Via CNN: Palin to hit campaign trail in Georgia
Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin will make multiple campaign appearances on behalf of Sen. Saxby Chambliss next week in Georgia, serving as the political closer for the GOP senator who is battling to win a second term.
I find this interesting for two reasons.
First, the move is further evidence of Palin’s likely long-term ambitions.
Second, the move means that Chambliss thinks that Palin plays well with the GOP base in a red state like Georgia:
Nick Ayers, executive director of the Republican Governors Association, said that it made sense for Palin to help Chambliss in the days leading into the run-off because he noted that GOP governors are “still very popular in the party.”“She is going to bring a lot of energy and enthusiasm to this run-off,” said Ayers, a close Palin confidante. “She is widely popular in Georgia, and I could not envision a stronger closer for Saxby in this election.”
Certainly if Chambliss wins, the trip will be perceived as evidence that Palin is a serious actor within the GOP going forward, at least within GOP circles.
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November 25th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
Palin is doing this to ingratiate herself with the RNC, which is understandably hesitant to promote someone who only appeals to its shrinking evangelical base. The world moves forward while Sarah Palin and a large percentage of the Republican Party choose to go back to the 19th century.
November 25th, 2008 at 1:11 pm
It would be hard to find a more “can’t lose” race than this one. Chambliss was barely .3% short of an outright win in the first round.
So, if he somehow loses, it’s all the fault of Alaska’s Airhead in Chief!
November 25th, 2008 at 1:19 pm
Yes, it would be a shocker if Chambliss loses–so it is a safe bet for Palin.
November 25th, 2008 at 3:11 pm
[...] Steven Taylor at Poliblog thinks this may be more about Palin than Chambliss. “First, the move is further evidence of Palin’s likely long-term ambitions,” he [...]
November 25th, 2008 at 3:39 pm
When we launced our website http://www.DraftPalinForPresidnet.com & we have recived alot of support. Their is a clear movement to have Governor Palin run for President in 2012.
Thanks,
RB
November 25th, 2008 at 3:43 pm
When we launced our website http://www.DraftPalinForPresidnet.com & we have recived alot of support. Their is a clear movement to have Governor Palin run for President in 2012.
Presidnet??
recived??
alot??
Their is a clear movement???
It is great to see a group of Palin’s erudite peers rallying the troops!
November 25th, 2008 at 5:07 pm
If Chambliss loses, I will spread mustard on my jump boots and eat them. And I don’t like mustard.
Palin is popular in Georgia because she is a social conservative. That should be common sense.
I don’t think it’s very useful or constructive (in fact I think it quite puerile) to condescend her peers as “erudite” or to call Palin an “airhead.”
If we’re going to break out that kind of vocubulary, you probably don’t want to hear how Barack Obama is described here in Georgia. Suffice it to say, “erudite” or “airhead” would be complimentary.
And say what you want - but Georgia is an increasingly important state. We’re going to pick up at least 2 electoral votes in 2010, which will be shed by places like Ohio. The southeast is where the successful auto makers are building new plants - the Japanese companies that make profits and don’t beg for handouts to pay off corrupt CEO’s and union leaders. We have some of the strongest banks, institutions like Bank of America, which are not imploding on themselves the way New York’s financial sector is. Atlanta is an enormously important city, and Georgia is only going to become more and more important as time goes by - along with other states in the southeastern US.
As time goes by, it will be harder and harder for the democratic party to win elections if it can’t make itself viable in Georgia and the rest of the southeastern US. Obama won this election handily - but only because he was riding the strongest anti-incumbent sentiment possibly in history, and because he got a lot of african americans who otherwise wouldn’t have voted to vote. I would not mistake Obama’s victory for a clear mandate from a majority of America.
It is quite likely that in the Georgia runoff, you will see how things would have played out in this election were it not for race and Bush-hating - both of which were one-time deals, things that the democratic party will likely not enjoy in the future. The Georgia runoff will see a more typical turnout - the people who went to the polls just to vote for Obama and in the process cast votes for the rest of the democratic ticket have no reason to go to the polls in the runoff; and Chambliss is going to destroy Martin without them.
Dealing with the political alignment of the American southeast will eventually become necessary, if for no other reason than the changing population. People are moving out of Ohio and New York, and into places like Georgia; and so are a lot of industries.
Write us off at your peril.
November 25th, 2008 at 5:16 pm
I don’t think anyone even commented on Georgia itself, did they?
November 25th, 2008 at 6:22 pm
The south got their respective backwards religious nutter butts kicked in 1865. Get over it. Move on. Obama is the new president select of the USA, regardless of what the happy pappys think. Georgians need to pull their heads out of the plantation mentality sand and join the rest of the country.
Palin is the trainwreck poster child of the rump Republican party..I guess they didn’t learn either. The county’s political future is no longer decided by the white racist thugs that hide behind the banner of Christ.
November 25th, 2008 at 6:43 pm
Look, you’re an idiot, and you don’t know anything about the new south. I grew up in Cleveland, Ohio and only moved to the south as an adult. I care nothing of the things you list in your rant about Georgia and am well aware of history. What you don’t know is that Georgia is a very forward-leaning state, whether you like it or not.
If I had graduated from high school a Georgia resident instead of an Ohio resident, I would have had a free four year education at any public school in Georgia. All you need to do here is graduate with a 3.0 GPA and your tuition is free, even at UGA.
My wife teaches at a presidential school of excellence. Her school is in the top 5% of middle schools in America - private schools included - and it’s just a plain public school.
