Sarah Palin Determining Factor In VA GOP Primary

The Examiner ^ | August 6, 2011 | Khelil Bouarrouj

[2ndDivisionVet]

A new survey by Public Policy Polling simply concludes, "The Presidential primary in Virginia depends greatly on whether or not Sarah Palin enters the race."

Palin has enough support that were she to enter or absent would be decisive in the votes the rest of the field secures. If Palin stays out of the race, Michele Bachmann, who appeals to the same Tea Party faction that Palin champions, would take the lead with 21% followed by Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Mitt Romney at 18%.

If Palin does run, she'll chip away at Bachmann's base and push Perry into the lead with 20%, followed by Romney at 16% and Bachmann falling to third at 15%. Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Tim Pawlenty and Jon Huntsman remain unaffected by Palin either way. Each candidate maintains his respective position, roughly, no matter the circumstances. (Full survey).

In neither case does Palin lead, but by choosing to not join the GOP candidates she could determine the race. Virginia's Republican primary is usually held in the first half of the season, often in mid-February.

The GOP candidates will duke it out, but their goal is a shared one: defeating President Obama. And here all declared or probable candidates share a similar fate as well: defeat in November 2012.

[2ndDivisionVet]

How can this be? I've been told by numerous pundits and people here that she is "finished," a "quitter," "unelectable," "idiotic," etc, etc...

[Huck]

The article indicates she’s a spoiler who trails both Perry and Bachmann.

[LaybackLenny]

This article is OBVIOUSLY incorrect. Palin is a RINO who is on absolutely NO ONE'S political radar. She is irrelevant.

Oh yeah, almost forgot...(/sarc)

[gov_bean_ counter]

This article assumes that Bachmann will be able to scrape up enough cash to stay in that long. Don't see it.

[2ndDivisionVet]

Then the author imbibed on too much happy smoke last night.

[LS]

Don't know why you're gloating about this: it says she would prompt the election of a less conservative Perry over a more conservative Bachmann, who, by the way, HAS put herself out there, IN the campaign, ON the trail.

Course, Palin is "just waiting for the right time," as everyone keeps saying. I heard this was the 4th of July. I heard it was the 1st of August. Now it's Labor Day. Pretty soon it will be Valentine's Day, or whatever. I give kudos to Bachmann and Cain for actually being IN the race right now.

[Huck]

Did the author misreport the polling results?

[jla]

A new survey by Public Policy Polling

Public Policy Polling is *now* reputable - and Sarah Palin's Traveling Freak Show continues on.

[2ndDivisionVet]

PPP is a far-left democratic polling firm, often used by Daily Kos. Are you seriously going to defend them? My point was that even a pollster like that cannot deny Gov. Palin’s influence.

[2ndDivisionVet]

Did you know that then former Governor Ronald Reagan waited until November 13th, 1979 to announce his candidacy for the Republican nomination for president of the United States in the 1980 election?

[MestaMachine]

And you are still a rude, pathological jerk.

[advertising guy]

got that dumbass gene huh

[Huck]

You’re trying to have it both ways. Either the polling is relevant, in which case Palin is shown to be a spoiler at best, or the polling isn’t relevant, in which case your initial comment regarding this article is nonsense.

[Tanniker Smith]

In neither case does Palin lead,

Dude ... in one of those cases, she isn't even in, so how could she lead?
Learn to write more goodly, will ya?

[2ndDivisionVet]

There are leftist media pundits and bloggers that don’t attack her as much as some people here. Don’t you find that amazing?

[Logic n' Reason]

Sarah Palin's Traveling Freak Show

Just so I know....would you please define this phrase for me?

Thanks

[2ndDivisionVet]

I take it you are addressing the author, Khelil Bouarrouj. That’s not even close to my name and I didn’t write this article.

[JaguarXKE]

Go sell crazy somewhere else!

[Tanniker Smith]

Yes, I picked up this habit over the past decade from other Freepers of addressing the writer in a response to the first post. Not that that writer will ever see it . .

[LS]

You mean after he'd already come within a hair once of winning (76) and had led in total votes in 1988? Quite a difference, don't you think? He had an organization, had already received the support of major state leaders (and himself came from the largest delegate-rich state in the nation---hardly the case with Palin), and had laid the groundwork with the political party organizations for years, not months. Palin has yet to do that at all. We've been down this road before. You keep moving the goalposts as to when she'll announce.

Meanwhile, I'm still seeing nothing on the ground here of any Palin presence in OH; I've already shown you that "Palin friendly" states come early in the process and she apparently has no big presence in SC or VA (which lost half its delegates).

Don't get me wrong, the same issues afflict Perry, except that he has the built-in delegate rich Texas to back him up. But meanwhile Bachmann has put herself out there, is actually running, but she's not worthy of your support?