Moose Bites Can Be Really Nasty, Mind You

While she may have spun it as a chance to boost fundraising for the new class of post-Dubya GOP stars in the House, turns out many Republicans running for re-election in 2010 really, really don't want Sister Sarah anywhere near their districts.

Several of these Republicans hail from districts or states carried in 2008 by President Obama, a frequent target of Palin’s criticism. Republicans must keep these districts and win others where Obama is popular if they are to gain seats next year.

GOP Rep. Lee Terry (Neb.), who squeaked out a victory despite his district’s overwhelming turnout for Obama, said he’d rather have House colleagues campaign for him than Palin.

“There’s others that I would have come in and campaign and most of them would be my colleagues in the House,” Terry said.

Rep. Frank Wolf, a Republican from Northern Virginia, which is increasingly becoming Democratic territory, offered caution when asked whether he’d welcome a Palin fundraiser.

“I don’t generally need people from outside my district to do a fundraiser,” Wolf said.

Several other lawmakers indicated a wariness about accepting help from Palin, but did not want to criticize the GOP’s vice presidential candidate from last year. They said Palin could hurt them by firing up Democrats.

An unnamed GOP lawmaker representing a district that Obama carried in 2008 told The Hill that if Palin came into his district, his opponent would “probably be doing a dance of joy.”

The head of the House Democrats’ campaign arm said he’d welcome Palin’s involvement in the 2010 campaign.

“We hope that she will be part of the future debate on the direction of the country,” said Rep. Chris Van Hollen (Md.), chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC).

Several Republicans running for statewide office over the next two years in areas where Obama is popular suggested Palin could hurt the party’s candidates.

Centrist Republican Rep. Mike Castle (Del.) said that Palin’s polarizing views, coupled with her surprise decision to resign with 18 months left in her term, would make it difficult to ask for her help.

“I think the combination of her being very conservative and the fact that what she did has concerned some of us would mean that people may be hesitant about having her in [to campaign],” said Castle, who is considering a bid for Senate in 2010.

Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R), who is running to become Michigan’s governor in 2010, said he needs a better explanation of why Palin suddenly quit her job before he’d want her campaigning with him in Michigan.

“I’ve thought about it but I don’t have an answer,” Hoekstra said. Before making a call on a Palin visit, he said, “I need a better understanding of why she quit. Why quit with a year and a half to go?”

Ouch. I mean honestly, if the rank and file House Republicans are telling her to get lost, where the money Palin could raise among Republican voters would make a big difference down the stretch, and they are already telling her to get lost 16 months before the election, she's got serious problems.

Needless to say, the Wingers are pissed. Dan Riehl is already referring to these guys as "Republicowards". They can't imagine for a second why anyone would not want Saracuda to fundraise for them.

Personally, I've got to actually agree with Riehl on this. If you honestly believe a Sarah Palin fundraiser would be a serious detriment in the general election, your grip on your House seat is pretty tenuous as it is. Might as well go for it, you'll need the money. I'm going to say that the way the GOP is going right now, you'll be hurt more in the polls by Republican voters sitting out than Independent voters being turned off in the general.

That is if you don't get crucified in the primary, there. After all, turning down Sister Sarah is sure to raise the ire of some of the more...committed...members of the local party machinery and they just might find somebody who appreciates her more to run against them. And in the general, well, that might backfire just a bit.

Either way, it's a lose-lose situation for the GOP, so pick your poison.

Going to go ahead and correct a major oversight, adding a 2010 Election tag. Geez, Zandar. Pay attention.

[UPDATE 11:57 AM] Sister Sarah has apparently lost the Peggy Noonan vote, too...and in a big way.

"The elites hate her." The elites made her. It was the elites of the party, the McCain campaign and the conservative media that picked her and pushed her. The base barely knew who she was. It was the elites, from party operatives to public intellectuals, who advanced her and attacked those who said she lacked heft. She is a complete elite confection. She might as well have been a bonbon.

"She makes the Republican Party look inclusive." She makes the party look stupid, a party of the easily manipulated.

"She shows our ingenuous interest in all classes." She shows your cynicism.

"Now she can prepare herself for higher office by studying up, reading in, boning up on the issues." Mrs. Palin's supporters have been ordering her to spend the next two years reflecting and pondering. But she is a ponder-free zone. She can memorize the names of the presidents of Pakistan, but she is not going to be able to know how to think about Pakistan. Why do her supporters not see this? Maybe they think "not thoughtful" is a working-class trope!

"The media did her in." Her lack of any appropriate modesty did her in. Actually, it's arguable that membership in the self-esteem generation harmed her. For 30 years the self-esteem movement told the young they're perfect in every way. It's yielding something new in history: an entire generation with no proper sense of inadequacy.

"Turning to others means the media won!" No, it means they lose. What the mainstream media wants is not to kill her but to keep her story going forever. She hurts, as they say, the Republican brand, with her mess and her rhetorical jabberwocky and her careless causing of division. Really, she is the most careless sower of discord since George W. Bush, who fractured the party and the movement that made him. Why wouldn't the media want to keep that going?

Here's why all this matters. The world is a dangerous place. It has never been more so, or more complicated, more straining of the reasoning powers of those with actual genius and true judgment. This is a time for conservative leaders who know how to think.

And this is coming from a woman who a couple of months ago said Americans shouldn't think and ask questions about torture policy and just "walk on by". And behold, Orouboros devours its own tail.