Top Republicans in Washington and in the national GOP establishment say the 2010 campaign highlighted an urgent task that they will begin in earnest as soon as the elections are over: Stop Sarah Palin.First of all, not only is Obama's election anything but a sure thing, I'm not even sure his nomination is a sure thing. Another woman - Hillary - may have something to say about that.
Interviews with advisers to the main 2012 presidential contenders and with other veteran Republican operatives make clear they see themselves on a common, if uncoordinated, mission of halting the momentum and credibility Palin gained with conservative activists by plunging so aggressively into this year’s midterm campaigns.
There is rising expectation among GOP elites that Palin will probably run for president in 2012 and could win the Republican nomination, a prospect many of them regard as a disaster in waiting.
Many of these establishment figures argue in not-for-attribution comments that Palin’s nomination would ensure President Barack Obama’s reelection, as the deficiencies that marked her 2008 debut as a vice presidential nominee — an intensely polarizing political style and often halting and superficial answers when pressed on policy — have shown little sign of abating in the past two years.
"There is a determined, focused establishment effort … to find a candidate we can coalesce around who can beat Sarah Palin," said one prominent and longtime Washington Republican. "We believe she could get the nomination, but Barack Obama would crush her."
However, I agree that at least at this point I don't think Sarah Palin would be able to put together a winning national coalition to oust a sitting president (or beat Hillary, as the case may be). She's been pummeled with a lot of unfair criticism that has shaped public perceptions in ways that will be awfully hard to undo.
I'll tell you what, though, if it turns out the GOP establishment is spending any of their time trying to figure out how to stop Palin and confirmation of that gets back to conservative voters, the GOP will be buying itself a whole lot of trouble. They better be trying to get a solid conservative candidate who's better than Palin rather than just trying to stop her. If their idea of a good candidate is Mitt Romney, the Tea Party will find somebody they like better.
Palin had a chance to respond to this piece on Fox News last night:
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Ideally, I'd like to see Palin replace Michael Steele. I think it would be a perfect role for her in the next election cycle. She's proven to be adept at supporting conservative candidates, and she's a big draw for crowds. If that translates into fundraising and changing the general direction of the NRC, then we might end up with a pretty strong set of candidates in the next election cycle.
It will also help by giving her some seasoning, and keep her in the national spotlight until she's "ready".
Doesn't hurt that she drives the liberals NUTS, either.
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