RGJ: Sarah Palin speech raises $200K for Safari Club in Reno

“Excitement was building for days ahead of Palin’s visit”
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Some 2,000 formally-dressed members of the Safari Club International, after paying $100 each for what the Gazette-Journal billed as “Reno's hottest ticket,” crowded into the Peppermill Resort Spa Casino's Tuscany Ballroom Saturday night to hear Sarah Palin speak of the importance of protecting the environment and how Hunting and fishing are part of the American “heritage” and the nation’s “exceptionalism”:

“Don’t retreat, stand tall,” Palin told the crowd as she emphasized the importance of “responsible conservation.”

Palin also spoke of Second Amendment rights.

“We need to keep tabs on what the White House is telling us,” she also said.

She later said Americans would need to “count on Congress,” where the GOP regained control of the U.S. House of Representatives in November’s election.

But Palin emphasized the importance of local governments in setting policy.

“The best (management) is local” not “bureaucrats thousand of miles away” in Washington making the decisions, she said, drawing on her experience as mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, before becoming that state's governor.

[...]

Political science professor Fred Lokken of Truckee Meadows Community College said he considers Palin’s Safari Club appearance a “coup” for Reno and an “excellent” move for her.

“It’s always been a who’s who of some of the prominent conservative Republicans, so frankly for her either to get the invite or be able to wrangle the invite, it really helps her as she tries to position for 2012 and after,” he said. “This is one of the places to the seen.”

Palin’s visit will carry momentum beyond Reno since the Safari Club event draws visitors from afar, many of them wealthy.

[...]

“Being able to come to a group like this (gives) some street cred that might help her to sort of reestablish or bolster her efforts at building a campaign for 2012,” Lokken said. “It’s a guns rights place. They are huge in the Second Amendment. Her whole connection to Alaska probably makes her one of the most logical people they have had in years.”

[More]

Smith predicted that in a few months, Gov. Palin will return to Nevada for an appearance at “Republican headquarters.”

h/t: Fay

Updates...

From leftsite The Daily Beast's take on the same event:

She admits that she "threw a little politics" into her recent TLC reality show by dragging the crew to the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge on the pretense of hunting caribou. Her real purpose? Showing viewers that ANWR is a "barren, desolate, less-than-pristine place"--perfect, in other words, for lots of new oil drilling. "If a caribou needs to be sacrificed for the sake of energy independence," she adds, "I say, 'Mr. Caribou, maybe you need to take one for the team.'" She mentions how some media figures have pledged not cover her at all in February, and says the boycott "sounds good" to her: "because there's a lot of chaos in Cairo, and I can't wait to not get blamed for it--at least for a month."

[...]

In public, Palin tends be guarded about her plans for the future. But earlier in the evening, she dropped a small hint about her potential ambitions. After some boilerplate comments about how "local government is the most responsive and responsible to the will of the people" she paused for a moment and stared out across the ballroom. And then came this: "that's why I think every president should have a run at gaining experience by being a councilmember, a mayor, a governor, a VP candidate, a commercial fisherman, a hockey mom." As the attendees cheered, Palin made a halfhearted attempt to quiet them down. "No, I'm kidding," she said, beaming. "I try to be funny some times. I'm kidding." But they hoped she wasn't.

And a good after action report on this event at Free Republic here.

- JP

Berman: What is Sarah Palin Doing During State of the Union?

Gov. Palin will speak at two events in Reno next week
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At The Note, ABC's John Berman notes that while President Obama will be TelePromTering his State of the Union Address next week, Sarah Palin will be delivering a speech of her own:

She will deliver the keynote address to 54th Annual Weatherby Hunting and Conservation Award Dinner. According to its website, the Weatherby Foundation “exists to help preserve ethical sport hunting on a global basis.” It was created in honor of Roy Weatherby who was a major figure in the gun industry. His official bio says he, “championed the benefits of ultra high velocity by creating proprietary Weatherby Magnum cartridges. He also developed the legendary Mark V® rifle action.”

