Tag: Campaign 2012

Americans Hope Palin Will Stay in the Kitchen

Trish

After demonstrating she most emphatically cannot take the heat, a new poll shows most Americans think Sarah Palin should stay in the kitchen. FOX News, of all places, reports the numbers.

About a third of Americans think the best job for Palin is homemaker

About a third of Americans think the best job for Palin is homemaker (32 percent), while nearly one in five see her as a television talk show host (17 percent). Vice president of the United States comes in third (14 percent), followed closely by college professor (10 percent), with president coming last (6 percent).

Even Republicans don’t see a “Pres. Palin” as optimal.

Republicans think the best job for Palin is vice president (27 percent), followed by homemaker (18 percent), talk show host (14 percent), president (12 percent) and professor (7 percent).

The better we know Palin, it seems, the less we like her.

More Americans have a negative view of Palin than have a positive one. While 38 percent say they have a favorable opinion of her, 51 percent have an unfavorable view…

The last time views of Palin were tested voters were evenly divided: 45 percent viewed her favorably and unfavorably (31 March-1 April 2009). When Palin was first introduced to the country as Arizona Sen. John McCain’s running mate in September 2008, 54 percent had a positive opinion of her — double the 27 percent who said they had a negative opinion.

The poll also shows Republicans are still in search of a front-runner for the 2012 presidential election. A cult member is their top pick, and it just goes downhill from there.

Among Republicans, Palin is their third choice when read a list of potential candidates for the 2012 nomination. Former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney takes the top spot (22 percent), though he bests former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee by just one point (21 percent). Palin receives the backing of 17 percent and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giluiani comes in at 13 percent. The remaining candidates receive single-digit support.

Florida Republicans’ Grievance Committee Smells Like a Purge

Buck Banks
RPOF Chair Jim Greer maintains length, not girth, counts.
RPOF Chair Jim Greer maintains length, not girth, counts.

Not satisfied with losing a bunch of elections last November as well as a whole bunch of formerly loyal members from every level, the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) appears to be trying to finish the job through what looks from the outside like a purge of, gasp! — Libertarians. At least that’s what one of Trish’s correspondents alleged was happening last Friday.

That day the RPOF’s Grievance Committee met in Orlando to do something — it’s not clear exactly what, even after they explained it in another one of their famous press releases where every paragraph is quote-marked — that was so heinous that Chairman Jim Greer stayed far away from the meeting, geographically distancing himself from something that morally he couldn’t actually wipe off.

It’s worthwhile to note here that Greer was handpicked by Gov. Charlie “One Term Wonder” Crist to lead the state Republican Party. Both men are coming under fire for what seems to be a party that is rapidly becoming as irrelevant as Sarah Palin.

Let’s let the RPOF tell us what the Grievance Committee does, according to its chairman, Tony DiMatteo (superfluous quote marks retained):

“The Grievance Committee is comprised (sic) of members of the RPOF State Executive Committee. Our involvement with the RPOF is in a volunteer capacity. Grievances are a formal complaint from one member of the Republican Party of Florida’s county leadership structure to another member of the county leadership structure. All grievances originate at the county level and are filed with the State Party and then referred to the Grievance Committee.

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Poll: 71% of GOP Would Vote for a Quitter to Be President in 2012

Jon Ponder

In the Bush era, Republicans demonstrated their collective poor judgment by twice electing as president a bellicose, proudly incurious, anti-intellectual ideologue. A poll out yesterday suggests that they learned nothing from that disaster, and are ready to do it again.

Less than a week after Sarah Palin — who has all of George Bush’s intellectual deficiencies and then some — announced she is walking away from her job as governor of Alaska midway through her first term, USA Today found that 71 percent of Republicans would vote for her for president in 2012:

When it comes to a potential presidential run, the USA TODAY Poll displays Palin’s strength in the Republican base and weakness among swing voters, who traditionally decide national elections. Republicans by 71 percent-27 percent say they’d be likely to vote for her if she ran for president in 2012, while independents by 51 percent-44 percent would not.

As Todd Purdum put it in his profile of Palin in the August issue of Vanity Fair, “What does it say about the nature of modern American politics that a public official who often seems proud of what she does not know is not only accepted but applauded?”

The question ought to be, what does it say that two such proud underachievers are applauded so roundly by the same party in the same decade.

Quitting to Win: Following Palin Logic

Trish

It’s nice to see that I’m not the only one wondering how Sarah Palin can think resigning her office proves she’s fit for a higher one. On twitter, Mother Jones’ David Corn is dishing out some great stuff.

David Corn: Palin is quitting her way to the top.
  • Remember all those GOP pundits & commentators who praised Palin as a great pick? Roll that video. Please. #palin
  • Palin spokesgal: It’s a “fighting move” and “liberating.” Yes, she’s quitting her way to the top. http://bit.ly/46ENU #palin
  • Are Palin true-believers crying, “Say it ain’t so”? No, they say quitting is more proof she’s a great leader. See http://bit.ly/n6Qyf #palin
  • Still not a tweet from @senjohnmccain about Palin’s cut-and-run. But 7 mins ago he did twitter about Burma. #palin #mccain #icantseeyou
  • She sure gave them a cliff @PeartreeHillBex Team Sarah types like 2 call Obama supporters “Obamabots.” I’d call those folks “Sarahlemmings.”
  • Why Sarah Palin is no Richard Nixon. And that’s not meant as a compliment. http://bit.ly/fGfWQ #palin

2010 Florida Republicans: Old, White, Male

Trish

That the Republicans are a party of old white men could be a headline from “Duh” magazine.* But when you see how that plays out in real life, as the Miami Herald showed with the 2010 Florida races, it’s pretty surprising stuff.

