Posted on 07/02/2009 9:30:03 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Sounds far-fetched and, to some, totally implausible. But the Republicans are losing potential candidates at a pace that is downright alarming if you believe in a healthy two-party system. The demise of John Ensign’s political career a few weeks ago and the surreal downfall of Mark Sanford last week is enough to send chills through the even the most optimistic Republican strategist. We know that of the 2008 crop, only Mitt Romney seems likely to stay on as a contender. The old stalwarts like Newt Gingrich may get a lot of press, but it is unlikely they can mount a real challenge to Obama in 2012. Yet, the presidential election of 2012 will be more than a simple coronation of Barack Obama if the economy stalls and there is no progress in two important areas: national security and healthcare.
Ballooning deficits and a sluggish economy could alter the mood of America by the time the 2010 mid-terms come up, giving hope to the GOP for the next presidential primary season. This is why Sarah Palin is maintaining a persistent media presence, whether it is debating David Letterman or being the biggest Republican draw on the lecture circuit. She clearly has her eyes set on the presidency.
The latest edition of Vanity Fair brings this possibility forward, though not in a favourable light. Journalist Todd Purdhom paints a picture of a woman with a narcissistic personality, who’s short on knowledge, disinterested in policy discussion, and not ready for primetime. In the end, the story says more about John McCain’s competence and character than it does about Palin, simply because he flubbed his most important decision as a presidential candidate. That said, Palin brought much needed energy to an otherwise lackluster campaign and, to this day, she energizes the base as no other candidate can. Could it be possible she may someday be a candidate for the presidency?
My experience tells me that no one should be written off in a hypothetical context. Barack Obama is proof positive of this. I still maintain that, without Bush, there is no Obama nomination. Palin is a street smart politician who has benefited from being underestimated most of her career. McCain’s disastrous choice may have been fatal to his electoral chances, but it brought Palin to the forefront of national attention. Since then, she has become a celebrity that transcends her party. However, if she is to be taken seriously and considered a viable contender, she needs to change the negative perceptions of her and develop a political profile that appeals to those outside her narrow base.
To do this, she must gradually reduce her exposure and begin to educate herself on the issues. She will not be ready for 2012 by remaining governor of Alaska and playing the celebrity. The GOP has too proud a tradition to have a re-run of the 2008 vice-presidential candidate. Also, the base Palin relies on for support no longer holds the sway it once did. Social conservatism is losing steam as a political movement thanks to the dubious habits of people like Gingrich, Ensign and Sanford, and the election of an African-American president as well as the increased attention paid to gay rights issues shows that Americans have begun to cast their old divisions aside. The future for the GOP lies with fiscal conservatism and strong national security policy—not with turning back the clock. Palin must embrace the values that created the Republican party in the first place—a belief in the individual, a belief in a limited role for the state, and a commitment to equality. The party of Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Eisenhower, and (the pragmatic version of) Reagan is the path to a Republican resurgence. Palin is nowhere on that radar. She is all about celebrity status and controversy.
In the lead-up to July 4, Americans usually reflect on their great democracy. Overall, it is healthy and has shown resilience through the decades. But the Republicans have to become a viable alternative for this democracy to remain vibrant. So is Palin a real possibility for 2012 or 2016? Will she someday be a formal candidate for the presidency? Most definitely. But can she ever win? Based on what we have observed so far, I would say definitely not, though politics has been known to produce some strange developments.
Here is a fairly recent thread where counterpoint is more open with his Romney shilling.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2209693/posts
Well, we may just care if one of our loved ones is killed in the name of Allah. And we may just care if our divorced dad takes another man for his lover and/or our mother embraces a lesbian.
Does caring only begin when it hits home?
Cool. Well the fireworks will be looking good tonite from there.
bump
The point still stands -— She’s NOT RUNNING. Time to look for another.
ansel12,
I gave him the benefit of the doubt but now I that you have found this, I know that he is a RINO operative.
counterpunch,
You have absolutely no credibility now and your lying words have been exposed for what they are. You’re not very good at analysis, you play fast and loose with historical events and you honestly have no idea how political events will play out. Go back to your RINO masters and tell them you failed.