The speech to this hunting group will be the first of two that Palin will deliver next week in Reno. On Saturday January 29th, she will address the annual convention for Safari Club International. Anyone who has watched “Sarah Palin’s Alaska,” on TLC knows that Palin is an avid hunter who relishes delivering “organic sources of protein” to her family. The show pictured her shooting a variety of different guns.

[...]

Both speeches in Nevada have been Palin’s calendar for some time.

[More]

h/t: Whitney and Ian

- JP

Gov. Palin to keynote SCI convention in Reno

Saturday, January 29
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Sarah Palin will deliver the keynote address to the 39th annual convention of Safari Club International, an organization which protects the freedom to hunt and promotes wildlife conservation. Organizers expect 20,000 people to attend the four day event will take place in Reno, Nevada January 26 through 29. Tickets are already sold out for Gov. Palin's speech, scheduled for Saturday night, January 29.

Michael Reagan and NASCAR team owner Richard Childress will also deliver speeches, and entertainment will be provided by comedian Larry the Cable Guy, musical acts Marshall Tucker Band, Pure Prairie League, and Elvis impersonator Matt Lewis.

The SCI website is here; convention web pages here.

- JP

Sharron Angle Ad: 'Our Turn'

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Good closing argument by the Angle campaign:


h/t: Jim Hoft

- JP

Kill 'em with kindness

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From Elizabeth Crum at National Review's Battle 10 blog, we see that Sharron Angle's team is right on top of things:

In response to Joy Behar’s vicious remarks on The View, the Angle campaign sent a lovely flower arrangement with a note enclosed.

“Joy,

Raised $150,000 online yesterday. Thanks for your help.

Sincerely,
Sharron Angle”

Behar's parents must have had high hopes when she was a baby, naming her "Joy" and all. Too bad that didn't work out. Kind of like naming a daughter "Chastity," and then she takes a job offer from a brothel...

- JP

Gov. Palin: Tea Partiers 'are not sheeple' and don't need a leader

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Sarah Palin answers questions from Fox News at the Tea Party rally in Reno Monday:



- JP

Full Sarah Palin Speech at Reno Tea Party rally

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Courtesy of The Right Scoop:



- JP

Video: Sarah Palin talks to CNN in Reno

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Here's Gov. Palin answering a CNN producer's questions in Reno, something the left claims she refuses to do:

Sarah Palin warned Monday that the mainstream Republican Party must embrace the core conservative principles of the Tea Party movement or disappear.

In comments to CNN at a Tea Party Express rally to kick off its fourth national tour, Palin said the Republican Party machine realizes how the Tea Party movement's "we the people" message has resonated on the political right, as well as with independents and moderates. The message emphasizes free market principles and individual and state powers instead of expanded federal powers.

"Heaven forbid the GOP machine strays from this message," said the former Alaska governor and unsuccessful Republican vice presidential candidate. "If so, the GOP is through."

Her comments, in response to the question of whether the Tea Party movement is dividing the Republican Party, showed how Palin and other Tea Party leaders are trying to galvanize the political right by bringing their supporters together with the traditional GOP structures.

[More]

- JP

Live Stream: Sarah Palin in Reno at TPX bus tour launch

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Tea Party Express is calling its latest road trip the "Liberty at the Ballot Box" tour. Gov. Palin is in Reno to help kick off the tour. The live stream is courtesy of Tea Party HD:

[Player removed after the event]

CNN is also streaming it live here with much cleaner audio and a better camera angle than the Tea Party HD feed. Don't get us wrong, we're not CNN fans, and we appreciate Tea Party Express for its support of principled candidates for smaller and better government. But come on, TPX, there's no excuse for distorted sound on a national and/or international feed and an out-of-focus long camera shot from 45 degrees off the center of the stage.

Update: Gov. Palin has wrapped up her speech.

- JP

The revolution WILL be televised

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We received an email from Eric Odom of Liberty.com informing us that both his site and TeaPartyHD.com will provide live online coverage of Monday's rally in Reno which will kick off The 15-day Tea Party Express bus tour which will stop in 30 cities across the nation on the way to Concord, NH. Gov. Palin is, as we reported yesterday, speaking at the Reno event. The two websites will not only cover the Reno rally, but every other strop on the tour as well.

