Guardian UK: Did Sarah Palin excludiate Republicans from the Senate?

Did Sarah Palin excludiate Republicans from the Senate?
She may feel vindicated by the US midterms, but others believe Palin proved a liability on a night of historic wins for her party

Suzanne Goldenberg in Washington
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 3 November 2010


There was no way Sarah Palin was going to see the election results as anything other than a "big darn deal" for Tea Party conservatives, Mama Grizzlies and – of course – her personal political brand.

Her first tweet of the new Republican era, sent just after midnight, said (in full): "As always, proud to be American! Thanks, Commonsense Constitutional Conservatives, u didn't sit down & shut up … u refudiated extreme left."

But by dawn, television commentators were arguing that rather than "refudiating" the extreme left, Palin may have been the spoiler that cost the Republicans the Senate on a night of historic gains.

There was also speculation that establishment Republicans, having harnessed the energy of Tea Party activists to take the House of Representatives with a historic 60-seat pickup, would now be looking to ensure Palin does not cost them an even bigger prize: the White House in 2012.

Palin's election-night scorecard was mixed. Her top Tea Party favourites – Christine O'Donnell in Delaware and Sharron Angle in Nevada – lost after dislodging more mainstream, and arguably more electable, candidates in the Republican primaries. Those defeats helped the Democrats keep the Republicans from taking the Senate.

Palin could not elect John Raese, the Republican contender in West Virginia, despite making a personal last-minute appearance in a conservative coal state deeply hostile to Barack Obama's energy agenda. ...........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/nov/03/sarah-palin-republicans-senate-midterms

The Guardian certainly caught the Fool's essence