He had drifted from supporting Romney to supporting Thompson for a while. Here he is in March 2008 apologizing for it.
counterpoint;
‘’”I was wrong to support Thompson. Perhaps not at first, but we were all beating a dead horse for months. That old dog wouldn’t hunt. He was much happier sitting on the porch. We all should have gotten behind Mitt sooner. I actually started out supporting Mitt long before Fred even gave entering the race any thought. I let all the anti-Mormon talk scare me. I bought into the garbage that a Mormon couldn’t get elected president. Maybe that’s true for Mitt Romney right now, but I don’t think so. But with 4 to 8 years experience as VP, his religion won’t matter when he runs to succeed McCain.
Romney has the knowledge and drive to win. Everytime I see him speak I am impressed with him. I know his abilities would bring a lot to the GOP ticket. More than anyone else I can think of. He has the personality, fund-raising abilities and economic knowledge that McCain is going to need to win in November. Romney did a good job in the end of rallying conservatives. A much better job than Thompson, as it turned out. McCain will need all of the conservatives he can get, too.”’’
Free Republic is full of "religious kooks", I am one of them. I think you're posting on the wrong website.
Thanks for electing Obama.
Huh?
Go read Goldwater’s thoughts on mixing religon and politics.
That is the reason many indepedents will not vote Republican.
Why can’t we leave Religon where it belongs which is in the Home and Church.
Souls are saved in the Church, not in Congress.
John
This country's Constitution was based on Judeo-Christian beliefs. We have people posting on FR from nearly every religious belief, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, you name it. To blame Christians and Freepers for electing Obama is disingenuous and extremely insulting.
I doubt if many Freepers would answer “yes” to the question: Does religon belong in Politcs?
John
Well until we have someone who knows the issues like Fred T and can campaign like Sarah - we’re in a tough position.
Win or lose, I believe we need to put forth the candidate who best exemplifies the standards, ideals, and direction of the party and quit trying to figure out who can get cross over democrat votes. It never happens. The way to win is to find someone who can CONVINCE dems that we are right, not someone who panders to their liberal views.
Otherwise we end up like the GOP of ‘73 - the GOP that RonaldusMaximus considered in need of a good shakeup - a GOP where we can say to the panty-waisted pandering liberals “Let them go their way.”
Why can't you mind your own business? The whole idea of church-state separation has become twisted out of whack since Thomas Jefferson wrote about it. It's original intent was that government should not sanction or regulate one religious belief over another, for instance fostering and encouraging Catholic or Muslim beliefs while outlawing Lutheran, Baptist or Mormon beliefs. It does not preclude Christians from influencing politics, and it certainly doesn't give the government the controlling authority where people can gather and pray including ones own home. If you don't believe me, there's attempts right now to outlaw home Bible studies in California, and to call public prayer hate crimes.
How is forcing religion into politics working for you?
Keeping it out of politics gave us Obama.
That makes no sense. If the Republicans have indeed been taken over by "religious kooks", it wouldn't have nominated McCain and it wouldn't have allowed Obama to roll back most of President Bush's pro-life policies. It's the secularists, humanists and these so-called "clear thinking Republicans" like Lindsay Graham and John McCain that have enabled the likes of Pelosi, Reid, Waxman and Obama, to take over huge swathes of this nation's economy and to stifle the progresses made under the previous administration on the pro-life front.
We're doomed as a nation and a culture if we just sit back and allow people in the media to constantly swoon about drug abusers like Michael Jackson as "heroes". They tug at our heart strings by saying he was a tortured soul crying for help. Well, if that was true, he wouldn't be dead, and from what I've learned these last couple weeks, people in his social circle cried out to him and he didn't listen. Some "hero".
As a pseudo-expert on the subject of narcissism...Palin shows no signs of the disorder. Obama on the other hand...textbook definition...
No it gave us Obama. Lots of people don’t like being told that they have to do what the Bible saids when it comes government polices.
It gave the msm a great propaganda tool. Goldwater said it all 25 years ago. He was right.
Goldwater use to be the Republican party. Most people today don’t even remember that.
Republicans have always been socially liberal and fiscally conservative. Lets get back to our roots, get super majorities in Congress and do another Contract with America.
I repeat. Religon belongs in the home and Church.
John
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