Hard-hitting Palinista, Mr. L said about the Republican Party establishment’s mentality as the primaries were concluding, “‘we have to do party unity. We have to have conservatives and Republicans coming together. It’s all got to work. We have to beat Obama.’ … and this is how you think the strategy is to be? To play a stupid game with a stupid, antiquated convention? You can’t give this woman the respect she deserves?”
Offered Two Speaking Slots in ’08 Before VP Pick. Now?
He continued, “she was offered two slots in 2008 before she was even picked as VP. In those emails, you see it. And now, they are playing this game with thinking about not inviting her, and then the snub – maybe she will get invited and we’ll have to sit and take it when they give her a crappy spot in the speaker’s list, ‘and we’re going to trickle out all these names, just to get you to bust.’ And all these names that they’re tricking out are all these identity groups….it’s the same thing as what the Democrats do. The identity politics, instead of what Reagan fought for, which was to empower the individual.”
Mr. L believes that if Gov. Palin is given a lesser spot, she should decline. I originally shared this opinion, but retracted it. I now think Gov. Palin would turn that lemon into lemonade for the good of the country. As a C4P commenter (moniker: wpmwindsong) pointed out in a conversation with me about this, “She has always said that it is not about any one person. It is about saving America. That is why she is a treasure. It’s not about her.” The commenter also pointed out that “prime time is not about the time, but about the person.” Simply spoken, any time for Gov. Palin will be turned into prime time. I agree, but I do share Mr. L’s anger over how Gov. Palin has been treated.
Onus for Party Unity on Romney and RNC
The RNC and the Romney campaign still have made no effort to reach out to the conservative base, Tea Partiers, and Palinistas to bring about this party unity. The onus is on the RNC and the Romney campaign to bring about the needed unity.
Gov. Palin has gone far beyond the call of duty in this regard on her end. On June 19, she said she’d vote for Romney in a heartbeat over Obama. On August 1, Gov. Palin said she has ‘No hatchet to bury’ with Mitt Romney. Following is her complete quote from that interview:
Well, I know, speaking personally, there is no hatchet to bury or no olive branch that needs to be extended between Mitt Romney and myself. We have a good relationship, and I have a great respect for him and I’m so thankful that the GOP has a strong candidate who understands the private sector and what it takes to get the economy roaring again – that he will be our candidate. So, I can’t speak though for their strategy and who it is that they will choose to be participants in the convention.
In the foregoing, Gov. Palin expresses her respect for Romney – whose operatives have a history of trying to politically destroy her for these past four years – and acknowledged that he is the nominee. She put this past behind her for the good of the country. Further, the Palinista community took great pains in the latter weeks of June and the early weeks of July to to root out irrational people who continue to push for a “miracle in Tampa,” traffic in “stealth campaign” conspiracies, spam websites with their slogans, and utterly refuse to get on board with Gov. Palin’s mission as she has chosen to execute it. Gov. Palin and the Palinista community have answered the call for party unity in the main and we’re certainly not going to vote for Obama.
Palinistas Not Alone in Feeling Alienated
And, it’s not just Palinistas who feel alienated. From NewsMAX’s Social Conservatives Demand Prime-Time Slot At GOP Convention:
“I think social conservatives are puzzled as to Romney’s effort, or lack thereof, toward intensifying the turnout of social conservatives,” former Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell told Newsmax on Tuesday.
“It’s not as if social conservatives are not economic conservatives,” he added. “So if you think you can marginalize social conservatives and not impact economic conservatives, you’re foolish. Among a growing number of conservatives, their conservatism is indivisible.”
…
“Much of the social-conservative angst could be assuaged in a single stroke, if former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the gold standard when it comes to rousing the party’s grass-roots base, were given a prominent role.”
Whether the Romney campaign and the RNC will listen remains to be seen.
Voting for Romney? Or Against Obama
Mr. L spoke about his dealings with some Romney supporters and how they said that if he didn’t support Romney, he was “supporting Obama.” This line of attack does not surprise me in the least, because “Anybody But Obama” (ABO) is the underpinning of most of Romney’s support base. In A Sign of Things to Come?, I cited a National Journal article which stated that over 60% of Romney’s supporters are behind him not because they’re voting for him, but because they are voting against Obama.
Can Romney Really Afford to Disregard GOP Base?
Rasmussen Reports – which polls likely voters and is considered highly reliable – has a daily Presidential Tracking Poll. Today, Romney and Obama are in a dead heat with both men at 45%. Obama was leading by 1% yesterday. Yes, Romney out-raises Obama by a significant margin, but money alone is not going to help him defeat Obama. His polling numbers should be better than this.
Romney has to to close the sale with more voters; again the Romney campaign is responsible to bring about that unity. Mr. L noted that he receives a very high volume of campaign literature and phone calls from the Romney campaign soliciting donations. I can vouch for the volume, which averages at least one communique daily, not counting emails, which alone sometimes average up to three or more daily. The Romney campaign would get a lot more mileage by reaching out to conservatives of all stripes. Giving Gov. Palin the respect she deserves would be a good place to start unification.
The current course of taking conservatives – Palinista or otherwise – for granted is not a winning strategy, especially when Romney’s poll numbers should show him in a decisive lead and instead show him in a dead heat some days and behind Obama on others. Romney needs all the votes he can get. He is not in a position to alienate large constituencies – especially in the swing states.
Mr. L’s Synopsis
Following is Mr. L’s synopsis on his broadcast:
Mitt Romney & RNC have still not invited Sarah Palin to the Republican National Convention. Did you know that before she became a VP candidate, she was set to speak at TWO time slots at the 2008 convention? It’s in Palin’s emails. Now these bums in the GOPe and Romney campaign play their little game being hesitant about offering her one prime speaking slot. Frankly, a Romney GOPe diss against Sarah Palin is a diss against all grass roots conservatives and tea party patriots. They continue to do this at their own peril. Why I will NEVER defend Romney on ANYTHING ever again. Dealing with moronic Romney supporters online.
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