Another T-shirt effort for cafepress.com!
Frowning takes 68 muscles.
Smiling takes 6.
Pulling this trigger takes 2.
I'm lazy.
Posted on 11/09/2010 5:51:12 PM PST by TitansAFC
WASHINGTON -- Republican triumphs in the recent U.S. congressional elections have left the party with an ironic dilemma: The woman who played such a key role in igniting their conservative base is also the woman they fear the most.
Sarah Palin -- either adored or abhorred in the United States, depending on one's political perspective -- is considered one of the biggest winners following last week's mid-term elections.
The former Alaska governor backed some 60 Tea Party candidates, about half of whom won, while targeting 20 Democrats for certain defeat. Eighteen lost.
Yet in the corridors of power on Capitol Hill, there is a determined and focused effort underway among the Republican elite to find a candidate who can handily beat Palin for the nomination. In recent days, the "Blame Palin" strategy has stepped out from the shadows.
Spencer Bachus, a Republican congressman from Alabama, has pointed to Palin and the Tea Party movement for his party's failure to capture the U.S. Senate in addition to the House.
"The Senate would be Republican today except for states (in which Palin endorsed candidates) like Christine O'Donnell in Delaware," Bachus told an Alabama newspaper. "Sarah Palin cost us control of the Senate."
Although Tea Party candidates did well in House races, Bachus added, "they didn't do very well at all" in their attempts to win Senate seats.
Conservative icon Rush Limbaugh, the radio-show host who wields tremendous influence over the party, has been railing against such anti-Palin forces in recent days.
"What's going on here, folks, is very simple," said Limbaugh, who's a big Palin booster.
"They want to establish a lie very firmly in the minds of the public that the Tea Party hurt the Republican party in these elections. They want to use this to stop Sarah Palin. Republican insiders are trying to figure out now how to stop Sarah Palin."
Why the Palin fears? Republicans fret that if she's their presidential candidate in 2012, U.S. President Barack Obama will easily dispose of her. Even George W. Bush, the much-maligned former Republican president, has reportedly told associates that Palin is "unqualified" to be commander-in-chief, and his one-time chief strategist, Karl Rove, says she lacks the "gravitas" for the job.
Palin doesn't appear to be paying any mind. The period after the mid-term elections tend to be when presidential campaigns unofficially begin, and Palin's Twitter stream moved in a new direction Monday. The self-styled hockey mom relies on social media like Facebook and Twitter to communicate with the masses.
"Today: trade speech; tmrw school event 2 start discussing QuantitativeEasing w kids around US so they prepare 4 Feds experiment w their future," Palin tweeted. She usually uses Twitter to make personal comments about political candidates, current events and the media, not to alert followers about her own upcoming policy announcements.
Palin also delivered a hard-hitting speech in Phoenix that assailed Ben Bernanke, the Federal Reserve Board chairman, by focusing on a primary conservative concern this election cycle: government overspending.
"I'm deeply concerned about the Federal Reserve's plans to buy up anywhere from $600 billion to as much as $1 trillion of government securities," Palin said in prepared remarks. "What's the end game here?... All this pump-priming will come at a serious price."
A recent ABC News-Washington Post poll found only 27 per cent of registered voters believe Palin is qualified to be president. Even those who identify themselves as lifelong Republicans are uneasy about her, including the segment that voted for the party in droves last week -- older white men.
"I think she's a very good lady, but I just don't think we're ready for her," Daniel Phillips, 48, a North Carolina Republican businessman, said in a recent interview.
Phillips said he lost respect for Palin when she resigned as Alaska governor last year before serving her full term.
"When she did that, I think she hurt herself. I think she's a good cheerleader for the conservative party and the Tea Party movement, but as far as being a serious presidential candidate, no. I just don't see it."
Nonetheless, 55 per cent of conservative Republicans like Phillips do believe she's qualified, the same poll suggested. And a whopping 73 per cent of Tea Party supporters believe she's got what it takes to be president.
Those making the case that Palin can emerge victorious on a national level often point to 1966, when Richard Nixon, another figure facing some public antipathy, took to the hustings after losing in a presidential election. Nixon won the presidency in 1968.
One thing she is not - Affirmative Action. That is the only thing the current occupant of my house has going for himself.
at this moment I can’t see her winning general. It all depends on the state of the economy. If theres another 2008 like crash, then her chances will increase alot
“Sure you’re at the right website?”
People express many different religious views here but I’m pretty sure that most people don’t believe that Sarah Palin is the Divinely-anointed Messiah.
Please show me where he used the word Messiah.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anointing
If she runs and wins the nomination then I hope and pray that she wins the presidency and is a very successful president.
Messiah means the anointed one.
All of this sniping is relatively meaningless at this point. If Palin wants to run then I don’t see any reason that she shouldn’t give it a shot. She has been damn effective as a leader against the Obama agenda and motivates the base better than any of the other GOP hopefuls out there. If she runs and wins the nomination I’ll gladly support her and hope for the best.
> Likewise she screwed up things in Delaware irretrievably by assisting O’Donnell
I beg to differ. I’m happy to have Castle gone. If the Delaware vote is gonna be liberal, let a “D” be attached to it.
And I thought that before the primary, knowing full well that it might cost the seat.
The GOP Establishment had a rather large, behind-the-scenes, organized chatter session on how to immediately start taking out Sarah Palin after the midterm elections, first by working to nullify any credit she might be assigned for any victories, and then by portraying her as polarizing and unelectable. Few names were released (maybe 10-11 that you've read about), but word of the unofficial strategy session got leaked to some members of the press, Rush Limbaugh, Mark Levin, Erick Erickson, among others.
