Palin Throws Didier Under The Bus

So Clint Didier's much-touted endorsement from Sarah Palin in the Washington U.S. Senate race is proving to be worthless (okay, SarahPAC did give Didier's campaign $5000.)  From the Seattle Times:

Republican Clint Didier has been trying to get former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to headline political rallies or fund-raising events for him since she endorsed the former NFL player's U.S. Senate candidacy in May.

In June, Didier campaign advisers told POLITICO that Palin described herself as "all in" for Didier. They hoped to schedule two Palin events, one in Eastern Washington and one on the west side.

Last month, when I visited Didier on his farm near Pasco, he said he still expected Palin would do an event for him before the primary. That could have given his underdog campaign a needed boost to get past GOP establishment favorite Dino Rossi and take on Sen. Patty Murray in November.

But with just a few days before primary ballots are counted Aug. 17, a Palin visit isn't looking likely.

Didier had been trying to get Palin to commit to an event Saturday.

But Didier campaign consultant Kathryn Serkes told me via e-mail today that event "looks like a no... we can't wait any longer to plan, so will plan without her."

In an interview Wednesday, Serkes attributed the difficulty to Palin's hectic schedule. "She gave her word and she's doing the best she can. We know that," Serkes said.

Serkes said Palin did agree to record a personal message that Didier can use in statewide robo-calls to voters.

But as of Thursday afternoon, that hadn't happened yet.

And that should be no surprise.  Sarah Palin's belief in a strong national defense stands in strong contrast to Ron Paul's isolationism.  Admittedly, Palin has endorsed Paul's son in the Kentucky Senate race. But Rand Paul has "gone clean for Gene" and backed away from his father's more controversial foreign policy viewpoints.  Didier, on the other hand, has drank deeply from the Paul Kool-Aid, even calling the war in Afghanistan illegal.