The Republican Party has been doing a lot of hand-wringing and finger-pointing since the presidential election. Half the conservative columnists and bloggers say the GOP lost because it overemphasized social issues such as abortion and gay marriage. The other half says the party didn’t emphasize them enough. And everyone denounces Project ORCA, the campaign’s attempt to turn out voters via technology.
But I’ve got a suggestion for cutting short the GOP angst: Sarah Palin for president in 2016.
You think I’m joking? Think again.
In 2008, Palin, running as my party’s vice presidential candidate, was widely supposed to have cost John McCain the election. But that wasn’t so. A national exit poll conducted by CNN asked voters whether Palin was a factor in their voting. Of those who said yes, 56 percent voted for McCain versus 43 percent for Barack Obama.
Furthermore, Mitt Romney, the GOP’s anointed contender this year, got almost a million fewer votes than McCain did in 2008. (Meanwhile, President Barack Obama, although winning re-election, lost far more voters than the Republicans, with nearly 7 million fewer voters checking his name on their ballots than did in 2008).
Millions of Americans didn’t much care for Obama and his Obamacare spending blowout, but they didn’t feel like voting for Romney either. Some said that Romney didn’t resonate with recession-hit blue-collar folks in swing states because he “looked like the boss who outsourced their jobs,” as one blog commenter quipped.
Gabriel Malor, writing for the New York Daily News’ blog, pinpointed another reason: By focusing his campaign mostly on serious economic and political issues such as the national debt and tax incentives, Romney failed to take into account the fact that large segments of the electorate neither know nor care much about serious economic and political issues. What they — a group sometimes euphemistically called “uninformed voters” — do know and care about are the tugs on their emotions, fears, revulsions and heart strings provided by hours and hours of uninterrupted television watching.
The Democrats understood how to reach that constituency. When a barrage of Obama campaign TV ads told them that the GOP wanted to take away their contraceptives or that Bain Capital killed someone’s wife, they took notice. When Obama strolled the hurricane-stricken beaches of New Jersey in his bomber jacket, they were snowed. As Malor put it, Obama won on “binders, Big Bird, birth control and blame Bush.”
Palin can more than keep up with the Democrats in appealing to voters’ emotions. Hardly anyone could be more blue collar than Palin, out on the fishing boat with her hunky blue-collar husband, Todd. Palin is “View”-ready, she’s “Ellen”-ready, she’s Kelly-and-Michael-ready.
A Palin “war against women”? Hah! Not only is she a woman, she’s got a single-mom daughter, Bristol, to help with the swelling single-mom demographic. On social issues, Palin, unlike Romney, has been absolutely consistent. And let’s remember that most Americans, whatever their view of choice, disapprove of most abortions.
Gay marriage? Palin opposes it. But she is also a strong advocate of states’ rights, and I’m betting she’d be fine with letting states and their voters grapple with the issue on their own. Remember that all of America didn’t swing toward approval of gay marriage on Nov. 6. Three reliably blue states and their voters did. If she were smart, Palin would recruit a member of her impressive gay fanboy base — yes, she has one — to help run her campaign. I nominate Kevin DuJan of the widely read gay conservative blog HillBuzz, a Palin stalwart since 2008.
Palin’s son Track is an Iraq war veteran, so she can be proudly patriotic without being labeled another George W. Bush, looking to do aggressive nation-building. She seems aware there is only one nation in need of building right now: America.
Furthermore, looks count in politics, and Palin at age 48, has it all over her possible competition, including Hillary Rodham Clinton, who will be 69 by Election Day 2016 and who let someone talk her into adopting the flowing blond locks of a college student, making her look like Brunnhilde in a small-town Wagner production. Men love Sarah Palin, and she loves men.
She’s tough as nails too. After Election 2008, she was supposed to have been through. This year eight of the 14 GOP candidates Palin endorsed for Congress won election or re-election, including tea party favorite Ted Cruz for a Senate seat in Texas.
Sure, there is going to be never-ending nastiness from the left, but she’s already lived through that once. Katie Couric? A has-been. Tina Fey? Her shtick was already wearing thin in 2008.
There are also the snooty East Coast Republican intellectual types, such as Peggy Noonan, who look down their noses at a woman who doesn’t shop at Neiman Marcus and didn’t attend an Ivy League university. But Peggy made a fool of herself calling the election for Romney on Nov. 5. Who’s going to care what she and her ilk have to say next time?
