Why is Palin seen as being so conservative (relative to other GOP hopefuls)?

[redcommander]

So Palin isn't necessarily stupid. Thanks.

You mean she pretends to be stupid in order to pander the Iowa and South Carolina rubes that vote in the Republican primaries? ("I'm one of you, not like all the other Wall Street/Chamber of Commerce guys running").
 

Youz mean dem blue bloods. Wall Street/Chamber of Commerce guys could have started out as just some of those average folks Palin loves so much.

[Landslide Lyndon]

Ah, I see, it's only intelligent when the Left says that they aren't with Wall Street/the Chamber of Commerce. Got it.

Hey, I'm not the one saying that Bush enacted his tax cuts because he comes from a wealthy family.

[All Along The Watchtower]

Palin's views aren't merely conservative or right-wing: they're crazy.

[nhmagic]

Because there are 57 states in the union you know that think shes stupid.  It's unfair to mention Palin without mentioning Obama's stupid statements.  Lets mention his bitter clinger comment too in order to compare her real America comment to Obama's insultory comment.  Heck lets mention Sherrod Brown's latest stupid statement that unemployment benefits create jobs. 

Palin is seen as being so conservative because we know she is.  It's a feeling.  It's the same feeling you libs got when you chose Obama over Hillary.  We knew Obama was more socialist than Hillary - its why many of us switched parties to vote for Hillary.  Palin fights for our candidates and puts political capital on the line doing so unlike Romney.

[All Along The Watchtower]

Because there are 57 states in the union you know that think shes stupid.  It's unfair to mention Palin without mentioning Obama's stupid statements.  Lets mention his bitter clinger comment too in order to compare her real America comment to Obama's insultory comment.  Heck lets mention Sherrod Brown's latest stupid statement that unemployment benefits create jobs. 

Palin is seen as being so conservative because we know she is.  It's a feeling.  It's the same feeling you libs got when you chose Obama over Hillary.  We knew Obama was more socialist than Hillary - its why many of us switched parties to vote for Hillary.  Palin fights for our candidates and puts political capital on the line doing so unlike Romney.

So instead of being 1 percent socialist, he was 1.5 percent socialist?

[opebo]

The problem isn't that she is too conservative but that she is too stupid.

Wow. You think she's stupid? Really?

So many of you are at the point where I think you only say this to make yourself feel better about your own intelligence. Try to switch it up a bit. This thread isn't about her intelligence so you don't have to jump into "...she's stupid!"

But it is an apropos comment, since conservatism seems stupid to us, and thus the more ignorant conservative seems 'more conservative'.

[BlueSwan]

Palin is stupid.

She is probably no less stupid than the average american or the average dane for that matter, but certainly stupid by the standards of educated politicians. Forget that even highly educated people have large holes in their knowledge - those holes are typically in fields outside of your expertise. When you are running for the vice precidency of the most powerful nation on earth, it is quite simply unacceptable to not know what the "Bush doctrine" is, to think that Africa is a country, to think that North Korea are allies of the US or any of her other gaffes. Sure if she just misspoke on those occasions, then she is readily forgiven, but who HONESTLY believes that to be the case. But don't take my word for it - ask the McCain campaign. In comparison with Palin, Bush comes off as an intellectual giant.

[albaleman]

I think ignorant is a better way to put it. She's also selfish - it's all about what's good for Sarah.

[Guderian]

She has no real record (2 years as a governor of a pseudo-state is not enough to produce one) and she never talks in concrete terms - it's just phrases and talking points. That way it's easy for people to project their political fantasies on her. Also, many white trash people want to equal the fact of being white trash with being conservative. 

[pbrower2a]

Conservative? Just nutty and doctrinaire. She offends liberal and secularist sensibilities as few people do.

[Mr. Morden]

Because the media shorthand is "people who get on the nerves of people on the left = really conservative".

Because Palin is more disliked by people on the left end of the ideological spectrum than others who agree with her on all the issues, she's seen as more extreme.

[feeblepizza]

Because she is so conservative, relative to other GOP hopefuls.

[Mjh]

The problem isn't that she is too conservative but that she is too stupid.

[feeblepizza]

The problem isn't that she is too conservative but that she is too stupid.

She's not stupid at all. You people are greatly underestimating her.

[King]

I think her intelligence has a lot to do with her conservatism.  She seems to be a very close-minded individual.

You could have a conversation/negotiation with a Mitt Romney or even a Rick Santorum and perhaps get them to change their minds on an issue or to strike a compromise.  It wouldn't be easy and they would never admit to it in the public sphere, but most of these guys are reasonable men.  Sarah is the nkpatel of the GOP presidential hopefuls.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

Because the media shorthand is "people who get on the nerves of people on the left = really conservative".

