The hotly contested Massachusetts Senate race gained the attention of nearly all the 2008 Republican presidential candidates: John McCain, Rudy Giuliani, and Mitt Romney, and not to mention Democratic presidents like Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. But one person remained interestingly quiet throughout the race: Sarah Palin.
Why didn’t Palin endorse Scott Brown, fully aware that her public support would most likely contribute to a Brown popularity surge? She was silent in the early days of the campaign when Brown was somewhat struggling and could’ve used some help, and she was still quiet in the last few weeks of the race when Brown finally saw a surge in polls.
It was only after Brown was declared the winner that Palin posted a Facebook message to her fans as well as congratulated Brown via a phone call.
Compare this to her endorsement of Doug Hoffman (Conservative Party) in the NY-23 race last year in which he lost to Democrat Bill Owens. And that was only for a House seat, unlike Scott Brown’s statewide campaign to become a U.S. Senator — the 41st Republican senator to break the Democrats’ supermajority. Without a doubt the MA-SEN special election had more at stake, yet Palin was nowhere to be heard or seen.
Did Palin hold off an endorsement because Scott Brown had a “R” next to his name? Was he simply not up to her conservative standards? Or did she decide early on — like most people — that Brown had no chance against Martha Coakley in deep blue Massachusetts, and missed her opportunity to make a real difference later in the race?
President Obama has a 0-2 record when it comes to stumping for Democratic candidates. The fact is that Palin’s record is no better at 0-1 in support of her candidate.
What is she up to besides selling books and being a Fox News contributor? Her silence in Massachusetts has become deafening, especially to her loyal supporters, many of whom believed in Brown all the way.
