Lynchburg readies for Sarah Palin visit this afternoon

With Palin headlining, the conference sold out more quickly than usual.

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After addressing 5,000 people at an event in St. Charles, Missouri Friday night, Sarah Palin will speak to a crowd expected to be twice that size Saturday afternoon in Virginia at Liberty University for the Extraordinary Women Conference:

The former Alaskan governor will share her testimony of faith to more than 10,000 women who have traveled to Lynchburg for the conference.

"I just want her to share her journey with everyone," said Julie Clinton, conference host and president of the Extraordinary Women organization. "I think she relates to our audience very well and she's very excited about being a part of it."

Hotels around the region have sold out of rooms in anticipation of Palin's visit. The Wingate on Candler's Mountain Road ran out of rooms within 30 minutes of tickets going on sale last March, said Travis Dunn, front desk supervisor.

[...]

With Palin headlining, the conference sold out more quickly than usual, Clinton said.

"We usually sell out this event every year, but we usually don't sell out as early as we did this year," she said.

Conference organizers are still selling tickets to the overflow venue at Thomas Road Baptist Church, which will show a live broadcast of the event. Several speakers, including Palin, will make a brief appearance at the overflow venue.

[More]

- JP

Gov. Palin scheduled to speak at Liberty University in Oct.

Her remarks will be simulcast to 1,000 churches around the country
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As The Daily Caller's Steven Nelson observes, Sarah Palin will need solid support from social conservatives to win the GOP presidential nomination if she runs. Nelson interprets her scheduled appearance at Liberty University’s Extraordinary Women Conference as a sign that that she's aware of this reality:

The News & Advance, a newspaper in Lynchburg, Virginia, reported Tuesday that Palin will speak at the October 7-8 conference, mere months before presidential primary elections.

“Extraordinary Women is pleased to announce that Governor Sarah Palin will be sharing her testimony of faith with us at the 2011 Lynchburg Ewomen conference,” the group wrote on its website.

[...]

Current Liberty University Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. wrote in a statement to The News & Advance, “Governor Palin is greatly admired by our Liberty University faculty, staff and students for her patriotism and her determination to stand up for what is right despite vicious and unrelenting attacks against her and her family.”

The audience for Gov. Palin’s speech will be significantly expanded, thanks to a simulcast which will distribute her remarks to 1,000 churches around the country. Tickets for the event are priced between $49 and $89.

- JP

Rep. Jim Moran is a Moron

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Democrat Congressman Jim Moran, who represents Virginia's 8th District, doesn’t consider serving in the military to be public service. Here's Moran The Moron at the October 6th meeting of the Arlington County Democratic Committee:

Moran’s opponent happens to be Col. Patrick Murray (US Army-Ret.), who served 24 years in uniform, was deployed to four different combat zones, including Baghdad, as part of the 2007 troop surge under Gen. David Petraeus, and was even shot at by foreign combatants. If that isn’t public service, I don’t know what is.

Paper shuffling in Washington, apparently. And this was not Moran’s only military-related misstep.

On October 11th, the Military Officers Association of America sent a letter to the Moran campaign requesting that the congressman stop distributing a flyer clearly implying that MOAA had endorsed Moran for reelection.

It did not.

So Moran disses his opponent’s military record when he’s with his Democratic pals, then uses – without authorization – the reputation of a military group to help him get reelected. Classy.

We've always known that those on the left are, for the most part, no friends of our military, though the brave men and women who wear the uniform have put their lives on the line for the ingrates countless times. But Congressional liberals rarely allow their resentment of our troops and vets to be publicly witnessed, as Moran did here. It is long past time to retire this ungrateful, unpatriotic wretch.

Sarah Palin endorsed Col. Murray, along with all the other Combat Veterans For Congress candidates, October 10.

- JP

Richmond Tea Party presidential straw poll: Christie 14%, Palin 13.5%

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New Jersey Governor Chris Christie edged out former GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin by half a percentage point for first place in the Richmond, Virginia, Tea Party presidential straw poll Saturday. Christie won 14 percent of the 1,560 votes cast, with Governor Palin just behind him in second place with 13.5 percent. Texas Congressman Ron Paul finished third with 12.5 percent, followed by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who had 8.4 percent and U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) with 7.3 percent. Other candidates included Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann and Indiana Congressman Mike Pence.

Former CNN commentator Lou Dobbs keynoted the event, which organizers say attracted 2,800 registered attendees:

Repealing Obamacare was a major focus of the convention, and former Virginia Governor and U.S. Senator George Allen made an indirect stab at former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney for the Bay State’s healthcare program. Romney didn’t even place in the top five contenders in the straw poll, and “RomneyCare,” as Massachusetts’ healthcare program has been coined, may have had something to do with that.

[...]

