The Cap Times: You can bet that Palin is coming to Wisconsin

*
John Nichols, associate editor of The Capital Times, which bills itself as "Your Progressive Voice," predicts in the Madison-based web newspaper that Gov. Palin will campaign in Wisconsin this fall:

Bet on a late September or October stop in Wausau or Rhinelander or Ashland for 7th Congressional District candidate Sean Duffy, the former TV reality show star who caught her fancy early in the 2010 campaign season.

And she may make more stops in the state.

That’s something that Republicans and Democrats should figure into their campaign calculus because, like it or not, the 2008 Republican nominee for vice president is making herself a definitional player — perhaps the definitional player — in the current campaign.

[...]

She provided the publicity, fundraising oomph and political push for newcomer Joe Miller’s audacious challenge to incumbent Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski.

[...]

The former GOP vice presidential candidate’s star, which was already showing, is going to shine a good deal more brightly. And her favored candidates, not just in Alaska but around the country, are going to be more determined than ever to get her campaigning on their behalf.

This is something Wisconsin Democrats, if they are smart, need to consider with regard to the 7th District race, where she has already engaged, and potentially with regard to other contests where she might engage. (If gun-toting, Bible-quoting Rebecca Kleefisch, the closest contender Wisconsin has to a Palin, is nominated for lieutenant governor, bet on a heightened level of involvement by the Alaskan, who promises to back “mama grizzlies” wherever she finds them.)

[...]

She’s going to be a force to be reckoned with this fall, bringing political star power not just to the usual Republican suspects but to a lot of candidates who, like Alaska’s Joe Miller, had been counted out by political insiders. Democrats ought not fool themselves about the Palin factor. Indeed, if they underestimate this emerging reality, they will do so at their political peril.

Nichols' last sentence is an echo of remarks we've seen from other liberals who recognize the potency of Palin Power. But though a few on the left will heed the warnings, most will continue to mock her, attack her personally, and dismiss both her style and her substance. The left just can't help themselves because for most libs, arrogance is a fatal character trait. And so they will unwittingly help Sarah Palin work her political magic.

h/t: roy y

- JP