Sarah Palin: "If I were a South Carolinian, I'd vote for Newt"
Ben Domenech ·
January 18, 2012 at 4:52am
Oh, this is lighting up Twitterland: the former Governor of Alaska tonight saying she'd vote for Newt in the South Carolina primary. Sarah Palin's rationale: "we need this process to continue" to continue vetting candidates and not let this be a slam dunk Romney coronation.
It's not a full endorsement, but it is a partial endorsement. Will it matter for Saturday's primary? Who can say. But it did bring to mind an incident I witnessed at the 2008 convention - Gingrich defending Palin on the convention floor. Perhaps this is a bit of payback.
- Comment (22)
- · Quote
- · UnfollowFollow (2)
- Pages:
- 1
- 2
Comments:
Aug '11
Re: Sarah Palin: "If I were a South Carolinian, I'd vote for Newt"
That was an awesome clip of Newt. Remind me again why he's supposed to be unelectable?
Sep '10
Re: Sarah Palin: "If I were a South Carolinian, I'd vote for Newt"
DrewInWisconsin
That was an awesome clip of Newt. Remind me again why he's supposed to be unelectable? · Jan 17 at 7:57pm
The MSNBC guy holding the mike looked like he was about to curl up in the fetal position.
Oct '10
Re: Sarah Palin: "If I were a South Carolinian, I'd vote for Newt"
I'm not sure about the vote for Newt but I do believe, despite the insistance of Anne Coulter et al, that Republicans are better served by continuing the vetting process rather than a premature Romney coronation (see Peter's "Wandering part 1" post).
Apr '11
Re: Sarah Palin: "If I were a South Carolinian, I'd vote for Newt"
I am all for that...if we can just do it without more debates.
Re: Sarah Palin: "If I were a South Carolinian, I'd vote for Newt"
I agree. Let's leave premature capitulation to the Democrats.
Sep '10
Re: Sarah Palin: "If I were a South Carolinian, I'd vote for Newt"
Dave Carter
I agree. Let's leave premature capitulation to the Democrats. · Jan 17 at 8:34pm
That's funny right there.
Jun '10
Re: Sarah Palin: "If I were a South Carolinian, I'd vote for Newt"
If Newt drops out, those debates are going to get awfully boring. Forget about who you want for President. Who's the breakout star of the debate reality show? You can't fire the star.
Nov '10
Re: Sarah Palin: "If I were a South Carolinian, I'd vote for Newt"
Back in the 90s I caught the "all of 'em stink" bug that affected Canadian politics (it was the flavour for a day -- and it looks as if it has a fair amount of traction today in the USA). I had a voting strategy: I would assess the chances two major parties (Liberal and Conservative) and vote for the one most likely to lose.
No, I was not deliberately wasting my vote -- I was voting in favour of a minority government, with the philosophy that when you didn't like any of them, a weak government was the least worst alternative, because it was forced to compromise with the opposition to get anything done, so it had the least opportunity to interfere in civic life. It seems I was not alone, and in retrospect we were not badly served by a longish spell under parties thus forced to convince the electorate that they were worthy of solid support.
I think that's something like Palin's sentiment here. It is how I took the comment "we need this process to continue".
Today I vote Conservative pretty consistently. They now have their majority; those days are past (for now).
Mar '11
Re: Sarah Palin: "If I were a South Carolinian, I'd vote for Newt"
wmartin
I am all for that...if we can just do it without more debates. · Jan 17 at 8:29pm
But the debates are WHY we're having this conversation. No one would consider Gingrich a threat without his debate performance. That's what has single-handedly revived his campaign from the near-death it had earlier in the year. If I can see more performances like this, I'm all for more debates. And if Gingrich can pull this off, oh man.... I'll eagerly await general elections debates in a way that I haven't since 1984, when Ronald Reagan absolutely wiped the floor with Mondale. I'd PAY to see Gingrich in a debate with Barack Obama. It would almost be unfair.
Aug '11
Re: Sarah Palin: "If I were a South Carolinian, I'd vote for Newt"
Douglas
I'd PAY to see Gingrich in a debate with Barack Obama. It would almost be unfair.
Newt said he'd let President Obama use his teleprompter in the debates -- to make it fair.
That's how awesome Newt is.
Dec '10
Re: Sarah Palin: "If I were a South Carolinian, I'd vote for Newt"
This is an Operation Chaos type of endorsement by Palin, not a formal endorsement. However, it does reinforce her husband's formal endorsement of Newt, so the tea leaves seem to be reading that way.
Apr '11
Re: Sarah Palin: "If I were a South Carolinian, I'd vote for Newt"
DrewInWisconsin
That was an awesome clip of Newt. Remind me again why he's supposed to be unelectable? ·
Because he's the most unpopular man in the race (from poll approval ratings), far behind Santorum, Romney, Paul, and Obama.
Because against a few million dollar ad campaign, he took actions that he later apologized for, claiming that they were against his values, and then later still doubled down on. It's terrifying thinking of the erratic path his campaign against a thousand million dollar ad campaign will take. Mitt is flappable in debates. Newt is unstable as a life choice.
Because head to head v Obama polls consistently show him as the 4th best candidate (Perry generally does worse).
Because with Newt as a candidate, the election would not be about Obama.
Because Newt doesn't seem great at fundraising, nor at running a large personal campaign.
