Sarah Palin Targets Richard Lugar's Senate Career

By Mark Whittington | Yahoo! Contributor Network21 mins ago

COMMENTARY | Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., has served in the Senate for six terms and would like to have a seventh as a capstone of a long career of public service. Sarah Palin suggests the 80-year -old senator be denied that privilege.

Lugar is in the fight of his political life, facing a primary challenge from Richard Mourdock, the state treasurer. Mourdock is a tea party favorite, while many believe Lugar has been in Washington for too long, making too many of the compromises such as voting for bailouts that irk American conservatives.

Lugar is also unfortunate to be the first office holder to be designated to have his career ended in this election cycle, with the exception of President Barack Obama by Sarah Palin.

Using the tried and true strategy from 2010, Palin is asserting her power by offering her endorsement. Thanks to his tea party support, a poll showed Mourdock leading Lugar by five points, according to the Washington Post. The Palin endorsement, as with many of her endorsements in 2010, is designed to seal the deal for Mourdock and put him over the top in Indiana's May 8 primary.

Lugar is an institution and has gotten the! support of the institutional republicans, including Palin's former running mate and Lugar's Senate colleague John McCain. If, however, as many expect, Lugar goes down, Palin will be seen as a giant killer. Therein, aside from ideological affinity with Mourdock, lays the reason for Palin's strategy.

There is nothing that quite instills fear in a public office holder than the prospect of losing that office. Palin aims to garner respect, based on that overwhelming fear, by using the power of her endorsement. With that respect comes a variety of quid pro quos for her support rather than her opposition. People in Congress will have to take into consideration what the Mama Grizzly thinks when dealing with an issue, lest they feel her claws. The more people Palin elects and defeats through her endorsements, the more consideration she'll get.

The power to influence the outcomes of elections is part of what makes Palin the most powerful female politician on the planet. Neither Angela Merkel nor Hillary Clinton can quite match that power. Thus is Palin someone for whom it is beneficial to cater to, but dangerous to cross.

Former Alaska Governor Palin and U.S.

Reuters

Sarah Palin endorses Richard Mourdock

Sarah Palin on Friday afternoon publicly endorsed Republican challenger Richard&#8230 Full StorySarah Palin endorses Richard Mourdock in Indiana Senate

ABC News (RSS)

FILE - In this Feb. 11, 2012 file photo,

Associated Press

Palin, McCain differ again in race for

INDIANAPOLIS (Reuters) - They disagreed as Republican running mates during&#8230 Full StoryPalin, McCain differ again in race for Indiana Senate seat

Reuters

Most Popular

• SUV plunges more than 50 feet from highway near Bronx Zoo, killing 7, police say
• 2 teen girls sunbathing on Pa. road struck by car
• Super Secret Hypersonic Aircraft Flew Out of Its Skin
• US pastor burns Korans to urge Iran clergyman release
• US special forces help in hunt for warlord Kony
• Australian billionaire plans to build Titanic II

Why there's no such thing as 'good debt'

Most bizarre celebrity endorsements

Best, worst Facebook games from celebs

Escape puts China, U.S. in awkward spot

[ [ [['A picture is worth a thousand words', 5]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/why-facebook-bought-instagram-4-theories-160400376.html', '[Related: Why Facebook bought Instagram: 4 theories]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 9]], 'http://contributor.yahoo.com/join/yahoonews_virginiabeach', '[Did you witness the jet crash? Share your story with Yahoo! News]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['A JetBlue flight from New York to Las Vegas', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/GV9zpj', '[Related: View photos of the JetBlue plane in Amarillo]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Dick Clark', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/dick-clark-dies-at-82-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/c/21/c217c61aa2d5872244c08caa13c16ec5.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'Reuters', ], [ [['the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 15]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/white-house-stays-out-of-teen-s-killing-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120411/martinzimmermen.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['Titanic', 7]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/titanic-anniversary/', ' ', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/b/4e/b4e5ad9f00b5dfeeec2226d53e173569.jpeg', '550', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 6]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/navy-jet-crashes-in-virginia-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120406/jet_ap.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/russian-grannies-win-bid-to-sing-at-eurovision-1331223625-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/1/56/156d92f2! 760dcd3e 75bcd649a8b85fcf.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP', ] ]

[ [ [[' the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 4]], '28924649', '0' ], [ [['because I know God protects me', 14], ['Brian Snow was at a nearby credit union', 5]], '28811216', '0' ], [ [['The state news agency RIA-Novosti quoted Rosaviatsiya', 6]], '28805461', '0' ], [ [['measure all but certain to fail in the face of bipartisan', 4]], '28771014', '0' ], [ [['matter what you do in this case', 5]], '28759848', '0' ], [ [['presume laws are constitutional', 7]], '28747556', '0' ], [ [['has destroyed 15 to 25 houses', 7]], '28744868', '0' ], [ [['short answer is yes', 7]], '28746030', '0' ], [ [['opportunity to tell the real story', 7]], '28731764', '0' ], [ [['entirely respectable way to put off the searing constitutional controversy', 7]], '28723797', '0' ], [ [['point of my campaign is that big ideas matter', 9]], '28712293', '0' ], [ [['As the standoff dragged into a second day', 7]], '28687424', '0' ], [ [['French police stepped up the search', 17]], '28667224', '0' ], [ [['Seeking to elevate his candidacy back to a general', 8]], '28660934', '0' ], [ [['The tragic story of Trayvon Martin', 4]], '28647343', '0' ], [ [['Karzai will get a chance soon to express', 8]], '28630306', '0' ], [ [['powerful storms stretching', 8]], '28493546', '0' ], [ [['basic norm that death is private', 6]], '28413590', '0' ], [ [['songwriter also saw a surge in sales for her debut album', 6]], '28413590', '1', 'Watch music videos from Whitney Houston ', 'on Yahoo! Music', 'http://music.yahoo.com' ], [ [['keyword', 99999999999999999999999]], 'videoID', '1', 'overwrite-pre-description', 'overwrite-link-string', 'overwrite-link-url' ] ]