Posted on 01/28/2012 11:56:58 AM PST by reformjoy
Editorial by John Ziegler
Does Sarah Palin Want Obama Reelected?
1/28/2012
We certainly live in bizarre times and everyone knows that politics makes for strange bedfellows. But the fact that as of late I (the guy who spent over two years being probably her strongest defender) have been one of the very few on the right pointing out the absurdity and hypocrisy of recent Sarah Palin’s public statements, shows exactly how close we indeed may be to the apocalypse.
Palin’s latest Facebook salvo is targeting the Republican “establishment cannibals” for using “Alinsky” tactics against Newt Gingrich in the run up to the Florida primary. Her main objection appears to be that those who have questioned Gingrich’s ties to Ronald Reagan have done so inappropriately and are effectively doing the work of the left.
The layers of silliness here are at least at multiple as those of snow in the frozen Alaskan icecap this time of year.
First, it was Newt Gingrich who raised the issue, constantly tying himself to Reagan and his accomplishments in almost every other bombastic breath. He made this topic an issue. No one else did that.
Second, those who have questioned whether the facts really back up the impression created by Newt that he is the last remaining heir to Reagan are hardly part of any Republican “establishment.” What the heck is the “Republican Establishment” anyway? Who are these people? Not even specifying who you are talking about makes you seen like a tin foil wearing conspiracy theorist.
So, because a few people who actually knew Reagan (unlike Palin who had barely graduated college by the end of the Gipper’s second term) have written articles which would have been largely ignored if they had been linked at the Drudge Report, this is so how evidence the work of a dark, shadowy “establishment”?
And how in the world is Matt Drudge part of any establishment? Anyone who has followed him closely (I used to fill in for him on his old radio show and have studied his tendencies extensively from multiple perspectives) knows he isn’t even a political person He is a brilliant business man, but his incredibly soft treatment of Obama during the 2008 primaries proves that he really couldn’t care less who wins elections from an ideological perspective.
And what about Drudge’s pal Ann Coulter who has also led the charge to tell the truth about Newt? Calling her part of the Republican Establishment is more hilarious than saying that about Drudge. She has made her very commercial career on being anything but “establishment.”
Palin goes on to defend Newt from the specific (and largely politically insignificant) allegation that he exaggerates his Reagan ties with an “argument” so thin it makes her 2008 attempt to explain her foreign policy credentials seem substantive by comparison.
She says that because Nancy Reagan once, while being extremely polite to Newt who was in attendance, sort of (not really if you look closely at the statement) proclaimed that “Ronnie” passed the “torch” to “Newt” and the other House Republicans who led the 1994 take over, that this is somehow proof that Newt is impervious to criticism here. Then she says that because Reagan’s step-son Michael and biggest fan, Rush Limbaugh, like Newt and condemn these “attacks,” that they must not be true (By the way, aren't Rush and Drudge also pals? How does this fit into the anti-Newt conspiracy?).
Even more laughable than this intellectual house of cards is how Palin simultaneously suggests that going after Newt like this is inappropriate, but that “vetting” Mitt Romney and his finances for as long as possible is good for the cause of beating Obama. Her “thinking” here is that because Democrats will surely use the issue of his wealth against him if he is the nominee, we need to make sure he can withstand the onslaught.
This might make some sense if Romney hadn’t already addressed the issue as much as he reasonably can and if Newt Gingrich hadn’t single-handedly legitimized this line of attack for the media/left, practically serving it up them on an envy-plated silver (certainly not gold) platter.
Now, to be fair, if there is a “Republican Establishment,” the former presidential nominees would certainly qualify and John McCain and Bob Dole have certainly been outspoken about the obvious electoral dangers of nominating the clearly unelectable Gingrich. But since when is actual knowledge about how the process works a disqualifier for your opinions?
And wait a minute; I thought Palin said people who knew Reagan should believed, so why are the far more numerous former colleagues (not to mention wives!) of Newt somehow discredited in their observations about him? Then, of course, there is the most obvious flaw in this entire theory: When did “Mr. Establishment” Newt Gingrich suddenly somehow become the anti-establishment candidate?
Palin simply isn’t being consistent in any of this, but it isn’t because she is stupid (as I have always said, she is most certainly not dumb). I believe her motivation is actually far more troubling than that.
There is no way that someone whose biggest issues in this cycle have been: combating “crony capitalism,” promoting “life,” beating Obama and overturning Obamacare, could possibly really favor the guy who got paid $1.6 million by Freddie Mac to be an “historian,” has zero chance to win the election, and had been in favor of a federal healthcare mandate for twenty years, especially when Mr. Pro-life (with a special needs child, no less) Rick Santorum is still viably in the race. It just makes no sense.
This brings me to my most important and surely controversial point regarding Palin’s latest attempt to endorse Newt without actually saying the magic words.
Could someone please tell me what her personal incentive is for President Obama to be defeated?
I would suggest that there is absolutely none.
