It's Palin vs. McConnell Says "The Hill"

Sarah Palin's decision to endorse Rand Paul took many by surprise.  Chris Wallace, on FoxNews Sunday put it this way:

You recently stirred up some controversy, as you often do, even your — when you endorsed Rand Paul as the Senate — he's running in the Senate primary for — in Kentucky, the GOP Senate primary. And Bill Kristol, your longtime supporter, was upset with you because one of the things he pointed out — Paul wants to close Guantanamo. He wants to send the detainees back to Afghanistan. He wants to repeal the Patriot Act. He wants to do away with any federal role in either gay marriage or drug laws, leave it to the states.

Why would you support a guy like that?

Alexander Bolton, writing for "The Hill" offered his own answer:

The Senate Republican primary in Kentucky has emerged as a proxy battle between two leaders of the factionalized Republican Party, Sarah Palin and Mitch McConnell.

Since being tapped as the GOP’s vice-presidential nominee in 2008, Palin has emerged a leader of independent and social conservatives.
 
McConnell (Ky.), the Senate Republican leader, has cemented his leadership of the party establishment in Washington over the past year by unifying Senate Republicans against President Barack Obama’s agenda.

But McConnell and other veteran Republican lawmakers have a delicate relationship with many conservatives now lining up behind Palin and the Tea Party because of how federal spending swelled under GOP rule.
 
The growing activism of conservatives around the country, including many longtime members of the Republican grassroots, has helped energize the Republican Party, such as in Massachusetts. But the indifference or opposition of Tea Party activists to candidates favored by Republican leaders threatens to upset the GOP’s carefully crafted political strategy.

Sarah Palin, who gave her handlers headaches during the 2008 presidential campaign, isn’t making things any easier.
 
She has thrown her support behind Rand Paul, a favorite of anti-establishment conservatives such as RedState.com and Gun Owners of America, who is running for Senate in Kentucky.
 
Palin waded into the race despite it being widely known among political insiders that McConnell backs Rand’s opponent, Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson.

Palin’s not-so-subtle challenge to McConnell’s political authority shows the overall difficulty GOP leaders have in taming the resurgent conservative base, which has made Palin and the Tea Party newly powerful political forces.

Has this race now taken on a dimension much larger than anyone at first thought?  Is Kentucky going to be the battleground for the heart and soul of the republican party?

While the magnitude of such a battle being waged here in the "Dark and Bloody Ground" might ultimately shock republicans across the nation, there is another story lurking within this one that has the potential to capture national attention.

Yesterday I interviewed Bill Johnson.  I hope you take the time to listen.  He is very clear thinking, articulate and doubtlessly a conservative. His primary endorsement came from Dr. Alan Keyes, who Barack Obama defeated in Illinois to become US Senator.

America loves an underdog, and with his limited funds and lack of media attention, Johnson is surely that.  But today's national attention seems drawn to the come from behind, nobody gave him a chance, independent spirited "everyman" who suddenly rises to the top and wins against all odds.

I'm not saying Johnson will enjoy this success, but he has all of the raw ingredients to make a great story, and sometimes on the battlefield luck belongs to the one no body is shooting at.

Comments

[Bringingrealitytosillybilly]

On the interview:

Bill is not functioning on all cylinders I don't think.

Silly Billy and Tray both try to smear Rand Paul's answer to what he would do with the detainees we let go or can't convict!

He has never said he favored releasing convicted terrorists ANYWHERE!

What do Silly Billy and Tray suggests we do with the detainees we are releasing (we have a record of releasing them since 2002-2003)????

And the Reagan worship is a joke! He says he wants to be like Reagan but that's the last thing we need. Reagan was pro-abortion in California as Governor. He was terrible on running a balanced budget. He expanded government BIG TIME!

[lordindra3]

I have always been the biggest supporter of this website, but now Im starting to lose faith due to the idiocy of the Johnson campaign. Today, they just proved that Johnson released push poll numbers that were rediculous! Why did you (writer) even give the time of day?! Silly Bill only invokes Reagan's name as cliche, yet I have personally challanged him on Reagan's record and he could never answer me! Wow, this is just rediculous!

[Marc Carey]

To lordlindra3:

Thanks for being a supporter. If you have evidence that Johnson released push poll numbers, please send me the info.

I will continue to report what appears to me to be news. I think I have fairly reported on the successes and failures of each campaign as they make it to my attention. I am not here to advocate for a candidate. My focus is on the campaign, not the candidate.