Some Republicans will say Palin has too much baggage from 2008, and we need to look for a new Sarah Palin. But I don’t see what’s wrong with the one we’ve got. Ever since the 1990s, Republicans have been looking for the next Ronald Reagan. Reagan is now revered in bipartisan circles, but during his presidency he was, like Palin, ridiculed by liberals. They cited “Bedtime for Bonzo” and sneered at his no-name college degree.
Sarah Palin is the new Ronald Reagan: charming and affable and unwilling to back down if she’s right. I can’t see what’s wrong with that.
• Allen writes frequently about feminism, politics and religion.
Comments (81)
Add commentI was kind of hoping to hear
I was kind of hoping to hear more from Calypso. He's funny. However, I have to remember that his daily online time is limited. He has surely long since been booted off the computers at the library. I hope his dumpster his warm enough for a nice cozy night.
excellent post, Dust
I think you accurately described more than a few posters here, and did them the service of explaining their arguments as well. It might also explain why so many "conservatives" are emotional basket-cases right now.
Palin threads are usually entertaining and this one is no exception. Of course her good friend Charlotte Allen is going to do what she can to keep speculation alive---That's how Sarah makes her money after all.
And you never know---One of these days she might start saying things that make sense. The bar's been set awfully low for Palin: If she spends four years saying halfway reasonable things it'll show an incredible improvement.
Good info Dust.
Good info Dust.
GOP and reality
Romney lost and it is everything but reality to accept the loss. There must be no less than 40 published reasons being tossed about as to why Romney lost. And not one of those reasons is going to change the results.
Predicting that the next election will yield different results for the GOP is wishful thinking. It may come to pass and it may not. There a lots of things that influence elections that seem to be forgotten during the election. If elections could be predicted based on a few simply explanations than there would be little reason to spend a year on the campaign trail.
The only sure things for now is the GOP will continue to flog a few folks here and there, they will being playing to the audience in hopes of finding those magical reasons voters will chose them, they will believe they are the only party with the ability to win the next election. In four years we will know if they are right or wrong again.
Wow. You people are
Wow. You people are disgustingly stupid if you think palin could win anything. She couldn't get elected to her local school board. She is a disgrace to Alaskans and pretty much all women. I can't remember a dumber politician that made bush come across as smart.
This is where the losing party is going? I hope so since that will just drive you farther away from reality and any chance of reclaiming the White House. You pushed too hard on people's personal freedoms republicans. Get with the program and pull your heads out of your collective asses, keep your god at home, stop supporting people that run they're campaigns with 90% big company money and learn to compromise.
Obama won by courting the
Obama won by courting the illegal,the lazy,and the uneducated.Not to mention all the vote tampering.Want to see the future of the US?Read about the downfall of Rome.Of course they did much better than us and lasted much longer.When you become a nation of lazy beggers you, you reap what you sow!
It's interesting, that's for sure
The two behaviors are simply extrapolations from two primary evolutionary drivers (call them 'risk' and 'risk-averse) that are perfectly appropriate under different conditions. Consider a group of early hominids living at the edge of a forest that borders a large desert plain. Those open to more risk might wander out away from the relative safety of the trees and get eaten, while the risk-averse group remain in the trees and ultimately become our ancestors. Conversely, in periods of poor productivity, for example, the risk-taking group might leave the fruitless trees and find alternative food sources on the plain, or else make it safely to another forest, while the risk-averse group would remain and starve.
The part that I find distressing is the ability to ignore (and apparently, take great pride in ignoring) data that should serve to accurately assess and analyze current conditions to facilitate decision-making processes. Certainly, as more and more members of a given group participate in such behavior, it is reinforced and seen as valid, especially when consequences are not immediate, are often filtered or diminished by societal forces (food is scarce? I can pay more, so it's not really scarce by my perception), and when data are pre-filtered so group members are never presented with accurate information.
It's also a function of group-identification, which in this case amplifies the risk-aversion. A few of the papers cited above report that self-identified conservatives react more strongly and with greater fear to faces they perceive as not belonging to their group. If accurate data (that might alter their decision tree) are perceived as being from an "other" group, the data themselves are viewed as suspect or wrong, regardless of veracity. The projection of "not us" is sufficient to completely dismiss those data, whereas the projection of "us" is sufficient to unconditonally accept anything.
