Sarah Palin endorsements cost Republicans control of Senate

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The flagship defeat of Senate majority leader Harry Reid of Nevada was supposed to lead republicans to control of the upper house. The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) has all along made Nevada a top target this election. It was so important, they poured $5.2m into their unsuccessful attempt to defeat Reid – including $3.6m from Karl Rove’s American Crossroads. All to lose the seat with the Sarah Palin/Tea Party-backed candidate Sharron Angle by a whopping 5%.

In California, the NRSC spent more in that state than in any other race: $8m in supporting Carly Fiorina’s Palin endorsed effort to unseat Senator Barbara Boxer – far more than the committee spent in any other race in the country. The result? A 9% loss.

Not forgetting pin-up Christine O’Donnell, another Palin favorite, took a beating in Delaware.

If reasonable Republicans had run in those three races, we might be seeing a different picture this morning. If there is a glimmer of hope in the mid-term aftermath this must be it. Winning a seat in the Senate is tougher than getting elected to the House of Representatives and being elected to the White House is tougher still. Sarah Palin and her Tea Party friends can pack the House with it’s candidates, but if they can’t dominate the Senate or get the White House where does that leave the country?

Will the real Sarah Palin please sit down