Obama's ex-chief of staff: The GOP’s dysfunction all started with Sarah Palin

Business Insider ^ | 10/26/2015 | William M. Daley

[SeekAndFind]

When The Post's front page declares: "Republicans are on the verge of ceasing to function as a national party," it's time to ask: How did this come to pass?

You can choose from a litany of insurrections, government shutdowns and other self-inflicted wounds.

But this year's carnival-like GOP presidential primary makes one event, in retrospect, stand out as a crucial turning point on the road to upheaval: the 2008 embrace of then-Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to be a heartbeat from the presidency.

Palin's blatant lack of competence and preparedness needs no belaboring. What's critical is that substantive, serious Republican leaders either wouldn't or couldn't declare, before or after the election: "This is not what our party stands for. We can and must do better."

By the campaign's end, GOP operatives were shielding Palin from even the simplest questions. (She had flunked "what newspapers do you read?"). Barack Obama cruised to victory.

Palin became a Fox News fixture, reinforcing the newly formed tea party's "never compromise" demands. Bombast, not reason, reigned. Now the "settle for flash" aura of Palin's candidacy looks like a warning that the party was prizing glib, red-meat rhetoric over reasoned solutions.

Sadly, Palin owes her fame to 2008 presidential nominee John McCain, who is generally one of the party's more thoughtful and substantive veterans.

[Resolute Conservative]

Mr. Daley is a moron.

[smalltownslick]

Upheaval was necessary!

[Slyfox]

This is a real good example of the democraps war on women.

[MNJohnnie]

Right! The GOP is in danger but the 0 Democrats who have lost just about every election at every level since 2008 except the 2012 Presidential election are just fine.

Do the Leftist realize how stupid this sort of propaganda makes them look?

[so_real]

We are a little older than that. Perhaps more accurate to say the current GOP-E was first troubled by Reagan. Sarah Palin re-ignited that flame. And Ted Cruz is tending the fire. God bless them all.

[fella]

I disagree. It started when the GOPe ate of the fruit of progressivism and started lining their pockets with donors money.

[Diogenesis]

Nonsense.

The antiPalin BS began with Mitt Romney's jealousy.

FLASHBACK:

The McCain/Palin ticket was up ++4 to 10 pts
in some polls, days prior to Election 2008.
So rather than helping the GOP, Romney and
TeamROMNEY and the RNME (Republican National Media Establishment)
decided …to attack Gov. Palin to throw Election2008.

Romney, working FOR Obama in 2008

Late in October, The American Spectator's The Prowler revealed:
"Former Mitt Romney presidential campaign staffers…
have been involved in spreading anti-Palin spin to reporters, seeking to diminish her standing after the election.
'Sarah Palin is a lightweight, she won't be the first, not even the third, person people will think of when it comes to 2012,'
says one former Romney aide…
'The only serious candidate ready to challenge to lead the Republican Party is Mitt Romney.
"Some former Romney aides were behind the recent leaks to media, including CNN, that Governor Sarah Palin was a 'diva' and was going off message intentionally."

---

The Palmetto Scoop reported: "One of the first stories to hit the national airwaves was
the claim of a major internal strife between close McCain aides and the folks handling his running mate Sarah Palin."
"I’m told by very good sources that this was indeed the case and that a rift had developed, but it was between Palin’s people and the staffers brought on from the failed presidential campaign of former Gov. Mitt Romney, not McCain aides."
"The sources said nearly 80 percent of Romney’s former staff was absorbed by McCain and these individuals were responsible for what amounts to a premeditated, last-minute sabotage of Palin."
… aides loyal to Romney inside the McCain campaign, said The Scoop, reportedly saw
that Palin would be a serious contender for the Republican nomination in 2012 or 2016, which made her a threat to another presidential quest by Romney.

---

"These staffers are now out trying to finish her off ….hoping it would ingratiate themselves with Mitt Romney."

---

"Who's the Palin Leaker from the McCain Campaign?
National Review Online The publication of a Vanity Fair profile of Sarah Palin
appears to have opened old wounds in the McCain campaign.
... the source of the “Diva” leak was Nicolle Wallace’s husband."

---

"Peeking Out From the McCain Wreckage: Mitt Romney"

"Someone's got to say it: IS MITT ROMNEY RESPONSIBLE FOR OBAMA'S VICTORY?"

"Vanity: Team Romney Sabotaged Palin and Continuing to Do So?"

"Romney Supporters Trashing Palin"

"Romney advisors sniping at Palin?"

---

[TBP]

Never mind that when Sarah joined the ticket, McCain surged to the lead — until he went to DC and stopped campaigning to vote for the bailout.

Never mind that this battle was going on when Sarah Palin was a little girl.

Beat up the woman. Yeah, that’s the ticket.

[Slyfox]

The only reason why McCain did as well as he did was because of Palin. If a true conservative had not been on the ticket he would have lost HUGE and not just the election.

[Paladin2]

"John McCain, who is generally one of the party's more thoughtful and substantive veterans."

Pure Progressive Piffle.

[Cowboy Bob]

But the democrats are doing fine, running an unindicted crook and a socialist for president...

How does their bench look? Who will they run in 2020 if they don’t win the next election?

[Genoa]

PDS isn’t a GOP dysfunction. Nice try, though.

[polymuser]

The cognitive dissonance runs deep in that writer.

[Dilbert San Diego]

Palin’s blatant lack of competence and preparedness needs no belaboring.

---

I get frustrated at statements such as these. How was Palin incompetent and not prepared to be the vice-president??? Yet Hillary Clinton is somehow the most qualified person to ever run for president, if you listen to certain liberals. What exactly are the criteria for judgement????

[JLAGRAYFOX]

Question.....And Obama has been competent? Really LMAO!!!

[MrB]

It comes down to the left’s incomprehension of why anyone who wants to dismantle an entity would seek to be in charge of it.

Funny that they can’t understand that given the reality of Barack Hussein Obama.

[butlerweave]

If dysfunction wins you Bus Loads of seats ,then bring it on

[Norm Lenhart]

Considering how many supposedly right wing conservatives said the same thing for several years, I think they have an audience for it. An audience of idiots I’ll grant you. But they do have a lot of people right on FR in total agreement. See “Palin Derangement Syndrome”. And thats here. So you can imagine how many in the real world are on board as well.