Here we go again: TPN wants Gov. Palin for RNC Chair (Updated)

She says thanks, but no thanks
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Just when we thought the "Sarah Palin for RNC Chair" drum had been tossed on the ash heap of history, Judson Phillips starts banging on it again. Phillips, you may recall, is the founder of Tea Party Nation, and he's planning to send a letter to Gov. Palin asking her to run for Michael Steele's job at RNC. Although he hasn't mailed the letter yet, Phillips is mass emailing it to everyone on his list in hopes of "getting the band back together again." As if that will somehow make the cockamamie idea seem more palpable to the party's most recent vice presidential candidate:

Dear Governor Palin,

John Kennedy once said, "ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country."

Right now, your country needs you as the Chairman of the Republican National Committee.

We are in a fight for the survival of our country. The Democrats have walked off the socialist cliff and are driving the country headlong into the abyss. Unfortunately, there are many on the Republican side who do not seem to get it. They are the embodiment of the old political joke that says, with the Democrats you get more of the same and with Republicans you get less of the same.

We need you as Chairman of the RNC. You have shown in the past no hesitation to take on the establishment. You did it in Alaska. If we end up with establishment control of the GOP and their support for an establishment candidate in 2012, Obama and the socialists will have won. An establishment candidate will not work to repeal Obamacare and the other programs Obama, Pelosi and Reid have put in place. We need someone who will put conservatives in control of the party apparatus, not RINOs.

Michael Steele has spent Republican money with the gusto of a liberal. You showed in Alaska, you know how to put the brakes on unnecessary spending.

Finally, you are a superstar. You have an unbelievable ability to light up a crowd and to raise money. Both of which the Republican Party needs. Something is really wrong with the GOP when the RNC cannot fund a get out the vote campaign for mid-term elections. The GOP needs a conservative who can raise money and energize the troops. You are the only one out there with these unique talents.

We, the undersigned, are asking you to ask yourself what you can do for your country and to step up and become a candidate for Chairman of the RNC.

Thank you for your consideration and for what you continue to do for this great country.

Judson Phillips, Founder - Tea Party Nation

The election for chairman will be held in January, and Steele is expected to run for a second term. Others have also expressed interest in the position, including Saul Anuzis and Maria Cino.

Phillips has restarted a drumbeat which was last heard in July. By our count, this makes the third time someone has tried to make a wave to recruit Gov. Palin to run for the Chairmanship, only to have it wash out on both previous attempts. We reiterated our thoughts during the second wave why we were not inclined to pick up sticks and join in the drum chorus:

As we said back when the idea of replacing Steele with Gov. Palin was first floated, we're not so sure that she would want the job.

[...]

Plus, the chairmanship of either major party is largely a thankless job and literally a hot seat. It is mostly a place where politicians go to die after their they can no longer be viable candidates for elective office. And we don't believe Sarah Palin is necessarily through with being a player in elective politics. She hasn't ruled it out, and she's even hinted that if the right situation presents itself, she will take advantage of it. We're not among those who believe the push to sit the governor in the RNC chair is an ee-vill conspiracy by her political enemies to take her out of the 2012 presidential race, one which she hasn't (formally at least) yet entered. We're just not convinced going to the RNC lies along the path she has planned for herself. At best, it is a detour with few rewards and plenty of pitfalls.

We also believe that there is no shortage of Republicans who could do a swell job in Steele's place. Mitt Romney is just one of many. He's a great fundraiser, isn't given to putting his foot in his mouth nearly half as often as Steele, and he is well-liked by the establishment types who dominate RNC.

[...]

As we said in our first post on this matter, the RNC Chairman's only duties are to raise cash, recruit candidates, give speeches and not generate bad press. Unlike Obiwan Kenobi saving the Galactic Republic from the evil Empire, the GOP will not be saved by its chairman, and Sarah Palin is not our only hope for having a capable person in the position.

[...]

Jonah Goldberg agrees that the next RNC Chair should be chosen from the GOP establishment:

"I don’t think it’s a great idea for Palin to become GOP chair. It would certainly be fun, and Kevin makes some good points as to why Palin should do it, but I think the ideal GOP chairman (uh, -person) should be the most tea-partyish establishment Republican possible."

Politico's Andy Barr offers two more reasons why Gov. Palin may not be interested in jumping into the fray for the RNC chairmanship:

Palin has been an ardent Steele defender during some of the most trying times of his chairmanship. She even lent her high profile to a pair of RNC fundraising events in October in California and Florida.

Palin also is weighing a potential presidential run during the same cycle in which Phillips would like her to serve as chairman of the party. Accepting such a post would effectively end her campaign before it starts.

Not much has changed since our post back in July, except now Phillips has picked up the drumsticks. But the drum he's beating seems to have a broken skin. Is that really a drum he's pounding, or is it just a dead horse?

Update: In a statement to ABC News, Sarah Palin politely declines:

"I respect the desire to have someone in charge of the RNC who understands the wishes of the conservative grassroots and understands that power resides with the people and not the vested interests in DC. However, the primary role of the RNC chair seems be that of fundraiser-in-chief, and there are others who would probably be much more comfortable asking people for money than I would be, and they would definitely enjoy it more."

h/t: Jackie

- JP