Outgoing Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has said she'd be willing to campaign for candidates who share her views; she even went so far as to say she'd stump for conservative Democrats.
The only problem is, many Republicans are saying "Thanks but no thanks" to Palin.
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/vulnerable-republicans-want-palin-to-stay-home-2009-07-09.html
I've heard the GOP candidates for the two gubernatorial races this year have said they don't want Sarah coming to help them. Many Republicans have politely said things like "I'll probably invite my colleagues from the House..."
If YOU were a candidate running for election of reelection would you want Sarah Palin to come and support you?
If someone running for a major political office in YOUR state or district, would it have any effect on you either way if Sarah came to campaign for that candidate?
Have you heard anything about any candidate where you live who has said they do or do not want Sarah's support?
One more question - Sarah has spoken about helping those that share her views and principles; exactly WHAT ARE THEY?
Annie
[question posted by anniepa]responses and comments:
I'm imagining that she'll somehow align herself with the religious right. They make boatloads of money spewing their agendas. I wouldn't be surprised if she becomes a televangelist. [KreamyKoolAid]
Wow, I'd never heard of this "dominionist" movement before. It's a bit scary, isn't it? To piasa (Sp), by any chance were you one of those who felt Levi was an innocent child who should be off-limits a few short months ago? Just asking... Annie [anniepa]
Let me put this out there quite clearly. ANYONE WHO HAS PALIN ON THEIR TICKET HAS ABSOLUTELY NO CHANCE OF GETTING MY VOTE! Unless of course Hitler rises from the grave & is the only one running against them.... then well, maybe... She needs to just disappear back into the Alaskan wilderness where she came from. [uath13]
Are YOU ever gonna get it...lol! I'm afraid, though, some politicians particularly in "blue states" may think some of the voters will feel that way or close to it. I'd really think twice about voting for someone who would align themselves with her. NOT because I'm afraid of her, jealous of her or hate her but because I don't like her arrogance or her far right views. Annie [anniepa]
Part of Palin's principles is that she wants to stop the corruption that is going on in Government; to me that is a very good thing, and the sooner the better. I don't understand the anger that some people have towards her, why do democrates support all of the corruption? [clutterbug]
Gee, I wouldn't say that Democrats support corruption! There certainly have been and I'm sure still are some Democrats who are guilty of corruption but there are as many Republicans if not more. Palin likes to give the ethics charges brought against as one of her reasons for resigning and she blames the left and the media for them but most of the charges came from Alaska and from the Republicans. http://www.adn.com/palin/story/838912.html I think if there is a lot of anger towards her it's because of her abrasive manner and divisiveness. Annie [anniepa]
Palin is a strong proponent of true--at least in this day and age--conservative values: Pro life; widespread personal responsibility, including fiscally; a return to a God-fearing mindset, meaning, do onto others and all that; taking advantage of what our homeland has to offer in terms of energy; weeding out those seeking to reap personal gain from public office; lower taxes and more working opportunities for all Americans; tighter national security; etc. That aside, it's clear Palin's "values" don't make it through to the surface. She's constantly (CONSTANTLY) surrounded by negativity in the media and in her personal life with far-far-FAR-left radicals continuing their assualt on her for daring to step into the limelight and accept the VP nod. These a-holes give regular liberals a bad name. And, unfortunately, that's what Palin brings with her. It's extremely telling that those claiming not to be a fan of Palin are the ones that cannot seem to leave her be. People are out to destroy her AND her family. So no matter where she goes or who she's associated with, the zealots come with her. She reminds me of this episode of The Haunting I watched the other night. This woman kept seeing ghosts in her house and thought she was going crazy. Her husband left her, she got remarried, and her new husband was caught up in the mix. He thought the house was haunted but never seen it himself. As it turns out, it was her. The ghosts were following her around -- nothing to do with the house, family, property, etc. I can't blame any Republican or conservative politician for not wanting Palin around. It's nothing against her, personally; it's just that the opposing media force is way too strong. When you have NBC, ABC, CBS, PBS, the newspaper of record, and countless other publications and networks ALL slamming you as a person and not for your politics, you become a poison. It's a shame, too, because people rooting against feel proud to do so. And that would make sense if they were against her politics -- but it's always about HER as a person. I'd be ashmed... but that's just me. :) It could work the other way and Palin could triumph over the obsessive noise. But not right now or any time soon. The ghosts and ghouls will follow her wherever she goes. [matersfish]