Because Palin is more disliked by people on the left end of the ideological spectrum than others who agree with her on all the issues, she's seen as more extreme.

Forget the left, while 'liberals' may loathe her, moderates and independents aren't exactly enamored of her...

[Keystone Phil]

moderates and independents aren't exactly enamored of her...

"Enamored of her."

Now imagine if Sarah had said this... 

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

moderates and independents aren't exactly enamored of her...

"Enamored of her."

Now imagine if Sarah had said this...  

The difference is, I didn't make the word up.
...which is why I wouldn't expect her to have said it

[tpfkaw]

I think her intelligence has a lot to do with her conservatism.  She seems to be a very close-minded individual.

You could have a conversation/negotiation with a Mitt Romney or even a Rick Santorum and perhaps get them to change their minds on an issue or to strike a compromise.  It wouldn't be easy and they would never admit to it in the public sphere, but most of these guys are reasonable men.  Sarah is the nkpatel of the GOP presidential hopefuls.

Mitt Romney's opinions are determined by the latest opinion polling and focus grouping in whichever region he is currently campaigning in.

[courts]

I think her intelligence has a lot to do with her conservatism.  She seems to be a very close-minded individual.

You could have a conversation/negotiation with a Mitt Romney or even a Rick Santorum and perhaps get them to change their minds on an issue or to strike a compromise.  It wouldn't be easy and they would never admit to it in the public sphere, but most of these guys are reasonable men.  Sarah is the nkpatel of the GOP presidential hopefuls.

Mitt Romney's opinions are determined by the latest opinion polling and focus grouping in whichever region he is currently campaigning in.

Yeah, remember this gem?

[Keystone Phil]

Mitt Romney's opinions are determined by the latest opinion polling and focus grouping in whichever region he is currently campaigning in.

He went from being a liberal Independent (during "Reagan-Bush") to a liberal Republican in 1994 to a moderate Republican in 2002 to a Reagan, super conservative hero from 2006 (or was it around 2004 when he gave up on re-election and decided to run for President?) up until the present. Seems like a very natural progression to me.

[tpfkaw]

Mitt Romney's opinions are determined by the latest opinion polling and focus grouping in whichever region he is currently campaigning in.

He went from being a liberal Independent (during "Reagan-Bush") to a liberal Republican in 1994 to a moderate Republican in 2002 to a Reagan, super conservative hero from 2006 (or was it around 2004 when he gave up on re-election and decided to run for President?) up until the present. Seems like a very natural progression to me.

Mitt Romney WAS AN INDEPENDENT DURING REAGAN-BUSH, before he became a Republican and ran for Senate.  Whilst he was said independent, he was pro-life, but then decided he was pro-choice.  He then ran for Governor 8 years later, as a socially-liberal "outsider" (since George Romney's son = outsider), promising to cut taxes, then came into office and decided he was pro-life again while raising taxes.  He also decided that he didn't really want to be Governor of Massachusetts after all and spent almost his entire governorship campaigning for President (typical campaign stop consisted of making a series of jokes about how awful Massachusetts is, but he's straightening it out with his "conservative reforms").  In 2006 he stuck his finger into the wind and figured that the GOP was going to turn left after the elections, and so personally championed Obam- I mean RomneyCare, with the individual mandate portion being his main focus.  After leaving office, and finding that the GOP did not turn as left as he thought it would, he revised history to say that RomneyCare was forced on him by the legislature (no, it was the one thing that he actually expended political capital on), and he became the Great Conservative Hero, although he still couldn't avoid taking opposite positions on illegal immigration 2 days apart in Florida and South Carolina.

[fezzyfestoon]

lol

[TomC]

Sarah Palin is no intellectual, nor does she admit to be, but she is very intelligent in that she knows how to handle the media and many of them fall into her traps more often than she falls into theirs (Couric). She is a woman who knows who she is and can define herself and stand apart from many others in the field because of this heightened awareness of her own character. And that plays in politics far more than knowing if Poland is dominated by the USSR or how to pronounce "nuclear." Just ask Reagan and Bush- they were both known well for gaffes and stupid sayings but percevered.

She is seen as more conservative than others primarily because that's how she wants to be seen. What other 2012 conservatives are as willing as Palin to be seen as a tea partier? She's smart enough to take risks- and while that cements her being labeled as a hard-line conservative- it garners tons of media attention. The nomination comes before the general and she is as on track as anyone to win it.

[Liberalrocks]

The problem isn't that she is too conservative but that she is too stupid.

Pretty much sums it up for me. She certaintly isn't a replacement to Hillary Clinton nor did the Hillary supporters vote for McCain because of her. I want an intelligent strong woman to break that "glass ceiling" Not an unqualified radical idiot from Wasilla. We dont need a repeat of Bush in female form.