Idaho Statesman Logo

'Motorcycle mamas' no sure thing for 'mama grizzly' Palin | Idaho Statesman

×
  • E-edition
  • Home
    • Customer Service
    • Mobile & Apps
    • Archives
    • Buy Photos and Pages
    • Contact Us
    • Newsletters
    • Newspaper in Education
    • Subscribe
    • Subscriber Services

    • News
    • Boise
    • West Ada
    • Canyon County
    • Crime
    • State News
    • Nation/World News
    • Databases
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Idahoans in the Military
    • Weather
    • Traffic
    • Helping Works
    • In the Classroom
    • Our Community
    • Sports
    • Boise State Football
    • Boise State Basketball
    • Idaho Vandals
    • High Schools
    • Bronco Beat
    • Chadd Cripe
    • Varsity Extra Blog
    • NFL
    • NBA
    • NHL
    • MLB
    • Golf
    • Idaho Politics
    • Elections
    • Government and Business
    • Capitol & State
    • Letters from the West
    • National Politics
    • Business
    • Business Insider
    • Business Columns & Blogs
    • Personal Finance
    • Legal Notices
    • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Bill Manny
    • Editorial Cartoons
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Guest Opinion
    • Submit a Letter or Opinion
    • Entertainment
    • Events Calendar
    • Restaurant Reviews
    • Arts and Culture
    • Festivals
    • Movie Reviews
    • Movie Showtimes
    • Music
    • Television
    • Books
    • Comics
    • Puzzles & Games
    • Horoscopes
    • Puzzles
    • Words & Deeds
    • ArtsBeat
    • Outdoors
    • Playing Outdoors Blog
    • Biking
    • Camping
    • Fishing
    • Hiking and Trails
    • Hunting
    • Winter Recreation
    • Living
    • Food & Drink
    • Health & Fitness
    • Home & Garden
    • Treasure
    • Pets
    • Religion
    • Travel
    • Best of Treasure Valley
    • Heart of the Treasure Valley
    • Margaret Lauterbach
    • Tim Woodward
    • Carolyn Hax
  • Obituaries

  • Contests
  • Advertise
  • Classifieds
  • Jobs
  • Cars
  • Homes
  • Place An Ad

  • About Us
  • Mobile & Apps

News

'Motorcycle mamas' no sure thing for 'mama grizzly' Palin

Erika Bolstad - McClatchy Newspapers

    ORDER REPRINT →

May 29, 2011 03:45 PM

WASHINGTON — Motorcycle mamas, it turns out, aren't a sure vote for mama grizzlies — if those mama grizzlies are even running for president.

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin roared into Washington Sunday on the back of a Harley Davidson motorcycle, to a considerable amount of skepticism from the 2012 voters everyone wants on their side: independent women.

Palin hasn't said whether she's running for president. But she used the annual Rolling Thunder motorcycle rally for veterans to kick start a multi-state bus tour that will wend its way up the East Coast to New Hampshire, the site of the nation's first presidential primary.

Voters such as sisters Nancy McGilton, 50, and Kathy Boivin, 55, had their doubts Sunday about the woman who shot to fame after Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., picked her as his vice presidential running mate.

Sign Up and Save

Get six months of free digital access to The Idaho Statesman

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

#ReadLocal

Taking turns posing for pictures at the rally in McGilton's black leather motorcycle vest, the sisters said that about all they had in common with Palin was their mutual support for those serving in the military.

"I'm not a big fan of hers," said McGIlton, of Springfield, Va.

Both she and her sister are independent voters, and from the suburbs of northern Virginia, a state President Barack Obama turned from red to blue in 2008 and helped propel him to victory.

Also skeptical was Katherine Blauer, 63, of Arlington, Va. As she and her husband watched the bikes roll over the Memorial Bridge from Arlington Cemetery toward the Lincoln Memorial, Blauer, an independent who voted for Obama in 2008, said she'd like to see New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg in the race.

"I think she does a disservice to women," Blauer said of Palin. "She doesn't show the critical thinking you would want in a president. Hillary Clinton or Sarah Palin? C'mon."

Women will have an unprecedented role in the 2012 presidential campaign, and not just as candidates. Two women are potentially running for the Republican nomination: Palin and Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., who's expected to make it official next month.

And Democrats, worried about the slide they saw from the 2008 to 2010 elections, when exit polls show that independent women moved away from the party, have vowed to pay attention to women's concerns of women. U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., is Obama's surrogate-in-chief and has vowed that she'll do everything she can to hold on to the advantage Democrats traditionally have among female voters.

They'll be laying the groundwork "for what will be an unprecedented, robust aggressive presidential campaign and the outreach to women," Wasserman Schultz, just appointed to head the Democratic National Committee, said.

"The fieldwork, the mobilization of women, the active involvement of women is going to be unprecedented," she said.

It remains unclear, however, if Palin is even in the race — or whether the bus tour is merely about building her already formidable brand. Recent polls show her at the top of the Republican race, along with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, and she told Fox News Channel that she had "fire in the belly" for a presidential bid.

She's also set to release "The Undefeated," a flattering documentary by conservative filmmaker Stephen Bannon, next month in Iowa, the site of caucuses that are the nation's first presidential contest.

But until she announced her plans, the organizers of the Rolling Thunder ride were unaware Palin was incorporating the event into her so-called "One Nation" bus tour. The annual motorcycle event was planned long before Palin decided to use it as a launching point for her tour of "historical sites and patriotic events" throughout the Northeast.

