Palin vs GOP

Sarah Palin's standing with the serious thinkers of the conservative movement has sunk even lower than it was.

First, she did not heed the advice of Fox News Chief Roger Ailes, who warned against giving her "blood libel" speech. She did it anyway, to disastrous results -- and, according to New York magazine, it has left a rift between the two.

Second, George Will and other pundits and leading conservative thinkers, are dismayed by Palin's appeal to victimhood and group grievance. It is what drives her popularity with her base group, but it is hurting the conservative cause, they say.

Politico.com recalls the founder of modern conservatism, William Buckley, who provided the intellectual basis for the GOP as "the party of ideas." Asked if it would remain that, if Palin is the nominee, George Will says "The answer is emphatically 'no.'" Another conservative think-tank member said "she is living up to the most skeptical assessment of her."

Columnist Charles Krauthammer said, “When populism becomes purely anti-intellectual it can become unhealthy and destructive.” Peter Wehner, a George Bush strategist, said ". . . she seems at best disinterested in ideas or at least lacks the ability to articulate any philosophical justification for them. She relies instead on shallow talking points.”

Matt Labash, long time writer for Buckley's National Review, said “ . . . she sounds like a professional victimologist, the flip side of any lefty grievance group leader. She’s becoming Al Sharpton, Alaska edition."

It's true that Palin has a following, mostly of people who are aggrieved at liberals and at governmental control, with undertones of class and gender warfare and anti-intellectual populism. But that appeals to only one end of a deeply divided party, not enough to win a general election. The thinking conservatives seem determined not to let Palin and the Tea Party highjack their chances in 2012.

With plenty of both qualified -- and unqualified -- wannabes available and eager for the GOP nomination, it seems increasingly unlikely that it will be Sarah Palin. Whether she will get that message before, or after, some primaries losses remains to be seen.

Ralph

PS: Why have I relented on my "She Who Shall Not Be Named" resolve? The game has shifted. Publicity about her is now more likely to be unfavorable, so I'm no longer so concerned with not helping boost her popularity.