More Quote of the Day Honorable Mentions, Part 51

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"Win Some for The Gipper" Edition...

Reagan To Palin:

"Having once worked directly for Ronald Reagan, let me assure our website readers that he was not immune to criticism from those who felt he was not always ‘conservative enough’ or endorsed candidates some did not like... Sarah Palin is a leader in a similar mold. She leads and others follow. She speaks and others are inspired. She lives by example and her countrymen are motivated to do the same. Obama knows he has his hands full in 2012. The White House does not fear Governors Romney, Huckabee or Pawlenty, no matter what their attributes may be. They fear Palin, because she pierces the armor of Obama’s daily baloney as no-one else can."

Chris Robling at the Chicago Daily Observer:

"I think one would have to go back to a totally ecstatic and huge crowd that greeted Ronald Reagan in the closing days of the 1984 campaign at the then-Rosemont Horizon in his bid to boost Chuck Percy and bring Illinois home for both. Reagan carried Illinois, Senator Percy lost to Paul Simon. Off the top of my mind I cannot recall another event in league with last night. Palin's political message came down to some very significant points, drawing from Reagan as a son of Illinois..."

Hillbuzz:

"Twice in the last month we’ve had the sincere and unbelievable privilege of watching the Palins up close as the Governor delivered two important addresses in our home state of Illinois. In both speeches, Palin cited President Ronald Reagan as a driving influence in her life and political career, drawing great attention to the fact Reagan was born and educated in Illinois — the state in which we believe Palin will officially launch her 2012 presidential bid on February 6th, 2011…Reagan’s 100th birthday. She’ll do it – we betcha – in either Tampica or Eureka, two cities in our state intimately connected to Reagan. And she’ll do it in the face of all the naysayers and talking heads in the Lamestream Media who obsessively strive every day to destroy her, to ridicule her, to mock her, and to tear her down. Because the media wants Barack Obama to win a second term, and they know Sarah Palin is the only thing that can stop that."

Patrick S. Adams at Liberty's Lamp:

"It wasn't the Reagan kool aid drinkers that got him elected in 1980. It was more the independent, moderate and Republican insider skeptics that broke for him at the last minute when confronted with the alternative of having to cast a vote for Jimmy Carter. It took the 'there you go again' debate performance to convince the necessary voting block of something true Reaganites had known for years: that he was capable of doing the job. And like Reagan's win in 1980, it will be the anti-incumbent vote that will decide her fate."

Stacy Drake at The Cypress Times:

"The value for conservative candidates getting a Palin endorsement goes without saying. There will be many contentious battles in the coming months and I am glad to see Governor Palin getting involved. She’s never been one to ‘play it safe’ or somebody to not ‘step on any toes’ as too many top political leaders are prone to do. She has shown courage and wisdom in her picks regardless of what many armchair pundits think or say. She has picked a number of great candidates to support and is making for a very interesting primary season, to say the least."

Aaron F. Park at The National Republicrat:

"What major 'Republican' endorsements does Thomas the Tax Engine have? He can cite quotes in his ghastly oversized mailer all he wants – but he still wanted to tax the internet, three separate times wanted to raise gas taxes, wants a carbon emissions tax and after getting reamed by blogs – will probably try to tax blogs too. Carly Fiorina appears to have finally broken through the Establishment wall – Sarah Palin did it again. People rail against Sarah Palin, but real voters seem to love her and real Republicans seem to follow her."

Shannon Bell at Right Pundits:

"The current frontrunner in South Carolina’s gubernatorial race is AG Henry McMaster; that could change very soon. Former Governor Sarah Palin endorsed Nikki Haley, a state representative and the first Indian-American to be elected to South Carolina’s legislature... Attorney General Henry McMaster had said that he would love to have Palin become a supporter of his campaign; that’s not to be. In a twist, Senator John McCain has endorsed McMaster. Although trailing McMaster and Andre Bauer, the state’s Lieutenant Governor, Sarah Palin endorsing Nikki Haley will more than likely change the landscape of the... race."

Robert Morris at the Myrtle Beach Sun News Opinion Blog:

"Back in March, when we talked about how the fact that each Republican candidate for governor has been endorsed by a different former 2008 GOP presidential hopeful, we noted that none of those endorsements mattered as much as Sarah Palin's or Jim DeMint's would... Palin has now weighed in... The state's pundit class is on fire over this, and that's bound to translate into columns and air time beyond the usual endorsement article. To put it more simply, Haley will be better known after this weekend, and that's a problem for her opponents. The endorsement could also mean money, which Haley sorely needs... I don't know if this happens consistently, but a conservative upstart running for Congress against a Republican in upstate New York late last year received more than $100,000 overnight following Palin's endorsement... The Palin itself brand is largely untested in South Carolina... But Palin's style, what little I know about it, seems an obvious fit for South Carolina: strongly pro-military, strongly pro-Christian, slightly outside the Republican mainstream - in fact, slightly outside the mainstream, period, and usually proud of it... Every political operative touts every new development as evidence of their campaign's 'momentum,' but I would say this third-place candidate appears to have the real thing."