- JP

Sarah Palin returns to Nevada Monday for Tea Party rally

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Gov. Palin will return to Nevada Monday to help Tea Party Express kick off its "Liberty at the Ballot Box" cross-country bus tour.

The AP is reporting that it has confirmed the information through the Washoe County Republican Party. The rally will be held at 10 AM Pacific Time in a lot adjacent to the county party headquarters, according to the Reno Gazette-Journal.

The tour will stop in Las Cruces and El Paso Saturday, October 23; in Abilene and Waco Sunday; and in Dallas and Little Rock Monday. The bus will reach its destination November 1 in Concord, New Hampshire on the eve of the mid term elections.

The first female vice presidential candidate of the Republican Party helped Tea Party Express launch a bus tour from Nevada last March in Harry Reid's home town of Searchlight. That event drew a crowd of over 10,000.

- JP

Las Vegas Sun: Sharron Angle seeks a push from Sarah Palin

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The Las Vegas Sun reports that the Sharron Angle campaign in Nevada is preparing to announce an endorsement of its candidate by Sarah Palin. Angle staffers are hoping that an endorsement from the the first woman to be both governor of Alaska and the GOP's vice presidential candidate will motivate the Republican base and turn out voters in their tight race against Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid:

Although Angle’s campaign has actively pursued the former Alaska governor’s endorsement, the effect of Palin’s seal of approval remains an open question in a race with so few undecided voters.

Republican operatives acknowledged that Palin is a polarizing figure unlikely to sway independent voters, who are key to the race, or persuade new voters to join Angle’s camp. But a visit by her to the state could motivate volunteers and help get Angle’s much-needed base to the polls.

“Sure there are some Republicans who aren’t impressed with her,” said Robert Uithoven, a Republican consultant in Reno. “But she’s still a significant force in the conservative movement. And I think in a race that could be decided by a few hundred votes, it’s important to use every tool.”

Indeed, Angle hopes Palin will fill the role of party motivator just as her opponent, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, is counting on President Barack Obama, who plans to headline at least one October campaign event for him, to rally the troops.

And if there’s a party that needs motivating this election cycle, it’s the Democrats.

“I never thought I would say this, but Sarah Palin actually is a bigger draw for those loyal supporters on the right than Barack Obama is for supporters on the left,” said Eric Herzik, a political scientist at UNR. “The left is a little dispirited and a little fractured right now.”

Angle spokesman Jarrod Agen said the campaign is working out the details of an event to make the official endorsement announcement. He would not confirm whether Palin would visit the state to stump for Angle.

Although Gov. Palin has not formally endorsed Angle, she has already provided some support to the former member of the Nevada Assembly. In June, an Angle spokesman said the campaign had received a "generous donation" from SarahPAC, and the governor offered some moral support the same month via Twitter, encouraging Angle to "stay strong" in the wake of politically-motivated attacks against her. In July, Gov. Palin defended Angle, again in a Twitter message.

The Daily Caller inaccurately reported in July that Angle had Sarah Palin's endorsement. While the candidate may have had the governor's implicit approval, it has never been made explicitly.

Speaking of inaccuracy, the Sun's article has a few errors, including this one:

"Palin has mostly endorsed women, all of whom are conservative — “mama grizzlies,” as Palin likes to call them."

Actually, Gov. Palin has endorsed 23 men and 18 women for national office in the 2010 elections. She has also endorsed three women for statewide office, but even counting those endorsements, the governor has endorsed two more men than women.

- JP

Quote of the Day (August 21, 2010)

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Sherman Frederick at the Las Vegas Review-Journal:

"So, as summer breaks into fall, the Angle/Reid race shapes up to have President Barack Obama in Reid's corner and Sarah Palin in Angle's corner. In the political parlor game of who helps who the most, it's not even close. One Sarah Palin equals three Barack Obamas when it comes to energizing and connecting with the Nevada voters."

