Gov. Palin's speaker's fee is her business

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Why is the left so obsessed over Sarah Palin's speaker's fee while what Al Gore gets paid for lying about climate change produces nary a blip on the radicals' radar? We present excerpts from two recent op-eds on the topic.

Ron Devito writes in The Cypress Times that Gov. Palin made money the old fashioned way; she earned it:

Governor Palin’s detractors have a rather strange fixation with the idea that she gets paid well for some of her speaking engagements. Anyone who follows news related to Gov. Palin will invariably encounter a story in which her speaking fee is a major subject of discussion, with the implication that there is something wrong with her earning money to speak, and consult.

People pay big money to see and hear Gov. Palin speak, whether it is a Washington Speakers Bureau paid speech, rally, book signing stop, or other event. VIP privileges at Gov. Palin’s command even greater sums often reaching a stratospheric $5,000/person, that money going to benefit the event organizers, not Gov. Palin. Even at her free events, people spend thousands of dollars, travel thousands of miles, and endure waits of over a day just to talk with Gov. Palin for 10 seconds, shake her hand and get an autograph.

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Gov. Palin’s detractors bristle and see it as “cashing in.” They posit that all she cares about is money and herself. It’s not just leftists who carry on with this meme; so-called conservatives who should know better have jumped on that bandwagon.

Gov. Palin is a sought-after speaker, which is why she is on the Washington Speaker Bureau’s roster. The Washington Speakers Bureau is in business to earn a profit. They earn their money by providing high-demand speakers – such as Gov. Palin. The Bureau schedules and coordinates her events – a win-win for the Bureau, the event organizers, the participants, and Gov. Palin herself. Most importantly, there are no misunderstandings, as there were in Gov. Palin’s pre-speakers bureau days, when her small staff was overwhelmed with thousands of requests...

Stacy Drake addresses the same non-issue at A Time For Choosing, schooling the salivating, self-appointed Palin critics, Sarah Palin earns money… Get over it:

At the beginning of this week, the leftist media spent dozens of man hours spewing out the same, tired old theme. That being the fact that Sarah Palin makes money and for some reason the world should be outraged about it. I understand why they would try this trick in the beginning. I get that the left has to throw the entire kitchen sink at Governor Palin, due to her Teflon ‘mojo.’ But still, I find this absolutely ridiculous. They are making themselves look very foolish to anyone paying attention.

After the speech Palin gave in Turlock for the 50th Anniversary of CSU Stanislaus, and the subsequent harassment she, as well as the organizers of the event received for doing such – it goes back to this theme. It is a pure political strike conducted by left-wing officials and their close friends in the press. No other former public servant, or possible future candidate has had to deal with this sort of scrutiny on their wallets.

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I think one of the worst aspects of the treatment Sarah Palin received in California, is that it was started by government officials. Jerry Brown made a mockery of his elected office by assisting in the stunt created by the future wannabe Candidate for San Francisco Mayor, and former Hawaiian shoplifter, Leland Yee.

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Governor Palin asked Jerry Brown from the podium at the speech in Turlock a very interesting, very valid question. She said, “This is California. Do you really not have anything better to do?” Great question, governor! I happen to know for a fact that he does.

California is a mess any way you slice it. I have never witnessed Jerry Brown do anything with his department to help correct the dire state of our state. In fact, Jerry Brown is the person most responsible for unionizing the public employees here with SEIU, whose pensions are one of the main culprits for the current fiscal mess that IS California. And guess what… Jerry Brown earns his income from tax-dollars so perhaps a little more scrutiny on Moonbeam is a good idea.

You can read Ron's full commentary here and Stacy's here. Since the word "capitalism" is so repugnant to the average Palin detractor's inner socialist, perhaps we should use the term "economic freedom" instead. Yes, "progressives," conservatives can play your stupid word games too.

- JP