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Sarah Palin endorses Tom Emmer, calls him 'hockey dad'

By Joe Kimball | 04/29/10

Tom Emmer got a timely big-name endorsement today when Sarah Palin issued a message of support just as the Republican state convention is set to begin in Minneapolis.

Emmer and Marty Seifert will battle for the party nomination for governor.

Palin urged Minnesotans to support the "hockey dad" in his bid for governor, because of his message of reforming government. Besides their political affinities, Palin notes that Emmer played college hockey at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks.

In Facebook message, Palin says:

The Straight-talking “Hockey Dad” with a Message for Reform
Today at 3:13pm

A patriotic fiscally conservative “hockey dad” who got his start in politics by serving on his local city councils is running for governor of the great state of Minnesota. His name is Tom Emmer, and I’m proud to support him.

Tom has based his campaign on three founding principles: “Honoring the Constitution, Expanding Liberty and Fostering Economic Freedom.”

Coming from a working class background, Tom is known as a straight-talker who is unafraid of taking on the challenge of reining in the size and scope of government. A proud father of seven, Tom is in this race for the right reasons — to provide bold, principled leadership that will leave Minnesota fiscally stronger for the next generation. He knows that government overspending is the real obstacle to reform. Tom says, “When a family experiences a change in its income, that family adjusts its budget accordingly. If they have less money, they spend less money. This simple form of money management is completely lost on state government.” It’s common sense statements like that which make Tom such an attractive candidate for Minnesotans who want real reform.

A family man who wants to leave his kids a better future, a “hockey dad” who once played for the University of Alaska-Fairbanks Nanooks, a patriotic commonsense conservative who wishes to serve for the right reasons — that’s Tom Emmer, and I ask you to join me in supporting him for governor of Minnesota.

Comments (5)

Submitted by Greg Kapphahn on April 29, 2010 - 4:25pm.

Although this is, no doubt, a badge of honor for Mr. Emmer and will likely cause the State Republican Convention to nominate him by acclamation, as easily seduced as all Republicans seem to be by the Siren songs of Ms. Palin,...

It is probably the last nail in the coffin which holds any prospects he had for votes from those who are undecided and those on the Democratic side who occasionally flirt with conservative perspectives.

Submitted by James Hamilton on April 29, 2010 - 5:17pm.

I am completely underwhelmed by (former) gov. Palin's endorsement. But then, I've pretty much decided I can't vote for him or his Republican opponent.

Submitted by Tom Miller on April 29, 2010 - 5:25pm.

“Honoring the Constitution, Expanding Liberty and Fostering Economic Freedom.” Hmmm. This is exactly what liberal Americans stand for.

Submitted by Paul Brandon on April 29, 2010 - 6:08pm.

We've already had one hockey puck as a governor -- that's enough.

Submitted by Richard Schulze on April 29, 2010 - 7:33pm.

Back when Sarah Palin was at the top of every poll of Republicans and was winning straw polls at activist conventions, I accepted that she had to be part of the conversation of national politics. Now, that Sarah Palin is placing 3rd or 4th in straw-polls among conservative activists, and even a poll of Tea Party supporters shows that only 11% consider her the best candidate to beat President Obama in 2012 (Romney won that category with 44%), I think we can pretty safely ignore her from now on.

It is sad really, because I was very excited to see Ms. Palin enter the national stage until I heard her open her mouth. It really is unfortunate that she does not have the capacity to perform. Since she has nearly everything else she needs to be successful.

Perhaps she was being pressured to bow out by her own party. It is really an odd thing, to leave your elected post. Her explanation makes sense for her, and in a way I can understand her decision, having observed her behavior during the election. She is not a subtle person.

As for the Republican Party, they need to decide what sort of organization they want to be, and what sort of platform they wish to support. The world is a changing place, and they need more than the same old rhetoric and fear mongering tactics.

Rather than making fundamentalist Christian values the core of their message they should tone it down and attempt to attract the market conservatives and moderates back. Those people were the intellectual best of the party and now they have all but defected. I no longer identify as a Republican, not because I have left the party but because the party has moved away from me. Maybe its time for them to come back to where the rest of America is.

2012 is probably too soon to start voting for Republicans again anyway.