Mike Murphy: "Gov. Sarah Palin is the political train wreck that keeps on giving."

[jefferson_dem]

To go forward, GOP must snap out of its Sarah Palin spell
By Mike Murphy

Thursday, July 9th 2009, 4:00 AM

Gov. Sarah Palin is the political train wreck that keeps on giving. First, she was an awful choice last year as John McCain's running mate. I came to this conclusion with regret - I am one of McCain's biggest admirers.

But facts are facts. An inexperienced governor of a small state, she lacked the experience to be President and brought nothing to the ticket except a surefire knack for exciting voters who were already reliably Republican. It was a strategically awful choice, and I said so - both on and off microphone - at the time. Most pundits thought I was wrong. Look at the crowds she can draw, I was told. She "excites the base."

Phooey. Every presidential election year brings forth some new nugget of conventional wisdom from the media elite that totally misses the real picture. Last year, the big wrong idea was this notion that base voters have somehow become the new swing voters. We are now told the party base - those voters who will vote for a bag of cement if it has an R or D attached to it - must be carefully appealed to, romanced and appeased.

Under that funhouse reasoning, Palin was an inspired pick.

Unfortunately for McCain, the actual swing voters, the independents who do determine the winner of the election, didn't buy into this fantasy at all. After a three-week sniff, most couldn't run away from Palin fast enough.

Yet even after she helped cost McCain the election, Palin's great charm endured, at least among many grass-roots Republicans. At least until her astonishing self-immolation during a hastily organized backyard press conference last week, where she gamely competed with honking geese to resign midterm as Alaska's rookie governor. Today, in the wake of that debacle, it is puzzling to many outside our party how some Republicans can still see her as an appealing candidate for the party nomination in 2012. This begs the question: Why is there still so much Republican love for Sarah Palin?

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http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2009/07/09/2009-07-09_to_go_forward_gop_must_snap_out_of_its_sarah_palin_spell.html#ixzz0KlgWQlDj&D

[yellowcanine]

1. "Why is there still so much Republican love for Sarah Palin?" Answer: Beer Eyes.

You have heard about being "drunk with power". There is also such a thing as being drunk without power. That is where the Republican base finds themselves. They are so desperate that anyone with a pulse and a pretty face looks good.

[kentuck]

2. and...

<snip>
The answer is that Palin profits mightily from a Republican blind spot. She has all the right smirking enemies in America's media elite. To them, Palin reeks of flyover America, that vast and corny collection of Nebraskas and Alabamas where the Army can always meet enlistment quotas and Tina Fey's private jet stops briefly to refuel. Red state Republicans see the snarky, elite attacks on Palin as an attack on them. And in some ways, they are.

The enemy of their enemy is just fine, thank you

[boomerbust]

3. Palins Great Charm?

ROLF, You betcha She's a real charmer.

[VWolf]

4. "After a three-week sniff"

That's creepy in so many ways.

[Captain Hilts]

5. Murphy's a really smart guy. nt

[Mike Daniels]

6. Best line - "voters who will vote for a bag of cement if it has an R or D attached to it"

There's just something "Simpsons-esque" about that image.

It creates a visual image similar to how the "inanimate carbon rod" received a victory parade.