But that vaYou wrote, "Or is my theory true? Liberalism is just ANTI conservatism/tradition, so every single value held by the right is spat on by the left?" That's interesting because some on the left would say that those on the right are just automatically opposed to everything they're for. Hey, I'll stop squabbling but that doesn't mean there won't always be those from both sides who will keep the fight going...lol! "And I imagine you have a hard time imagining Palin in any way except how you imagine her." And I have a GREAT imagination...lol! However, allow me to try to explain and describe how I "imagine" Sarah Palin. First, I don't need to imagine, I know she's a devoted mom and grandmother. Bet you didn't expect THAT from me, did you...lol? I imagine her as being the active, outdoors type which I am as well, I just don't hunt. I imagine her to be quite conservative and to be somewhat religious, or at least she gives the appearance of being religious. I don't mean this as an attack but there are people who seem to wear their faith on their sleeve who aren't as religious as others who are more private about it. To me, religion is a private thing and I don't need to know a politician is religious to support or not support them but I'm more likely to not support them if they seem to believe in mixing government and religion. I imagine her as a bit of an opportunist who, as a former beauty pageant contestant, has gotten by on her looks throughout her life. Not always but sometimes. I see her as very stubborn and determined to get her way and not at all flexible. I see her as combative and not willing to compromise. I see her as someone who likes to be seen as tough but also likes to play the victim. I don't think it's my imagination when I say I see her as someone who wants to use the media when it's to her advantage but can't take it if the coverage is anything less than flattering. She was more than willing to show off her family during the campaign but if a single word was ever said about her kids she saw it as an attack. I don't believe in attacking anyone's kids but I think there's a time when a parent should simply refuse to dignify every remark or joke with a response which just draws more attention to that which you felt was hurtful to the child. Sometimes there's a fine line between "protecting" and "exploiting" and I feel Sarah crossed that line on several occasions. Annie [anniepa]
I am a bit confused, Annie. If you don't know what her views are, how is it you are so sure you're dead set against them? Palin isn't the liability, it's the frenzied hatred that is being spewed at her constantly. Any candidate who is endorsed by her is going to become the target of all this media bias and bad press, too. [Rollo1]
OMG...lol! I thought everybody knew the D1ck Cheney did that! Annie [anniepa]
Well the people who don't want her campaigning for them seem to overwhelmingly be from areas where Obama is popular. Since the pro-Obama crowd is rabidly anti-Palin, they would not get a big boost from having her campaign for them. She's already helped Saxby Chambliss win a runoff election pushing his original total of 48% to 57% if memory serves. Of course that was in a state that did not vote for Obama. To answer you question of would "I" want her campaigning for me; the answer is a clear YES. The only reason I haven't run for any political office is that I don't have the money of the backing. If she campaigned for me money would no longer be an issue and I could actually get enough attention to get my message out there. Even negative publicity is still publicity and I could certainly use it. I may live in a state that voted for Obama, but Florida is still a battleground state with a lot of independent voters so I think the attention I'd get would far outweigh any negative feelings some people here might have towards Sarah Palin. [Taskr36]
She is anti-abortion, pro oil and gun rights. Those things I know for certain. She is charismatic in an odd way, so there are many conservatives that seem to like her. She seems to do best in speaking when she is somewhat the "attack dog." I feel when she gave her rambling resignation speech, she hurt her image in even that way, though. She no longer appeared tough. I am speaking from the viewpoint of a moderate Democrat who is trying to answer this fairly. I honestly have trouble following her sentence structure. To me, personally, she doesn't seem like a good spokesperson. I am not sure what Democratic candidate would welcome her, either. It will be interesting to see if they do. [LincecumFan]
Lol. Making Poetry from politics is not that easy. [LincecumFan]
Sure, why not. While I have no plans to run for anything I would happily let her speak for what was important to me. Let me ask you this if someone you cared for deeply was in trouble and Palin was the only one who could get them out of it which would be stronger your love for this person or your hate for Palin? [irishidid]
I'm not sure if I've seen the posts where someone said they wished Palin dead but that's indefensible and I'd never EVER advocate anyone saying that about anyone. Taskr, are you really still griping about poor Kerry's lame joke? There was nothing in what he said to imply he wished Palin dead! This morning Pat Buchanan said Todd Palin should drown Levi, Joe the Plumber wondered why nobody had hung Chris Dodd and you're concerned that someone joked they'd like someone to basically "Get lost"? Annie [anniepa]