@akmscott
"Obama won by courting the illegal,the lazy,and the uneducated."
Your logic escapes me. Here's my confusion:
The illegal - If they're illegal, how could they register to vote? Note that Obama won in a bunch of states that already have voter ID laws, even Florida. Or is that where your "vote tampering" comes in? Do tell.
The lazy - Since they're lazy by definition, one would presume they'd be too lazy to go vote. Not a good reelection strategy, targeting the lazy crowd, eh?
The uneducated - As I pointed out in an earlier post to Skirkz above, the 10 most educated states in the country all voted for Obama, while 9 of the 10 least educated states voted for Romney.
Remember, the Presidential Inauguration will be held on January 20th. Be sure to mark your calendar to see Barack Hussein Obama be sworn in for another 4 years as President of the United States. Perhaps witnessing our great country's democracy in action will help get you out of your funk.
Latitude58
Who said that those voting for Obama were legal registered voters?There is a very specific reason the socialist-liberals want every poor, uneducated Mexican on this side of the border.Why they fight sooo hard against voter ID laws.The only reason that there can possibly be is to shore up votes-legal or illegal.
But mscott
Most of the illegals are in the South, yet Obama did so much better in the North. And Bush won before any states had voter ID laws. Oh, and Obama is on pace to deport twice as many illegals as Bush.
So how does that work again? You're still not making any sense. Who's telling you this stuff anyway?
@Alaskastu
Palin could win the GOP nomination.
True story....
Palin wins a third party nomination in 2016, when the Tea Party reinvents itself as the Arizona Librarian Party.....
Palin / Palin in 2016
Getcha popcorn ready!
ima49er, That would be a
ima49er,
That would be a total hoot of a situation. I can imagine it happening. Of course, I would so welcome a third party like that. It would pretty much guarantee a democrat in the White House until 2020.
I can see the campaign slogans now, "Vote for Sarah--the champion of all white trailer park trash."
The truth is, Obama won because more Americans AGREED with him
than with Romney. And it's likely that Romney got the highest possible vote for any GOP candidate.
There's no way an even MORE spiteful, taunt-based, exclusivist "we're Americans and you aren't" campaign of the sort Palin would have run would have done better for the 'Pugs. The country RECOILED against the most Palin-like aspects of the Romney campaign more than it did against anything else in that campaign.
The votes for same-sex marriage and for marijuana reform show that Americans don't necessarily accept the narrow-minded, pro-hatred, pro-fear, pro-repression views of the "Christian" Right(the word "Christian was placed in quotation marks there because Jesus wasn't a conservative or a capitalist...also, He wasn't blonde and light-skinned, and may not have been "white" by current definitions, but that's another discussion).
It's time for conservatives to accept that Obama supporters are just as American, just as moral, and just as hard-working(other than the ones who aren't allowed to work because Romney supporters laid them off for no reason by the thousands)as Romney supporters or the supporters of any other Republican. We are just as much part of this country as you guys, we have just as much right to have a say in how this country is governed as you do, and our choices and views are just as legitimate as yours are.
Give it a rest with the McCarthyism and the exclusivity already. We are ALL Americans...and the ideas of working together and taking care of each other in tough times are just as "traditional" as anything Bill O'Reilly ever saw on a 1950's sitcom(btw, Bill, the Cleavers were NOT a "traditional American family", bro...most families did not have a staff of writers).
As to the drop in Obama's vote...
If you will recall, voter suppression laws were being enforced in many states in this election, and early voting times were significantly being reduced in many states(when the Obama administration tried to change that, they were falsely accused of trying to make it harder for soldiers posted overseas to vote-something everybody knew was a despicable lie).
The other factor was the tough economy, which was largely caused by the 1% staging a capital strike throughout Obama's first term in order to punish the American people for defying them and not electing McCain. There's nothing Obama could have done about that, other than to govern like a Republican and totally abandon his own supporters(none of whom would have benefited from the Bush tax giveaways to the rich being made permanent).
Sorry. I just threw up in my mouth.
For God's sake. please don't mention Hillary Clinton and the number 69 (her age in 2016) in the same sentence.
