Sarah Palin soldiers on as a diminished figure in the Republican Party

By Robert Costa, Monday, April 28, 5:56 AM

CLIVE, Iowa — Inspired by the possibility of a Sarah Palin presidential run, Peter Singleton moved to this suburban community from California in November 2010 and booked an extended stay at the Days Inn on 114th Street. Palin was a tea party queen-maker at the time, and true believers like Singleton could sense a bid for the White House. For the next 10 months, he traversed his adopted state on her behalf, rallying Iowans to the cause.

But there would be no second political act for Palin, and these days many followers like Singleton have moved on. He said Friday at an ice cream social at nearby Faith Baptist Bible College that he still admires the former Alaska governor and follows her on Facebook, but, politically, she holds little sway over him. Singleton didn’t even bother to attend Palin’s Sunday afternoon speech a short drive from here because he disagreed with her endorsement in Iowa’s Republican Senate primary.

“It’s one of those things,” Singleton said, sticking his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket. “I have great respect for her, but this isn’t about a person, it’s about a set of principles and values.”

Four years after using her unique position to propel a number of conservatives — many previously unknown and not favored by party leaders — in the tea party wave of 2010, Palin is today a diminished figure in the Republican Party. Even as she travels to Iowa and elsewhere to bolster her handpicked candidates, her influence in these midterm elections has been eclipsed by a new class of stars and her circle has narrowed, with a handful of aides guiding her and a few allies in Washington beyond a group of backbench troublemakers in Congress.

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