- JP

The DC claims that Sharron Angle has Sarah Palin’s endorsement

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The Daily Caller is reporting that Sharron Angle has Gov. Palin’s endorsement:

Palin’s brother, Chuck Heath, told The Daily Caller that his sister plans to “actively help” Angle and “do whatever she can” to help take out Democratic Sen. Harry Reid, the Senate’s majority leader, in Nevada this fall.

“She’s got GUTS and is putting up with more crap than she deserves because the libs don’t know what to do with her and the support she has,” Palin said in a email provided to TheDC by Heath.

While Palin has not yet formally endorsed Angle in public before now, she said her support was offered to the Angle campaign when she recently made a donation to her. It is not clear if Palin was referring to a personal donation she made to Angle or the money her SarahPAC has contributed to Angle’s campaign. Palin has also supported Angle on Twitter, writing that Angle was “right” about wanting to allow workers to invest Social Security in private accounts.

Actually, Gov. Palin has not formally endorsed Sharron Angle. Donations and public expressions of support may show where the governor's sympathies lie, but they are not tantamount to an official endorsement.

Read the full DC report here.

- JP

The DC: Calling Obama agenda ‘backasswards,’ Palin defends Angle

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In a series of Sunday morning tweets, Sarah Palin called President Obama's agenda “backasswards,” slammed Senate Majority Reid Leader Harry Reid for not understanding that "The System is Going Bankrupt," and defended Reid's GOP challenger Sharron Angle from an attack made on the Nevada Republican by the president for Angle's position on Social Security. The former Alaska governor also endorsed a leading Nevada newspaper's editorial which was critical of the president.

The Daily Caller's Jon Ward reports:

“LasVegas RJ editorial recaps Obama lecture 2 Runnin’ Rebs,” Palin wrote to her 187,000 followers on Twitter Sunday morning, referring to the president’s speech in Las Vegas Thursday night and using the name of the University of Nevada Las Vegas’ mascot — the Running Rebels — to characterize to his audience. “He’s got most disconnected, backasswards plan ever imposed on the country we love,” Palin said of Obama. Palin was following up a tweet linking to a scathing editorial in the Review-Journal that blasted Obama for his criticism of Angle on Social Security Thursday evening at a fundraiser for Reid. The editorial also said Obama has offered no alternatives to fix the problem with entitlement programs that are on the path to insolvency and is running the economy into the ground with anti-business measures. Top White House spokesmen David Axelrod and Robert Gibbs were on the defensive during Sunday morning’s talk shows, following a week in which questions about whether Obama is anti-business hit the mainstream.

Though Gov. Palin did not endorse Angle in the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate in Nevada, the first woman to be the vice presidential candidate on a GOP ticket came to the defense of one of her fellow "mama bears":

“Sharon Angle’s right,” Palin wrote, misspelling Angle’s first name, “New workers should get to invest some Social Security withholdings in their own savings accounts & Washington to pay promised benefits to older workers.”

Though Angle was criticized most loudly on Social Security by Obama Thursday at a fundraiser for Reid, Palin instead addressed her response to Reid, a Democrat and four-term senator.

“What part of ‘The System is Going Bankrupt’ don’t you understand, Mr. Reid?” Palin wrote.

Obama’s criticism of Angle Thursday had a decidedly derisive tone.

Memo to Jon Ward: You do realize that Twitter limits the length of each tweet to 144 characters, so the Twitterati frequently abbreviate -- yes, even people's names -- to avoid having their messages truncated?

Anyway, The DC's full story is here.

- JP

Angle campaign receives "generous donation" from SarahPAC

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Although Sarah Palin did not endorse Sharron Angle in the Nevada GOP primary race to challenge Majority Leader Harry Reid for his seat in the U.S. Senate, Gov. Palin's political action committee has made a "generous donation" to Angle's campaign and will likely come to Nevada to campaign for the former state assemblywoman, according to a report in the Las Vegas Review-Journal:

The former Alaska governor is the keynote speaker next Wednesday at the 2010 International Bowl Expo put on by the Bowling Proprietors Association of America at the Las Vegas Convention Center and the Las Vegas Hilton. Palin’s appearance raised the question whether she might be doing or saying anything while in town to advance Angle’s bid to unseat Sen. Harry Reid.

