Exotix
12-06-2010, 5:53pm
Establishment Republicans urge party to 'Stop Palin'
'It's time for the GOP to man up,' say critics questioning her fitness to lead.
December 4, 2010
Establishment Republicans urge party to 'Stop Palin' (http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Establishment+Republicans+urge+party+Stop+Palin/3926669/story.html)
The knives have started to come out for Sarah Palin in the Republican Party.
With the former Alaska governor now actively exploring a White House bid in 2012, establishment Republicans have begun urging party leaders to begin a Stop Palin movement aimed at preventing her from romping to the Republican presidential nomination.
Describing her alternately as "maniacal," "dopey" and "hated by millions," former Florida congressman Joe Scarborough and longtime GOP strategist Ed Rollins this week called into question Palin's fitness for office, telling fellow Republicans she stands no chance of defeating President Barack Obama in a head-tohead contest.
"Republicans have a problem.
The most-talked-about figure in the GOP is a reality show star who cannot be elected," Scarborough wrote in a Politico.comarticle.
"And yet the same leaders who fret that Sarah Palin could devastate their party in 2012 are too scared to say in public what they all complain about in private. Enough. It's time for the GOP to man up."
Rollins followed suit with his own piece for CNN.com,dismissing Palin as a "media star and a great curiosity" who quit her job in Alaska to "cash in on fame" created by her turn as John McCain's running mate in 2008.
The outbursts from Scarborough and Rollins - mainstream Republicans with long-standing connections to the GOP establishment -came after Palin made disparaging remarks about former presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.
But they reflect a broader -but still largely unspoken -fear among Republican insiders that Palin's substantial popularity among grassroots conservatives and Tea Party activists will only continue to build unless there is a concerted effort to check her momentum.
"I think Republicans feel that Obama is eminently beatable in 2012, but the establishment wing of the party just does not believe that Palin can do it," says Cal Jillson, a political scientist at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.
"What is at the bottom of this is that Democrats salivate at the prospect of Palin as the Republican nominee in 2012.
There is a wing of the Republican Party that feels she is unprepared for the campaign and cannot be an effective challenger, will appear inexperienced and, in fact, ignorant up against Obama."
As potential GOP contenders weigh entering the 2012 sweepstakes, Palin stands apart as the most recognizable -and arguably the most popular -candidate the party has at the moment.
But Palin's strengths and weaknesses -she is adored by hardcore conservatives but viewed with suspicion or contempt by Democrats and many independent voters -are evident in recent polls.
A Public Policy Polling survey this week showed the former governor leading the prospective GOP presidential field with 21 per cent support among Republican primary voters, compared to 18 per cent for former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and 16 per cent for former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee.
A separate Quinnipiac poll found, however, that Palin trails Obama by eight percentage points in a prospective head-tohead contest.
The concern among critics is that Palin's star power is so strong that other lesser-known potential Republican candidates -like Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels and outgoing Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty - will not be able to compete against the former vice-presidential candidate for money and support in early primary states like Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.
"If this enthusiasm for Palin continues, she will have most of the momentum heading into the presidential primaries," Jillson says.
"There are plenty of people who don't want to allow Palin the opportunity to get up a head of a steam.
They want to trip her up now."
As the 2012 GOP presidential field shapes up, it seems certain to be a sharp-elbowed affair if Palin is in the mix.
Several Republican activists say it's time to stop Sarah Palin's momentum before primaries start.
http://i55.tinypic.com/2nw0mxz.jpg
'It's time for the GOP to man up,' say critics questioning her fitness to lead.
December 4, 2010
Establishment Republicans urge party to 'Stop Palin' (http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Establishment+Republicans+urge+party+Stop+Palin/3926669/story.html)
The knives have started to come out for Sarah Palin in the Republican Party.
With the former Alaska governor now actively exploring a White House bid in 2012, establishment Republicans have begun urging party leaders to begin a Stop Palin movement aimed at preventing her from romping to the Republican presidential nomination.
Describing her alternately as "maniacal," "dopey" and "hated by millions," former Florida congressman Joe Scarborough and longtime GOP strategist Ed Rollins this week called into question Palin's fitness for office, telling fellow Republicans she stands no chance of defeating President Barack Obama in a head-tohead contest.
"Republicans have a problem.
The most-talked-about figure in the GOP is a reality show star who cannot be elected," Scarborough wrote in a Politico.comarticle.
"And yet the same leaders who fret that Sarah Palin could devastate their party in 2012 are too scared to say in public what they all complain about in private. Enough. It's time for the GOP to man up."
Rollins followed suit with his own piece for CNN.com,dismissing Palin as a "media star and a great curiosity" who quit her job in Alaska to "cash in on fame" created by her turn as John McCain's running mate in 2008.
The outbursts from Scarborough and Rollins - mainstream Republicans with long-standing connections to the GOP establishment -came after Palin made disparaging remarks about former presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.
But they reflect a broader -but still largely unspoken -fear among Republican insiders that Palin's substantial popularity among grassroots conservatives and Tea Party activists will only continue to build unless there is a concerted effort to check her momentum.
"I think Republicans feel that Obama is eminently beatable in 2012, but the establishment wing of the party just does not believe that Palin can do it," says Cal Jillson, a political scientist at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.
"What is at the bottom of this is that Democrats salivate at the prospect of Palin as the Republican nominee in 2012.
There is a wing of the Republican Party that feels she is unprepared for the campaign and cannot be an effective challenger, will appear inexperienced and, in fact, ignorant up against Obama."
As potential GOP contenders weigh entering the 2012 sweepstakes, Palin stands apart as the most recognizable -and arguably the most popular -candidate the party has at the moment.
But Palin's strengths and weaknesses -she is adored by hardcore conservatives but viewed with suspicion or contempt by Democrats and many independent voters -are evident in recent polls.
A Public Policy Polling survey this week showed the former governor leading the prospective GOP presidential field with 21 per cent support among Republican primary voters, compared to 18 per cent for former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and 16 per cent for former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee.
A separate Quinnipiac poll found, however, that Palin trails Obama by eight percentage points in a prospective head-tohead contest.
The concern among critics is that Palin's star power is so strong that other lesser-known potential Republican candidates -like Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels and outgoing Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty - will not be able to compete against the former vice-presidential candidate for money and support in early primary states like Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.
"If this enthusiasm for Palin continues, she will have most of the momentum heading into the presidential primaries," Jillson says.
"There are plenty of people who don't want to allow Palin the opportunity to get up a head of a steam.
They want to trip her up now."
As the 2012 GOP presidential field shapes up, it seems certain to be a sharp-elbowed affair if Palin is in the mix.
Several Republican activists say it's time to stop Sarah Palin's momentum before primaries start.
http://i55.tinypic.com/2nw0mxz.jpg