Herald-Leader: Sarah Palin draws a crowd to Lexington book signing

"Palin Man" has been to about ten of her book signings

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Sarah Palin fans by the hundreds flooded Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Lexington Wednesday night to meet the former Alaska governor and GOP vice presidential candidate who visited the store to sign copies of her new book America By Heart:

The book, Palin's thoughts about the future of the United States and words from those she finds most inspiring, was released Nov. 23, about a year after her best-selling memoir Going Rogue.

[...]

Kaye Hughes of Lexington brought her daughter Kacie, a fourth-grader. The two secured their two books, which they will give to Kaye's mother and sister for Christmas, on Nov. 16, the first day they were made available. Even though the meet-and-greet was short, the Hugheses said meeting Palin and her daughter Piper made for an exciting evening.

"They were really trying to keep the line moving, but she shook both our hands and asked Kacie about school and just held onto her hand while she talked," Kaye said. "It was cool to meet Piper, too. They're both just very nice."

Tammy Pickett and Jennifer Cross's smiles and neon green sweatshirts shone across the store as they waited for their turn. Pickett embroidered both shirts, which read, "I came to meet the 45th president." She said she made similar sweatshirts when she met President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton on their campaign trails.

Pickett said Palin liked the shirts so much she made an exception to her normal rule of signing only books; Palin signed both sweatshirts and had the women pose with her for a photo.

[More]

Thursday, Gov. Palin will make book signing stops in Spirit Lake, Iowa and Carmel, Indiana. The first leg of her book tour -- she's hinted that additional signings may be announced at a later date -- wraps up Friday with signing events in Cincinnati, Ohio and Columbia, South Carolina.

Update: Coverage from WTVQ-TV here.

- JP

New Rand Paul Ad: 'False Witness'

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Very powerful rejoinder to Conway's shameless attack ad:



Background info here.

- JP

Red Meat Conservative: Not all polls are conducted equally (KY Senate)

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Daniel at Read Meat Conservative explains how Survey USA's Kentucky Senate poll that rather conveniently was released this weekend illustrates how bogus party ID weightings can be used to distort a survey. After showing Palin-endorsed Rand Paul with a 15 point lead over Democrat Jack Conway only three weeks ago, now Survey USA purports to show Conway within two percentage points. Here's how S-USA fudged the numbers:

The poll taken earlier this month had a party ID breakdown of 47 D 10 I 42 R. That is actually slightly less favorable to the GOP than the disastrous 2008 turnout of 47 D 15 I 38 R (in which McCain still won). Remember that there is no doubt that there will be more Republicans turning out to vote in Kentucky this year. The only question is how much more? However, nobody disputes that the turnout figures will be much more favorable than those of the past two elections cycles.

This brings me to the most recent Survey USA poll that shows Paul leading Conway by a paltry 49-47 margin. The party ID weightings of the survey were as follows: 51 D 12 I 38 R! Does anyone really believe that a majority of the voter turnout in a staunch conservative state, in a staunch conservative year, in a state where Obama's approval ratings are in the toilet, will be Democrats? Is it really possible for voter turnout models in 2010 to be worse for the GOP than 2008?

Daniel cites Public Policy Polling (PPP) as another textbook example of how manipulating a survey's party ID weightings can make the poll results show anything an unscrupulous pollster wants them to show. Earlier in the election cycle, PPP polling showed Sen. Burr Richard (R-NC) virtually tied with his opponent, Democratic Elaine Marshall. This is because, Daniel argues, PPP was employing a similar turnout model to the one used by Survey USA in its latest survey. Since changing its methodology to employ a a more realistic turnout model, most PPP polls are showing the true advantage Republican candidates have over Democrats in an election cycle where voters are fed up with six years of a Congress under the control of radical leftist Dems.

The most recent survey by the more reliable Rasmussen Reports shows "Burr enjoying his best showing to date, with 54% support to Marshall's 38%." Likewise, Rasmussen's poll in the Kentucky Senate race conducted earlier this month showed Rand Paul with "his highest level of support since winning his party’s primary in May" -- leading Conway handily 54% to 39%.

As Daniel says, "The devil is always in the details." That's usually where you'll find a Democrat with a heavy thumb on the scales.

- JP

Sarah Palin speaks to crowd of 10,000 at Quartet Convention

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Louisville television station WDRB-TV (Fox 41) reports that after Gov. Palin's appearance at today's fundraiser for Rand Paul at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, she only had to cross the street to Freedom Hall to deliver her speech on faith and family to the National Quartet Convention:

"That's what we can learn if we have that optimism," she told the assembled crowd. "That's what our country needs now more than ever -- a clear vision and the optimism to get through the challenges that we're facing."