I can agree there
We've had enough of the Clintons every bit as much as the Bushes---We keep trying to invent political dynasties, or at least go along with the people that want to invent them. In the end they're like bad movies with endless sequels, reinventing something that sold, over and over again. Now we're just hooked on appeal.
Talk about throwing up in your mouth! But that's what our society is being trained to do: Consume, ad nauseam, and regurgitate the excess until it kills us.
Palin's a perfect example---Raw material that has gone out of its way to be marketed, and a model to all too many of us.
Lat, you keep saying " the 10
Lat, you keep saying " the 10 most educated states in the country all voted for Obama, while 9 of the 10 least educated states voted for Romney. " So in your mind the only education that counts is a peice of parchment from a liberal university? Gee, go figure. Those that go to the most liberal universities voted liberal...
KP
Got a different statistic to measure education? Try overlaying high school graduation rates - still a pretty good correlation. Or are you suggesting high schools are also a bastion of liberal thinking?
Woohoo!
Oh Please God, Please, please , please, puh-leeze let Sarah Palin be the Republican nominee....please, please, please! This article is living proof that the Republican party still doesn't get it, and is coming up with a different version of the emporer's new clothes as they lick their wounds and re-spin the lie they're telling themselves about why they lost so badly in 2012, and could double-down on their tea-bagging extremism. While it's comforting for this progressive, I feel badly for Republican moderates... if there are any left, that is. There is a serious dearth of intellect in their party.
Lat: Education does not begin in college.
Yes, high-school is a liberal bastion. So are our elementary schools. In fact our entire school system is predominantly liberal.
That is not to say our students are. K-12 is simply where the mold is cast. It is set in post-secondary education where the children are separated from opposing influences.
Obama won because
of people just like kpawsuh.....reactionaries.
This pretty much sums up
This pretty much sums up Sarah Palin's ideology. I'll take this any day when compared to the politicians that are "looking out" for us in Washington at present.
"Her message is always one of reform, respect for life, and restoration of our founding principles. She has not veered from championing fiscal responsibility, energy independence, and a strong national defense. She always encourages standing by allies, not bowing to enemies, and unapologetically embracing American greatness. She unceasingly begs us to consider future generations, incentivize small business, and support our military. She is not prone to flip-floppery."
And may I add that the progressive mind set is some of the nastiest to be found. Just read back through the vitriole already posted. And most of the time it seems to stem from pure stupidity with repeated rhetoric.
LOL gosh waking up the past!
"Men love Sarah Palin, and she loves men" I don't think so!
All we saw is Old White Men Waiting in Queue to be President during this race!
LOL gosh waking up the past!
"Men love Sarah Palin, and she loves men" I don't think so!
All we saw is Old White Men Waiting in Queue to be President during this race!
I rest my case - "The famed
I rest my case -
"The famed Russian news site Pravda, which ironically was formed as the official Communist publication of the former Soviet Union, recently released a scathing opinion column entitled, “Obama’s Soviet Mistake,” in which the author unabashedly labels the U.S. president a “Communist without question promoting the Communist Manifesto without calling it so.”
The author, Xavier Lerma, goes on to note how Obama’s “cult of personality” has mesmerized the ignorant in America, who will follow the hope and change icon in much the same way as ”fools” still praise Lenin and Stalin in Russia."
There's more truth here -
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/russian-news-outlet-pravda-previously-th...
But atleast Jamie Foxx isn't a "fool" - "First of all, give an honor to God and our lord and savior Barack Obama" at the BET awards last night.
And you liberals spend one minute demeaning Palin? That's funny...
49er, Huh?
49er, Huh? WTF are you talking about?
kpawsuh
REACTIONARY
: relating to, marked by, or favoring reaction....
It's just my own observation, but I don't want anyone that knows the right answer instantly, running the country.
You seem to have the right answer so quickly, that you often forget that i is before e, except after c....
LM: I do kinda take your "Old White Men" personally.
Could you maybe be a bit more specific in that age range?
Kinda like to think I could avoid it with the proper photo ID. :)
btw: My outside may need a little work but the grey matter is still working on all cylinders.
Ken
I call it as it is and what it is! Sorry you took it to heart, but in reality we all saw who the GOP are, I meant what I say!