In a Chicago Daily Observer op-ed warning his fellow Democrats not to count Sarah Palin out for 2012, Phil Krone mentioned that a half dozen or speaking engagements would provide Sarah Palin with more income than her former salary as governor of Alaska:
"...she had dozens, even hundreds of invitations to speak around the country, both party speeches on the rubber chicken and tea bag circuit, as well as the very remunerative speeches to national conventions and association meetings.Than he sniffs:
Obviously she couldn’t command the $150,000 that former President Bill Clinton gets, but I’m sure she is getting at least $25,000 or $50,000 to speak to the warehouse owners association or groups like that.""Obviously", Phil?
There was a time when how much a person got paid for their work was not a topic for either public or polite conversation, but those genteel days are sadly behind us. We can barely remember when it was safe to sit down with the kids in front of the TV and not have to be bombarded with endless chatter about all sorts of things, including the sexual escapades of professional athletes and late night talk show hosts. Nor were the commercials which interrupted the chatter so distasteful. Ads for feminine hygiene and masculine sexual performance enhancement products are a far cry from Tony The Tiger hawking breakfast cereal and Dinah Shore encouraging viewers in song to see the USA in your Chevrolet.
How much Sarah Palin actually gets paid for her speaking engagements is a private matter between her and her agent, The Washington Speakers Bureau. Event promoters are not supposed to disclose the amount of the fees they contract to pay the former governor to speak, but some people just can't keep a secret, it seems. It was widely reported that Gov. Palin was paid something in the six figures for her first paid speaking engagement booked through the WSB in Hong Kong.
Next thing you know, the Wide and Snide World Web was all abuzz with noise that her agent was asking $100,000 per speech and would have trouble getting it because some "experts" were quoted as saying that event promoters would balk at paying that much. The so-called experts were soon discredited, as all Palin naysayers eventually are, when a series of speaking engagements were announced for her, one after the other - a right to life fundraiser in Wisconsin, a college in the Ozarks, a chamber of commerce event in Kansas, another one in Florida, a logging convention in northern California, a Tea party convention in Tennessee, another one in Texas, et cetera. So much for event organizers "balking" at signing Sarah Palin to speak at their functions...
It has even been reported that up in Hamilton, Ontario, some people are going to pay her $200,000 to speak at a fundraiser for a children's charity. All of a sudden Bill Clinton's $150,000 speaker fee doesn't seem quite so awesome, now does it, Phil?
- JP
And she is worth every. single. penny.
ReplyDeleteAmen!
I think charity is a key.
ReplyDeleteWhether we like it or not, the public wants to see the softer side of a candidate ("I feel your pain").
Sarah's followers are, IMHO, honorable souls. I think she should ask that every event be partly for charity. It should be easy. Ask, but not demand, that attendees bring either a can of food or a small donation. Where are the Sally Ann Christmas Kettles all summer? Bring one out for a Palin event and ring the bell.
For example, look at the speech in Salinas, KS, where 5000 tickets have been sold. It would not be hard to imagine that she could raise $20,000.00 for a LOCAL charity. That would keep her in the newspaper after she leaves.
It would be little effort for a big payoff.
Merry Christmas. God bless us every one.