Callista. Lobbyist. Plans to continue Obamacare but with a tax credit for compliance rather than a fee. etc. etc. etc. etc.
Oct '10
Re: Sarah Palin: "If I were a South Carolinian, I'd vote for Newt"
all the santorum and perry supporters should vote for newt.
Jun '10
Re: Sarah Palin: "If I were a South Carolinian, I'd vote for Newt"
James Of England
DrewInWisconsin
...
That was an awesome clip of Newt. Remind me again why he's supposed to be unelectable? ·
Because he's the most unpopular man in the race (from poll approval ratings), far behind Santorum, Romney, Paul, and Obama.
Because against a few million dollar ad campaign, he took actions that he later apologized for, claiming that they were against his values, and then later still doubled down on. It's terrifying thinking of the erratic path his campaign against a thousand million dollar ad campaign will take. Mitt is flappable in debates. Newt is unstable as a life choice.
Because head to head v Obama polls consistently show him as the 4th best candidate (Perry generally does worse).
Because with Newt as a candidate, the election would not be about Obama.
Because Newt doesn't seem great at fundraising, nor at running a large personal campaign.
Callista. Lobbyist. Plans to continue Obamacare but with a tax credit for compliance rather than a fee. etc. etc. etc. etc.
You forgot the kitchen sink.
Nov '11
Re: Sarah Palin: "If I were a South Carolinian, I'd vote for Newt"
James Of England
DrewInWisconsin
That was an awesome clip of Newt. Remind me again why he's supposed to be unelectable? ·
Because he's the most unpopular man in the race (from poll approval ratings), far behind Santorum, Romney, Paul, and Obama.
Because against a few million dollar ad campaign, he took actions that he later apologized for, claiming that they were against his values, and then later still doubled down on. It's terrifying thinking of the erratic path his campaign against a thousand million dollar ad campaign will take. Mitt is flappable in debates. Newt is unstable as a life choice.
No mention of his environmental stance? I would vote for Newt except for this.
Jun '11
Re: Sarah Palin: "If I were a South Carolinian, I'd vote for Newt"
Rasmussen national poll just released shows Gingrich has closed to within 3 points.
Aug '11
Re: Sarah Palin: "If I were a South Carolinian, I'd vote for Newt"
No no no . . . James has assured us that he is the most unpopular man in the race. Those standing ovations the other night? Illusions! trickery! Done with mirrors!
Now do as you're told and vote for Mitt.
Apr '11
Re: Sarah Palin: "If I were a South Carolinian, I'd vote for Newt"
PracticalMary
James Of England
DrewInWisconsin
That was an awesome clip of Newt. Remind me again why he's supposed to be unelectable? ·
Because he's the most unpopular man in the race (from poll approval ratings), far behind Santorum, Romney, Paul, and Obama.
Because against a few million dollar ad campaign, he took actions that he later apologized for, claiming that they were against his values, and then later still doubled down on. It's terrifying thinking of the erratic path his campaign against a thousand million dollar ad campaign will take. Mitt is flappable in debates. Newt is unstable as a life choice.
No mention of his environmental stance? I would vote for Newt except for this. · Jan 18 at 6:59am
200 words is a brutal count.
Apr '11
Re: Sarah Palin: "If I were a South Carolinian, I'd vote for Newt"
DrewInWisconsin
No no no . . . James has assured us that he is the most unpopular man in the race. Those standing ovations the other night? Illusions! trickery! Done with mirrors!
Now do as you're told and vote for Mitt. ·
I said "by poll approval ratings". By standing ovations, he's the most popular primary debater in history, everyone else being second equal. Polls at this stage have very big margins of error, but the difference is between Mitt: -2.5, Obama: -3.2, Santorum: -7.9, Paul: -12.8, and Newt at -32.1. That's an enormous difference.
That doesn't mean that he lacks supporters, particularly in the South (I don't have any doubt that Gingrich would beat Obama in South Carolina). It was an inspiring response, and I would imagine that a standing ovation would have been given had any candidate given it, although it was unsurprising that it was Newt who did.
I am not telling anyone to vote Mitt or Santorum, nor ridiculing you, just responding to your request to "Remind me again why he's supposed to be unelectable?"
Edited on January 18, 2012 at 6:58pmApr '11
Re: Sarah Palin: "If I were a South Carolinian, I'd vote for Newt"
Douglas
wmartin
· Jan 17 at 8:29pm
But the debates are WHY we're having this conversation. No one would consider Gingrich a threat without his debate performance. That's what has single-handedly revived his campaign from the near-death it had earlier in the year. If I can see more performances like this, I'm all for more debates. And if Gingrich can pull this off, oh man.... I'll eagerly await general elections debates in a way that I haven't since 1984, when Ronald Reagan absolutely wiped the floor with Mondale. I'd PAY to see Gingrich in a debate with Barack Obama. It would almost be unfair. · Jan 17 at 9:42pm
Your memory of the 1984 debates is shaky. In the first debate, Mondale wiped the floor with Reagan, exactly the opposite of what you remember. Reagan's performance was so bad that the "age and mental competence" issue became widely discussed.
Reagan got off the famous "age and inexperience" line in the second debate, but was generally felt to have lost or, at best, gotten a draw in that one.
Edited on January 18, 2012 at 7:28pm