Is Palin the new Bush for liberals?
Image via WikipediaThere are certain folks in our lives to whom we pay particular attention when they speak because we know they have wisdom of a certain sort. John Hinderaker of Powerline is one of those folks for me.I think something else is going on. Democrats seem to thrive with a negative campaign against a Republican figure. I call it mad dogging when they and their media cohorts start with the unrelenting attacks on a particular individual. From Newt Gingrich to George Bush to now Sarah Palin they pick a target and demonize it and marginalize it. Saul Alinsky would be proud of them, but that does not make it right nor does it mean that Republicans should accept it.
He's reached an important conclusion about former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's presidential prospects - She doesn't have any. Says Hinderaker in a post pegged to the 59 percent unfavorability rating for Palin among independents that turned up in the latest CNN/Opinion Research poll:
"No one with a 59 percent unfavorability rating among independents has the chance of a snowball in Hell of being elected President," Hinderaker said. "2012 will be a vitally important election year; it is no time for a kamikaze Presidential campaign or for a cult of personality."Hinderaker calls himself a Palin fan, and his Powerline blog, which features him and colleagues Paul Mirengoff and Scott Johnson, has always been among the most thoughtful and incisive blogs on the Right. So Hinderaker's conclusion regarding Palin's suitability for a 2012 White House run carries a lot of weight among folks who would be crucially important to the former Alaska governor's prospects.
"Republicans (and conservatives) need a candidate who has a chance to win against an incumbent who, despite everything, is not particularly unpopular and who won't be able to do much visible damage between now and then."
My thought is that Palin's rising disapproval has less to do with her response to the Tucson Massacre and more to do with public exhaustion. Between her books, her 2010 campaign prominence, the constant nagging of those on the Left who go absolutely berserk at the mere mention of her name, frequent appearances on Fox News, the dramas of her daughter's relationship with Levi and her success on "Dancing with the Stars," and the Discovery Channel reality TV series, Palin has been here, there, and everywhere for several months.
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I think Sarah Palin is a fine persons with policies that represent the main stream of Republican positions. She can be articulate and energizing to the Republican base. She has a natural charisma and a life story to be proud of.
It is way to early to write off a 2012 bid for President before she has even decided whether she will run. If she decides not to run it should not be because her enemies don't want her too, or some of her friends despair. There are actually some good reasons not to do so that would not eliminate her from a future race. Her enemies are always going to attack and not running would allow her to build up a larger war chest with which to resist those attacks.
If she runs, I will likely support her because I support her policy positions on energy, the economy, and national security. Those who oppose her , do not have an idea of what those positions are. That is another reason not to be too hasty in reacting to their rancor.
I wish more people on our side would at least defend her. Don’t support her for president if she’s not the best choice, but she’s a fighter on our side. We should treat her as such.
ReplyDeleteIn the primary, Republicans need to take it to the mattresses - no holds barred. But we should not allow the Left to pick our Republican nominee for us. That includes letting the Left diminish ones who they think, rightly or wrongly, are their biggest threat.
If the Left is successful at diminishing SP, it assures that they will target, freeze, polarize, and use whatever other deceitful darts and arrows they can conjure up on the next one of us THEY choose.
IMO: Not this time. United we stand.