“Sarah Palin, using her unique sense of timing, one week ago became the biggest name of in-prime party leaders to endorse Hoffman. Had she stayed on the sidelines, this contest could have played out in predictable fashion: Republicans stayed split and Democrat Bill Owens would have cruised to victory. Instead, by all appearances, the conservative revolt has succeeded. Even the national GOP — which had endorsed Scozzafava and was slamming outsider Hoffman as much as Democrat Owens — is now recognizing that district voters seem to flocking to Hoffman.

“Outside observers who want to dismiss Palin do so at their peril. But, there appears to be a reason that her basketball-playing nickname was ‘Barracuda.’ Recall she was the one who coined (or at least made viral) the phrase ‘death panel’ during the health care fight during the summer — forcing Democrats and the White House onto the defensive. Whether Palin is doing all this for PR purposes (her book comes out in three weeks) or being reckless in her political rhetoric, the fact is she is having an impact on the broader debate — and continuing to resonate with her party’s base.

“Mitt Romney? Not so much.”

***
“‘Conservatives will be energized to take back the Republican Party and moderates will be looking over their shoulders for the next year,’ said Brian Darling, director of Senate relations at the Heritage Foundation. ‘Moderate incumbents worried about the next election may have to tack to the right to avoid a primary battle.’…

“‘It clearly means populist conservatism is ascendant,’ said Craig Shirley, a Republican consultant and author of Rendevous with Destiny, a new biography of Ronald Reagan. Shirley said some Republicans should ‘say gentle prayers tonight’ and purchase a new copy of Barry Goldwater’s Conscience of a Conservative.”

***
“Nobody but us got it. Elected officials and GOP party insiders ignored us. With no support at all from within the ranks of establishment Republicans, the Tea Party movement has battled an unceasing barrage of lies and attacks from Democrats at all levels, the MSM and every entertainment industry lefty thought-barfer in America…

“The momentum arrow on the Right runs from the ground up now. Newt didn’t (maybe still doesn’t) understand that. Neither did (do) the GOP party operatives. Whether Doug Hoffman wins or loses is almost irrelevant at this point. What’s important is that the alleged party elite begin to grasp the New Republican Order and decide they might want to win future elections by backing the correct candidates from the beginning.”

***
“The trouble with that is this: There is hardly any guarantee whatsoever that this very-purified new party will be able to win elections and have any power, either. It is a fact that conservatives sometimes like to dismiss, but a good 40% of the country is liberal (I know they don’t call themselves that; but many people who claim to be ‘moderate’ are in fact liberal — you know that from reporters telling you so, and the thousand liberals you’ve encountered online purporting to be ‘moderate’) and another 20% is not politically principled and simply votes for whatever guy seem to be offering the most stuff at any time.

“The other 40%? Conservative, yes. In this landscape, it is doubtful that true, absolute conservatives could win many elections. Some here and there. But how many? Not nearly a working majority, I don’t think…

“I don’t know if Beck is bluffing in order to drive the party to the right. If he is, that’s not a bad exercise; Kos and his nutroots did that to the Democratic Party in 2004-2006, and that worked out all right for them.

“But if he really does mean it? If it’s not just rhetoric?“