TheBlogProf: Sarah Palin in Michigan

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TheBlogProg was at the Sarah Palin speech this morning in Clarkston, Michigan:

The event occurred right after massive thunderstorms rolled through the area. Thousands showed up anyway including huge tea party groups. There were supposed to be counterprotesters there but for the few hours that I was there I could not find a single one. And I was looking! The crowd was upbeat and cheery despite the rain. Many were there at 6 in the morning to see Sarah Palin speak at 9am. The auditorium at Mount Zion Church was packed full of patriots and there was also a good ensemble of media there as well. Several thousand showed up to enthusiastically greet the former Alaskan Governor and Vice Presidential candidate. The auditorium at Mount Zion was packed full.

The blogging Michigander captured some video and photos from the event:

I got about the first 25 minutes of her speech before someone from American for Prospertity asked me to stop. I obliged but pointed out that just about everyone with a cell phone was recording the speech anyway. AfP were filming the whole thing with 3 professional cameras, but nobody could tell me if it would be uploaded to the internet.

Read TheBlogProf's full after action report here.

May Day in Michigan: Palin and the President

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Both Sarah Palin and President Barack Obama will be in Michigan (and only about 50 miles apart) giving speeches May 1, notes Tom Gantert of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy's Michigan Capitol Confidential:

Palin will speak May 1 at the Americans for Prosperity's "Defending the American Dream" event at Mt. Zion church in Clarkston. President Obama will give the spring commencement address at the University of Michigan on the same day.

Scott Hagerstrom, the chairman of the Michigan chapter of AFP, said he felt lucky to get Palin, since he was told she gets 2,500 requests a year.

Hagerstrom said one of the reasons he wanted Palin to speak was "her willingness to take on the status quo."

"People are tired of politics as usual," he said.

The AFP event starts at 8 a.m. and goes until 4 p.m. Palin will speak before noon, Hagerstrom said. Tickets range from $59 to $99.

Some political junkies are already characterizing the dueling May Day events as a preview of 2012 presidential campaign. The latest PPP survey show that Gov. Palin has closed on Obama's lead in the poll and is now in a statistical tie with the president.

- JP

AFP claims Sarah Palin "confirmed" for May 1 event

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Americans For Prosperity is claiming that Sarah Palin is "confirmed" to speak at its Defending The American Dream Summit in Clarkston, Michigan, a bedroom community in the northern Detroit suburbs. The event, which will be held at Mt. Zion Church, is described by the organizers as a grassroots gathering:

"You can send a powerful message to the politicians, special interests, and the mainstream media by taking part in the Defending the American Dream Summit - Michigan."

"On May 1st in Michigan, you can join America’s foremost free-market voices, top experts on grassroots mobilization, and Michigan’s largest gathering of grassroots leaders from across the state in a massive show of force for our shared belief in lower taxes and more limited government.

One caveat -- the governor is also scheduled to speak in Independence, Missouri on that same date, according to activist group Preserving American Liberty (PAL). Though Gov. Palin's appearance at neither event has been confirmed by her or an authorized representative, it is possible she could make both. The Independence event will take place from 1PM to 7PM CDT, and the event in Michigan has been set for 8AM to 4 PM EDT. So, it is conceivable that she could speak in the morning in Michigan, catch a flight to Kansas City, and and arrive in Independence in time to deliver an address in the evening.

We will have more details on both events as they become available.

h/t: Right Michigan

- JP