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You Betcha I Was Wrong About Sarah Palin
Daily Beast ^ | 01/28/2015 | Matt Lewis

Posted on 01/28/2015 12:15:17 PM PST by SeekAndFind

It’s time to admit that, whatever their motivation was at the time, the Alaska governor’s critics always had a point. Has conservative genuflection at the altar of Sarah Palin finally come to a halt?

In case you missed it, her speech in Iowa this week was not well received on the right. The Washington Examiner’s Byron York called it a “long, rambling, and at times barely coherent speech” and National Review’s Charles C.W. Cooke said she slipped into self-parody. And there’s more. The Examiner’s Eddie Scarry, for example, contacted several conservative bloggers who were once Palin fans, but have since moved on.

But here’s my question… what changed?

Yes, in 2008, Sarah Palin delivered one of the finest convention speeches I’ve ever heard (trust me, I was there), but she hasn’t exactly been channeling Winston Churchill ever since. Remember her big speech at CPAC a couple of years ago? You know, the one where she took a swig out of a Big Gulp and said of her husband Todd: “He’s got the rifle, I got the rack.” Not exactly a great moment in political rhetoric.

So why is anyone surprised when, this weekend, she said: “‘The Man,’ can only ride ya when your back is bent?”

Demosthenes, she is not, but there’s nothing new about Palin’s penchant for populism or lowbrow rhetoric. What does feel new is that she has finally gotten around to roundly losing conservative opinion leaders. (OK, this has been a long time coming. In 2011, Conor Friedersdorf noted that the hard right was skewering Palin, and that Kathleen Parker had been vindicated. And as recently as this past April, I wondered whether it was finally safe for conservatives to criticize her publicly.

(Excerpt) Read more at thedailybeast.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 2016; 2016electionbias; catfight; conservatism; dailybeast; fakefreepers; getpalin; gope; iowafreedomsummit; mattlewis; memebuilding; palin; palinspeech; pds; romney2016; sarahpalin; teamromney
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To: gdani
Exactly. Talk about "moving on." She already has, her critics have not. In case some people have not noticed, she is a private citizen and can do what she wants, owing nothing to anybody.
41 posted on 01/28/2015 12:41:37 PM PST by hinckley buzzard
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To: Boogieman
Well, I for one soured on her when she did the whole “maybe I’ll run/maybe I won’t run” dance in 2012.

Then there's her defense of John McCain, which I found reprehensible and [honestly] chock full of lies.

42 posted on 01/28/2015 12:41:54 PM PST by OneWingedShark (Q: Why am I here? A: To do Justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with my God.)
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To: NorthstarMom
“Maybe also because I’ve been told many times that I look like her ;).”

Big deal. I don't know how many times I've been told I'm as handsome as Abe Lincoln.

43 posted on 01/28/2015 12:43:14 PM PST by CrazyIvan (I lost my phased plasma rifle in a tragic hovercraft accident.)
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To: EQAndyBuzz
Sarah Palin will be is this generation's Phyllis Schlafly.

FIFY

44 posted on 01/28/2015 12:43:21 PM PST by sparklite2
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To: ClearCase_guy

“I still like Palin a lot, but if SHE isn’t sure she should be president, it makes it hard for others to think she should be.”

Pretty much. If you want to figure out whether you should run, you could form a committee and do some polling/caucuses like all the other candidates. Don’t get peoples hopes up and then dash them, especially as we are in such desperate straits these days.


45 posted on 01/28/2015 12:44:34 PM PST by Boogieman
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To: KC_Lion

Notice that a lot of “serious “ potential candidates spoke at the Summit but they aren’t getting attack from the left and the Establishment who have their favorites or getting hit pieces targeting them from the media

Strange that only the joke, the ‘reality show’, the idiot is getting the attacks. Maybe because the joke can win, maybe because the idiots message will resonate once she competes against one of their precious candidate be it left or the right (moderate right)


46 posted on 01/28/2015 12:44:55 PM PST by Bigtigermike (R)
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To: Sarah Barracuda
Sarah Palin gave a great and very well received speech, irrespective of the spin Liberals are trying to give it.
This is the time for Sarah Palin and her good, clean government platform. She is clear, competent, and confident.
Mz Clinton is out of the picture getting her face lift tweaked and the Liberal Mainstream Republicans do not have a majority to allow putative male Republicans to pee while they are standing up.
Sarah Palin is the best and most articulate leader of the Conservative movement.
Honest government, lower taxes for everyone, a sane foreign policy are all positives for Sarah Palin.
TWB
47 posted on 01/28/2015 12:46:03 PM PST by TWhiteBear (Sarah Palin, the Flame of the North)
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To: NorthstarMom

Are you from Lake Tahoe?


