Free Republic

Here are two more data points from the weekend to back up my argument that the 2012 Republican nomination is not Sarah Palin’s to lose. First, the Values Voter Summit straw poll, a decent gauge of sentiment among the kind of activists Palin would presumably need to rally, in which the former Alaska governor racked up just 7 percent of the vote, trailing Mike Pence (who gave a barn-burner of a speech), Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich. Second, a new 2012 poll from Public Policy Polling, showing Romney leading with 22 percent, followed by Huckabee at 21, Gingrich...

Republican Jeff Perry, a self-proclaimed Tea Party member, said he doesn’t want former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to campaign for him because of the baggage she would bring, after dismissing the former vice presidential candidate as an “entertainer” in a TV interview. “I don’t want to interject the debate over the national Tea Party with my race about my district,” said Perry, seeking to replace U.S. Rep. William Delahunt. “I’m trying not to interject a national debate that would distract from my message.”