At Swampland, TIME's political blog, Jay Newton-Small chortles over the feigned shock and awe being expressed inside the Beltway Monday in reaction to the SarahPAC 2010 Q2 FEC report. The TIME blogger says that, unlike many of his lamestream media colleagues, he's always believed that Gov. Palin would run in 2012. The conventional wisdom has been that she couln't do it without the staff, advisors, pollsters and PAC money, plus she hasn't been making the required pilgrimages to Iowa and New Hampshire like some of the others have:
Well, she now has the money and her string of endorsements, including a prominent one in Iowa, could set her up nicely for the 2012 primary season. Her staff remains small, but have been effective, witness her video last week. And, frankly, in an anti-incumbent year there's no incentive for Palin to be seen courting establishment types in DC. Instead, she's been using her celebrity to court the Tea Party and they love her for it. As the Washington Republican establishment is learning the hard way this cycle: it takes Republican base voters to win GOP primaries (hello Marco Rubio, Rand Paul and Sharron Angle).Well, what can we say? She had us going on about how she hadn't been building state organizations, mailing lists, etc. too. But if the governor is going to run, and we we end up being proven wrong, we won't be a bit disappointed over it. As a matter of fact, we'll be smiling like the cat that just polished off a rat.
In many ways, Palin's moves mirror her run for governor. She came from the outside, taking down the GOP establishment, including the formidable Governor Frank Murkowski. She stayed on the outside for months, not bothering to build a campaign but delivering key speeches across the state attacking “the old boys club” that raised speculation she'd potentially run. And, finally, when she did announce her campaign burst into life fully formed.
- JP
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