Not a "Whack Job," a Ruthlessly Cynical Whack Job.

[Blue_In_AK]

This is what I suspected with Sarah's call for Ted Stevens to step down -- after the election. From ProgressiveAlaska http://progressivealaska.blogspot.com/2008/10/saradise-lost-chapter-one-hundred-sixty_29.html

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_hWAVXHNngbk/SQh62IGfK_I/AAAAAAAACWI/rZTclCG_32U/s320/Pierre:Palin.jpg

Progressive Alaska covered Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's evolving statements about what Alaska Senator Ted Stevens should now do, yesterday and Monday. Essentially, she is now asking him to step aside, but in an undefined way, that appears to mean he should stay on the ticket next Tuesday, somehow win, and then immediately step down, allowing for a later special election. In the 90-day interim, she would be able to appoint a temporary successor to Stevens' seat, including herself, if she so chooses.

But, unlike Alaska GOP Communications Chief, McHugh Pierre (seen above left, with Gov. Palin last summer), or the Stevens campaign, she didn't specifically ask people to vote for $t. Ted. Why be specific, anyway? It is far too late for his name to be removed from the November 4th ballot.

So far, the Alaska media seems to be content with categorizing her Tuesday morning Stevens statement as being something it really isn't. They are printing that it is her request for him to step aside, or down. It isn't. It is her veiled request for him to stay on the ticket until it suits both her and the Alaska Republican Party. Anyone who thinks she will defer to Alaska GOP preferences for a Stevens successor, over her own wacky ideas, is a fool.

[SharonAnn]

1. If Stevens is elected, then steps down, will Palin be named Senator?

[Idealism]

3. Technically, I beleive,

she is unable to be named the the Senator seat while currently serving as governor. she can however, choose to not run for re-election, and ask her successor to name her to the senate if stevens wins and steps down later

[Blue_In_AK]

5. The deal is we have to have a special election

within 90 days for any vacated senate or house seat. The party could conceivably name her as an "interim" senator for that 90 days or leave the seat empty during that period, but in any event name her as their nominee in the special election.

It is a very, very cynical ploy, and not without some peril to the party since there are definitely factions here. There are the Palinistas and then there's the old guard, decimated of late because of the corruption convictions but still out there.

I've got my fingers crossed that Mark Begich just ends it outright on Tuesday, and we'll leave the Republicans to fight over their future among themselves.

[rubberducky]

2. The GOP created this monster.

The big question is what will they do with her after the election (assuming she loses).

[ailsagirl]

4. Theatre of the Absurd at its best

Thank you, McSame, for unleashing this pistol-packing, devious, lying, psychotic, fraudulent, numbskull into the mix. That's all we needed.

:mad:

[Phred42]

6. Someone told that that a Special Election is REQUIRED

[Blue_In_AK]

7. Yes, a special election is required.

The question is who will be the Republican nominee if one happens. If Sarah wants to be it, she may have to give up her governor's seat first to run. We seem to be in kind of a gray area here that no one anticipated when we changed the law back in 2002 to prevent gubernatorial appointments to vacated senate seats.

The Republicans (and Ted Stevens) were idiots to pick him as their nominee knowing that he was under indictment. I guess they couldn't even conceive that St. Ted might get convicted.

[tjwash]

8. She's as batshit crazy as Helen Chenoweth was.

She's got all the neo-nazi's and KKK members packing her rallies like Helen did too. Hell, all she needs to do is go off on a couple of anti-Jewish rants that would make Amidinijad look tame, and she IS Helen Chenoweth.