so long as she remains Anti-abortion, so long as she is pro-drilling in ANWR, so long as she is pro-jesus everywhere, so long as she promotes beauty contests as "pro-woman", so long as she advocates abstinence instead of birth control, so long as she wants to remove certain books from public libraries, so long as she supports the use of automatic weapons for "hunting", my answer is a resounding HELLLL NO! and yes, I definitely will protest her if she shows up around my parts. side note, I know maybe two people that would want to see her, both republicans, both males. but not for any political reason, they just think she's a hot piece... (super ICK/gross< IMO) but what do you want her to be, after all, she is merely a FORMER REPORTER, ...lol...hell, she even went to FIVE different colleges, over 5 years, to get that ONE degree in journalism, and that was a bachelors degree...she can't be that damn smart, now can she? [JodiLynn]
Again Jodi if you read the article on factcheck you can clearly see that she never showed any desire to ban any books nor did she make such a request. She asked a hypothetical question that is no different than the interview questions that I get asked because I AM A LIBRARIAN. "To ban something, such as a book, which goes to Freedom of Speech and freedom of the press, is just wrong." Removing a book from the collection of a library has nothing to do with free speech or the press. People still have the write to print and distribute such materials, they just can't use the library as a medium for it if such a book is banned. [Taskr36]
We've already had our Palin experience down here in Florida and it was ugly. Our governor plans to run for the Senate next year and, if he has any sense whatsoever, he won't invite her to assist him. He's very popular on his own...with a 68% approval rating last I heard...so I think having her stump for him would be unnecessary and could possibly hurt him. We don't need her kind of divisiveness here. I certainly wouldn't attend any rallies she participates in because I would rather not see or hear her than I would want to see and hear Charlie Crist...and I basically like him. [spalladino]
From what I've seen of Governor Crist I can't imagine him inviting her to campaign for or with him. He really doesn't need her, I wouldn't think. I don't think we need her kind of divisiveness anywhere in our country! Annie [anniepa]
I will run just fine on my own thank you. I won't be ruinning as a republican (or as a democrat for that matter) anyway, so, no point. Besides, I would rather have supprt from with in my own state, since it is a state office I may run for. I said in another discussion a few days ago I was very disapointed when Palin began associating herself with the main line republican establsihment. I think the best thing she could have done was to get as far away from that party as she could, they poisoned her and ruined her. [xfahctor]
X, I ment that you would be the kind of leader I would want representing me. Keep us updated on how it is going. Good luck [thegreatdebater]
I am sure there are alot of far right wingers out there that wouldn't mind her coming out and warming up a crowd. I can't wait to hear what she says about her ability to lead after showing us she couldn't. [thegreatdebater]
Sarah Palin essentially committed politacal suicide by quitting as Governor with 18 months left to go in her term. She turned her back on the people of Alaska who voted for and supported her, and to the Republican party as a whole. She will be forever perceived as a quitter and how can anyone take her seriously. If the stories are true about Republican candidates not wanting her to campaign for her, they are making a wise decision. Look at how many Republican candidates distanced themselves from George W. Bush in past elections and he didn't quit. [timelord50]
I agree. Her quitting didn't make any of her die-hard supporters change their minds about her but I think it killed any chances she may have had in converting anyone else. She'll keep her base, but unfortunately for her and FORTUNATELY for the rest of us, that's not nearly enough to win a national election! Annie [anniepa]
Only time will tell,the more they degrade and smear her the more popular she will be with the conservatives,pro-lifers, Christians,parents with birth defect children,moderate republicains,gun owners,hunters,the more they talk about her the more people will talk about her,bottom line the more they talk the more she is in the news one way or the other moving their mouths they keep Governor Sarah Palin alive,hey I love it!! [kennyrose]
as a side note to Annie about her over simplification of "liberals"... I laughed only because the one republican guy I mentioned (husband of friend) is a total stoner, is pro-choice (except when voting), and a non practicing jew...must be one of those "liberal Republicans" then, eh? I usually call them hypocrites, but whatever! WEEDS is on soon...I better go round up the children so I can indoctrinate them into a more liberal lifestyle :) [JodiLynn]
Republican Women Federated of Simi Valley,California announced Palin was scheduled to speak to the group's private gala on Aug. 8 at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California. The event -- reporters will not be allowed to attend - http://www.adn.com/palin/story/862248.html [kennyrose]
