Poll Shows Palin Is A Problem For Republicans

Ever since the 2008 election, Sarah Palin has been flirting with the idea of running for the Republican presidential nomination. She has tapped into the teabagger movement in the Republican Party and developed a loyal following among them. And more mainstream Republicans have courted her to get the support of her teabagger following. The upshot of all this has been to give Palin the idea she might actually be a viable candidate for the presidency.

But in catering to Palin, the Republicans may have created a conundrum. If she does become a candidate, she could hurt the party whether she gets the nomination or not. At least that's the situation according to a new Rasmussen Poll.

If Palin was to get the Republican nomination, she would have almost no chance of being elected. Although she has a loyal teabagger following, she has the highest negatives of any candidate among the general population -- currently over 50%. And most polls show she would do worse running against President Obama than any of the other Republican candidates.

Some might think that if she ran she would make sure the teabaggers stuck with the Republican Party, and after she lost the nomination, they would be able to exploit her loyal followers in the general election for another nominee. Rasmussen shows that might not be possible. The poll shows that 46% of Palin's followers would be likely to vote for a third party if she failed to win the nomination, and that could be enough to cost Republicans the White House in a close election.

Their best alternative is for Palin to decide not to run, and throw her support behind another candidate. That might keep her teabagger following inside the party on election day. But that doesn't sound like Palin to me. I think she'll run. She just enjoys being in the limelight too much to fade into the background. And that could be a very good thing for Democrats.