Wednesday, June 9, 2010
The Sarah Palin Effect…..
Last night saw some very interesting results in primaries throughout the country. With only one real important exception in Blanche Lincoln (D) AR, it was a clear message that incumbents were unpopular. Another interesting result is the fact that the big primary winners were female and conservative. I am also intrigued with the effect of Sarah Palin’s effect in the campaigns of those she supported.
Now I will admit that both Whitman and Fiorina are California Republicans, and are not necessarily as conservative as others are in the GOP. However, Fiorina along with candidates like Sharon Angle, Nikki Haley are all Tea Party favorites that Sarah Palin supported and who have won their primaries. In the case of Carly Fiorina she won over another Tea Party favorite supported by South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint.
There is no doubt in my mind that this election season is a referendum on the Obama Administration as well as both houses of Congress. Figures such as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, (D) NV and Senator Barbara Boxer (D) CA will certainly have their hands full with Palin backed Angle and Fiorina. In addition to these contending opponents, incumbent Democrats will also have to explain their unpopular support of Obama and his agendas.
While the Tea Party may be a very vocal as well as a very visible political force they are by no means organized. There is no real main arm of the Tea Party, but a loose knit coalition of Tea Party’s around the country. They often see things pretty much the same way, but not always, which will sometimes create divisions within the movement. California primary Fiorina versus DeVore or more accurately Palin versus DeMint is a prime example.
It appears to me that Sarah Palin is certainly a driving force, in both the Republican Party and the Tea Party movement and wields tremendous star power amongst the blue collar conservatives. The fact that she is also willing to go against the GOP base and Tea Party candidates she does not support has not appeared to damage her credibility within either group. There is definitely evidence that you have a better than even chance of winning at least within your own party if Sarah Palin picks you to support.
Another Tea Party and Palin backed candidate Terry Branstad won the GOP Party nomination yesterday for the Governors race in Iowa against incumbent Democrat Chet Culver in November and is a race to watch. It is said that Iowa is one of the states that sets the tone for election politics so we will see if they see eye to eye with Sarah Palin on Terry Branstad.
I will tell you before I go that I am not a Republican but an NPA (No Party Affiliation), I am also a fiscal conservative as well as a social conservative with one or two exceptions. I do like Sarah Palin and agree with her political views 99.998% of the time. I will definitely support her candidates with one exception and that is Senator John McCain (R) AZ.
I hope you all have a great day and I will see you all again soon my friends. From Simple Man Politics CIAO4NOW!!!!!
I have definitely found this quite interesting. Sarah Palin definitely seems to have a lot of political clout when it comes to backing candidates. I am interested to see how things continue to shape up as we get closer to the elections this year in November.
ReplyDeleteIt's also interesting to note that almost all candidates that Obama is backing end up doing poorly. lol
Sarah Palin is certainly having a effect on the campaigns in which she supports a candidate. She has gone from a little known VP candidate to a national powerhouse. If she doesn't run in 2012, the candidate she backs is the one to watch.
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