# Sarah Palin may leave Republican Party. **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [June 30, 2013, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-may-leave-republican-party/662291 "2013-06-30T21:39:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-may-leave-republican-party/662291/101 "2013-07-03T18:15:20Z")
Then to modify \*\*Gyrate’s \*\*post: I feared her in the White House the way I would fear leaving a loaded Uzi on a table in a room with a curious toddler. While unlikely that the toddler will notice it, and it’s debatable whether the toddler will also notice the stepstool in the corner, there is still a far-less than zero chance that the toddler can retrieve the firearm. Granted, the safety is on, which makes the prospect minimally less daunting, yet there remains a substantial threat–there is still enormous capacity for untold death and destruction through ignorance and ineptitude. ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-may-leave-republican-party/662291/102 "2013-07-03T18:28:55Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > Again, I could be wrong here, but I thought it was common knowledge that he more or less had her forced on him by the party. Am I misremembering this all? **zoid** , you are correct. Runningmates are selected by the party, not the candidate. McCain didn’t have much say in it. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-may-leave-republican-party/662291/103 "2013-07-03T18:31:25Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > If Sarah Palin is such a nonentity, why the obsession over her and everything she does? You must be reading a different MB than I am. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-may-leave-republican-party/662291/104 "2013-07-03T18:43:01Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > Yet the left is absolutely terrified of her. I can speak only for myself. I am not terrified of her. I am terrified that there is a minute chance that the nation could wind up electing this stupid woman as president and the utter catastrophe that would ensue. I don’t think she would ever run since the virtually certain landslide defeat would make her brand worth less and her speaking fees might go down. She also is as lazy as she is stupid, and wouldn’t want to spend the effort needed to pass herself off as anything more substantial than Rick Perry in drag. As long as she does nothing more than make preposterous statements or issue tweets from her bunker, she’s harmless enough. But never underestimate the stupidity of the Republican voter, so the possibility of a Palin nomination should scare the bejeezus out of all of us. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-may-leave-republican-party/662291/105 "2013-07-03T18:49:04Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > Yet the left is absolutely terrified of her. This is such utter right-wing bullshit that I don’t even know where to begin. > [@](#): > > As evidenced by the multitude of threads and posts about her. If Sarah Palin is such a nonentity, why the obsession over her and everything she does? That’s like saying people obsess over Lindsey Lohan because they’re afraid of her. No, it’s because it’s amusing to watch Palin continue on her path to irrelevance; to hear her latest inane remarks; and to feel relief that we really did dodge a bullet both with her and McCain. She’s a popular speaker with the loony set, for sure, and will continue to be as long as she continues to spout the same tired buzzwords that get the rabble riled up. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-may-leave-republican-party/662291/106 "2013-07-03T18:49:13Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > I can speak only for myself. I am not terrified of her. I am terrified that there is a minute chance that the nation could wind up electing this stupid woman as president and the utter catastrophe that would ensue. This is the exact same mentality the left had over Reagan in the 70’s. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-may-leave-republican-party/662291/107 "2013-07-03T18:57:00Z")
:smack: > [@pkbites](#): > > This is the exact same mentality the left had over Reagan in the 70’s. And we were proven right. The Reagan presidency was the second worst in history, behind only W. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-may-leave-republican-party/662291/108 "2013-07-03T19:05:36Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > This is the exact same mentality the left had over Reagan in the 70’s. More utter bullshit. I was there too, my friend, and it didn’t happen. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-may-leave-republican-party/662291/109 "2013-07-03T19:05:53Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > And we were proven right. Actually it’s just the opposite. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-may-leave-republican-party/662291/110 "2013-07-03T19:06:54Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > More utter bullshit. I was there too, my friend, and it didn’t happen. It most certainly did. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-may-leave-republican-party/662291/111 "2013-07-03T19:07:14Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > Actually it’s just the opposite. Yeah, right proven were we. Still makes sense in the opposite direction. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-may-leave-republican-party/662291/112 "2013-07-03T19:17:01Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > It most certainly did. Nonsense. People mocked him for being an actor, disregarding his experience in two terms as governor of CA, made comments about “electing Mickey Mouse” as president. Nobody was “afraid” of him. That’s just a stupid characterization of what went on. They probably _should_ have been afraid of him, considering the havoc he eventually wreaked on the country. Now, Nixon was a different story. People were definitely afraid of the man getting into the White House. Turns out they were right. Oh, and to meet your arbitrary qualification to venture an opinion on RR in this thread, I was born in '47. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-may-leave-republican-party/662291/113 "2013-07-03T19:32:46Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > They probably _should_ have been afraid of him, considering the havoc he eventually wreaked on the country. People shouldn’t blame Reagan for their failures. His Presidency was some of the best years our nation ever saw! Especially considering the 4 years prior to his election. I grow weary of this thread. Lets just let it lead to the Nazis and get it over with. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-may-leave-republican-party/662291/114 "2013-07-03T20:12:57Z")