Rush Limbaugh mentioned it on his show, and then later read an article from one of those who got word.
The buzz phrase was “Stop Sarah Palin Week.” That was what they were calling it, and that is the title that got leaked. Quickly, some lefty bloggers took up that title, too, in the hopes of finding strange bedfellows with whom to take down Sarah Palin. Kos was the most notable one; but that title was apparently a GOP creation.
Immediately after the election, polls were released showing Romney and/or Huckabee ahead of Obama, and Palin behind. A couple of polls made a point to only poll blue states in the GOP Primary race, showing Romney as the clear front-runner, while leaving out South Carolina, among others.
The words “too polarizing” could be heard about Palin from every single GOP pundit who was going over the list of contenders on any show. “Too polarizing,” “can't win,” “is the reason the GOP doesn't control the Senate,” and “is better for us doing what she's doing” could be heard with such perfect consistency that it was like actors reading a script from the same play while performing in different cities.
Huckabee and Romney started making the rounds, and surrogates/supporters started touting them while dismissing Palin with those aforementioned buzz phrases. Supporters of Palin were curiously not invited onto any of these shows, and no contrary opinion on her electability, et al, was entertained.
Even FR and Conservative blogs/sites were immediately astroturfed with folks on every thread talking her down, using those same talking points. It suddenly peaked on Monday and has been especially prevalent since.
Even the Wall Street Journal tried to get into the act, though Palin busted them for contradicting themselves on food prices. Red State helped show their error.
To sum it up: “Stop Sarah Palin Week” is an organized effort, created by insiders, propagated by surrogates of other candidates and Establishment GOPers, spread in earnest by GOP members of the media, and picked-up by lefty blogs and organizations hoping to join the assassination attempt. The Journolisters were quick to take action as well. It is an all-out attempt to unload on Sarah Palin, relentlessly, for at least all of this week, using every means, medium, talking point, astroturfing tool, media outlet, and blog they can to try and inflict a mortal wound. They are hoping the sheer volume and consistency of their memes will be effective enough to plant enough seeds of doubt in everyone’s mind that they will stop considering Sarah Palin as an option for 2012. This week is a big test for them, because it is going to give them a measure of how much damage they can do with a 100% concerted effort and every weapon in the arsenal firing.
Rush unloaded on these guys, and I am glad that he did. It is time to circle the wagons, and fight back.
But not everyone who is annoited is a messiah.
What it all boils down to is Ohio, Florida, and Pennsylvania. With the electoral makeup we have, in order for a republican to get to 270, they MUST win 2 out of the 3 of those states. It almost looks like PA isn’t winnable, given the previous 3 elections, so that leaves Ohio and Florida. I don’t see her carrying both of those states, and that means she CAN’T win, barring some sort of miracle or political earthquake of some kind. 0bama carried VA, NC, and a few other traditionally ‘red states’ last time, but I don’t believe he’ll win those again. Those states came back ‘home’ last Tuesday, and the electoral map of 2004 suddenly reemerged.
The ONLY way Palin wins a presidential election is if 0bama and the economy does so badly during the next two years, Donald Duck could win if up against 0bama on the ballot.
Palin is great at rallying the conservative base. She should continue to play that role. As I said before, I really do like her, but I’m a realist. I don’t see her getting to 270.
Unfortunately, I don’t know of any others that are getting the ‘presidential talk’ on the GOP side that are much better off. We need a ‘dark horse’.
KoRun, you are on. When the time is right, Sarah will run, and she will win. If the time is not right, she will not run - simple as that. And, if/when she runs, right-wing nut-cases like me will be on the phones 24/7 - prodding. We got the vote out in an off-year election, in record numbers. We will do it again. Screw the loony-left and the fence sitter “independents”. We have enough base to put her in with Reagan type numbers. They just need a little “prodding”.
Money has never been important to Sarah Palin, but good government is what got her to run for city council.
just your saying that makes me think it's not going to be her! His thoughts are not our thoughts... He seems to work in the most unlikely of ways...
Another T-shirt effort for cafepress.com!
i made this comment about a year ago, and was labeled a Palin hater... and i'm not! i like her, and will vote for her... but i was harpooned for pointing out that some people were treating her like the libs treat Obama... i'm sure i'll get it again... Go Tea Party!
Peace, my FRiend. Some of us view this as a spiritual battle; some as an intellectual or political event horizon. All views are equal.
I’m one of the spiritual guys, obviously. Not that I am anything special, but rather that I report what what I sense.
Palin problem is not with the dem, its with rino. The rino hate her guts
You're probably right, but unfortunately unlike the early 80s, California has become a 2nd world(almost European) quasi socialist state. New York has also changed for the worst. That leaves the Republicans having to run a nearly perfect campaign, 'threading the needle' by running the table in a BUNCH of smaller states along with FL and OH. A very difficult task, even for the most seasoned candidates/campaigns. McCain failed miserably. Bush almost didn't pull it off himself. It's so sad that such large areas of our country have become so liberalized/feminized that a conservative candidate is dead on arrival during a presidential campaign. We could be entering into a new period which will be the opposite of how things were during the 2nd half of the last century. The Congress may be solidly republican for decades while the presidency tends to be democrat. This past congressional election points to that IMO. We shall see.
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