# Why is Sarah Palin considered the de facto leader of the Republican party? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 13, 2011, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-sarah-palin-considered-the-de-facto-leader-of-the-republican-party/567525 "2011-01-13T22:19:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2011, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-sarah-palin-considered-the-de-facto-leader-of-the-republican-party/567525/101 "2011-01-29T04:06:42Z")
Palin was elected governor of Alaska. Then she quit that elected position to make money. She walked away from the work that thousands of volunteers and paid workers had done in her behalf. She apparently felt their work was meaningless. They worked hard for her and she threw it all away. That is totally unforgivable. ---
**Author:** ![Naxos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/50afbb/32.png) [@Naxos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Naxos)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2011, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-sarah-palin-considered-the-de-facto-leader-of-the-republican-party/567525/102 "2011-01-29T04:22:22Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > I… > > I just don’t get it. Can some of you please enlighten me? She spews racist call signals and the sheep (see: people that vote Republican) are responding. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2011, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-sarah-palin-considered-the-de-facto-leader-of-the-republican-party/567525/103 "2011-01-29T04:33:29Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Actually Palin does not piss off the liberals. She is such a joke that we think "what kind of dumb shit will she say next’. It is more like having a strange relative that embarrasses the family. > Reading these threads, shows no anger. Just wry amusement. She is comedy relief. The meme that she angers Libs is wrong. We just wonder why the righties don’t ignore her. We pretty much do. > There is just no national Republican leader now. Everybody with any recognition is mostly local. She speaks for the national campaigns by default. Nah. Disagree. We’ve had this conversation before. There’s a lot of Palin dislike out there. The easiest way to end production in an Obama campaign office in 2008 was to have the TV on and Sarah Palin on it. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2011, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-sarah-palin-considered-the-de-facto-leader-of-the-republican-party/567525/104 "2011-01-29T07:27:09Z")
If you want to see why Sarah Palin is a lightweight, [compare and contrast.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVMTAteEkjM&feature=player_embedded#) After watching that video, it occurred to me that if Condoleeza Rice decided to run for President, she would be nominated, and she’d possibly win. The far right would stick with Palin, but Condi would attract a lot of independents and more than a few Democrats, I think. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2011, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-sarah-palin-considered-the-de-facto-leader-of-the-republican-party/567525/105 "2011-01-29T07:41:45Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > If you want to see why Sarah Palin is a lightweight, [compare and contrast.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVMTAteEkjM&feature=player_embedded#) > > After watching that video, it occurred to me that if Condoleeza Rice decided to run for President, she would be nominated, and she’d possibly win. The far right would stick with Palin, but Condi would attract a lot of independents and more than a few Democrats, I think. Wouldn’t she be too, like, tainted, by her association with the Iraq War, etc.? Even in 2012? Also . . . lesbian, almost certainly. Any never-married woman her age (and a younger one could hardly be a candidate) is going to have to answer certain questions if she runs for POTUS. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2011, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-sarah-palin-considered-the-de-facto-leader-of-the-republican-party/567525/106 "2011-01-29T08:15:52Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > If you want to see why Sarah Palin is a lightweight, [compare and contrast.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVMTAteEkjM&feature=player_embedded#) > > After watching that video, it occurred to me that if Condoleeza Rice decided to run for President, she would be nominated, and she’d possibly win. No chance. She’s pro-choice and she’s gay. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2011, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-sarah-palin-considered-the-de-facto-leader-of-the-republican-party/567525/107 "2011-01-29T08:17:19Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Wouldn’t she be too, like, tainted, by her association with the Iraq War, etc.? Even in 2012? > > Also . . . lesbian, almost certainly. Any never-married woman her age (and a younger one could hardly be a candidate) is going to have to answer certain questions if she runs for POTUS. It’s more than just that she isn’t married. She has a longtime partner who she lives and travels with. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2011, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-sarah-palin-considered-the-de-facto-leader-of-the-republican-party/567525/108 "2011-01-29T09:18:36Z")
The point is that if you listen to Condi speak, then listen to Sarah Palin speak, it becomes clear who might be presidential material and who isn’t. As long as there are women like Condi Rice in the Republican Party, Sarah Palin’s got no business being the party’s Presidential nominee. Rice exudes intelligence and thoughtfulness. She comes across as morally certain and strong, but without being a shrill ‘Grizzly Mom’. Tough and competent beats winks and catchphrases every time. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2011, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-sarah-palin-considered-the-de-facto-leader-of-the-republican-party/567525/109 "2011-01-29T09:33:21Z")