Former Godfather’s Pizza CEO Herman Cain kicked off Saturday’s events with a headlining speech – and he hinted the most of any potential 2012 GOP candidate at a run for the presidency.

After recounting his story of having survived cancer, Cain said sometimes God keeps people around for a reason they don’t know at the time.

“I might do something crazy,” Cain told the crowd of Tea Partiers in Richmond. “I might just run for president.”

Speaking of running for president, Christie has rather emphatically denied that he wants to do so, telling reporters in Iowa recently:

"I'm governor of New Jersey, I'm not going to run for national office. You have to want it more than anything else in the world, and I don't. ... You have to be ready for it, and I'm not."

Gov. Palin, on the other hand, has by her own recent comments, increased speculation that she will run in 2012.

- JP

Journal Press: The continuing appeal of Sarah Palin

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Columnist David Kerr of the Journal Press, which serves Virginia's King George County, takes a stab at explaining Gov. Palin's appeal:

So what is the appeal of Sarah Palin?

To borrow a couple of references Palin popularized, both the “the [lamestream] media” and, another catch-all label, the Washington “political class,” hate her with a passion. That’s part of her appeal right there. They delight in belittling her, but every time they do it seems as if her popularity with her supporters gets just that much stronger. A lot of Americans, particularly working class Americans, often feel as if many in government are talking down to them. Palin for her part is able to capture this very anxiety. She may not be elegant in her speaking style, she may drop an “ing” off of a few words, but she doesn’t bob and weave like a professional politician. What’s more there isn’t anything remotely condescending in her remarks or her style.

[...]

Palin has a unique combination. She has become both a political force and a celebrity. But more importantly, going into 2012, whether Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty, and Lindsey Graham, or some of the other hopeful GOP hopefuls like it or not, she is also a player. She has a following none of them can match and a glint of star power they can only dream about. Now, the question is will she be a candidate for President? It’s not impossible, though arguably, Palin, in her role as semi-outsider, is more powerful than she would be as a candidate. But that could change. She is actually seeking advice and counsel on developing her own economic proposals and is working on developing a better understanding of foreign policy issues. And perhaps most noteworthy she is ratcheting up the quality and depth of some of her speeches and comments.

She has time, not much, but some, and for now, she is on the primary and general election trail, raising money, giving endorsements, making friends, and collecting IOUs by the dozen. The other prospective candidates in 2012 aren’t nearly in such demand.

Most of the GOP and the same goes for the Democrats, still don’t know what to make of her. They don’t fully understand her attraction, but most have gotten past the stage of dismissing her with an off hand comment. Going into the 2010 midterm elections, followed by the 2012 elections, she is a force to be reckoned with. And oh yes, she really can field dress a moose in ten minutes. I would never belittle a candidate who has that skill set in her background.

Kerr's full op-ed is here.

h/t: roy y

- JP

Sarah Palin slams Obama for selling out U.S. allies

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Sarah Palin dropped a hint of a possible presidential run Sunday night in Norfolk, Virginia, according to a report in the Daily Press of Newport News. The 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate told an audience of thousands of conservative voters in the Ted Constant Convocation Center that the country needs a new president:

"So folks let's start the task in November and what we start in November 2010 let's finish it off in November 2012."

Palin came to southeastern Virginia — a military Mecca filled with conservatives — for Freedom Fest, a concert and rally to support the troops, police and firefighters. Palin was the marquis guest speaking after former Virginia governor George Allen a few hours after crooner Lee Greenwood sung "God Bless the U.S.A."

[...]

The local visit is part of Palin's weeklong swing through the south, with events in Atlanta and Texas. Palin is reportedly mulling a run for president in 2012, and many evangelical voters are wooing her slapping Palin 2012 bumper stickers on their cars and building websites backing her.

Palin said spending cuts are vital in Washington, but she told the veteran-laden crowd that cuts should never touch defense.

"There are no shortcuts on national security," she said.

The anti-Palin Associated Press grossly misrepresented the size of the crowd on the campus of Old Dominion University at "several hundred people." AP's Bob Lewis wrote that the former Alaska governor blasted the Obama administration for downgrading the nation's status as a superpower and being willing to sell out its allies. She accused the president of selling out Israel over its naval blockade of Gaza and not treating Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with the respect the head of state of a longtime U.S. ally deserves:

She also said Obama lacked the resolve to stand up to Russia and China.

"Do they think, really, that we're getting anything in return for all this bowing and kowtowing and apologizing? No, we don't get anything positive in return for this," Palin said at the event spearheaded by a Norfolk talk radio station.

"So while President Obama is getting pushed around by the likes of Russia and China, our allies are left to wonder about the value of an alliance with our country any more. They're asking what is it worth," she said.

