Sarah Palin in Iowa: 'This is our time'

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Bloomberg's John McCormack reports on Sarah Palin's speech to Iowa Republicans tonight, in which she said that the GOP needs to put its internal squabbles behind it in order to beat Democrats in November:

“The time for primary debate is over,” the 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate and former Alaska governor said in a speech in Des Moines. “It is time to unite.”

On a foray into the state that traditionally holds the first presidential nominating contest, Palin said the midterm congressional elections are a more pressing priority than the next White House campaign.

“We can’t wait until 2012 to get our country back on the right track -- we need to start now by electing strong leaders who aren’t afraid to shake it up,” Palin said. “It is time to take our country back.”

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Palin, 46, said Republicans should tap the energy of grassroots activists instead of waiting for orders from the party officials.

“This is our time -- we can’t blow it,” Palin said. “We won’t wait for that political playbook to be handed us from on- high, the political elite. It’s the voters who will stop these leftist policies; the voters will stop this fundamental transformation of America that is not good for America.”

Palin’s keynote address at a dinner named after former President Ronald Reagan gave Iowa caucus activists an up-close look at a woman they have mostly seen on television.

Most of those in the audience of about 1,500 people paid $100 each to attend the Iowa Republican Party’s largest annual fundraiser. It was the biggest crowd for the dinner in recent memory, said Danielle Plogmann, a state party spokeswoman. More than 50 news organizations requested credentials.

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Gov. Palin’s appearance comes at the end of a week where she flexed her political muscles in Republican politics, as candidates she endorsed won U.S. Senate primaries in Delaware and New Hampshire.

- JP