Wednesday 3 November 2010

Election 2010: Sarah Palin reloaded, but still shoots blanks


Our reader "sarahs disgrace" today sent me the photo of a sign from the "Restore Sanity" rally - it couldn't be more appropriate:

Sarah Reloaded but still shoots blanks


During the last hours, the overall picture hasn't improved for the Quitter Queen.

In Alaska, the write-in candidates are leading by a large margin of 41% to Joe Miller's 34%. As these should be almost exclusively votes for Lisa Murkowski, it looks pretty safe for me. So people who predicted that it would be impossible for Lisa Murkowski as a write-in candidate to win the election were very wrong. I liked Lisa Murkowski's fighting spirit right from the start. That's exactly how you tackle extremists. She got it right. Don't play political chess games when it comes to dealing with extremists, but challenge them openly, and forcefully.

I also would like to give a big shout-out to the journalists from Alaska Dispatch: They can be credited with having stopped Miller. They also got it right: Expose the radicals, and do it properly - don't be distracted by meaningless "in-fighting" between moderates. It's a great achievement by Alaska Dispatch, and they can be proud of themselves.

Alaska Dispatch logo
Alaska Dispatch: The big winner

It's very fortunate that this new powerful voice within the media in Alaska has emerged, as it will be sorely needed in the future. After all, Sarah Palin, who is hell-bent on running for President, is a product of Alaska, and it's events from the past in Alaska which will be her downfall. But only if the media dares to report them.


As Shushannah Walshe in the Daily Beast noted, the "high-profile losses overshadowed the more numerous wins" in regard to Sarah Palin. I couldn't agree more. It seems obvious that the US voters were much more careful in picking the candidates for Senate than they were as far the candidates for the House are concerned - and often did think twice before electing a teabagger into a six-year Senate term. The high-profile Palin picks in Nevada, California, Delaware, West Virginia, Colorado and apparently also Alaska failed. Please also read Malia Litman's post about this topic.

This election was a wake-up call for many people who might have endorsed Palin's campaign for President. She is not the crowd-puller that her fanatical followers want her to be. This election has proven that she is a turn-off for many voters.

In endorsing candidates like Sharron Angle and Christine O'Donnell, who were simply un-electable, Sarah Palin showed her immaturity and her lack of understanding what voters really wanted.

Andrew Sullivan made another good point today under the headline "Alaska humiliates Palin":

"Murkowski has a comfortable lead. She will become only the second write-in Senate victor in history. So in her own backyard, Palin's hand-picked and heartily endorsed candidate fell to a write-in Republican and barely eked out a lead over the Democrat. Alaska has begun to move on from the Palin era. Which means the fear may subside a little, and more will feel able to talk."

Let's hope so!

Huffington Post and Politicususa also pointed out that Sarah Palin is the big loser of this election - her thoughtless meddling with the Senate race cost the Republicans the "safe" majority.

Karl Rove and others will not forget.

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UPDATE:

Stephen Colbert talks to David Frum about Sarah Palin and what should happen now after the election.

Frum: "What's good for Sarah Palin is not good for the country."

h/t: bluerinse

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Indecision 2010 - David Frum
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes2010 ElectionMarch to Keep Fear Alive
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