We manage to educate our kids here quite successfully, by every metric, and we do it without local income taxes. When I lived in Ohio, on top of my state income tax, I had to pay income tax to the city I lived in, and to the city I worked in.
Georgia offers great services to its citizens - including free college education - without taxing its people and business to death. That’s why people are moving here, and that’s why you see most of the major corporations of the 20th century establishing themselves in the south, and in Georgia in particular.
Your conception of the south is rooted in ignorance. I understand that Barack Obama is America’s president. But what you don’t seem to understand is that the future of America is not in New York or Los Angeles. It’s in Atlanta.
If you doubt that, just take a look at population demographics at the census bureau. Take a look at Fortune magazine and see where companies like Bank of America, Hewlett Packard, Phillips, and the Home Depot are located. Look for where new car plants are being built. It sure isn’t happening in Ohio or Michigan.
I don’t care about the old south. I’m a newcomer, and I understand what the new south is, and that’s why I live here.
All you’ve demonstrated with your rant is that you’re an ignorant bigot.
November 25th, 2008 at 6:43 pm
Interestingly, people who actually pay attention to politics know that the South is important on a national level. Not only does Bush hail from Texas and Clinton from Alabama but those notorious “Blue Dog Democrats” who keep the Democratic Party from going too far to the Left are nearly all Southerners.
As are several Congressional heavyweights (Senator Byrd comes to mind). The Republican’s Southern Strategy worked pretty well up until this year, and I’m not going to write it off just yet. As Captain D noted, people are moving out of blue states and into red states because, well, red states generally support policies that attract jobs (right to work, lower state taxes, fewer entitlement programs, etc.). That will be very important during the census in two years.
November 25th, 2008 at 7:05 pm
Deductive logic. Palin is going to Georgia, where she is popular; one commenter called her supporters erudite; another called the governor herself an airhead. Deductive logic told me that the commentators didn’t have a very high opinion of Georgia or its people; if Palin is popular here, the state must be populated by erudite airheads.
My deductive logic classes were a long time ago, but it doesn’t take a logic genius to put two and two together and get four.
November 25th, 2008 at 7:28 pm
Captain D: as you wish, although I don’t think that is the basic tone, at least until “mantysman in mo” who is, in fact, being vituperative.
As you know, I am no Palin fan, and yet I certainly never thought her trip to GA was some sort of comment on GA.
Max: minor corrective, Clinton was from Arkansas.
November 25th, 2008 at 9:59 pm
Deductive logic told me that the commentators didn’t have a very high opinion of Georgia or its people; if Palin is popular here, the state must be populated by erudite
“Erudite” is an insult?
It must be a Georgia thing…
November 26th, 2008 at 12:10 am
You left off “airheads.” Populated by erudite airheads.
Besides, I know sarcasm when I see it. You don’t really mean to praise Palin or her peers; you say Erudite tongue-in-cheek.
It’s not a Georgia thing. It’s a Captain D thing.
November 26th, 2008 at 8:14 am
History suggests that “airhead erudition” isn’t a Georgia thing, it’s a human thing.
November 26th, 2008 at 10:48 am
Chambliss will not have it easy with members of the Obama campaign staff working for Martin. Obama people will concentrate on those who voted for Martin in the general as well as look to push new voting numbers higher. Palin on the other hand will serve to reinforce the voters that voted for Chambliss in the general election. How many new voters the Obama people are able to get out for Martin is the question.
As to Captain D: I love Georgians. But I also think Palin is unable/un-caring to educate herself about world issues and world affairs. When she gets in front of a camera by herself it is like she becomes oblivious to the world. Just because someone thinks Palin is an air-head and SOME Georgians like Palin does not mean those people think all Georgians are dim as well. I’ll say it again. I love Georgians, but Palin would be a bane on our country as our elected representative.
November 26th, 2008 at 11:48 am
Palin going to Georgia was an easy decision for her to make. She gets her national exposure and builds her RNC credentials, supporting a candidate who is not expected to lose, even without her appearances. The problem, of course, is that her motives here are so blatantly transparent. She’s not there because she’s a big fan of Chambliss. She’s there because she’s trying to make points with the RNC, which isn’t too keen on embracing a pro-life creationist who will chase even more moderate Republicans away from the party. What will probably happen next is that a new conservative hopeful will emerge who will start appearing on news programs and getting positive coverage in the conservative press. That person, whom I think has already surfaced, will be used by the RNC to squish Palin’s ambitions and cleanse the party of the infection. Otherwise, the GOP will be in such chaos in 2012 that they may disappear altogether. Then, we’d probably see a “red state” bloc form that would be made up solely of obstructionists. And we would all have Sarah Palin to thank for that.
November 26th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
Matt, I think you’re exactly right about Palin. She has never shown any overt interest in or knowledge of international affairs, or even national issues. If we were to believe even half of what came out of the McCain organization toward the end of the campaign, her knowledge of the world outside of Alaska was woefully inadequate for the office which she was seeking. Some have suggested that this is something she could correct over the next four years, but I have my doubts. I see no indication that she has the native intelligence or intellectual curiosity to develop a sophisticated understanding of the world. This deficiency is clearly manifest every time she opens her mouth in public. During the infamous turkey interview, one would have needed an interpreter to understand what she was saying. She routinely uses familiar catch-phrases, frankensteining them together as if they make a coherent thought. The sooner this person is off the national stage, the better it will be for all involved, especially the Republican Party.
November 26th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
Thanks for the correction, Professor.
November 26th, 2008 at 2:59 pm
But of course.
After all, Alabama has enough of its own problems without also having to be responsible for Bill Clinton.