Lori Ziganto at David Horowitz's NewsReal Blog:

"Self-avowed modern day feminists are anything but feminist. In fact, they are diametrically opposed to feminism, by it’s very definition, because their entire agenda is actually harmful to women. This is why I now call them Femogynists and I’m taking the term feminist back. True feminists are women like Sarah Palin and Nikki Haley [whom Palin has endorsed]. They are the new faces of feminism. That has a great built-in bonus, too — they are far easier on the eyes and exhibit none of that irksome hysterical screeching like the already irrelevant and soon to be extinct femogynists. They, and women like them, are coming to the forefront now."

Erick Erickson at RedState.com:

"I went over [Friday] to South Carolina and introduced Nikki Haley at her rally with Sarah Palin. It was a terrific experience. Sarah Palin really is a terrific lady. So too is South Carolina’s next Governor, Nikki Haley."

Clark Brooks at The Greenville News:

"Sarah Palin’s endorsement doesn’t necessarily mean state Rep. Nikki Haley will defeat Gresham Barrett, Henry McMaster and Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer for the Republican nomination for governor. But Bruce Ransom, a Clemson University political science professor, said, 'At a minimum it will give her candidacy the excitement and attention I don’t think it has had heretofore...' McMaster previously said he would love to have Palin’s support, and Rob Godfrey, McMaster’s spokesman, didn’t downplay Palin’s endorsement of Haley. Instead, he said Friday that it is a blow to Barrett’s campaign... B.J. Boling, Barrett’s spokesman, said Palin’s endorsement of Haley is a blow to McMaster."

Richard B. McCarty at Voting Under the Influence:

"Sarah Palin is a force in Republican Party politics and has rock star status among some groups of conservatives. Palin’s endorsement of Nikki Haley for Governor churned up a race that has remained fluid. Further, if you doubt Palin’s prominence in the Republican Party, note how Attorney General McMaster and Gresham Barrett chose to swipe at each other instead of criticize Palin and her endorsement of Haley. Indeed, events over the past few weeks seem to indicate that Haley might have what President Bush the Elder called “the Big Mo.” Haley held her own in the debates, her campaign got Gresham Barrett off track, and Reform SC’s full throated support gave Haley a financial boost. Now, that someone as prominent as Sarah Palin has endorsed Haley, the Haley campaign is for real."

Charles Reynolds at Examiner.com:

"Sarah Palin, darling of the Tea party movement and bane to the Democratic Party (as well as much of the focus of their spin machines of late), has given her endorsement to Nikki Haley's bid for Governor. No small thing, this. For the most part, endorsements mean little to voters. For candidates, especially ones with little name recognition of their own, endorsements are a way to show voters who they are. But Palin's endorsement comes less than a month before the primaries, and carries with it a message so far removed from 'business as usual' in government. In a swell of anger at the establishment growing across the country (as could be seen in the Scott Brown victory earlier in the year and the GOP Governors of New Jersey and Virginia), this particular nod from a well known public figure will have a definite strong effect on the Haley campaign."

Heath Haussamen at NMPolitics.net:

"Allen Weh and Susana Martinez are in a virtual tie in the Republican gubernatorial primary race while the other three candidates lag far behind, according to a poll conducted for the Albuquerque Journal and released today... Weh has been in the race longer than Martinez and outspent her nearly 3-1. He’s also pumped $1 million of his own money into his campaign. He’s been able to spread his message further than Martinez. But Martinez’s message is apparently resonating with more of those who hear it, which explains how she’s keeping up with Weh even though she has less money to spend. Martinez has raised more money from individual contributors than Weh or any other candidate in the race. She’s also had more high-profile officials coming to her aid, picking up the endorsements of more state lawmakers than the other candidates and, today, accepting the endorsement of Sarah Palin at a rally in Albuquerque... Palin has made financial contributions to candidates she’s been endorsing around the nation, so it’s possible that her endorsement and potential contribution could help Martinez keep pace with Weh."

Larry Behrens at The New Mexico Independent:

"On the same day the Albuquerque Journal released a poll showing [Susana] Martinez in a virtual tie with Allen Weh, the 2008 Republican Vice Presidential candidate offered her support to Martinez... Both Palin and Martinez spent plenty of time with the crowd after their speeches, and attendees’ eagerness to meet Palin, have their photos taken with her and get her autograph, showed she has plenty of support in Albuquerque."

- JP