The Palin factor

At first glance, it would seem last night was a huge victory and vindication,
of sorts, for Sarah Palin. I certainly thought so in the excitement of the
moment. Now I’m not so sure.

While I don’t agree with all of Palin’s positions, I’ve admired her tenacity
and have defended her at times because of the unfair beating she took from the
mainstream media after the 2008 presidential campaigns, and the arrogant
mishandling and trashing by establishment GOP campaign staff. She now stands on
her own, and is capable of accepting both credit and blame, criticism and
praise. In that regard, she has won.
 
But there is little doubt her activism and support of some Tea Party candidates
in GOP primaries led to their victory over the establishment Republican
candidates, but then subsequently, the loss of Senate seats for the GOP (where
Supreme Court justices are confirmed, lest we forget the important differences
between the House and the Senate). In fact, it has cost the Republican Party a Senate
majority, and the GOP may be spared a Palin-induced loss if Lisa Murkowski
(Alaska) wins her write-in campaign after Palin’s handpicked Tea Party
candidate, Joe Miller, defeated Murkowski in the primary.
 
The more “colorful” Palin-endorsed Tea Party candidates lost, where
it was a near certainty we would have seen GOP victories had those same
candidates not prevailed in their respective primaries, namely Sharron Angle in
Nevada and Christine O’Donnell in Delaware. Let’s not forget (and how, pray
tell, could we?) Carl Paladino, the failed Tea Party gubernatorial candidate in
New York. And it’s hard not to wonder if perhaps Palin’s brief visit this past
Monday to West Virginia hurt GOP Senate candidate John Raese more than it
helped in his race against Gov. Joe Manchin (D) for the remainder of the late
Sen. Robert Byrd’s (D) Senate seat.
 
It’s critical at this juncture that Republicans be honest in their analysis —
even if we risk being called RINOs or disloyal or threatened with obscurity if
we refuse the offer of the Kool-Aid. Loyalty can quickly morph into arrogance,
which can so easily lead to failure, as Team Obama has proved.
 
I like Sarah Palin. I admire her, and I’ve defended her when warranted. But she
has caused a bit of harm for the GOP, along with some good, in this election. Her
statement last evening on Fox News that had Mike Castle prevailed in the
Delaware GOP primary over Christine O’Donnell, the Republicans still would have
lost was surprising to me. Palin has often railed against such political spin
when others engage, but her statement was so obviously wrong, and we all know
she knows it’s wrong. That was disappointing to me in that it makes
her appear to be a typical politician, and so many of us wanted her
to be more than that. I’m rooting for her, but I’m not willing to give her a
free pass.
 
The rise of Palin and her considerable influence require her now to carefully
consider each move she makes. Because with such power comes responsibility — it’s
no longer about just Sarah Palin.

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