What is John Brunner thinking?

According to Dan Riehl, John Brunner owes Gov. Palin an apology:

GOP Senate candidate John Brunner didn't have much praise for former Alaska Governor and Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin, when he recently sat down with Breitbart editor Dana Loesch on her radio program. It was a complete 180 degree turnabout from applauding Palin's courage and conservative leadership in a letter seemingly solicitous of her support only 30 days earlier.

Brunner replied "I look at these things and you look back and you think, oh, for crying out loud. You know what happens when you go to that level? You get everybody off message and when you get people off message, we have conservatives lose."

Brunner all but called Palin a loser in the quote above. Contrast that with his words of praise in a signed letter from Brunner to Palin just one month ago. See here for pdf. Brunner wrote to Palin on April 9, 2012:

Like you, I am not an entrenched member of the political establishment, but an outsider. I have so watched you weather the storm, and I so admire the grace and resilency that you show in the face of extreme left-wing attacks. And I know that you could live a far more quiet, peaceful life away from political mayhem ... but you continue to step forward, because, you too, know that this country is worth fighting for!

It seems Brunner neglected to tell Palin, the attacks would be coming from him, not the left, just a month later, all for political expediency, one would suppose. Nothing else would explain such a feckless about face from the Marine veteran in such a short time period. Perhaps he didn't get the endorsement for which he was angling?

[Read More]

Like Dan, I can only wonder what Brunner was thinking. Of the five declared GOP candidates vying to challenge McCaskill for her Senate Seat, Brunner, former state treasurer and state senator Sarah Steelman and U.S. Rep. Todd Akin are considered to be the leaders. Is Brunner fearful that Sarah from Alaska will endorse Sarah from Missouri? Steelman, a solid conservative, has indicated that she shares Gov. Palin's passion for reform, and one Missouri GOP strategist described Steelman, who taught a course in "Leadership and Changing Public Policy" at Missouri State University, as "Sarah Palin with an economics degree." If Brunner worries that Gov. Palin may give Steelman the nod in Missouri's U.S. Senate primary, his actions may help to turn that fear into a self-fulfilling philosophy.

- JP