Sarah Palin Is Hurting Republicans

By Rodney Southern, Yahoo! Contributor Network

31 May 11

n a political world where perception is everything, Sarah Palin is really hurting right now, according to The Week. The worst part is, she is pulling the Republican Party right down the drain with her.

In the past few weeks, Palin has shown all kinds of signs that she is running for president in 2012. She has bought a home in Arizona, hijacked a ride intended for veterans, released a book and announced a bus tour. All of these things say that she is building toward a run for the Republican nomination ... or does it?

Rumors abound that Palin is simply building toward yet another payday. She has no real relevance without the possibility of running to fuel speculation. Could this be Palin simply being Palin?

If Palin is not intending to run for the Republican nomination, then she is simply being selfish. Her grandstanding makes it nearly impossible for fringe candidates to be heard. For the Republicans to win in 2012, they will need the very best they have to offer. How will voters know that with Palin taking up airspace and then backing out, like she did on her state of Alaska?

Fair or not, Palin is a prominent face of the party. When she came growling into Washington on that Harley and took it over for her own selfish purposes, many resented it. How many connected that action with the Republican Party?

Maybe Palin is planning to run. Maybe that is supposed to somehow make all these things okay. The truth is, it really will not matter.

Palin running would mean that fringe candidates will never get their message out. She will nose out all other social conservatives and alienate Mitt Romney and others. The Republican party will have a significant portion of voters ready to get behind her. While plenty will vote for her, she has no chance of getting enough votes to defeat President Barack Obama. As a matter of fact, she would cause just enough drama in the GOP to torpedo any real chances for the Republicans regardless of who won the nomination.

The bottom line is simple: If Palin is joining the race, it is bad for Republicans.

If she is not, then she needs to go home for the good of her party. If she really wants all the things she parrots, then perhaps she should step aside and let those who can make it happen work on them.