“'I'm glad she got the experience,' said Rolling Thunder member Gus Caporale, a Marine Corps Vietnam veteran who owns an Italian bakery in Cumberland, Md. Palin 'came and respected what we were all about.'”- JP
Roll On, Rolling Thunder!Update: SarahPAC has photos posted including some of the governor with Rep. Allen West.
There’s no better way to see D.C. than on the back of a Harley! My family may be used to snowmachines more so than motorcycles (though you couldn’t tell it with Todd driving a hog today with Piper on the back and with Bristol riding on the back of another bike). But whether you’re riding the open road or the frozen tundra, you’re celebrating a free spirit. What could be more American than that?
Today’s Rolling Thunder rally in DC is all about freedom. And it’s about duty and loyalty and service. The message heard loud and clear through the roar of tens of thousands of bike engines declared, “We will never forget our heroes left behind!” Truly, our POWs and MIAs honored today are America’s real heroes.
In addition to drawing special attention to POWs and MIAs, Rolling Thunders works to help all veterans, active duty service men and women, and military families in so many ways. Riding with these patriots today reinforced that we must do all we can to remind all Americans that we owe our freedom to our vets and to those missing and to those who made the ultimate sacrifice to make this the greatest country on earth. They deserve our debt of gratitude. It’s not the politician or the reporter who makes us free; it is the veteran.
One man who clearly understands this is Rep. Allen West, who was there today to honor our military. I really appreciated meeting him. Thank you for spending your day with the troops, Lt. Colonel West!
Meeting with Blue Star and Gold Star mothers this afternoon puts much into perspective. These beautiful families sacrifice so much for our freedom. This is what Memorial Day weekend is all about. Many of us this weekend are firing up the grill and enjoying time with our loved ones. Remember that we’re able to do that because someone else’s loved one is willing to lay it all on the line to defend our freedom. Someone is willing to re-deploy again and again far from home. Someone is willing to endure the blistering heat of Iraq’s deserts or the brutal cold of Afghanistan’s mountains. Someone is willing to put his or her own life on hold to make sure we’re safe. We never hear them complain, do we? And we never hear their families complain either. That’s what duty and service means. And Rolling Thunder’s commitment to them is what loyalty means.
I’m thankful Rolling Thunder keeps the mission of honoring our vets alive! For in doing so, they remind us what is good and free and worthy in America. So roll on, Rolling Thunder! Like Martin Luther King, Jr. said about the great struggle for civil rights, “we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream...”
Let’s roll on to honor our vets, to secure our blessings of liberty, and to fundamentally restore our proud America!
- Sarah Palin
Wearing black from head to toe, the Republicans' 2008 vice presidential nominee stopped at a thousands-strong motorcycle ride from the Pentagon to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Palin, who is mulling a White House run, was joined by her family.And this photo posted at CNN's Political Ticker blog.
Ms. Palin got off the bike to sign autographs and talk with the crowd. At one point she could be heard discussing “the missing,” a reference to the soldiers still missing in action — a key part of the Rolling Thunder cause.Here's some raw video from NBC Washington:
[...]
Ms. Palin rode on the back as another woman drove her motorcycle. Todd Palin drove another motorcycle, with Piper on the back, and Bristol rode on a third with another driver.
In recent polling, Palin scores at or near the top of GOP 2012 presidential hopefuls -- all without stating her plans. The Rolling Thunder parade attracts about 500,000 participants each year, and is a great place to go trolling for votes if she were setting up a bid.Photo of Todd (with Piper on the back) and Sarah at Rolling Thunder:
"I'm glad she's here and she can ride on the back of my bike if she wants," one young rider told Fox News.
"I think her coming out shows a great support for the veterans which we haven't seen so far, either," a female biker said. "I think this will make a big difference in the minds of the veterans because there's a lot of us, you know, and it's important that we never forget them."
The Associated Press reported at about 11:50 a.m. that Sarah Palin rolled into the parking lot of the Pentagon on the back of a motorcycle wearing black from head to toe.Sarah and Todd Palin joined thousands of motorcycles in the D.C. area today for Rolling Thunder, the annual event which draws riders from across the country.
Blue Star parents Todd and Sarah Palin may be riding with tens of thousands of Rolling Thunder veterans Sunday:The former Alaska governor, who is the subject of a lot of overheated speculation about whether she will run for president in 2012, has accepted an invitation to participate in the annual Rolling Thunder memorial ride this Sunday, an official says.Warning, Todd: Speaking from personal experience, riding a motorcycle can be downright addictive. If you rent a chunk of American Iron for the RT ride, you might just want to get your own Harley or Victory (Arctic Cat doesn't build two-wheelers, AFAIK) for surfing the Maricopa County roads. The temptation is greater, of course, in Arizona, where one can ride all year long, unlike Alaska, where motorcycles have to hibernate for 7 to 10 months out of ever 12.
“As far as I know, she is trying to rent a motorcycle, so she can ride with her husband,” said Nancy Regg, a spokeswoman for Rolling Thunder.
Gregg says the tentative plan is for Palin to join up with the ride at the Pentagon at 7 a.m. The ride kicks off at noon, and hundreds of bikers will snake through D.C. to the event’s main stage, which will be between the Reflecting Pool and the Korean War Veterans Memorial on the Mall. The program is scheduled to kick off at 1 p.m.
Gregg said Palin is currently not scheduled to speak at the event and watchers should not expect any type of “political statement” from Palin during Rolling Thunder.
In a move designed to propel her closer to a presidential run, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin will set out on a bus tour of the country on Sunday, making stops at symbolically significant venues along the way.Looks like gov. Palin will kick off her tour Sunday when she joins in the annual Rolling Thunder Memorial Day weekend motorcycle rally in the naiton's capital city. Riders will gather outside the Pentagon before the traditional motorrcyle parade rolls down Constitution Avenue to the National Mall near the Lincoln Memorial.
"Starting this weekend, Sarah Palin will embark on a ‘One Nation' tour of historical sites that were key to the formation, survival, and growth of the United States of America," SarahPAC treasurer Tim Crawford said in a statement to RealClearPolitics. "The tour will originate in Washington, D.C. It will proceed north up the east coast."
Details were still being hammered out on Thursday, but sources indicated to RCP that the bus tour is expected to last several weeks and will be divided up into separate geographical stretches for logistical reasons.
Members of Palin's immediate family are expected to join her on the trip, which will eventually take her through key early voting states.
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Image by Chris Muir
Sarah Palin will announce a bus tour at 3pm [EDST] today.Greta wants to know, "...does this mean she is running?" That question is purely rhetorical, my dear Greta.
It will be in connection with the Rolling Thunder festivities in DC this Memorial Day weekend, either starting or ending with the festivities at Rolling Thunder.
