Sarah Palin endorses third-party run if Akin won’t drop out

The Washington Examiner ^ | August 22, 2012 | Joel Gehrke

[Publius804]

Sarah Palin endorsed a third-party candidacy against Rep. Todd Akin, R-Mo., if he persists in his refusal to drop out of the general election campaign after making startling comments about rape and abortion.

“We’ve got to take back the Senate and Missouri is a must-win state,” Palin told Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren. “The way we do that is to have someone like Sarah Steelman be able to run — even if it’s as a third-party candidate — to be able to run and help us take this back.” Palin endorsed Steelman in the primary, which was regarded as showdown for the privilege of challenging the deeply-unpopular Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo.

The former Alaska governor reiterated her support for a third-party run when considering how conservatives should respond if Akin does not drop out before the state prints the ballots for the general election.

“Maybe it is a third-party run of Sarah Steelman — that I could get behind,” she said. “Granted, ‘the status quo has got to go’ [Steelman's campaign motto] would be an odd name for a third party, but we’ll coin it, we’ll adopt it, we’ll run with it if that’s what it takes in order to get a common sense, constitutional, happens-to-be-pro-life woman in Missouri to clean up this mess that has been created and at the same time take back the Senate.”

[Inconvenient Truthteller]

Karl Rove tried to influence the primaries in Delaware. He would have rather seen a Mike Castle in the Senate

Rove's wisdom was rejected, and we got another Democrat in the Senate. Yeah, that worked well, why not do it again?

[Perkalong]

“Do you agree that that objective would have been INFINITELY EASIER, if Akin had done the right thing and resigned?”

I do not necessarily agree with that. And, we still won’t know if another Republican would be more electable than Rep. Akin.

But, we do know this - as long as Rep. Akin is still in the race, focusing attention on Rep. Akin instead of McCaskill, takes energies away from winning the seat.

[jboot]

Since Akin isn't going anywhere, I hope that you are right. Time will tell, and quickly.

Going forward, I would encourage a Republican candidate to put a shotgun in his mouth and pull the trigger before speaking publically about a subject that he is unprepared to address. And that is my last word on this mess.

[kabar]

What's the difference in having a Castle or a Coons? O'Donnell may have made a difference. At least, she helped rid the party of a RINO. How much did it help to have Arlen Spector with an R after his name?

If the GOP is just another wing of the Dem party, what difference does it make if someone has an R after their name or not? The Olympia Snowe's do nothing to further the principles of conservatism and the dismantling of the welfare state. They just undermine the party from within. Collins, Snowe, and Spector voted for Obama's stimulus. No doubt Castle would have as well.

We need more real conservatives in the Senate. I am glad Mike Lee, Rand Paul, and Marco Rubio are in the Senate. The Establishment preferred their opponents in the primaries.

[kabar]

You left out Rand Paul, Mike Lee, Marco Rubio, Mourdock, Ted Cruz, etc. All conservatives are nuts, as well as bigots, racists, anti women, anti-immigrant, anti-gay, etc.

[FourtySeven]

I think another FReeper said it best when this first broke: this is a DISASTER.

Gov. Palin (rightly) extolls the virtues of pragmatism but honestly, IMO, this seems to be one of the few times there simply are no pragmatic alternatives.

It’s certainly not pragmatic to call for a third party candidate (since as she herself pointed out, this is a “must win” state, but does she honestly believe a third party candidate has a shot at this point?), but it also doesn’t seem very pragmatic to encourage Akin to stay in the race, especially since his opponent of all people is “supporting” his candidacy now.

A complete disaster. Pray hard people.

[Servant of the Cross]

The difference is that Rand Paul, Mike Lee, Marco Rubio, Mourdock, Cruz, et. al. did NOT give the DNC/MSM cabal the 2x4 to beat them, and their entire party, over the head with.

Clod Akin did. As did O'Donnell, Angle, Miller, Buck, Hoffman ...

And prideful selfish Akin is dragging the ENTIRE GOP (including conservatives) down with him! Until Akin withdraws, the DNC/MSM marxist media complex will use this in every race twisting it in their pathetic claim that it is a part of a Republican pattern in their 'war on women'.

[NeoCaveman]

Clod Akin did. As did O'Donnell, Angle, Miller, Buck, Hoffman ...

Nobody outside of their local states gave a damn about O'Donnell, or Angle, or Milelr, or Buck, or Hoffman. They were all localized incidents that the media tried to make national, but at the end of the day no a single voter in OH or NJ or MN cared about them. Akin is different as he's not just quirky he's a liability to all good social conservatives.

[Servant of the Cross]

The people of Missouri will decide whether they want McCaskill (Obamacare, deficits, national debt, failed stimulus, an out of control EPA, unemployment) versus Akin(good on the issues affecting real people in real life but committed one verbal gaffe.)

With all due respect to the people of Missouri, surely they will acknowledge my doubts about their judgment based on their past voting history .....

MO voters are so unique that they elected a dead man, Mel Carnahan! and the "Widow Carnahan (as Rush used to refer her) was sworn in to the Senate seat.

[Balding_Eagle]

A lesson can be learned from the disastrous CO governors race last time around.

The Tea Party nominated criminal imbecile (being gracious here) WASN’T faced with a third party candidate until the last couple of weeks when everybody got their act together. By then it was too late.

Starting a third party candidate right now, as Sarah suggested gives our side a chance, slim maybe, but better than we face now.

[Servant of the Cross]

Courtesy ping since I linked to your prior post. I’d like to laugh but I can’t stop crying.

[Servant of the Cross]

Akin is different as he's not just quirky he's a liability to all good social conservatives.

SO EASY A CAVEMAN COULD DO IT!

[zerosix]

Thanks for the post. I, too, could laugh but this makes me so very sad.

Anything like this will certainly assure that Claire de luney will continue in the Senate!

[Servant of the Cross]

Please! Help! Struggling to find something salvageable in all of this.

[truth_seeker]

Threeway between the democrat, and two Republicans?

Steelman finished 3rd among just the Republicans.

Sounds like some wishful thinking, not logical, probability based thinking.

[Cruising For Freedom]

It has nothing, zero, nada to do with viability of being pro-life or pro-life stances. If anything, Akin could be arguably seen as less pro-life because his original statement could be easily interpreted as a way to get around having to state a difficult question, by handwaving the scenario of abortion-in-the-case-of-rape away.

It has everything to do with competence.

[Deb]

In my opinion, Sarah's wrong, and she of all people should stand by Akin.

Why is no one making the point that Akin was noting the difference between "legitimate rape" (meaning forceable) and "statutory rape"? You know, like when an adult man seduces a 17 year old teen-ager, then abandons her when she gets pregnant and returns to Kenya?

[Balding_Eagle]

Yeah, let’s stick with the Democrat candiate Claire McCaskill endorsed and who supported with 1 1/2 million dollars of ads.

[Balding_Eagle]

Struggling to find something salvageable in all of this.

That's not all that tough.

If one of our candidates gets over a million dollars of support from his direct opponent, he NOT the guy to vote for.

[Deb]

But I also understand the need to cut bait and try to grab that seat. We HAVE TO GET THE SENATE MAJORITY!

I just hate it when Republicans ALWAYS shoot their wounded. The Democrats circle and defend people who say Guam will tip over if we send more soldiers.

Come on, people!