From S.W.A.C. Girl, claiming that criticism of Sarah Palin is proof that we Democrats are scared of her as a presidential candidate in 2012:
But the bottom line is … those smears are meant to stop the growing support for a woman who has been embraced by the conservative base of the Republican Party.
…
The naysayers are running scared. Perhaps they feel if they do not destroy Sarah now, she will emerge to fight them another day.
Sarah Palin inspired enthusiasm within a depressed conservative voting block, and she would do the same as a presidential candidate. But the trade-off in her selection was the votes of thousands of moderate Democrats and Republicans and an open revolt from the “intellectual” conservative moment. Several polls have reported that Palin had a net negative effect on the Republican ticket, and even if she did bring votes to the ticket, they were not nearly enough to get the job done this year.
If the Republican response to this outright rejection of their party for the second cycle in a row is to nominate a candidate who appeals to no one but the rightmost branch of the party, 2012 will be the proverbial nail in the coffin.
As a Democrat I welcome that choice, but I am baffled by the absence of a moderating presence in today’s GOP. It seems that the John Warners and Bob Doles of the past have all been replaced by today’s Jeff Fredericks and Sarah Palins.
If you compare 2004’s election map to this year’s you’ll see the clear results of that radical right swing. Do Republicans really think they can put more states on the table by nominating Sarah Palin?
