If Medina had truly been rising in the polls and Texans truly wanted her in the Mansion, NOTHING would’ve stopped that from happening. As we all know polls can be deceptive. You are talking Texas here...we are not easily deceived by much of anybody. NO, you can’t blame Sarah Palin for Medina’s demise...you can credit that one up to Glenn Beck...Medina cratered herself when she wouldn’t take a stance on the 9/11 Truther issue, and then of course she flip-flopped on the immigration issue. Try to pull the other leg.
You can’t get around the fact that Madina was the only conservative in the race and Sarah didn’t endorse her. Nor can you get around the fact that Sarah’s endorsement and support would have helped her.
Election morning Jeff Bolton on KLIF was pushing hard for Madina but huge numbers of callers were scared that a vote for her would just give the nomination to Hutchison. They held their noses and voted for Perry because he was a little more conservative than Hutchison.
I was driving a get out the vote van that day picking up Madina voters and driving them to the polls. More than half of them told me a husband or wife would have liked to vote for Madina but were scared of letting Hutchison get the nomination.
Sarah’s endorsement would have helped eliminate those fears. Sarah’s endorsement is more powerful than you seem to think. Here in Texas she has a loyal following.
Nobody can convince me that her endorsement of the conservative in the race wouldn’t have helped the conservative. Sarah’s endorsement carries a lot of weight here.