The National Quartet Convention is a Christian music convention. Palin spoke to a receptive audience, saying America is a force for good in the world, and said it is time to turn the country back to God.

She was applauded when she spoke about the need for limited government and a government than can pay for itself.

Palin described herself as a pro-life feminist: "I am one that would like to empower women and let them know that if they find themselves pregnant in less than ideal circumstances, they're capable, they're able, they can pursue an education, they can pursue a career and still give their child life. And if motherhood isn't for them -- adoption is the beautiful choice."

The Associated Press wire story pegs the number of people in her convention audience at 10,000:

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin says tea party-backed politicians are "shaking up the good old boys" with their movement that she said represents mainstream ideals of restoring prosperity.

The 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate told an audience of about 10,000 people Thursday at a gospel music convention in Louisville that she's thrilled with the emergence of underdog candidates. Palin said those newcomers bring new energy to politics as they push for the U.S. to grow and prosper again.

- JP

Sarah Sweetens the TEA for Rand Paul in Louisville

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Here are excerpts from a report at Bluegrass Bulletin on Gov. Palin's visit to Kentucky today:

Sarah Palin stepped into a room filled with dozens of fans this morning and brought to the Rand Paul campaign, not only another $5,000 from her own PAC, but helped raise what event host Cathy Bailey says is a fund raising success "approaching $100,000" with only three days of planning in advance.

Governor Palin shook hands and greeted each of the attendees before posing for pictures. Her husband, Todd, mingled and talked with the crowd and took time to talk with me about Alaska, my trips there and the places we both have been.

After the photo opportunity Governor Palin stayed around and chatted with the folks all the while graciously posing for additional photos by pocket cameras and cell phone cameras.

Quite unexpectedly she even delivered a short pep talk to the Rand Paul supporters who gathered in an adjoining room for lunch with Rand, and his wife.

[...]

Governor Palin delivered a reassuring message before lunch in which she reminded people that candidates who follow their principles may often find themselves being told by others how to do things else they risk losing. But, she reminded the audience, often those are the same people who just lost.

(More)

Read the full account of the Palins' fundraising appearance here.

- JP

Gov. Palin and Dr. Paul return to "Freedom Watch" this weekend

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Blogger Free Man In Kentucky is reporting that Gov. Palin and Rand Paul will make a return joint appearance on "Freedom Watch" with Judge Andrew Napolitano this weekend:

According to Fox Business Channel in New York, this weekend a segment that was taped this morning in Louisville will air on Fox Business Channel's "Freedom Watch." The segment featured a combo interview with Dr. Rand Paul and former Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin. Topics discussed were O'Donnell in Delaware and what platform many of the "Tea Party" aligned candidates should run on for the General in November.

The two firsr appeared together on the program in June. Gov. Palin is in Kentucky today to help the GOP candidate for U.S. Senate raise funds. She is also speaking at the National Quartet Convention.

- JP

Gov. Palin at fundraiser for Rand Paul in Kentucky this week

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Gary Howard, the Rand Paul campaign’s press secretary, has issued a press release announcing that Gov. Palin will appear at a Louisville fundraiser for the GOP candidate for U.S. Senate this week:

On Thursday, September 16, Sarah Palin will be in Kentucky on behalf of Dr. Rand Paul’s campaign for U.S. Senate.

The Rand Paul Victory Kentucky lunchtime fundraising event, where Palin will appear as a special guest, will take place in Louisville at the Crowne Plaza Hotel.

Sarah Palin gave an early endorsement of Paul in the Republican race, where he handily triumphed earlier this year.

h/t: Ian Lazaran

- JP

SurveyUSA: Rand Paul is up by 15 points in Kentucky

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A new SurveyUSA poll conducted for the Louisville Courier-Journal and WHAS-TV shows Republican Rand Paul increasing his lead over Democrat Jack Conway in the Kentucky U.S. Senate Race. Paul, who was endorsed six months ago by Sarah Palin, now has a fifteen point advantage over Conway, 55 percent to 40 percent:

The margin of error for the poll is 4.2 points, which was conducted between Aug. 30 and Sept. 1, is 4.2 points. Other polls taken in mid- and late-August put Paul ahead by between five and 10 percentage points, according to polling data compiled by realclearpolitics.com.

Doug Heye, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee, on Sunday said the poll results shouldn’t come as a surprise. “The Obama agenda is unpopular in Kentucky and candidates who have publicly supported [Obama’s health-care overhaul], like Jack Conway, are seeing their numbers drop like a rock,” he said.

