Sarah Palin and NY-23: The reaction before the votes are counted

It's election day, and as voters go to the polls in some key special elections, here are a dozen great quotes for Palinistas:

The Underground Conservative:

"Already, the whimpering of the so-called “big tent” crowd is being heard, namely that these mean ol’ conservatives drove out just the type of candidate Republicans need, namely a 'pragmatic, principled' woman. Not so fast. These very same voices are the ones who constantly bash the likes of Michele Bachmann and Sarah Palin."

Creative Minority Report:

"Sarah Palin, who Katie Couric recently referred to as a 'sideshow' on the 'fringe' of the party, endorsed a little known third party conservative candidate. And then everything changed... What just occured in New York... my be seen in retrospect as the beginning of something huge."

Seldom Wrong, Never in Doubt:

"This could be big for lots of reasons. It should spell the end of Republicans looking center-left to restore the party to parity. It should spell the end of mainstream pundits insisting that conservatism is dead. It should be scored a victory for Sarah Palin, who stumped for the conservative Hoffman and was derided by some insiders for breaking with party discipline."

Pamela Geller:

"The Arctic fox has the last laugh...I am loving this! Newt is relegated to the dustbin of history and deservedly so. He turned long ago. Enough with the old, in with the true!"

Blogspression.com:

"I think we can conclude that the Palin factor is still alive and well. Obama is supporting many failing Democratic candidates in many races across this country. It seems the Obama factor is turning toxic. How long did that take? 9 months to be exact. So much for the honeymoon. It seems no matter how much the media and others have gone after her she seems to be the one prevailing."

Doctor Zero:

"Republican voters would be well-advised to ignore the people who engineered the Scozzafava debacle, and listen for the sound of Sarah Palin’s monster truck instead. America needs conservatives more than it needs Republicans."

Maggie's Notebook:

"Sarah is no longer an elected official. She is now one of the conservative sentries sprinkled around the country - standing guard, as are our the tea parties. We are back on track."

Libertas:

"Thank God for Sarah Palin! The last real man in the Republican party leadership is a woman... It is not just Sarah Palin the elites fear! It is all the other Sarah Palins and 'Joe' Palins she will inspire!"

Political Pistachio:

"By endorsing [Scozzafava] Newt Gingrich lost the respect of conservatives, and by endorsing her opponent, the Conservative Party opposition, Doug Hoffman, Sarah Palin's popularity rose even more."

Perry de Havilland:

"Sometimes the 'leader' is the one out in front, well, leading, and the people who follow that person's lead only after they see the way things are developing are mere 'followers'... the bandwagon jumpers and weathervane watchers. And that makes Sarah Palin a leader... quite possibly the de facto leader if she really wants. Certainly people who bet their party machine politics against her will think long and hard before crossing her after what happened to Dede Scozzafava..."

ProgressiveThink.com:

"Her electrifying acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention this past summer... galvanize[d] a rock solid group of Americans who want less, not more, government. In a single moment... Governor Sarah Palin became the Godmother of the New Reaganism... The New Reaganism is here. It is alive. It is well. And it will... culminate in... finally taking back this country, completely, in 2012."

Matt Lewis:

"One front in the battle over the heart and soul of the GOP is the 2012 presidential race, and the NY-23 drama is not without presidential implications. Sarah Palin's surprise endorsement of Hoffman helped elevate his visibility while also cementing her status as the favorite presidential candidate of the grassroots conservative 'tea party' set. This designation might come in handy in, say, Iowa, if she decides to run for the GOP nomination."

- JP