By Gary P Jackson
The Republican Establishment has always been hostile to the Conservatives who make up the solid base of the party. Oh, they'll take your money, and your vote, but past that, you need to sit down and shut up. They know better than us rubes.
The elites REALLY hated Ronald Reagan. To the GOP country club set, Reagan was a "
B movie actor" an "
amiable dunce" and someone who was not "
intellectually curious." Sounds familiar, doesn't it!
It's the default position they take on everyone who isn't one of them.
How often do we find the GOP establishment sounding like the far left, when they talk about solid Conservatives?
By the way, the above comments were the nice things they said about Reagan. Both the GOP and the left were screaming that if elected, Reagan would start a nuclear war with the Soviet Union. The fear mongering was incredible.
The establishment pretty much pushed George H.W. Bush on Reagan as his running mate, and even then, that wasn't good enough for the liberal leaning country clubbers, who ran former congressman John Anderson as a third Party candidate.
In fact, this is why, despite an electoral college blowout, Reagan only received 50.1 percent of the popular vote in 1980. Though it wasn't even close, one has to wonder if the GOP elites real agenda was to bleed off enough votes to give Carter a second term, rather than see Reagan, a real reformer come to power.
Nothing has changed with the establishment either. In the spring of 2009 Jeb Bush, Mitt Romney and others went on a ridiculous "
listening tour." Speaking for the group, Bush proclaimed the
era of Reagan was over, that it’s time for the Republican Party to give up its "
nostalgia" for the heyday of the Reagan era and look forward, even if it means stealing the winning strategy deployed by Democrats in the 2008 election.
Clueless. Utterly clueless. They held their first meeting at a pizza joint in Arlington, Virginia. The
National Council for a New America (NCNA) didn't last long. When you can't even get people to show up when you have pizza and beer ....
By the way, as if to put an exclamation point on the Bush/Romney lunacy, it was the return of Reagan ideals, and Reagan principles, that saw Conservative Republicans win a historic election in November of 2010. They took back the House in a big way, gained in the Senate, moved into Governor's mansions nationwide, and saw an unprecedented shift in state legislatures, as over 650 democrats lost their jobs to Republicans. Some states went Republican for the first time since Reconstruction. [after the Civil War]
It seems the country clubbers' reports of Reagan's demise were greatly exaggerated.
So .... what we see happening to Sarah Palin is nothing new. It's just the "
good old boys" doing what they always do.
With that said, the GOP elites fear Sarah Palin as much, if not more than the left does. They certainly fear her more than they did Reagan, something I once thought impossible.
Sarah Palin has proven she has no patience for corrupt, go along, get along, business as usual Republicans.
In Alaska she took on the entire Republican Party, which was swimming in corruption. Serious corruption. The FBI was marching politicians off to prison months after Sarah took office as Governor. Even GOP party chair Randy Ruedrich was hammered, and paid the largest fine in Alaska's history. As a result, the Alaska GOP refused to put Governor Palin's photo on their website. Childish and petty, but that's the elite mindset.
Despite the sniping and nonsensically attacks, both the GOP and the media know that Sarah Palin is a strong, capable leader, and if elected would shake things up, and change Washington forever. She will mess up the elites' little playhouse.
In a follow up to his
Top Ten Signs Sarah Pain Is Running, Tony Lee has the
Top Ten Ways GOP Establishment and Mainstream Media Try to Dissuade Sarah Palin From Running For President.
Now if you follow these things closely, none of this is new to you, as you see it all the time in the news. And if you read the comments sections on many websites, you'll see this sort of nonsense parroted by fans of the RINO crowd.
It's really interesting to watch. You'll never hear Sarah Palin, or any of her supporters say a candidate shouldn't run for office.
Well, except for Trump, but that's just me.
Oh, we may think they are unqualified, or a disaster waiting to happen, but no one will tell them not to run. Competition is good. It makes the best candidates better. Keeps them sharp.
On the other hand, the Republican establishment is flat out saying Sarah Palin shouldn't even run. As former Carter and Mondale staffer, and faux conservative Charles Krauthammer once said: "
She needs to leave the room."
This was during the debate on ObamaCare, right after she coined the term "
death panels." That was only the turning point in the entire debate, and she has been proven right a thousand times over, but since she's not from the right side of the tracks, little elites like Charles dismiss her, just as he did Ronald Reagan during his time.
Let's look at just a few of these:
1. Be a kingmaker (or queenmaker)
As noted by the likes of Grover Norquist and many other pundits and establishment Republicans, Palin, their reasoning goes, would best serve the party as a kingmaker. What they are essentially saying (try to follow the logic) is that Palin's endorsement should be the gold standard but her candidacy would not be appreciated. Even more ironic is that should Palin run, it diminishes the kingmaking capabilities of the traditional and spoiled cast of characters who are used to getting their brass rings kissed every four years.
This one probably pisses me off the most, though there are several more running for that "
honor."
As pointed out, the logic behind this one is insane. In 2010 Sarah Palin's endorsement was the only one actively sought, and the one that brought great success. She endorsed over 100 candidates in local, state, and national races, over 60 of them won.