Actually, there WAS a fear of Reagan: that he’d get us all nuked with his confrontational foreign/defense policies. And that was mostly from the heirs of the hard-lefty wing. But as mentioned, there was derision of him as Bonzo’s Uncle, disregarding his governor credentials. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-may-leave-republican-party/662291/115 "2013-07-03T20:36:29Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > Palin was nothing more than the Vice Presidential candidate in a year that was highly improbable that her party would win. A vice President only has 'minute power in the case of a tie during a Senate vote. And she had no more chance of becoming VP in '08 than Geraldine Ferraro did in '84. Dude, McCain may not have been _loved_ by 75% of this nation before the election, but he was generally respected as a competent and sincere ‘take charge’ kind of guy who at least could be expected to have some experience-grounded respect for our military. I was having a really tough time deciding whether to vote for the greenhorn or the old-timer from the party that had just given us 8 years of W. As soon as Palin opened her mouth I looked at John’s age, his previous cancer history, considered the effect of the stress imposed on the POTUS as well as the apparent lapse in judgment that led him to consider her an acceptable replacement–the job was likely to be the death of this man, and this belligerent, ignorant, uneducated, hockey mom from the woods (and all of us along with her) would be torn to shreds by the real politicians in the world. I voted for Obama and prayed he wouldn’t derail the train. She absolutely cost him _my_ vote in an election one would hardly call a landslide. McCain was by no means even ‘likely’ to lose the election until he put her name next to his. > [@](#): > > Yet the left is absolutely terrified of her. You keep saying this, but it is one of the more idiotic mantras barfed out by The Right. Except, as has been stated, to the extent I would be terrified of her incompetence as a leader who would instantly redefine the USA as international prey, I don’t fear her. I loathe the woman she has shown to the media and I consider her a dangerous work of ignorance, but I fear her no more than I do a hornet. (I’m not afraid of hornets, but I feel more comfortable in their absence) I certainly don’t feel she is capable of gaining sufficient popular support to make the USA an uncomfortable place for me to live. That sort of fear I reserve for the likes of Dick Cheney and John Ashcroft (both of whom are still at large). > [@](#): > > As evidenced by the multitude of threads and posts about her. If Sarah Palin is such a nonentity, why the obsession over her and everything she does? That, I admit, is a mystery to me as well. Probably has something to do with the way people feed trolls even though they know better. Oh. ETA: Ok, I mentioned Cheney & Ashcroft. Are they close enough to Godwinizing or do we actually have to talk about guys with odd moustaches? ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-may-leave-republican-party/662291/116 "2013-07-03T20:59:11Z")
The multitude of threads and posts about her are a direct result of her shameless ignorance. See, we like it when the other side makes itself look bad. It makes us look better by comparison, it makes their supporters look stupid. Mocking is not a sign of fear, it’s a sign of disdain, if your side is supported by Sarah Palin your side becomes less. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-may-leave-republican-party/662291/117 "2013-07-03T21:46:18Z")
Say, speaking of Reagan, how is that Grenada Memorial coming along? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-may-leave-republican-party/662291/118 "2013-07-03T21:58:24Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > That’s like saying people obsess over Lindsey Lohan because they’re afraid of her. Well, that Blonde Skeletor look she had going for a while was **scary!** :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Enkel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/df705f/32.png) [@Enkel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enkel)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-may-leave-republican-party/662291/119 "2013-07-03T23:22:10Z")
> [@Ken001](#): > > Coz she’s made of…wood? > > Build a bridge outta her! Well, that’ll get you no where! ---
**Author:** ![Enkel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/df705f/32.png) [@Enkel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enkel)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-may-leave-republican-party/662291/120 "2013-07-03T23:25:54Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > I don’t think she would ever run since the virtually certain landslide defeat would make her brand worth less and her speaking fees might go down. She also is as lazy as she is stupid, and wouldn’t want to spend the effort needed to pass herself off as anything more substantial than Rick Perry in drag. As long as she does nothing more than make preposterous statements or issue tweets from her bunker, she’s harmless enough. But never underestimate the stupidity of the Republican voter, so the possibility of a Palin nomination should scare the bejeezus out of all of us. She’s going to need a new reason to sell more books. Look at how many ran for POTUS last time and merged it with their current book tour. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-may-leave-republican-party/662291.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-may-leave-republican-party/662291.md?page=7)