If it's private it's apparently not a campaign rally but it may be a fund-raiser. So, her lucrative career as a paid speaker is about to begin. More power to her but my problem is with her not being honest with the people of Alaska who elected her governor and trying to make herself out to be totally selfless in her decision to quit - and YES, she quit, there's no way to spin it to be anything but that - and that she was going to be working for some greater good. It's her OWN greater good she's working for which is fine but just tell it like it is. Annie [anniepa]
I am an Alaskan, who voted for McCain/Palin in this last election. The media has made her something she is not. Levi, if anyone watched him on the Today show, or in his AP interview earlier this week, is a retard. Everyone in my family got over $3500 last year thanks to Sarah. She takes the money that the state makes, and gives it back to the people. As govenor, she opened up so many jobs. She is conservative, and I don't agree with some of her views, but seriously, how many of you know a politician that you agree with 100% on everything? Even though she will be missed as Gov of Alaska, I can't disagree with why she did it. She has always been about the people of Alaska, and she is unhappy about how much the state has paid on the ethics violations she has been accused of. 15 of 16 of those violations have been cleared, and the 16th one is in the process of being cleared. She doesn't want to spend her remaining term unable to do things for the state because of stupid people, so she is resigning so that Lt. Gov. Parnell can actually address issues that need to be made. If she runs for Pres, she has my vote. I mean, what can be worse that 9.65% unemployment across the nation?? Great job Obama! [happyness3]
Happyness, What first impressed me about her was how she stood up for your state. She represented the people of Alaska, not the government in D.C. She seemed to be a huge state's rights and sovereignty advocate. I look at her then I look at my pathetic puppet excuse for a governor, Mr. spineless boot licker himself John Lynch, and I almost want to cry. I'll be honest, I did not vote for her ticket in the last election, but I didn't vote for the dem's ticket either. Spend a day on this board and it quickly become apparent I have lost complete faith in either party and can't in good faith support either of them any more. Anyway, sorry for your loss up there, I hope the Lt. Governor turns out to be as good as she was. [xfahctor]
Those are 'rhinos' or repubicans in name only, that don't want Palin to stump for them. *Yawn.* [Fortunata]
"guess we know what a DINO is then, don't we" Arlene spector? [xfahctor]
I don't judge a candidate by the people who stump for them. It wouldn't matter to me who came. If you don't know what Palin's principles are, why are you so bitterly against her? [bestboy19]
Even do I am not an American. I don't see any helpful means that Palin, candidacy for the next elections. She need not be aspiring that positions because their last campaign and ideology is not best for the Americans. If she change the course I think there is some possibilities. I don't see, if she is good enough than Hillary? [aerous]
You really have a thing about Sarah Palin, don't you? How many discussions have you started about the woman? As far as having Sarah Palin campaign for any particular candidate, I suppose it would depend on that candidate's constituents. There are some areas that would love having her and others that would be appalled. [6precious102]
I know I got bored with all the Bush bashing when he was in office and even since he's left office. If you're going to be in politics, you'd better be thick skinned otherwise your time in office will get very exasperating. Obama already looks like he's starting to gray. [6precious102]
Since she has stated that she will support democrats, that could be enough to get her tossed out of the GOP. Both the GOP and Democrats have rules about supporting the others. In the county committies that I have served, there was such a rule. [General_Spacey]
I bet that it would be a Democrat that wanted to loose really bad. [General_Spacey]
The whole Palin thing has demonstrated the differences in the groups within the Republican Party more than pretty much anything else. She isn't so much a force in the party as much as in the conservative ideology. When it's announced she is going to speak somewhere, people show up. Yes, there are those who stay away, but that says a lot too. You're right, there are a lot of candidates that want to distance themselves from her.. however, no one can deny that the ONLY time McCain enjoyed any amount of success in the polls was after announcing her as his running mate. [ParaTed2k]
I won't deny that "the ONLY time McCain enjoyed any amount of success in the polls was after announcing her as his running mate" but that success was pretty short-lived, I don't think that can be denied either. Palin impressed a lot of people when she was first introduced because she was "different" from the typical politician and certainly not what anyone expected from a Republican nominee. She's a woman, she's relatively young, as far as politicians go, she's outspoken and tough. However, once most people got to know her better, and I don't just mean from what the media said about her, they found her to be too combative and divisive and not very well-prepared. Annie [anniepa]