Is Sarah Palin the Jesse Jackson of the Republican party?

Here's an interesting opinion piece, suggesting that Sarah Palin is the Republican's Jesse Jackson: immensely popular with a small but important part of the party, unattackable, yet unelectable. It's enough to make me register as a Republican for the 2012 primaries.

http://tinyurl.com/dlsguh

 

Going over to the dark side, eh, John?

 

I normally don't comment on politics, but I had to note one quote from the article:

Sarah Palin write a book on foreign policy? Who are they kidding? Even if they got someone to write it for her, she'd blow it by doing interviews and talking about the book.

It is really sad that, as the article said, the woman really appears to not understand that she's unelectable, and for more than one reason. I particularly liked a quote from liberal Alaska broadcast journalist Shannyn Moore:

 

I don't read political opinion pieces, especially ones posted with divisive partisan intent. I already have political opinions of my own and I don't need to pay attention to anyone else's. When it comes to politics, I'm less interested in naked partisan posturing (so what?) than in real issues and pragmatic alternatives.

One of my opinions is that the Left needs to wake up to the fact that the Left won the last election and that they run the country now. It's yours, John and Chip, to do with as you please. (God help us...) We are long past the point where the Left can play at being outsiders, addressing every issue and answering every question with an endlessly repeated "Bush sucks!"

A weak "Sarah Palin sucks!" won't disguise the fact that Barack Obama has replaced Bush in the White House. Responsibility, both for the nation and for the world, is the Left's now, whether they want to assume it or not. Responsible leadership calls for something a bit more intelligent and constructive than lamely continuing to trash potential political opponents.

Now's the time when the Left has to finally place its cards on the table. I'll kick back, pop open a beer or six, and watch, throwing out cynical and sarcastic comments from time to time as appropriate, along with the occasional empty beer can.

A particular candidate's prospects in any future primaries is going to depend on a lot of things, not least on their own plans and intentions, and on what other competitors emerge.

In a head-to-head general election with a Democrat, a Republican can count on getting Republican core support and can count on not getting Democrat core support. That's a given going in.

So elections are won and lost by swaying the 20 - 30% of swing voters in the middle of the spectrum. Most recently, Iraq war fatigue and the financial industry meltdown, added to a sense the the Right was long on hubris but short on creative new ideas, moved many centrists into the Democratic column and handed Obama his historic opportunity.

His task now is to do something constructive with it and not to squander it. But if he moves too vigorously to enact some bizarre agenda drawn from Bill Ayers, Acorn and the radical Berkeley-style campus Left, then moderate reaction will be swift indeed.

In other words, the prospects for the Republicans in four years down the road is going to largely be a function of the perceived success or failure of the Obama administration and of how significantly it's perceived to veer away from what centrists identify with as American mainstream tradition.

Criticism is always easier than leadership. And if things unfortunately don't go well, being out of power can become a tremendous virtue in and of itself. The Democrats played that game very effectively against Bush, but now it's Obama who's in the White House and the tables are turned.

We will have to wait and see what happens.

 

Sarah Palin

I live in Alaska and let me tell you what kind of a govenor she is, she is crap!
She listens to no one, does what she wants. She is more like a dictator. She will not get her partys nomination, she has too many skeletons in her closet.
Believe me her following is small. She does not have the brains to run the country. Her ambition is scary, she would sell her family if she could win.
She is anit-education, pro-kill everthing that moves. My whole office frickin hates her and we hope she loses her bid. Sorry of I sound like a jerk, try living here, on 2nd thought don't, the cost of living is very high here. I was born in this state and I don't like the direction it is going. Yes, I did vote for Obama and I am very happy with our new president. But wait, she can see Russia from her front porch, and Africa, what is that? She is that stupid. Wink, wink, ya betcha!

 

Why were her approval ratings the highest of any Governor in the nation?

 

Perhaps because there are more moose than humans in Alaska?

 

Sarah who?

 

Because she's the best-looking governor in the nation.

 

With the notable exception of unborn babies, unless you don't think movement in the womb counts.

As Bill Dayson noted, the left now has complete and total power in the United States, at least until the 2010 elections. They have a majority in the US Senate, a majority in the US House of Representatives, and they have the Presidency. In my own state, they have both houses of the legislature, as well as the governor's office.

No more excuses, and nowhere else to point the finger of blame but at the closest mirror.

 

California is an exception, at least for budget issues.

 

Is Gov Arnold well liked in California?

 

As far as I can tell - my friends, republican, democrat, and non-affilliated never complain about him. He seems to be middle-of-the-road.

The problem in the state legislature is that a super majority is needed for fiscal bills (something like 60% or 2/3s) but the republican representatives/senators are dead set against any tax increase so the budget is always late and screwed up.

 

If I remember correctly this also happened during the Clinton administration. It was during the whole medical insurance reform non-event. I believe that there was HUGE disappointment at that time that even with a Demoncratic Congress and a Democratic Senate no substantial bills from the D platform were passed. If this administration, with this congressional/senatorial configuration can not pass some substantial new bills then I might need to write a strongly worded letter.

 

raristud: "Is Governor Arnold well liked in California?"

John: From the Sacramento Bee, a few weeks ago (http://tinyurl.com/ce6hxt), the answer would appear to be, "No."

"Voters were in a sour mood last year about their elected officials, but they are downright foul now. Schwarzenegger's approval rating has sunk to 33 percent, but even more importantly he has lost the confidence of Republicans, 53 percent of whom disapprove of his performance.... The approval rating for lawmakers has sunk from 21 percent to 11 percent since last September."

 

You can always contribute to her million dollar legal defense fund to "end
the surge of political tricksters".

"Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, facing a string of costly ethics complaints, formally unveiled a defense fund Friday to help pay her legal fees — now surging past the half-million dollar mark"

http://tinyurl.com/cbnexn

 

Bill Clinton was a total moderate compared to Barack Obama. Clinton concerned me, while Obama terrifies me.

 

As a native Californian, I can safely say the Terminator is pretty well despised!

Abner

 

You'll soon enough have an opportunity to vote for the comeback kid, Jerry Brown...

 

Interestingly, in Illinois, where I used to live (and the home of our President), Republicans have no power whatsoever in either the executive or legislative branches; however the budget is always late and screwed up.

Now that "W" is out of the political arena and McCain will surely not run again, it is important to neutralize any Republican who might emerge as a power player. Many see a political future for Palin, who appealed to a number of people by being a different kind of political figure than, say, Hillary Rodham Clinton. It will be necessary for those wishing to avoid Republican power to portray her as an unintelligent, power-mad, psycho-woman who wants to destroy all animals and the environment and force everyone to become an evangelical Christian.

We'll see how successfully the strategy plays out.

Personally, I am more interested in what President Obama and Speaker Pelosi ARE doing, than what some local leader might due in a few years.

Just my 1 1/2 cents...