If Romney beats Obama she is immediately irrelevant. Her entire purpose at this point is to throw bombs at a liberal President with whom she is obviously linked through her 2008 VP run. Not only would there be no one left in power for her to be the brunette Ann Coulter against, but her chapter of American history also becomes instantly ancient.
Even worse than that, unless she decides to go completely rogue and humiliate herself by being Romney’s primary opponent in 2016, she would have no, even theoretical, next political act until 2020 at the very earliest. That will not be nearly enough to sustain her career as a commentator/speaker/author at anything near its current levels.
So the only logical explanation for Palin’s bizarre “endorsement” of Gingrich is that she knows that he can’t win and that she is using him to create this false narrative of an evil “establishment” keeping the noble Tea Party down (explain to me again how Newt is remotely “Tea Party”?), like they somehow did in those Palin-induced Senate losses in Delaware and Nevada in 2010.
I don’t know if she really thinks Newt can win the nomination (which would obviously help her in both the short and long runs), but she clearly sees no downside to creating as much damage to Romney as possible. This whole effort is nothing more than a branding/career move for Sarah Palin.
At one point she might have deserved the benefit of the doubt that she was just "misguided," but her clearly cynical presidential "tease" last year ended any ambiguity about her true motives now.
That is what makes this whole thing so incredibly ironic. In so vehemently questioning the credibility of the “establishment,” she has revealed that she has a massive conflict of interest herself and should no longer be trusted on the issue of this presidential primary.
That whole argument is ridiculous. If Romney is the nominee Obama wins by between 12-15 points, I think most people know that. Romney is a Democrat with an R next to his name, would he a slight improvement over Obama, yes, but heck even Soros says they are both the same
Romney is as much a Republican as Michael Bloomberg. /s
Sarah Palin and others, including FReepers, are simply doing what Bob Grant and this Zeigler guy is doing. They are picking and defending their candidate and ignoring all of their obvious flaws.
For Grant or Zeigler to accuse Palin of wanting Obama re-elected, sound familiar?, because she doesn’t like their guy is ludicrous.
The fact is that both candidates ARE flawed, Romney might as well be Obama (not even worth considering, IMO) and Newt is capable of flipping 180 on big issues like Individual mandates, global warming, amnesty and whatnot.
Just because someone has decided the other guy is more electable doesn’t mean they support Obama. Just because they don’t like either also doesn’t mean they support Obama.
That is my opinion and I want Obama gone yesteryear!
Sure, he's ‘establishment’ for the Republicans in the mid 1990’s. Since then, we've had George W Bush's big government spending, McCain's presidential crash and burn, and all this time, their people getting higher and higher in state party offices, getting more influence from ‘packaging’ donations to the candidate for president, etc.
Mitt Romney will keep those same players in the game, as he's helped them over the years, and they're paying back that support with support now. Newt Gingrich's team has no need of them, and likely will dismiss most of them, as they've acted against Newt in the primaries.
This, actually, is what is meant when talking about ‘the establishment’ in Republican politics. The same bastards who mock the TEA party conservatives, who think a balanced budget is one that can lay on supersized dining table, who have no problem making more and more mandates from Washington to cement their power.
Is Newt some outside radical? Of course he is, compared to what's inside right now. Is he electable? I mean, come on, we got a half-white guy in the White House who has pretty much done nothing with his whole life. Apparently qualifications are pretty thin when it comes to winning the White House.
FUJZ!!
Yeah, and Benedict Arnold was a hero to the cause too, before he betrayed it!!
REBELLION IS ON!!
Go, Sarah!!
Go, Newt!!
Go, tea party rebellion!!
So says another establishment mouse.
(yawn)
Thanks reformjoy.
John Ziegler is a moron and isn’t worth reading.
EVER
This looks like a Hillary Clinton supporter posting troll material
The GOP elites and their backers are proud of what they are. There’s no shame or reservation in what they do. Fine by me. I’ll have no shame when I get the opportunity to set things right. None!
“So the only logical explanation for Palin’s bizarre “endorsement” of Gingrich is that she knows that he can’t win and that she is using him to create this false narrative of an evil “establishment” keeping the noble Tea Party down (explain to me again how Newt is remotely “Tea Party”?), like they somehow did in those Palin-induced Senate losses in Delaware and Nevada in 2010.”
I have to think about this. Could Sarah Palin be so devious?
And being a commentator on FOX news (called here at FR “FAUX” NEWS), isn’t Sarah Palin a member of both the Establishment and the hated Media Elites?
Yeah, thanks for NUTHIN.
Hit piece trying to take Sarah down yet again ..... her comments have not been helpful to Romney. I saw something (can't remember where) that seemed to tie some of Romney's current advisors into the attempt to destroy her a couple of years ago - Romney needed her out of the way so she couldn't challenge him. I'm trying to find something on this, but no luck so far.
>> Does Sarah Palin Want Obama Reelected?
Take your BS premise, and go pound sand.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.