48 posted on 01/28/2015 12:47:47 PM PST by gaijin
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To: gdani

So what’s the problem with her building her brand? Every other pol does it without criticism.


49 posted on 01/28/2015 12:47:51 PM PST by miss marmelstein (Richard the Third: Loyalty Binds Me)
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To: gdani

You sound just like a N.Y. Liberal..........


50 posted on 01/28/2015 12:49:01 PM PST by Osage Orange (I have strong feelings about gun control. If there's a gun around, I want to be controlling it.)
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To: Bigtigermike; Jim Robinson; KC_Lion
Strange that only the joke, the ‘reality show’, the idiot is getting the attacks. Maybe because the joke can win, maybe because the idiots message will resonate once she competes against one of their precious candidate be it left or the right (moderate right).

Also, strange that FR has been stacked in recent years with not only PDSers but also new Palin political flamers.

Does anyone here really need a reminder from Mr. Thompson that this is a forum for Constitutional conservatives, one of whom is most definitely Sarah Palin?
51 posted on 01/28/2015 12:50:48 PM PST by Resettozero
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To: SeekAndFind

None of the whiners that he names are real conservatives. And we can assume that the anonymous sources—if they exist—are pretty much the same.


52 posted on 01/28/2015 12:52:07 PM PST by Cicero (Marcus Tullius)
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To: SeekAndFind
For the past few years, Sarah has been taking a stack of notes in a binder to the podium for her speeches, and for a good reason.

This time, like at the RNC speech in 2008, she trusted the venue and people, and her teleprompter did not work. However, there were no "teleprompter failures" for the other speakers.

These RINO operatives are snakes; slimy reptiles, just like their Democrat counterparts.

53 posted on 01/28/2015 12:52:50 PM PST by meadsjn
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To: colorado tanker

Who are these great governors? Aside from Walker, who is out there really?


54 posted on 01/28/2015 12:53:11 PM PST by alstewartfan ((He's) nostalgic for something intangible. A time that never was. Al Stewart)
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To: Resettozero
"I love Sarah Palin, but..."

Ah, the ever present "But Monkey..."

55 posted on 01/28/2015 12:54:39 PM PST by JaguarXKE (1973: Reporters investigate All the President's Men. 2013: Reporters ARE all the President's men d)
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To: Idaho_Cowboy

What is worse is they think they are educated, when Sarah’s probably better brought up in terms of industriousness in the Alaskan rigors. City conservatives like Ben Carson are like that, even though he revised his stance on guns of late. They are not in touch with the need for maneuverability.


56 posted on 01/28/2015 12:55:13 PM PST by lavaroise (A well regulated gun being necessary to the state, the rights of the militia shall not be infringed)
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To: Resettozero

And notice that they all say “she isn’t serious about running” well ok, if she isn’t then why focus in on her as though she’s a low hanging fruit? The “real serious” ones should get the attacks then and she should be ignored like typical bottom of the barrel candidates we have every election cycle. It makes no sense unless there is sense about it


57 posted on 01/28/2015 12:57:09 PM PST by Bigtigermike
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To: miss marmelstein
So what’s the problem with her building her brand? Every other pol does it without criticism.

Heck, I have no problem with her making as much money as she wants & becoming as successful as she can be.

The problem is she deliberately strings people along, making them think she will run for president (or any other elected office) because she knows it keeps her name out there. Meanwhile, she knows she will not run for anything.

It got old several years back & she keeps doing it.

58 posted on 01/28/2015 12:57:28 PM PST by gdani (Ebola exposed the U.S. as fearful, easy-to-manipulate weaklings)
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To: Osage Orange
You sound just like a N.Y. Liberal..........

And you appear to be someone who slimes people simply because they disagree with you.

Wake me when Palin actually runs for something instead of coyly teasing it.

59 posted on 01/28/2015 12:59:42 PM PST by gdani (Ebola exposed the U.S. as fearful, easy-to-manipulate weaklings)
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To: gdani

only a liberal would actually think that running for office is more important than building a business, or a brand. Sarah Palin, unique in all of history, is in a position to build that brand while she has a positive impact on the national conversation. That’s not half bad for a life’s work.....

Why do you worship at the altar of government?


60 posted on 01/28/2015 1:00:47 PM PST by C. Edmund Wright (www.FireKarlRove.com NOW)
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