saying about the party and his view of their chances to win. I don’t see how they can ignore this
challenge. What more could Steel say or do to get fired?


24 posted on 01/08/2010 5:41:46 AM PST by 1776 Reborn
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To: sickoflibs

re: Being in office is NOTHING like that!

My Mom used to delight in pointing out how frequently one can be right, but for the wrong reason! I think this might end up being one of those times. Many,any pundits insist that quitting her job as governor ended any chance she might have had of becoming president. They could turn out to be quite correct, not because the electorate turned on her, but rather because she realized how much nicer life is out of office. It’s been a while since she wasn’t weighed down with the demands of public office. Suddenly she’s free of those constraints, and finds life can be GREAT.


25 posted on 01/08/2010 5:45:42 AM PST by jwparkerjr
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To: 1776 Reborn; stephenjohnbanker; rabscuttle385

He was bragging about raising funds on CPAN this morning which given last two years under Bush anyone could raise more funds than that. Obama is holding the R party together not any Republican. The party doesnt have a coherent public party position so that gets Steele off the hook there. The R party is such a mess he has a free pass. And he is AA making him hard to fire.

Dont take any of those points to mean I wouldnt like GOP massive improvements, that is critical.

Did you see that poll where McCain is most identified as R party leadership? That should tell you how bad things are.


26 posted on 01/08/2010 5:46:49 AM PST by sickoflibs ( "It's not the taxes, the redistribution is spending you demand stupid")
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To: UCFRoadWarrior
For my part, even if she suddenly endorsed, accepted and fought for everything Obama is doing or does, I would still prefer her to most of the others. If it's going to be bad, at least we can delight in looking at her!
27 posted on 01/08/2010 5:48:32 AM PST by jwparkerjr
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To: militanttoby
:”We should rally around Palin because all the bad guys will attack her”. I hear this on talk radio regularly.”

Actually, this isn't QUITE the "theme".

The common gut-feel of everyone is that, if she is so hated by the "right" people, people we know are, well, basically evil people that don't have our best interests in mind, then she must be the right candidate.

28 posted on 01/08/2010 5:49:45 AM PST by MrB (The difference between a humanist and a Satanist is that the latter knows who he's working for.)
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To: 1776 Reborn; sickoflibs

“What more could Steel say or do to get fired?”

The problem is that the upper management of the GOP/RNC is run by RINOs. We need to remove those people, or firing Steele will be meaningless. They will just install another RINO in his place.


29 posted on 01/08/2010 5:50:41 AM PST by stephenjohnbanker (Support our troops, and vote out the RINO's!)
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To: 1776 Reborn

They need to get it into their heads that they should NOT compromise principles in order to get more people into the tent,

but teach those “outside” the tent that it’s better to be IN the tent.


30 posted on 01/08/2010 5:51:30 AM PST by MrB (The difference between a humanist and a Satanist is that the latter knows who he's working for.)
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To: Frenchtown Dan
There's no reason Sarah couldn't push an alternative party, build up a significant backing, then use that power base to force change in the GOP in return for throwing in with the “New” GOP.

Standing on her own, “Going Rogue” as it were, and ending up heading the GOP 2012 ticket are not mutually exclusive at this point.

I have been around for elections since the days of Eisenhower's first run for president. I have NEVER seen anything like the effect Sarah Palin is having on politics in this day and age. Not even Ronald Reagan had the effect I'm seeing with her today.

She certainly is the ultimate litmus test when it comes to separating the RINO’s from the conservative herd. Try as they might they can't a RINO simply can't hide their disdain for her when her name comes up! What a gift she gives in that respect. I won't miss the days when a RINO could pretend to be not a RINO, get elected then revert to their true self. No sir! All you have to do is bring up Sarah Palin. RINO’s, and it goes without saying that liberals, can't make it past that little test! It's like vampires and holy water or a crucifix.

Love it!

31 posted on 01/08/2010 5:56:53 AM PST by jwparkerjr
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To: jwparkerjr

I keep on posting that she doesnt want to run (hoping to avoid being critical of her) and the Palin-cult still gets mad at me. They insist that she is running from her book tour and facebook posts, but I think they really plan on drafting her like with Fred Thompson.

Her popularity is completely meaningless now as far as Presidental elections go (you do know why??) . But the same Palin-ists that are insisting that Palin’s polls now prove she will be president, same ones probably said Bush’s polls were meaningless in 2006 and 2008 when he was president.


32 posted on 01/08/2010 5:57:22 AM PST by sickoflibs ( "It's not the taxes, the redistribution is spending you demand stupid")
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To: sickoflibs
“Did you see that poll where McCain is most identified as R party leadership? That should tell you how bad things are.”

That is just the the libs talking. We said the same things about Gore and Kerry after the the Dems lost their elections to Bush until new candidates came along with the next elections. It just demonstrates how the field is wide open this time around.

33 posted on 01/08/2010 5:59:59 AM PST by 1776 Reborn
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To: sickoflibs

I really like the way she’s playing right now! She’s keeping her options open and under her control. Very astute. I under no delusion that she is the ‘be all’ and ‘end all’ for America, but until something really untoward happens she’s my man!


34 posted on 01/08/2010 6:04:32 AM PST by jwparkerjr
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To: Marathoner

Yes, I know what you mean, but we have to get a third party off the ground. Otherwise it will remain status-quo and beaurocracy will continue to get worse.


35 posted on 01/08/2010 6:05:42 AM PST by Frenchtown Dan
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To: McGruff; stephenjohnbanker; rabscuttle385; mkjessup
RE :” What you think about her future is irrelevant. What matters is the one vote you get during the presidential primary

If you really thought it was irrelevant you would have not replied to me.

Correction to your text:”What matters is the one vote you get during the presidential election ”. McCain won the primary, who cares about that now?? Obama is still signing the laws.

36 posted on 01/08/2010 6:06:56 AM PST by sickoflibs ( "It's not the taxes, the redistribution is spending you demand stupid")
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To: stephenjohnbanker
“The problem is that the upper management of the GOP/RNC is run by RINOs. We need to remove those people, or firing Steele will be meaningless. They will just install another RINO in his place.”

I would love to see the Tea Party movement focus more attention on who gets Steels job. This person can be the helmsman of the party if we get someone effective in the job.

37 posted on 01/08/2010 6:08:21 AM PST by 1776 Reborn
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To: MrB
“They need to get it into their heads that they should NOT compromise principles in order to get more people into the tent, but teach those “outside” the tent that it’s better to be IN the tent.”

Yeah all of this tent stuff seems to be rather peripheral to me. If they focused on basic conservative principles they wouldn't have to worry about who is peeking under the curtains.

38 posted on 01/08/2010 6:12:31 AM PST by 1776 Reborn
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To: 1776 Reborn

“I would love to see the Tea Party movement focus more attention on who gets Steels job.”

This is a MUST.


39 posted on 01/08/2010 6:15:04 AM PST by stephenjohnbanker (Support our troops, and vote out the RINO's!)
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To: stephenjohnbanker
The job is such a great job to advance one's political career I’m surprised up and comers don’t kill for the job. Why the Republicans and the Dems for that matter waste these jobs on political has beens sure miffs me.
40 posted on 01/08/2010 6:19:45 AM PST by 1776 Reborn
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