Most notably were candidates like South Carolina's new Governor, Nikki Haley. Haley was stuck in dead last, fourth place, even after establishment candidate Mitt Romney endorsed her. Sarah came in, made her endorsement in person, and Nikki was immediately the front runner, and of course won big. Plenty more stories like that from 2010.
So how is it that someone, who's endorsement is the gold standard, isn't worthy of endorsing herself, and making a run?
Here's how I look at it: Anyone who NEEDS a kingmaker is not fit to be king, and anyone who can BE a kingmaker CAN be king him or herself. In Sarah Palin's case that goes double.
There was a variation of this when the GOP was throwing Michael Steele under the bus. All of a sudden the elites thought they had found the "
perfect" job for Sarah! A way to use her significant managerial talents, and fund raising ability, and keep her tied up so she couldn't run for President. There was column after column written proclaiming Sarah was the absolute perfect person to become RNC chairman.
We had a different idea.
It's pretty insulting, when you really think about it. The elites want Sarah to do all the heavy lifting, then get out of the way so they can reap the benefits. They are just too cowardly to say what they are thinking: They'd rather she be barefoot, pregnant, and in the kitchen makin' sandwiches!
After she's done all of their work for them, of course.
3. You're too divisive
Another argument is that Palin would be too divisive to win a general election. And the only thing those who say this cite are polls released over a year before any voter of importance started paying attention to the election. In these early polls, there is probably some type of Palin effect (or a reverse-Bradley/Wilder effect), as Sheya at Conservatives4Palin noted, where voters either do not want to tell pollsters they support Palin for fear they would sound stupid or are withholding their potential support until she announces her candidacy, if she indeed does.
Further, as Pollinsider noted, Palin always has a strong floor, which potentially helps her in the primary (if the GOP primary has many entrants) and the general election (2012 may be a "base" election like 2004 where turnout matters, so the floor that Palin starts off with would give her significant advantages over other candidates who do not have that built in floor).
Ronald Reagan was "
divisive" too. He was so divisive he won two landslide elections! In fact, Reagan was a mere 0.18 percent away from winning all 50 states in 1984.
Polarizing is another word they use. Like Barack Obama isn't polarizing?
We live in a polarized nation. You have the extreme left, and Conservatives. The mushy middle, those sainted, sacred moderates, that we are constantly told we must pander to, are almost non-existent these days. At this point you either want to return to First Principals and the constitutional republican form of government created by our founders, or be part of the "
Glorious Communist Revolution" the democrat party is selling. There simply is no other choice. No middle ground.
The fact is, Conservatism, real conservatism, works every time it's tried, and solid Conservatives win elections. Especially presidential elections. All one needs is an articulate candidate who can actually walk the walk.
That would be Sarah Palin.
Here's the truth about polls, especially this early. They are
at best meaningless. At this point in the 2008 race the whole world just
knew the contest would be between Rudy Giuliani and Hillary Clinton. As late as mid-1980, Ronald Reagan was 31 points down to Jimmy Carter. Reagan carried 44 states and Carter a mere 6.
What polling now is really about, is the media's attempt to set a narrative. If one digs deep into the internals, it's easy to spot the methodology used to get the results desired. You can manipulate samples and questions to achieve any result you want. One simply can't take these as any sort of "
snapshot" of reality. The only polling that matters is the one taken on election day.
Another thing Sarah's detractors put out there is her approval ratings. I lived through the Reagan era, and the attacks on him were vile. Just nasty and very hateful. I remember editorials about Reagan's age, complete with illustrations of Reagan in the morgue, implying he would die as soon as he took office, so why bother.
One could find Reagan was portrayed as an evil genius and a senile old man, in the same article! A lazy dunce who couldn't do anything and an evil warmonger who couldn't wait to destroy the world.
It was sickening.
They were NOTHING compared to the vitriol we see thrown at Sarah Palin though. Nothing is off limits . Sarah, her husband, and her children are all "
fair game" to this bunch. The left and their media partners have thrown everything at her including the kitchen sink, so yeah, her numbers may be a tad low. As Sarah herself has said many times: "
If I believed everything I read about me, I wouldn't like me either!"
Many detractors use these sort of things to say she's "
damaged goods" and we need to pick a candidate the media will like. Problem with that is, if we pick a candidate the media will truly like, he'll be a democrat!
Republicans were fooled in 2008, as they usually are. John McCain, bless his heart, was the media darling. He was every left wing commentators favorite Republican. "
If only John McCain would run for President," they loudly proclaimed. "
He is a republican we could support!" That lasted until he got the nomination, of course, then the long knives came out.
The
New York Times endorsed McCain in the Primary with glowing stories, then as soon as the nomination was secured, started running bogus reports that John had been having an affair with a lobbyist. Sickening, but that's how they work.
The media always sets the narrative the Republicans must choose a "
moderate" candidate or risk losing those precious little darlings. Of course, the Republican establishment always buys into this nonsense, as do way too many GOP voters.