Neither campaign could be reached for comment on Sunday.

Complete poll results are here.

- JP

Rand Paul wins GOP Senate primary in Kentucky

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Rand Paul won one for the tea party movement, conservatives and libertarian Republicans, cruising to victory in Kentucky's GOP Senate primary Tuesday night. Though they should have seen this one coming, Paul's big win will send shock waves through the Republican Party establishment, and it is an indicator of the mood of the electorate this midterm election season.

Paul had 59 percent of the vote—with returns counted from 29 percent of the precincts—to 37 percent for Secretary of State Trey Grayson, who had been recruited to run by the state's dominant Republican, U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Paul was endorsed by Sarah Palin February 1. He also received endorsements from Sen. Jim Demint, Sen. Jim Bunning, Steve Forbes and Dr. James Dobson.

- JP

Why Rand Paul trumps Trey Grayson for Reagan conservatives

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John Hawkins explains, from his Briefing on the key GOP Senate primaries at Right Wing News:

Grayson voted for Bill Clinton in 1992, trashed Sarah Palin publicly as being unqualified to be President, he's run a sleazy campaign, and he's Mitch McConnell's protege, which I find worrisome. Rand Paul, who is Ron Paul's son, is not a perfect candidate either. Although he's not as much of a Libertarian as his father, he's generally terrible on foreign policy issues and probably isn't quite as good a candidate as Grayson (the Paulites will make sure he is flush with cash at least), but either of them should be favored in what will likely be a competitive Senate race. On the other hand, Paul is ferociously dedicated to shrinking government and cutting spending, which isn't Trey Grayson's strong suit. At the end of the day, both Grayson and Paul are imperfect, but respectable choices for the Senate. Paul's just plain old better where it matters most though, on spending and small government issues.

Federalism rules! Read Hawkins' complete GOP Senate primaries briefing here.

- JP

Sarah Palin appears in latest Ran Paul political ad

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Even though she only appears in the latest Rand Paul ad for his Kentucky GOP Senate primary run, Sarah Palin is at the center of the commercial. Literally. She appears at the 15-second mark. Politico assistant editor Jessica Taylor writes:

The 30-second television spot, which began airing in the state’s major media markets Monday, features a clip of the 2008 vice presidential nominee praising Paul’s conservatism. It comes on the heels of Grayson’s comments last week when he told the Louisville Courier Journal that he didn’t believe the former governor was qualified to be president—a clip that was widely circulated by Paul’s campaign.

“He wants limited government. I respect that, and I’m proud to support him,” Palin says in the ad.

Taylor points out that John McCain and Sarah Palin carried Kentucky in the 2008 general election with 57 percent of the vote.

- JP

Sarah Palin meets with GOP fundraiser in Louisville

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From Ryan Alessi at the Buegrass Politics blog, we learn that just prior to speaking at the Women of Joy conference in Kentucky, Sarah Palin met with Louisville philanthropist and GOP fund-raiser Cathy Bailey Friday evening:

Bailey said Saturday she spoke with the former Alaska governor and husband Todd for more than 20 minutes at the Louisville Crowne Plaza Hotel.

[...]

The two women also talked politics, although Palin didn’t let on whether she will run for president in 2012, Bailey said.

“I told her, ‘You definitely energized the party, Governor, and there’s a groundswell out there with the Tea Party movement,’” Bailey said. Palin responded that she was eager to “make sure good candidates get through these primaries,” Baliey said.

Bailey had considered making a U.S. Senate run this year until a tragic Christmas day fire destroyed her Louisville home and took the lives her two grandsons. She said Gov. Palin expressed her sympathy to Irv and Cathy Bailey for their loss.

Bailey, who said she is committed to “putting true conservatives in Washington,” has not taken sides in the GOP primary battle between Rand Paul and Trey Grayson:

“We have a primary and whoever comes out of that, I will work very hard to make sure they’re elected in November,” she said.

Bailey, who served as U.S. ambassador to Latvia during part of President George W. Bush’s administration, spent 2008 as the chairman of the Kentucky fund-raising efforts for U.S. Sen. John McCain and Palin’s ticket. Although Bailey and Palin had met before during the campaign, Friday was their first time “to really sit down and have some time to have a conversation,” Bailey said.

“And I think we will stay in touch, because we share a lot of common interests,” she said. “We’re both moms and we share concern about what’s happening in this administration, and we continue to be interested in getting more women involved in the political process.”

As she makes appearances across the country, Gov. Palin continues to develop and strengthen ties with Republicans and conservative political heavyweights such as Cathy Bailey at the state and local levels, which strikes us as "smart girl politics."

