Naturally her supporters saw merit and her opponents, like the deeply sarcastic and Palin hating New York Magazine grasped the opportunity for page views and to exhale their stench of leftist "snark."
This is in reality what Palin actually said;
"Hannity then asked Palin if she had considered running for Senate from Alaska. “I’ve considered it because people have requested me considering it, but I’m still waiting to see what the lineup will be….I’m glad you brought that up because Sen. Mark Begich has got to be replaced. He has not done what he has promised to do for the people of Alaska, and that was to represent what it is that the nation needs in terms of energy development and so many other natural resource development issues that are near and dear to an Alaskan’s heart. Because he’s on the wrong side of the aisle, he has to go along to get along with his Democrat leadership, and that’s a shame, that’s a waste of opportunity for our nation.”
Hannity pressed her on the issue, asking if she saw that there was no one viable entering that race, would that “propel” her into the race. Palin answered, “Well, I think any American with a heart for service has to always have in the back of their mind that they would do anything, everything that they could to help the cause, even if perhaps if it’s something that doesn't look necessarily appealing or necessarily fitting in with a conventional plan that they would try to orchestrate for themselves and their family. I, along with anybody, would have to say that I would do whatever I could to help, and if that was part of that help, then it would have to be considered.”
Her comments are, unlike what the left reports, clearly honest, self-effacing and a tribute to her putting others first, including the best interest of the GOP as regards getting rid of the Democrat Begich and giving Ted Cruz another senate ally. If that means that she would have to run, possibly sacrificing a 2016 presidential run in the process, then so be it-service above self.
A 2014 senate run would carry massive implications for Palin's future. If she became the candidate no doubt she would be pressed hard to commit to serving the full six years.That would of course preclude a run for the presidential nomination in 2016. A convention draft would always be a possibility but would most likely be remote. The fact that candidate Obama did not serve out his full senate term to run for president would have no bearing on the hateful left's attacks on Palin as a supposed "quitter" if she was elected and decided to run for the presidency in 2016.
But the most challenging decision for Palin would be to have to enter a primary campaign for the Alaskan senator's position. If she ran in a primary and lost then her career would, absolutely, be over on the national scene at least and probably the Alaskan scene as well. If she received the nomination and lost to Begich her career would be over as well. Thus for Palin to pursue the senate nomination would be a brave, lonely and massive decision with huge ramifications for the local, Republican and presidential scene.
If Palin ran in Alaska the ramifications for her career would be such that she would risk all by campaigning out of state for other candidates as she has indicated she is committed to now. That would affect the outcome of many races and by her not being able to support conservatives like she did in 2010 and it could readily affect the balance of power within the GOP going forwards. If she ran and lost her influence would be massively diminished and her "kingmaker" role would be gone with it, again affecting the power balance in the GOP.
If Palin lost, in either the primary or general election, her presidential ambitions, should she have any, would be ended immediately. If she ran and won she is still young enough to have presidential ambitions after Hillary Clinton's first term should that eventuate.
But what might weigh most heavily in Palin's mind, should she look at taking the perhaps fateful step of challenging for the senate seat, is the career of someone Palin admired greatly-Geraldine Ferraro "I stood on her shoulders" Palin once said.
Like Palin, Ferraro was a shock choice, a sensation and she and her family were the subject of a cruel and hateful media. After her VP campaign Ferraro made two attempts for the senate nomination from New York state and was defeated twice after which her political career ended.
Here is the sad, familiar, misogynist and media driven tawdriness that ended Ferraro's career. Palin, must surely have contemplated this, and if she does choose to run, unselfishly, for the Alaskan seat, her brave and lonely decision to do so would be marked as one of enormous courage given Ferraro's history. Palin is a fighter and if she chooses to run she would give it everything knowing that possibly the social, moral and economic future of America may hinge on the result. Ferraro lost by 1%-such an event with Palin would be tragic and a huge loss for conservative America
"Ferraro was ready to enter elective politics again, and ran for the Democratic nomination in the 1992 United States Senate election in New York. Her opponents were State Attorney General Robert Abrams, Reverend Al Sharpton, Congressman Robert J. Mrazek, and New York City Comptroller and former Congresswoman Elizabeth Holtzman. Abrams was considered the early front-runner. Ferraro emphasized her career as a teacher, prosecutor, congresswoman, and mother, and talked about how she was tough on crime. Ferraro drew renewed attacks during the primary campaign from the media and her opponents over (her husband) Zaccaro's finances and business relationships. She objected that a male candidate would not receive nearly as much attention regarding his wife's activities. Ferraro became the front-runner, capitalizing on her star power from 1984, and using the campaign attacks against her as an explicitly feminist rallying point for women voters.
As the primary date neared, her lead began to dwindle under the charges, and she released additional tax returns from the 1980s to try to defray the attacks. Holtzman ran a negative ad accusing Ferraro and Zaccaro of taking more than $300,000 in rent in the 1980s from a pornographer with purported ties to organized crime. The final debates were nasty, and Holtzman in particular constantly attacked Ferraro's integrity and finances. In an unusual election-eve television broadcast, Ferraro talked about "the ethnic slur that I am somehow or other connected to organized crime. There's lots of innuendo but no proof. However, it is made plausible because of the fact that I am an Italian-American. This tactic comes from the poisoned well of fear and stereotype ..." On the September 15, 1992, primary, Abrams edged out Ferraro by less than a percentage point, winning 37 percent of the vote to 36
At the start of 1998, Ferraro ran for the Democratic nomination again in the 1998 United States Senate election in New York The other candidates were Congressman Charles Schumer She had done no fundraising, out of fear of conflict of interest with her Crossfire job, but was nonetheless immediately perceived as the front-runner.Indeed, December and January polls had her 25 percentage points ahead of Green in the race and even further ahead of Schumer. Unlike the previous campaigns, her family finances never became an issue. However, she lost ground during the summer, with Schumer catching up in the polls by early August and then soon passing her. Schumer, a tireless fundraiser, outspent her by a five-to-one margin, and Ferraro failed to establish a political image current with the times."
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