Barack Obama is the most far left radical ever to run for President, let alone be elected. Somehow I missed all of the articles from the "
concerned" media warning the democrats about the need for a "
moderate" candidate.
Why Republicans continue to fall for this media nonsense is beyond me.
In 2007-2008 it was common knowledge the left was holding their fire on Mike Huckabee because they knew he would be an "
easy kill" in the general election. Nothing has changed by the way, Huckabee is still an "
easy kill" which is why you see the left treating Huckabee nicely now, and the
Daily Kos' official pollster, PPP, always manages to find just the right sample to make Huckabee the front runner in their polls.
If Sarah Palin was such a disaster, in the minds of the left, they wouldn't spend every waking moment trying to destroy her! Same goes for the little elites in the Republican Party. Indeed, the left would be propping her up and hoping we'd be "
dumb" enough to make her the nominee!
As for the GOP, if she was THAT bad, she'd get destroyed in the primaries and that would be the end of that.
The other problem with those who think Sarah Palin is somehow "
damaged" is this: She has been absolutely hammered by the left and weasels in the GOP since September of 2008, and she's still standing tall.
In a way it's a good thing, as Sarah is the most vetted candidate in the history of the Republic! At this point her detractors have nothing else to attack her with. They are down to recycling old attacks from years ago, that didn't work the first time around.
In a way, the haters have inoculated Sarah and made her all but bullet-proof to any attacks.
Put another way, Sarah's numbers have gone as low as they can. They have no where to go but up, and that's what a campaign is for. BTW, people should never forget that among Republicans, Sarah still has higher approval numbers than anyone else, and it's Republicans who decide who their nominee is.
Now let's look at a what would happen to a "
media approved" candidate:
Everything would be just peachy until they got the nomination, then all hell would break lose, especially since the media would be trying to protect their messiah, Barack Obama.
They would go to any length to destroy anyone who dare try and take Obama down. But instead of having years to prove they're not the Anti-Christ, the poor hapless Republican nominee would have six months, tops, to prove they weren't the devil reincarnate.
Good luck with that.
This media approved candidate would also have to have a spine of steel and set of core principles to match. Of course, if they were that sort, they wouldn't be "
media approved" in the first place.
The fact is, Sarah Palin is the one leader who never panders to the media and actually seems to relish the fact she's not in their good graces. She understands if that bunch was loving her, she'd be doing it all wrong.
Sarah has proven she can beat the media at their own game.
Read all of Tony Lee's Top Ten, spot on assessment
here.
The GOP establishment are just as much to blame for the mess this nation is in as the hard left. They have been little more than enablers to extremists. In many cases, they actually agree with them.
You got guys like Romney,
who created socialized medicine in America before the left could pull it off, and Tim Pawlenty who is jealous he didn't beat Romney to it! Oh, and don't get me started on Pawlenty's embrace of the global warming fairy tale.
Then there is Newt Gingrich. He's taken being an enabler of the left
to a whole 'nuther level!
With "
friends" like these, who needs enemies!
The media and the GOP establishment have been working night and day to stop Sarah Palin. They wouldn't be putting out the effort if she wasn't a threat, and you better believe Sarah Palin is a serious threat to business as usual in D.C.
And that's a very good thing!
I started working on this piece before Sarah Palin gave her
game changing speech in Madison, Wisconsin,
interviewed with Sean Hannity,and
hammered Obama on Libya ....
twice.
There's a new talking point out there now.
It seems, according to those "
concerned" GOPers, that Sarah Palin isn't making the required pilgrimage to Iowa like every good little candidate should.This is a sure sign, they point out, that she isn't up to the task of running.
Besides she'd give up all of the money she's making. Might as well sit this out and "
anoint" some feckless loser who'll get slaughtered by Obama in the general election.
After all, it's bound to be someone's "
turn."
These people obviously never actually listen to the woman, or are so used to empty rhetoric from their bunch, they don't understand Sarah Palin doesn't
do empty rhetoric.
If "
Game On!" wasn't plain enough, maybe what Sarah has said over and over since then will help. Sarah has made a point of saying it's way too early for anyone to start running for President. In her mind, there is simply more important things to do, especially since the election is 18 months down the road.
Here's a message to the left wing media and those GOP elites:
If Sarah Palin decides to run, and we're almost certain she will, she will win the Republican nomination and the presidency, handily, and there isn't anything you can do about it.
Politico purchased a ticket to Governor Palin's Heroic Media speech in Bethesda, MD last night and with its reporter Jedd Rosche onsite, still botched its coverage of the event, Josh Painter, Texas for Sarah Palin reported. The Heroic Media speech was closed to the press.
The White House and Congress heard loud-and-clear that Americans don’t want cradle-to-grave government control of our lives. We don’t want government bureaucrats deciding what kind of light bulbs we should use, what kind of cars we should drive, and which doctors can and can’t care for us and our families. And we don’t want our president continuing to manipulate the U.S. energy supply. What we want are the freedom and opportunities to make a better life for ourselves in this most exceptional nation on earth.