That’s all true, but she could never get the Republican nomination. Even if she wasn’t gay, the pro-choice thing would be a deal-breaker. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2011, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-sarah-palin-considered-the-de-facto-leader-of-the-republican-party/567525/110 "2011-01-29T13:50:48Z")
Following some soul-searching as to why the press persists in spending so much time on her, even though she is neither a declared candidate nor current office-holder, _Washington Post_ columnist Dana Milbank has declared February a [Palin-Free month](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/20/AR2011012004349.html). I’m in; how about (the editorial) you? ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2011, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-sarah-palin-considered-the-de-facto-leader-of-the-republican-party/567525/111 "2011-01-29T13:56:23Z")
Secretly, everyone wants to slip into Sarah’s tent on a cold night. If she looked more like a mud fence, she’d never have made it out of the political corral. Looks trumps stupid. ---
**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:** [January 29, 2011, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-sarah-palin-considered-the-de-facto-leader-of-the-republican-party/567525/112 "2011-01-29T14:03:21Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > No chance. She’s pro-choice and she’s gay. Not so gay as to turn down the presidential staff, from what I hear. She’s got a bigger problem than being gay, and that’s being black. Nominate a black candidate, and Nixon’s Southern Strategy is blown to smithereens. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2011, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-sarah-palin-considered-the-de-facto-leader-of-the-republican-party/567525/113 "2011-01-29T15:08:01Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Wouldn’t she be too, like, tainted, by her association with the Iraq War, etc.? Even in 2012? You’re asking that of a guy who still believes in Saddam’s WMD’s, remember? ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2011, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-sarah-palin-considered-the-de-facto-leader-of-the-republican-party/567525/114 "2011-01-29T15:24:10Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Not so gay as to turn down the presidential staff, from what I hear. She’s got a bigger problem than being gay, and that’s being black. Nominate a black candidate, and Nixon’s Southern Strategy is blown to smithereens. Oh, I think nominating a black candidate to run against a black candidate is actually a pretty valid way to get a black nominee for the GOP. But Rice definitely isn’t that candidate. She’s smart, but no. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2011, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-sarah-palin-considered-the-de-facto-leader-of-the-republican-party/567525/115 "2011-01-29T15:28:20Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Rice exudes intelligence and thoughtfulness. She comes across as morally certain and strong, but without being a shrill ‘Grizzly Mom’. Tough and competent beats winks and catchphrases every time. That’s certainly true, but let’s not forget she is incompetent. She was national security advisor at the time of the 9/11 attacks. She was supposed to be the one person in government to break through all the BS and get different agencies – be it the FBI, CIA, DOD, Justice Department, whatever – to work together. She failed and we had to create a whole new cabinet department because of it. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2011, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-sarah-palin-considered-the-de-facto-leader-of-the-republican-party/567525/116 "2011-01-29T15:40:09Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > Obama was rightly praised for his speech. > > Since when do we compare speeches made by Presidents to a video press release from a retired governor who happened to be the VP candidate on failed presidential campaign ticket? 1. Is the debate “Obama is a god and mere mortals ought not to challenge him” v. “Obama is the greatest human who ever lived and mere mortals ought not to challenge him?” or does the OP want to know why Palin is the defacto leader of the RP? Best wishes, hh ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2011, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-sarah-palin-considered-the-de-facto-leader-of-the-republican-party/567525/117 "2011-01-29T15:43:00Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > It’s more than just that she isn’t married. She has a longtime partner who she lives and travels with. I thought that there was some article lately that named her male love interest? No cite, etc…, just in my head. Best wishes, hh ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2011, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-sarah-palin-considered-the-de-facto-leader-of-the-republican-party/567525/118 "2011-01-29T18:40:46Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Not so gay as to turn down the presidential staff, from what I hear. Is this a double-entendre? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2011, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-sarah-palin-considered-the-de-facto-leader-of-the-republican-party/567525/119 "2011-01-29T18:44:59Z")
Thy rod and thy staff. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2011, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-sarah-palin-considered-the-de-facto-leader-of-the-republican-party/567525/120 "2011-01-29T18:50:53Z")
> [@handsomeharry](#): > > I thought that there was some article lately that named her male love interest? > No cite, etc…, just in my head. Not that I know of. I know the Bush White House did not discourage gossip or speculation about male friends being possible love interests, but I also know from an inside State Department source (my dad) that Condi had (at least whem she was SoS), a female partner named Randy who lived with her, traveled with her and was treated as her spouse by staffers and underlings. It was an open secret in State. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-sarah-palin-considered-the-de-facto-leader-of-the-republican-party/567525.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-sarah-palin-considered-the-de-facto-leader-of-the-republican-party/567525.md?page=7)