- JP

Courier-Journal: Sarah Palin speaks to crowd of 16,000 at Freedom Hall

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Peter Smith of the Louisville Courier-Journal reports on Sarah Palin's appearance at the Women of Joy Conference:

Sarah Palin told a Freedom Hall crowd of about 16,000 Friday night that she was there to inspire women in their faith, not to talk politics.

But... Palin — now a best-selling author and headline speaker at tea-party tax protests — did plenty of both in the course of her nearly hour-long talk at an evangelical Christian women’s conference.

“This nation needs you,” Palen told the women. “Know the facts. Stand for what’s right. Don’t be discouraged by the mocking of those who want to claim we just cling to our religion. I’m the first to admit — yeah, I do cling to my faith. That’s all I’ve got.”

Palin mixed stories of personal struggles, calls for women to be good mothers and good citizens and criticism of President Barack Obama — without ever mentioning him by name.

She asked for the women — who greeted her with an enthusiastic standing ovation — to provide a “prayer shield” to strengthen her against what she said was “deception” in the media.

She denounced this week’s Wisconsin federal court ruling that government observance of a National Day of Prayer was unconstitutional — which the crowd joined in booing. She asserted that America needs to get back to its Christian roots and rejected any notion that “God should be separated from the state.”

“Hearing any leader declare that America isn’t a Christian nation and poking at allies like Israel in the eye — it is mind-boggling to see some of our nation’s actions recently, but politics truly is a topic for another day,” Palin said.

The event became sold out quickly after Gov. Palin was announced as a speaker. According to Waldrep, the event drew only about 5,000 last year.

Read the full C-J story here.

Erick Erickson: Trey Grayson is Attacking Conservative Ideas and Sarah Palin

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RedState.com top gun and CNN contributor Erick Erickson shoots down Trey Grayson's hot air balloon:

The man has refused to take a substantive position on bailouts, etc. for the longest time. He’s peddled false smears against Paul that Paul is pro-choice. In fact, Rand Paul is very much pro-life, but thinks because abortion is a non-constitutional issue contrary to Roe v. Wade, it is an issue for the several states to ban and not for Congress, except for the bit about defunding federal payment for abortion, which he gladly supports doing.

Then there is the latest...

[...]

Now Trey Grayson is attacking Sarah Palin because Palin endorsed Rand Paul. Grayson says Palin is unfit for office and he questions her judgment.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is the Republican that D.C. Republicans say we should all get behind.

Not me.

Us neither. Good on you, Erick.

- JP

Kentucky GOP voters prefer Palin, Paul and Tea Parties

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Louisville-based Magellan Strategies has released the results of a survey of 560 likely Republican primary voters that was conducted February 18 in Kentucky:

Sarah Palin leads Mike Huckabee 28% to 24% in a presidential primary ballot test. Mitt Romney is third with 16%, followed by Newt Gingrich with 12%, Ron Paul with 4%, Tim Pawlenty with 2%, and 14% are undecided. Younger voters (18‐34) prefer Palin by a significant margin with 43% support, and among senior citizens the ticket tightens up with Romney, Palin and Huckabee in a dead heat.

Other findings from the Magellan poll in Kentucky indicate that Tea Parties are viewed very positively:

Among likely Republican primary voters, 67% have a favorable opinion of the Tea Party movement and 9% have an unfavorable opinion. When voters were asked if
they agree with the movement’s core values of fiscal responsibility, constitutionally
limited government and free markets, 73% agreed and only 7% disagreed.

And in the race for the U.S.Senate, Kentucky's Republican voters prefer Rand Paul over Trey Grayson by a 21-point margin, 44 percent to 23 percent, with 33 percent of voters undecided. Gov. Palin endorsed Rand Paul Feb. 1.

The Magellan survey has a margin of error of 4.14% at the 95% confidence interval.

h/t: M. Joseph Sheppard

- JP

Sarah Palin confirms Rand Paul endorsement (Updated)

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After predicting Thursday that an endorsement by Sarah Palin was in the works, Rand Paul's campaign manager claimed Monday in a press release that it's a done deal:

National political icon and conservative leader Sarah Palin has endorsed Dr. Rand Paul in his bid for United States Senate from Kentucky. The Paul campaign has received a generous donation from Governor Palin’s PAC.

Sarah Palin has clearly seen that Rand Paul supports smaller, constitutional government and is taking the fight to the career politicians and will shake up the tax and spend crowd in Washington D.C.

“Governor Palin is providing tremendous leadership as the Tea Party movement and constitutional conservatives strive to take our country back,” Rand said.

