Legal Insurrection notes:
…Without the enthusiasm of Palin supporters the Republican Party is nothing moving into 2012.
The campaign troops who will be in the field, on the telephones and at the fundraisers in 2012 will be the same troops who fought the 2010 campaign war. And those troops weren’t carrying Mitt Romney, or Mike Huckabee, or Newt Gingrich signs.
That doesn’t mean Palin gets the nomination just because she wants it, or that she is presumptive, or that her supporters constitute a majority of the Party.
It does mean that the Republican nominee cannot win against Barack Obama without the enthusiasm and support of Palin supporters…
This is where Ronald Reagan’s 11th Commandment kicks in – what is really meant by “thou shall not speak ill of your fellow Republican”. If someone wants to attack Palin, they’d better do it on policy and/or resume’ issues. Don’t do it by saying “she’s not ready” or “she can’t win”, that is.
It is, of course, hard to attack Palin on policy – for the most part, she’s entirely in line with the majority of the GOP on matters of taxation, spending, Constitutional issues, etc. You can attack her on policy only by going more liberal, which will kill you with GOP primary voters, or by going more conservative, which may kill you with moderates in November. To really get past Palin, a GOPer will have to demonstrate how he can better implement what Palin supporters want – but that is hard to do unless you, yourself, have been a governor for some time longer than Palin was, and can point to a solid record of accomplishment without any skeletons in the closet.
But if you want to be the Republican nominee for President and you aren’t Sarah Palin, you’d better figure it out – because if you don’t have Sarah Palin’s enthusiastic backing (and thus the backing of her legion of supporters), you can’t beat Obama. Trying to knock her out by saying she’s a dunce or just not ready for prime time will only turn off Palin supporters.
This is why I figure that only Christie or Daniels can defeat Palin – and Christie has already made some Palin supporters mad with his sly dig at Palin’s credibility as a candidate (though, of course, Christie still asserts he won’t run – so, no harm, no foul). Jindal also has an outside chance, if he decides to go for it in 2012 (though I think he’ll wait until 2016 – if we lose in 2012 – or 2020; he goes for re-election next year, will probably be thumpingly re-elected and that carries him through to 2015). Only a successful governor can bring to the table more than Palin does – and if that governor can both argue against Palin while also showing respect for Palin and her supporters, he’ll have a good shot at it.
Main thing – don’t cross the Mama Grizzly. Don’t fall for the MSM narrative. Don’t let the Ruling Class types – who are scared spitless of Palin – convince you to denigrate her abilities or her impact. Meet her as the awesome, elemental political force she is and argue your case – that is the only way to do it.
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