The Guardian
Republicans start to pour cold water over Sarah Palin White House run
Growing list of conservative activists and Tea Party figures dismiss idea of former Alaska governor running for nomination
By Paul Harris
For months former Alaska governor Sarah Palin has played a "will she, won't she" game over a potential run for the Republican presidential nomination and the right to battle President Barack Obama for the White House.
But, in a strong sign that a run is increasingly unlikely, a growing chorus of Republican figures have now dismissed the idea or openly spoken out against it.
The development reveals a chasm between Palin and many senior figures in the party leadership. But, more worryingly for her supporters, conservative activists and Tea Party figures have also started to turn against Palin running for the nomination.
Criticisms have become much more acute since Palin recently gave heavily hyped speeches in Iowa and New Hampshire, but failed to declare if she was running or not. "There is a difference between talking about running and running. She did not announce, and that sends a strong signal that she is not running," said Scott Reed, a top Republican political consultant and former campaign manager for Bob Dole in his 1996 White House bid.
Reed said that Palin seemed content to give passionate speeches to her fan base but had failed to come up with any concrete policies or set up a viable ground organisation for a future campaign.
"She has not fleshed out her policy positions. She has not set people up in the early states. That suggests she is not serious," Reed said.
That chimes with a growing list of senior Republican party figures who have poured cold water on the idea of a Palin run. South Carolina senator Jim DeMint, one of the most powerful figures in the party and a Tea Party stalwart, has openly dismissed the idea of Palin becoming a late entrant to an already hotly contested race. "It doesn't appear that she is going to run," he told CBS News.
Other party operatives have been even more critical. Karl Rove, the Republicans' campaign guru during the Bush years, said Palin might be too "thin-skinned" to survive a campaign. Other popular right wing media figures have gone much further. Firebrand author Ann Coulter even called her "the Obama of the Tea Party" in a reference to the fanaticism of her supporters. "We used to all love Sarah Palin … for her enemies. I'm starting to dislike her because of her fans," Coulter said on Fox News.
Similar sentiments have been voiced by right-wing talk host Laura Ingraham and highly influential conservative Republican blogger Erick Erickson. Erickson was particularly brutal in his attack on Palin's supporters.
"I decided Sarah Palin was not going to run and I moved on … unfortunately as I found out, and as others are starting to find out, moving on from Sarah Palin is like leaving Scientology," he said, before complaining about the numerous online attacks he had received from Palin supporters.
It is a remarkable turnaround for Palin. Ever since John McCain tapped her as his running mate in the 2008 election she has been an electrifying figure for American conservatives. She has long been a darling of Tea Party activists who often assumed she would make a bid for the nomination. But not any longer.
Ryan Rhodes, chairman of the Iowa Tea Party, believes the current roster of Republican candidates is going to narrow, not expand.
"It is going to be a smaller field," he said. "I am more keen on highlighting the views of the Tea Party than worrying whether or not Sarah Palin should or should not run."
Palin herself has – typically – kept mum on the issue. Eschewing traditional methods of communicating with the media she has largely left it up to a handful of surrogates or her own Facebook or Twitter messages to communicate her aims. Those have been confusing at times, but she has previously indicated that she will make a final decision by the end of September.
But some Iowa Republicans think it is already too late.
"I don't think she will run," said Professor Tim Hagle, a political scientist at the University of Iowa and advisor to college Republican groups.
In many ways Palin is in a bind. She still enjoys influence over Republican politics, but inevitably much of that influence stems from the idea that she might run. As soon as it becomes clear that she will not, then that influence starts to fade. Therefore she has a vested interest in keeping the debate going.
But Hagle said that Palin could still exert herself on the coming campaign, even if she does not run, as all candidates would be desperate for her endorsement.
"She is in a good position right now without running. She is a newsmaker and she has influence. If she endorses someone then that could make a real difference to a campaign," he said.
However, despite the growing anti-Palin tide there remain some prominent pro-Palin voices, especially among her armies of faithful fans. One of the most vocal is Peter Singleton, a conservative activist who has decamped to Iowa to head up the grassroots Organize4Palin group there.
Singleton said that he had taken heart from her Iowa speech.
"She has a sophisticated political philosophy that really appeals to people. She did not say she was running, but she did talk about why she would run," Singleton said.
Singleton, a California lawyer, has spent months on his own initiative travelling all over Iowa meeting with Republican figures and getting them to support Palin. Based in a hotel in Des Moines, it is a quest that has earned him profiles in national publications like the Wall Street Journal.
But even Singleton, who has no official link to Palin at all, despite being her most high profile Iowa backer, admits he has no actual clue if she will fulfil his dreams of a run.
"I don't speak for her and have no direct knowledge of any decision," Singleton said and added: "I still see Iowa as a wide open race. I would love to see her back here."
But at the moment there is no public sign that Palin herself has any plans to return soon.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/14/sarah-palin-republicans-white-house
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