“Sarah Palin is a giant in American politics. I am proud to receive her support.”

Politico's Ben Smith notes that the claimed endorsement strengthens the alliance between the Tea Party movement, Ron Paul libertarians and Gov. Palin's conservative grass roots, but adds a cautionary note:

Paul is claiming the endorsement, but worth noting that we haven't had a statement from Palin yet.

As of this Noon CST posting, we haven't seen anything on the governor's Twitter or Facebook Notes pages.

If true, this alliance could go a long way toward quashing all the chatter from the left and their trained media circus about the Tea Party movement "falling apart" -- which, of course, it was never in any danger of doing.

On the downside, Gov. Palin risks losing the support of many Kentuckians who were backing true conservative Bill Johnson, a long shot in the Senate race. Among them is Lisa Graas, a colleague and dear friend of ours who has worked tirelessly for Gov. Palin.

h/t: BluegrassBulletin.com

First Update: The Grayson camp voices its skepticism of the endorsement:

But the campaign manager for Paul's primary rival, GOP Secretary of State Trey Grayson, pointed out that Palin had not issued a statement of support for Paul or commented directly on the reported campaign donation, leaving open the possibility that she had stopped short of offering a formal endorsement.

Nate Hodson called the Paul campaign's announcement "a release by a campaign that has demonstrated previously the ability to report things that are not true or half-truths." Asked if the Grayson camp believed Paul was fabricating support for its candidate, Hodson replied: "It wouldn't be the first time."

Second Update: Says Dave Weigel at The Washington Independent:

TWI’s Rachel Hartman, digging into FEC filings, has not seen a Paul donation yet from SarahPAC — records only go through December 31, 2009.

Third Update: Ben Pershing at the Washington Post:

But is it true? Does the donation mean she is solidly behind his bid?

"My understanding is the check is considered to be an endorsement," Paul said in a phone interview Monday, explaining that Palin's political action committee, Sarah PAC, gave $2,000 to Paul's campaign in recent days.

Paul added that he had not spoken to Palin directly but that his aides had talked to her representatives, who conveyed her support for his campaign. Paul said those conversations would continue and that he hoped she would visit Kentucky at some point to do an event for him.

Um, excuse us, but Paul has not spoken directly to Gov. Palin? On something as important as a political endorsement, are we the only ones who think that the process should at least involve some degree of actual direct communication between endorser and endorsee? A political endorsements, by definition, should be completely unambiguous.

Fourth Update: Sarah Palin has indeed endorsed Rand Paul. Ben Pershing has received confirmation from the Palin Camp:

Her spokeswoman just sent over this statement from the former Alaska governor: "I'm proud to support great grassroots candidates like Dr. Paul. While there are issues we disagree on, he and I are both in agreement that it's time to shake up the status quo in Washington and stand up for common sense ideas."

- JP

Sarah Palin booked for Christian women's event in April

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Gov. Sarah Palin has been booked to speak at an inspirational Christian conference at Louisville's Freedom Hall in April, according to the Courier-Journal. It will be her first visit to the area since a campaign stop October 29, 2008 just across the Ohio River in nearby Jeffersonville, Indiana:

Palin, whose 2009 autobiography Going Rogue is among the top-selling political autobiographies of all time, will speak at a "Women of Joy" conference, which is designed "to enhance and energize the spiritual lives of Christian woman." The conference, sponsored by Phil Waldrep Ministries, is held in multiple cities each year, but Palin is only speaking at the Louisville gathering.

"We are excited to be welcoming the Women of Joy conference to town again this year," said Jim Fraser, 88.5 WJIE general manager. "This will be Mrs. Palin’s only appearance with the conference, and we are thrilled she chose to do it in Louisville."

Since the event was announced, "this has been one of the biggest responses I’ve ever seen," said Chris Crain, promotions director for the Christian radio station. He said he's received a steady stream of callers seeking ticket information.

Ticket and lodging information is here, and those who plan to attend the event can register here.

- JP

Rand Paul has asked Sarah Palin to campaign for him

Rand Paul, a candidate in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate in Kentucky revealed in an interview Thursday for the Wall Street Journal's Washington Wire blog that his campaign has asked 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin to campaign for him:

Washington Wire: Do you want Sarah Palin to campaign for you?
Paul: We’d love to have her come. We’ve made some overtures to her.

But the son of Texas congressman Ron Paul did not seem too excited about two other potential Republican presidential candidates:

Washington Wire: What about Tim Pawlenty or Mitt Romney?
Paul: I don’t know much about Tim Pawlenty. Romney, there’s a mixture of beliefs there.

Read the full Rand Paul interview here.

- JP