Palin, who arrived at the Pentagon on the back of a motorcycle Sunday morning, was accompanied by a police escort. Several thousand motorcyclists had been waiting for the run to begin for several hours; many had been standing by their bikes since before 7 a.m.

Palin was accompanied by her husband, Todd, and her daughters. She plunged into the crowd, where she greeted riders and posed for photos with a succession of burly, tattooed men. She wore a black helmet, a short-sleeved dark shirt and black pants, and she donned a black leather jacket for her ride on the back of another woman's bike during the parade.

The details of Palin's tour remained murky Sunday, the ostensible launch date. Her spokesman, Tim Crawford, said in an email only that "updates will post on website." Those details — including the next stop — did not emerge Sunday. GOP officials in New Hampshire were unaware of when Palin might be in the state, where voters take seriously their opportunity to vet candidates in person.

The SarahPAC website did, however, showcase a video that featured shots of the tour bus being prepared.

Women especially are going to want to hear about economic issues, said Debbie Walsh, director of the Center for American Women and Politics at New Jersey's Rutgers University.

"Women tend to see themselves as more economically vulnerable than men, they see themselves as needing to take advantage of that social safety net that government provides, and women are more likely to see themselves as needing Medicare at some point in their lives," she said.

This was something Sen. John McCain failed to see when he picked Palin as his vice presidential running mate, Walsh said. Putting a woman on the ticket is not a guarantee of making inroads with female voters, she said.

"The reality is...the gender of the candidate is really not what's at play," she said. "We don't see it falling out where Republican women are picking up women's support because they're women."

If Palin ran, she would likely have the vote of Paula Looney, 50, a Republican from Ashburn, Va. But it's not because Palin is a woman, Looney said. It's because she stands for "the things I believe in."

"It would be great to have a woman president," she said, and then shrugged, throwing her hands in the air. "But...we don't know if she's running."

(Michael Doyle and Lesley Clark contributed to this report.)

MORE FROM MCCLATCHY

With tour lined up, Palin's looking more like a candidate

Alaska officials want more time to release Sarah Palin's emails

Former Palin aide Bailey calls ethics complaint 'baseless'

Commentary: Sizing up the GOP 2012 potential nominees

Follow the latest politics news at McClatchy's Planet Washington blog

Related stories from Idaho Statesman

news

With tour lined up, Palin's looking more like a candidate

May 26, 2011 04:48 PM

news

Sarah Palin skips Bethlehem in visit to Israel

March 21, 2011 01:30 PM

news

Activist pursuing Sarah Palin's official e-mails granted protective order

February 28, 2011 04:30 AM

news

Even GOP activists are turning against Sarah Palin

February 24, 2011 04:39 PM

  Comments  

Videos

Tim Eyman under investigation in theft of chair from Lacey Office Depot

Washington music teacher sings ‘Snow Day’ after classes are called off -- again

View More Video

Trending Stories

One of Boise’s most unique houses is for sale. Here’s a peek inside.

February 16, 2019 07:21 PM

Perfection spoiled: Eagle knocks off undefeated team for first girls basketball title

February 16, 2019 10:38 PM

This employee worried ITD’s radiation tools were missing. Then he got fired. Now, he’s suing

February 17, 2019 01:00 AM

53rd straight win gives Soda Springs another championship; District Three struggles

February 16, 2019 12:16 PM

Boise State men lose for fourth time in five games; women lock up tournament bye

February 16, 2019 07:38 PM

Read Next

Decorative tombstone hid a secret compartment — and a trove of drugs, agents say

National

Decorative tombstone hid a secret compartment — and a trove of drugs, agents say

By Jared Gilmour

    ORDER REPRINT →

February 17, 2019 02:52 PM

Cincinnati, Ohio, customs agents said a drug-sniffing dog and x-rays helped them seize a cocaine-filled decorative tombstone from Canada and meth from Mexico wrapped as candy, which was headed to California.

KEEP READING

Sign Up and Save

#ReadLocal

Get six months of free digital access to The Idaho Statesman

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

MORE NEWS

Burglar calls for a Lyft — but gets in a police car by mistake, New Jersey cops say

National

Burglar calls for a Lyft — but gets in a police car by mistake, New Jersey cops say

February 17, 2019 01:33 PM
Spun out of control: The desperate final days of skater John Coughlin

National

Spun out of control: The desperate final days of skater John Coughlin

February 17, 2019 04:30 AM
Suspected thief is beaten by store employees until his pulse stopped, NC cops say

National

Suspected thief is beaten by store employees until his pulse stopped, NC cops say

February 17, 2019 12:37 PM
‘This is the real Collusion!’ Trump slams SNL after skit on wall national emergency

National

‘This is the real Collusion!’ Trump slams SNL after skit on wall national emergency

February 17, 2019 11:53 AM
Teacher got her long hair cut short because she was tired of 5-year-old Texas bullies

National

Teacher got her long hair cut short because she was tired of 5-year-old Texas bullies

February 17, 2019 10:02 AM
Herbal water for babies with tummy discomfort recalled for possible choking hazard

National

Herbal water for babies with tummy discomfort recalled for possible choking hazard

February 17, 2019 07:35 AM
Take Us With You

Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand.

Icon for mobile apps

Idaho Statesman App

View Newsletters

Subscriptions
  • Start a Subscription
  • Customer Service
  • eEdition
  • Vacation Hold
  • Pay Your Bill
  • Rewards
Learn More
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletters
  • News in Education
  • Archives
Advertising
  • Information
  • Place a Classified
  • Local Deals
  • Place an Obituary
  • Today's Circulars
Copyright
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service


Back to Story