Posted on 07/21/2010 3:47:17 PM PDT by neverdem
Sarah Palin got some push-back Wednesday, but not from one of her liberal critics in the "mainstream" media. No, it was a conservative -- and influential -- New Hampshire newspaper that tartly dismissed the former Alaska governor's recent endorsement of U.S. Senate candidate Kelly Ayotte.
In a front-page editorial, New Hampshire Union Leader Publisher Joseph W. McQuaid wrote that Palin's endorsement should "neither surprise nor upset the other campaigns" since voters in the state are "rarely impressed by what outsiders have to say."
Better pay attention: in a state that traditionally hosts the first presidential primary -- and will again in 2012 -- the Manchester newspaper wields considerable clout, particularly among Republican voters.
Palin, the 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate, "isn't making these endorsements because, as she claims, she had spent time in New Hampshire and thus knows that the people here are a lot like Alaskans. She spent a few hours here one day during the 2008 presidential election. That's still more time than she spent getting to know Ayotte, but it takes quite a lot longer to know New Hampshire," McQuaid said in the editorial. The publisher called Ayotte a formidable, legitimate contender in a four-person race for the GOP Senate nomination. But he advised other candidates: "Don't fret over what a 'Mama Grizzly' from Alaska does. Right now, Granite Staters have more to worry about in keeping bears away from bird feeders."
In a Facebook posting, Palin praised Ayotte as a "Mama Grizzly" and said she was the "strongest common-sense conservative who can win in the fall."
Ayotte, the former New Hampshire attorney general, is well financed and the front-runner in polls heading into the Sept. 14 Republican Senate primary. Rep. Paul Hodes (D-N.H.) is the likely Democratic nominee in a contest to succeed Sen. Judd Gregg, (R-N.H.), who chose not to seek a fourth term.
Did she endorse another open-borders RINO like McCain?
Incoming!!!
It’s a shame that the word “conservative” has to be qualified with “common-sense”.
Remember when a conservative was a conservative? Now we have Compassionate Conservatives, Fiscal Conservatives, Common-Sense Conservatives, etc.
The Union Leader stopped being a Conservative paper in 2000.
Suck it up, folk.
Sarah paddles her own canoe.
Nothing new here.
Yep, you are right ... My Wife worked there a long time ago. But when Loeb died ... poof and look there was a RINO.
A real conservative has common sense naturally.
It is becoming tiresome, repetitive and means nothing.
“The Union Leader stopped being a Conservative paper in 2000.”
Oh?
Remember when a conservative was a conservative? Now we have Compassionate Conservatives, Fiscal Conservatives, Common-Sense Conservatives, etc.
—
That is true too..
I’m shocked that a conservative paper even exists in the Northeast.. :-]
I don’t know Kelly Ayotte, but some of the Freepers on an earlier thread did not speak well of her.
Conservatism IS common sense. What's the problem?
Yes, but to be fair, 90% Conservative used to be acceptably Conservative. Also, back in the day of Reagan, people weren't excommunicated for things like endorsements. Do you recognize how many Freepers would have refused to vote for Reagan after amnesty, or for that matter, choosing Bush for a V.P.?
These days, even at FR, candidates like Hayworth, Palin, Rubio, Haley, Coats, Ayotte, Rand Paul, and more than a few others get blasted as traitors, RINOs, etc.
I stick to the 90% rule - I'll take any of the above any day. Also, stances on issues mean 1,000,000 times more to me than whether or not Palin endorsed Fiorina, or Hunter endorsed McCain, or DeMint endorsed Graham. I love every damn one of those folks, still.
-—”It is becoming tiresome, repetitive and means nothing”-—
So is Palin bashing, but I doubt that’ll stop you.
New Hampshire should no longer be thought of as a conservative state...according to former Governor Sununu; more people are moving out than moving in fior the first time in 40 years. NH = Boston suburb, and getting worse.
That's the point. It's a pitch to people who don't consider themselves conservative. It's telling these people that conservatism IS common sense (and the liberalism isn't).
According to her website her views on immigration mirror Palin's - secure the border, enforce the laws, and not a clue on what to do with those already here.
I completely agree. I agree with just about everything Palin stands for, but I have to confess she grates on me sometimes. I don’t like “common sense conservative” and the whole “mama grizzly” thing is really off-putting. That said, I do support her and wish her the best, but I wish she would drop some of that business.
Bring it on. Can you tell me what a common sense conservative is? Tell me, what is it? McCain? FioRINO? Linseed? Maybe Bachmann?
Words mean something. Or they should. Slogans are like HopenChange.
The Union Leader, which was so instrumental to Reagan’s success in 1980, and backed his strong showing in 1976 as well, has fallen from the high place it once held in Conservatives’ esteem. Joe McQuaid isn’t fit to carry Bill Loeb’s briefcase.
The Union Leader can’t move the needle at all anymore. But Sarah Palin sure can. And she will do it in NH.
If Loeb and his wife were still alive, the Union Leader would be trumpeting her endorsement of Kelly Ayotte. And the Union Leader would be promoting Palin 24/7 just as they did Reagan.
Her endorsement is a huge boost for Ayotte and means she will easily crush her primary opponents and then dispatch the hapless Dem Hodes in November.
And Palin will have yet one more ally in a key early state. And the beat goes on.
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.