Maybe later but not now, according to Angle campaign spokesman Jerry Stacy.

“Sarah Palin has already funded Sharron Angle’s campaign with a generous contribution, and we will work to coordinate an event at a later date,” Stacy said by email.

He did not elaborate on how much Palin gave and when. Presumably that will show up when both Angle’s campaign and Palin’s political action committee update their public disclosures at the end of the month.

While the first woman to be the Republican Party's vice presidential candidate chose not to endorse a candidate during the Nevada primary, her brother and father supported third-place finisher Danny Tarkanian, son of the legendary UNLV basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian.

Update: Angle leads Dirty Harry by 6 points in the latest Rasmussen Reports survey of Nevada's Senate race.

- JP

Sarah Palin to Sharron Angle: Stay Strong

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Sarah Palin reached out to Nevada U.S. Senate candidate Sharron Angle late Sunday night, offering her support and encouragement via Twitter:

"@SharronAngle Great job Sharron!Reid's overspending will blow up r economy.Stay strong;People see through the spin&sparks.Do well 4 America!"

A poll released by Rasmussen Reports Thursday showed Angle with an 11-point lead over Senate majority leader Harry Reid, 50 percent to 39 percent.

- JP

The Fix: Palin and Romney could have key allies in new governors

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Aaron Blake blogs at the Washington Post's The Fix that when GOP primary voters go to the polls today to nominate candidates for governor in three of the early presidential primary states, it could have consequences for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination:

Iowa

[...]

While Romney and Palin have both endorsed Branstad, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who won the Iowa caucuses in 2008, is behind the insurgent conservative candidate, businessman Bob Vander Plaats. Recent polling shows Vander Plaats behind by double digits, though.

Branstad is close to another potential 2012-er - Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R). But Barbour, as chairman of the Republican Governors Association has to stay neutral in primaries. Branstad also knows Tim Pawlenty, the RGA vice chairman, but the Minnesota governor has decided to stay out of contested primaries.

For his part, Branstad stayed out of the 2008 race but has shown a willingness to endorse in past Iowa caucuses. As a state representative in 1976, he picked Ronald Reagan. He endorsed Bob Dole in 1996 and Lamar Alexander and then George W. Bush in 2000.

South Carolina

The winner of the GOP primary here will be a heavy favorite in November. The question is whether state Rep. Nikki Haley can overcome affair allegations and somehow, some way, avoid a runoff. (Once considered a long shot, that prospect is becoming more and more possible by the day.)

Haley has been endorsed by both Romney and Palin.

Romney was the first one on board, endorsing her in mid-March when she was still lost in the pack with three other, more established, male candidates. As with Branstad, the two also have a connection from 2008 as Haley was a vocal supporter of Romney's disappointing fourth-place campaign in the Palmetto State.

But when it came time to defend herself against the affair accusations in recent weeks, Haley turned to Palin, running ads and robocalls featuring the former vice presidential nominee. If Haley thinks that Palin played a major role in saving her campaign, she might feel compelled to endorse her or, at least, stay neutral.

Huckabee, again, was on the other side of his two potential 2012 opponents -- endorsing Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer, who is unlikely to make the runoff.

Nevada

No major potential 2012 candidate is bothering much with this state.

[...]

The lack of involvement by 2012ers also has to do with the likelihood of the state being a walk over for Romney in the presidential primary process. With its large Mormon population, Romney won it by 37 points in 2008 and is a shoo-in for 2012, assuming he runs again.