The Republican front-runners for statewide office include Gov. Charlie Crist for Senate, Attorney General Bill McCollum for governor, Senate President Jeff Atwater for chief financial officer and U.S. Rep. Adam Putnam for agriculture commissioner. Putnam is the only one of the GOP candidates under 50 years old…

In contrast, the Democratic front-runners for the top of the ticket are U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, a 42-year-old African American running for the U.S. Senate, and Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink for governor, who would be the state’s first female chief executive. A handful of Hispanic and Jewish Democrats are potentially in the mix for attorney general and chief financial officer.

This might be a bit of a simplification, since Crist’s rival in the Senate primary is former state House Speaker Marco Rubio, a Cuban-American. And Crist himself falls into a couple of minority demographic groups. First, he’s widely believed to be in the closet but gay. Second, he’s not really white but more whatever that color that U.S. Rep. John Boehner is.

Still, you can stand around saying that you just don’t get it all day long. In Florida, the Republican party is putting its slate where its mouth is. We believe them, and commend their steadfast determination to cling to an outdated leadership model, no matter what. You go, moldy white guys! Really. Go.

* Thanks, Andy Borowitz

RNC Chair Michael Steele Channels Michael Scott of ‘The Office’

Jon Ponder

As Michael Scott, the boss at a paper company’s branch office in Scranton on NBC’s “The Office,” Steve Carrell, a “Daily Show” alum, plays an incompetent egomaniac with perfect pitch. In scripted dialogue, Michael Scott says things like this:

Michael Scott: The most sacred thing I do is care… Today I am in charge of picking a great new healthcare plan. Right? That’s what this is all about. Does that make me their doctor? Um, yes. Like a specialist.

And:

Michael Scott: It’s simply beyond words. It’s incalculable.

And:

Michael Scott: Would I rather be feared or loved? Um… Easy, both. I want people to be afraid of how much they love me.

Now, in an interview with CNN, Michael Steele, the real-life chairman of the Republican Party, has delivered a set of quotes that make the self-deluded rants of fictional Michael Scott pale in comparison:

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GOP Gov to Unemployed South Carolinians: Let Them Eat My Prayers

Jon Ponder

It may be apocryphal, but during the 18th century famines that led to the violent overthrow of the monarchy — and mass beheadings of the royalty — in the French Revolution, upon being told that the people were starving and had no bread, a noblewoman replied, “Let them eat cake.”

Gov. Mark Sanford (R-S.C.), who is reportedly running for president in 2009, has indicated he may refuse federal stimulus money, including extensions of unemployment insurance, despite the fact that South Carolina, one of the poorest and most backward states, has the fourth highest unemployment rates in the nation.

Sanford channeled his inner aristocrat on a C-SPAN call-in show yesterday, when he took a call from one of his constituents:

CALLER: I hope you all are not playing politics with this. People in South Carolina are hurting. You know how unemployment rates are high right now and going up higher. We are running out of money in the unemployment bank … we need money for that, the people that need help. And I’m one of them, I can’t get no help. […]

SANFORD: Well I’d say hello to Charleston because its home and I’d say hello to this fellow this morning and say that my prayers are going to be with him and his family because it sounds like he is in an awfully tough spot.

Like the rest of his party, Gov. Sanford had no alternative plan to offer the caller — not even cake — just prayers.

I’ve Been Snagged by Sarah Palin

Buck Banks

beartrap.jpg

A few days back, I wrote a post about former veep candidate and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin starting up Sarah PAC, her own personal political action committee. I was going to sign up for updates only, but filling in that box led me to a whole online form, which there was no way I was going to complete. However, I got caught in that initial bear trap. That was Jan. 28. On Feb. 4 I received this:

Dear Supporter,

I wanted to take a moment to thank you for joining SarahPAC. What a week it has been! Thanks to supporters like you we have had a fabulous start.

I want you to know that I have been truly touched by your notes of support and encouragement and look forward to working with you all in the future to advance our shared ideas and goals. These are just a few of the touching notes I’ve received from you:

Don from Juneau, AK: “I joined the PAC, and I’m willing to help in any way I can. I firmly believe you are exactly what this country needs, more so now than ever. Go Sarah!”

Cindy from St. Louis, MO: “My husband and I signed up for the PAC this morning. We are thrilled and behind you 100%! We will help any way we can.”

Dee from Nashville, TN: “Be courageous! Be strong! Be bold! Don’t quit. Thanks for all you’ve done, there are many of us praying for you daily!”

As a nation, we face serious challenges ahead. Our country is far too dependent on foreign sources of energy. Greed and corruption have broken the public’s faith in our economic system.

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