Palin Factor Starts To Emerge in GOP Race

The New York Sun ^ | January 20, 2012 | Benyamin Korn, Special to The Sun

[2ndDivisionVet]

Who is the leader of the “Not-Romney” movement within today’s GOP?

Is it Newt Gingrich, whose surge in the South Carolina opinion polls puts him within striking distance of front-runner Mitt in tomorrow’s vote?

Is it Ron Paul, whose dedicated core of “hard-money” but isolationist supporters gives him 15 to 20% in every Republican contest?

Or is it Rick Santorum, recently endorsed by a raft of Christian evangelical leaders?

For my dollar, the leader is Sarah Palin, whose endorsements continue to carry more weight among conservatives than any other national figure and who is well-positioned to play a king-making role in the 2012 elections similar to her “Mama Grizzly” performance guiding the Republican surge in 2010.

How did this happen? She’s not running. She’s in Alaska. Since declaring herself a non-candidate at the beginning of October, Mrs. Palin has kept a pretty low profile.

Until recently, her main contribution to the political discourse was castigation of “Congressional insider trading,”a practice exposed by one of her SarahPac advisors, Hudson Institute fellow Peter Schweitzer, in a new book called “Throw Them All Out.” That expose gave rise to competing Congressional reform bills, the best of which would make it illegal for Federal legislators to routinely do what Raj Rajaratnam.

Before that, at a much-noted speech to Iowa Tea Partiers back in August, Mrs. Palin the political wordsmith injected “crony capitalism” into the public discussion. That phrase has captured the corrupt connivance between Big Business and Big Government which challenged the anti-business protestations of the “Occupy” crowd....

[Venturer]

I don’t believe Palin actually endorsed Gingrich, she only said I would vote for him if I were allowed to vote in SC.

Newt has made some great debates, and he has scored big in them. I credit most of his rise in SC to those debates, and Newt.

Certainly a few voters may have come on board because of her statement, but I give more credit to Newt and the debates.

[tiger63]

I vote that we have another idiot lurking about!

[taildragger]

Palin is wearing her high-heels and dancing La Cucaracha on the testicles of the GOP.

Correction...

Palin is wearing her high-heels and dancing La Cucaracha on the testicles of the GOP Establishment, The RINO Punditry Class, and the Apparatchik Minions within (and including Willard) the Romney Campaign that have had it out for her since the Fall of 08'.

Revenge is a dish served cold, and where she is from she knows cold.

I think she has just begun serving some of it up....

[Friendofgeorge]

Phony baloney Nikki Haley was asked about the Palin Factor by Gretta Van.... last night, the pathetic NH said she has seen or heard nothing about Sarah Palin, but went on to say she was a dear friend??? Some friend, what a joke!!

Ya NH and MB and Sarah are all dear friends...LOL

I hope NH is thrown out of office first chance SC voters get.

[Friendofgeorge]

Newt was asked about Sarah`s semi endorsement, he stated that it was easy to see the impact, it was very real (paraphrasing from memory)

[Friendofgeorge]

In denial I see

[Friendofgeorge]

well said, there are a number on this thread that could wear the handle you so well chose

[doberville]

Which one?

[BobL]

Good article. I’m not in SC, but between Newt and Santorum, it is a tough call. Newt’s personal life is yucky, his politics were good when he ran the House, but he goes off the shoulder every now and then (to say the least) - but then Newt seems able to attack the bad guys (i.e., media, Dems, etc.). Rick, at least in my book, was a good conservative in the Senate - on close votes he was ALWAYS with the conservatives (unlike the real RINOs). Once in a while he vote local (like protecting unions, something understandable, somewhat, in PA), and he did support his president...even for big government. But I don’t remember any votes where Clinton wanted something passed and Santorum was supporting him and angering the base. So, to me, he would have done well as president. But Rick was boring and it wasn’t clear if he had the stomach to take on Obama - something that McCain CLEARLY was not up to in 2008.

But then Sarah spoke, and that was it for me. It was Newt all the way, and I’m not even a big Sarah person. There’s just something about her guidance when the two remaining viable candidates are that close to each other.

[rfreedom4u]

I believe Palin could best serve as the head of a department. I’d pick her to head the Dept of Energy and give her a deadline of two years to downsize it to a small office to monitor (but not interfere) with the states’ departments of energy. Also to fill the national reserves with oil until completely stocked. Make the oil companies drill and turn over 90% of all federal land to the states.

[LoveUSA]

It’s funny watching people click on Palin threads to call her irrelevant.

The only way to shift this thread from the ensuing vitriol for Sarah Palin.... mention Joe Paterno.

[APatientMan]

“The only way to shift this thread from the ensuing vitriol for Sarah Palin.... mention Joe Paterno. “

LOL.

Good advice. Thanks

[hawgwalker]

You are right. She would have said Santorum if he had been running closer at the time..........the goal is to make the later primaries relevant. We don't want a TKO in the 3 round.

I bet tonight when Palin is giving her take she will make that clearer.

[faucetman]

“I think that a Rubio or Allen West might be a better choice (for Newt) for VP.”

Allen West would be GREAT! Rubio is ineligible since he is not a Natural Born Citizen.

Amendment 12
“........But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States.”

U.S. Constitution: Article II, Section 1, Clause 5.

“No person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty-five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.”

Good guys or bad guys alike, we MUST stand up for the Constitution. Don't like it? AMEND IT. Until then it is the supreme law of the land.

[faucetman]

“She would have said Santorum if he had been running closer at the time”

HUH? you know this how?

[FrankR]

[hawgwalker]

No inside knowledge, I started to write she would have chosen whoever was running close to Romney but then there is Paul.

[mountn man]

but now that Sarah is endorsing Newt, as well as Chuck Norris...

She's endorsing both?...I didn't know Chuck was running for anything.

[mountn man]

Instead of Department of Energy, give her the EPA. So much of what the EPA does affects energy anyway.

Being from Alaska with a STRONG outdoors interest, that would much more be her passion.

She'd hit 2 birds with one stone. Improve REAL environmental issues and improve our energy.

[Down South P.E.]

“that kinda, sorta” endorsement seems to have had an impact in South Carolina today based on my conversation with people.....it did on me....I couldn’t make up my mind between Newt or Santorum....