Palin, former Virginia Sen. George Allen and Iran-Contra figure Oliver North, who ran for a Virginia Senate seat and lost, each took turns decrying what they said was the deterioration of U.S. military might and will under Obama's watch.

Palin said that Obama and an allied Democratic Congress had cut military spending while showing no such restraint on other expenditures, running up trillions in new deficits.

North and particularly Allen had already whipped the crowd into a lather.

- JP

Sarah Palin: Upcoming Events in Texas, Virginia, and Georgia

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Sarah Palin previews her next three speaking engagements on Facebook:

Upcoming Events in Texas, Virginia, and Georgia

I’m looking forward to heading down to the Lower 48 for some great events.

On Saturday, June 26th, I’ll be speaking at the Oil Palace in Tyler, TX. You can visit their website here for more details.

Then on Sunday, June 27th, I’ll be at the Freedom Fest 2010 in Norfolk, Virginia. If you’re free that day, you can join me, Oliver North, and George Allen at the Ted Constant Convocation Center on the campus of Old Dominion University for an evening honoring our military and first responders (Police, Fire, and EMS). And what better way to kick off the event than to have Lee Greenwood on stage to sing “Proud to Be An American”! I hope you can join us to show support for all the brave men and women who serve in our armed forces and in our communities every day. You can visit the event website here for more details.

On Tuesday, June 29th, I head to Atlanta for the P.U.R.E. Celebration sponsored by Zachariah’s Way at the Gwinnett Arena. Zachariah’s Way is a wonderful organization committed to serving our special needs community. You can visit their website here to learn more about them, and if you’re free next Tuesday, I hope you’ll join us.

- Sarah Palin

Sarah Palin returns to Virginia June 27 for Freedom Fest 2010

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Freedom 1650 (WKHT), licensed to Portsmouth, Virginia, debuted its Conservative Talk Radio format on May 6, but the station is already doing big things. The AM outlet, which simulcasts with sister station WPMH, is sponsoring Freedom Fest 2010, an event headlined by Sarah Palin Saturday, June 27, at the Ted Constant Convocation Center in Norfolk.

Tickets are priced from $45 to $125 and can be purchased here. Directions to the Constant Center are here, and parking information is here.

Virginia should be familiar territory to Gov. Palin by now. Roanoke was one of the stops on her Going Rogue Book Tour last November, and during the 2008 campaign, she drew a huge crowd of 20,000 to a rally outside the Richmond International Raceway. The former GOP vice presidential candidate also roused crowds at rallies in Leesburg, Fredericksburg, Glen Allen and Salem, and she campaigned with her former running mate in Fairfax.

Update: Morning radio talker Steve Batton says he should be able to announce the names of the other guests by Monday:\

He did hint that they include a nationally known musician, a high-profile military person and a well-known author.

The event will also feature a salute to the military and first responders.

"It will be a very patriotic event," Batton said.

- JP

Gov. Bob McDonnell invites Sarah Palin to Virginia

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On his monthly "Ask the Governor" program on D.C.'s WTOP radio Tuesday morning, Governor Bob McDonnell said he would welcome Sarah Palin to Virginia to campaign on behalf of GOP congressional candidates this year:

"I have a great deal of respect for Sarah Palin,'' McDonnell said. "I thought she added a great deal of energy to the Republican ticket with John McCain. She's a principled conservative. She's not afraid to say some tough things."

McDonnell again denied that he did not want the former vice presidential candidate to come to Virginia to campaign on his behalf last year. "I think you've got that wrong,'' he said. "We could not get her here because she was in such demand."

Last year, Palin's spokeswoman told us that McDonnell repeatedly and personally asked her for help but then changed his mind. Palin, the spokeswoman said, still offered to come all the way up until Election Day.

McDonnell also defended RNC Chairman Michael Steele, who is in hot water again, this time for allegedly spending tens of thousands of donor dollars for luxury hotels, private jets and other expenditures.

"I think he's a good leader. People always like to focus on the controversy and not on the good news,'' McDonnell said. "Listen, he helped to win the governors races in Virginia and in New Jersey, helped to win the Senate race up in Massachusetts. That's a pretty good track record. I think ultimately you're judged by your results."

Steele helped funnel a record $8 million to the campaigns of Republicans in Virginia last year.

- JP

WaPo: Two thousand brave cold, snow for Palin book signing in Fairfax

The Washington Post reports:

Sarah Palin brought a taste of the Alaska winter with her to a Saturday book signing at the BJ's Wholesale Club in Fairfax. After alternating between drizzle and rain for much of the night Friday, snow flurries began in earnest about 8:30 a.m.

"I wanted to feel like I was at home" Palin said, as she walked into the store while the first snowfall of the season soaked a crowd of about 2,000 people who came to meet her.

The former Alaska governor, and 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee, signed copies of her book, "Going Rogue: An American Life." The weather dampened planned protests and meant those who braved the cold were true believers in Palin's causes. Palin's parents and her husband, Todd, accompanied her.