- JP

The DC: Chuck Heath & Son become sought-after figures in GOP primary races

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Although Sarah Palin hasn't endorsed a candidate in the Nevada GOP senate primary, Danny Tarkanian has the next best thing -- the backing of her father and brother. According to Alex Pappas, it may help:

Chuck Heath Jr., a 48-year-old schoolteacher from Anchorage, says both he and his dad receive constant requests for endorsements across the country, but grant few. So far they’ve endorsed just four candidates. “Of course, their ultimate goal is they want Sarah’s endorsement,” Heath explained during an interview Wednesday with The Daily Caller.

The Heaths first met Danny Tarkanian during the 2008 election. “Their family got really behind our family, and especially Sarah, and we kind of struck up a friendship that way,” Chuck Jr. said. Tarkanian, son of the famous coach and a former NBA player himself, bonded with the family over basketball. When Tarkanian called to say he was running for the nomination, Palin’s brother remembers, it wasn’t a tough call. “We told him, you worked for us and we believe in what you stand for also — and especially running against Harry Reid, we’ll do whatever we can to get behind you.”

The Tarkanian campaign has been using Palin’s father as a surrogate since last fall. In October, Chuck Sr. made five stops throughout the state for Tarkanian. In November, the retired schoolteacher signed a fundraising letter. In March, he cut a radio ad that’s still on the air today.

The Tarkanian campaign, says spokesman James Fisfis, has “certainly valued the endorsement” – which, while “it doesn’t guarantee any votes,” does “guarantee that you do get attention and people will take a look at your platforms and what you’re saying.” The presence of Palin’s father and son “shines attention on Danny,” he says. “We were able to have events and bring people together. They all wanted to meet and hangout with the Palins.”

Chuck Jr. says he doesn’t know if his sister Sarah will make an endorsement in the Nevada primary, where former state Assemblywoman Sharron Angle, former State Senator Sue Lowden and Tarkanian are the three leading contenders in a field of nine candidates.

Lowden, who is considered to be the establishment GOP candidate still leads the race with 30 percent, according to a Mason-Dixon poll conducted May 10-11 for the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Angle, who has the endorsement of Tea Party Express, has surged recently and is now right behind Lowden at 25 percent. At the beginning of April, before the TPX endorsement, Angle was at a distant 5 percent in the polls. Tarkanian is not far behind Angle in third place with 22 percent.

Sarah Palin praises free market in Las Vegas convention speech

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Sarah Palin was the featured speaker Sunday afternoon at the International Council of Shopping Centers convention, part of RECon 2010, which was billed as the world’s largest gathering of real estate professionals.

A free-market economy in which business owners have control over their destinies is best for everyone, Palin said several times during the nearly 40-minute speech. Other topics included so-called “Obamacare,” business taxes, oil and shopping.

Palin said Las Vegas is a portrait of the American entrepreneurial spirit. Just as Las Vegas was built in a barren desert, she said, small business owners know what it is like to make “something out of nothing.”

“I think that every politician who wants to run for office should have run a business before,” she said.

The crowd cheered. “You are the backbone of our nation’s economy,” she said.

Palin said she and her husband, Todd, enjoy coming to Las Vegas. Palin said she disagreed with a controversial statement President Barack Obama made last year about spending money in Las Vegas. Tourism should be encouraged, she said, because it bolsters the local economy.

“I was so proud of the good, noble mayor here, Mayor Goodman, who dared take on anyone who suggested Vegas wasn’t a good place to be,” she said. “I thought, man, he sounds like he’s goin’ rogue. He took on the president, even.”

Gov. Palin told her audience that as a city council member in Wasilla, Alaska, she voted against any measure she considered to be anti-business, and on her watch as mayor, Wasilla grew from a town without a Wal-Mart into a small retail center.

Update: More from Commercial Real Estate Examiner Doug Bardwell here. Bardwell's report of Gov. Palin's speech being well-received at the convention is confirmed by The Record of Hackensack. The newspaper reported that "Sarah Palin was getting standing ovations from a corporate-minded full house of 5,000 at the Las Vegas Convention Center on Sunday..." Both accounts debunk lying leftist bloggers who claim that the governor's speech was "disastrous." The anti-Palin hit squads operate 24/7/365, and they never rest.

- JP