But according to Marooned in Marin, a lone protester showed up and demonstrated why a growing number of Americans are too ashamed to call themselves "liberals":

A person (I won't call him a man for reasons obvious later) took video of the crowd and, addressing my neighbors and I, asked why we liked Sarah Palin. He then proceeded to comment with "I heard she's not giving lap dances today." I commented, in a sarcastic tone, "yeah, that's very funny." The lib then followed with, "Is she in there with her retarded son? She should really be staying at home with him." While security was telling him he needed to go somewhere else, I told him, "There's isn't a corner of Hell hot enough for you, @$$hole!"

The Sarah Palin supporters, on the other hand, behaved like responsible adults:

Despite the rain, which turned to snow at around 9:30, people were in good spirits and conversed with each other. Many went and bought hand and foot warmers for themselves and their neighbors.

Updates...

Greta Van Susteren has a Fairfax photo gallery up on her blog here and two raw videos here.

NECN has video here.

- JP

Quote of the Day (November 26, 2009)

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The Roanoke Star-Sentinel:

"Palin brings out an extra measure of passion both in her supporters and detractors alike — and for her book tour, the supporters are showing up in huge numbers. Whether they would show up at the voting booth to pull the lever for a Palin for President Ticket remains to be seen but judging from the scene in Roanoke on Sunday there are a lot of people who would like nothing better than to do just that."

- JP

Forget Aisle-Crossing: Palin Helps Tighten the Screws in VA, NJ Races

- By Ian Ransom

Sarah Palin is proving that an effective leader never has to apologize for being conservative, or stoop to empty aisle-crossing rhetoric when it comes to a winning election strategy. The clear, uncompromising delineation of bedrock party values allows conservative citizens to identify leaders that genuinely share their principles. The result? Conservative feet that stayed away in previous elections are now ready to storm the polls. If the past several weeks have taught us anything about the past few years, it's that the GOP leadership's watered-down attempt to lodge itself in some sort of political "blind-spot" has unquestionably betrayed us.

Clear voices inspire clear choices. To rally the understandably jaded Republican base, no one has to tell us what we "want to hear." We already know what we believe. That's why we're conservatives. Just tell us who you truly are and, if you meet the standards of conservative character and integrity, we'll be there.

Sarah Palin's whip-cracking efforts in the past several weeks have underscored this simple but spectacular approach. One hesitates to even call it a "strategy" because, in some respects, that word implies back-room dealings and capitulation these days. Palin has no use for the smoke and mirrors favored by so many fence-sitters in the GOP--sitters now scrambling to avoid the fallout of their own identity crises. The Palin endorsement of Hoffman was a clarion call that put Reagan-era conservatism front-and-center in the duty to save the party by remonstrance, if necessary. Now, Sarah's lending her inimitable voice to the gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey. In a robocall for Republican Bob McDonnell's campaign, Sarah says:

Palin has recorded a robocall message to encourage Virginians to vote on Tuesday, the Washington Post reports.

"Virginia, hello, this is Sarah Palin calling to urge you to go to the polls Tuesday and vote to share our principles. The eyes of America will be on Virginia and make no mistake about it, every vote counts. So don't take anything for granted, vote your values on Tuesday, and urge your friends and family to vote, too."

Money for this call is coming from the Virginia Faith and Freedom Coalition, marking perhaps the strongest example yet of Sarah's public commitment to "values-voting" and its crucial role in the conservative destiny. Interestingly enough, McDonnell's campaign had opted last year to stop seeking Sarah's approval and instead pursue a McCain-style "let's aim for the swing voter" stance. With all due respect to Bob McDonnell, the landslide victory upon which he's currently poised is not going to be triggered by wishy-washy RINOs. The base had been galvanized, and is about to make its presence known. Much the same can be said for the New Jersey race, where Sarah proves that she does indeed have the GOPs rejuvenation firmly in her cross hairs. She's taken third-party candidate Chris Daggett to task on her Facebook page, wagging a finger at him for "playing loose with the facts" as Republican Chris Christie begins to edge his Democrat rival in the polls.

Thus, Sarah once again takes the most powerful and ahead-of-the-curve leadership role for conservatives in the nation. It was the work of Americans like Sarah and Fred Thompson who did us all the great service of forcing someone like Dede Scozzafava into the light of scrutiny, exposing her for what she truly is: poster-girl for the GOP's harrowing decline. But Sarah's not worried. Her battle is being fought for true conservatism, and whether you're a Republican or third party candidate, you'd better know who's buttering your bread by now. Clue: it's us.

We're called "conservatives." Don't forget it again.

- Ian

Spotted in Virginia

Subaru go, girl:



h/t: Bart's People

- JP