News from the Sarah Palin Events Calendar...

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Salina, Kansas is getting ready for Sarah Palin:

About 6,000 people will gather to hear former Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin speak at Salina's Chamber of Commerce Banquet. But before then, the city has a lot of preparing to do.

Bicentennial workers put up new signs and touch up paint to get ready for one of the biggest events this center has ever seen.

"My staff is just a buzz about Sarah Palin," said Bicentennial Center Manager Marshall Perry.

The former Alaska Governor comes on Friday as the keynote speaker for the Chamber of Commerce Annual Banquet. Almost all the seats will be filled in addition to the 176 tables that cover the floor.

Meanwhile, in Daytona Beach, Florida, the location for Gov. Palin's speech had to be changed to a larger venue:

The chamber is moving the dinner from the Hilton Oceanfront hotel to the Ocean Center, a convention destination.

Ticket sales to date are 64 percent higher than last year's sales.

The governor will return to Kansas for a Wichita fundraiser in May:

Are local Republicans excited that Sarah Palin is coming to Wichita?

You betcha.

"She obviously is going to draw a big crowd," said John Stevens, president of the Wichita Pachyderm Club. "She speaks for an element of folks who feel like they haven't gotten a lot of representation lately. I think she's a good person whether you agree with all her views or not."

The former Alaska governor has agreed to come to Wichita to speak at a May 2 fundraiser for Bethel Life School, a Christian school serving prekindergarten through eighth grade.

Following a private reception with major donors, she'll make a public appearance at Intrust Bank Arena beginning at 7 p.m.

The 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate will headline a Center for Arizona Policy event in Glendale, AZ in April:

Palin will be the keynote speaker at a CAP dinner April 24 at the Glendale Renaissance Hotel & Spa, according to CAP President Cathi Herrod. The socially conservative group led the 2008 state ballot measure banning same-sex marriages.

She will be going to Alabama in the fall:

Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin will speak at Faulkner University's 2010 annual Benefit Dinner in October.

The event is at 7 p.m. Oct. 7 at the Renaissance Montgomery Hotel & Spa at the Conven tion Center. Tickets for the event are $150 each and include a meal at the Renaissance. They go on sale Feb. 15. Sponsorships for the event begin at $1,000.

In addition, in her recent USA Today op-ed, Sarah palin annnounced that in addition to Saturday's keynote speech to the National Tea Party Convention in Nashville, she will speak at two Tea party Express events. One will be in Harry Reid's home town of Searchlight, Nevada:

The March 27 Nevada event will kick off the Tea Party Express's 42-city bus tour, which will end April 15 with what organizers are billing as a major march on Washington.

And the other, an April event, is scheduled for the city where the first American tea party demonstration was held -- Boston, Massachusetts:

Mark Williams, a spokesman for the Tea Party Express group, which is planning an April 14 event in Boston, said Palin would be the headliner of the event. He said he wasn't sure if the venue had been decided on yet.

He said he hoped that Republican Scott Brown, who last month won a special election for the US Senate in Massachusetts, would also attend. "I think we've probably reached out to him," he said.

He said the group had no qualms about staging an event in one of the nation's most liberal states.

"It's a working stiff state that's neither blue nor red," he said.

- JP

Sarah Palin wants to turn the political tide in Ohio

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Politico's David Catanese says if you look at where Sarah Palin is putting her PAC money, she has Ohio on her mind:

Four of the 17 candidates Palin contributed to hail from Ohio — the state where she held by far the most presidential campaign events in 2008, according to The Washington Post’s candidate tracker.

The former Alaska governor and 2008 vice presidential nominee gave $5,000 to former GOP Rep. John Kasich, who’s running for Ohio governor; $3,500 to former Rep. Rob Portman, who’s running for the state’s open Senate seat; $1,000 to Rep. Jean Schmidt; and $1,000 to state auditor Mary Taylor, whom Kasich recently tapped to be his running mate.

Catanese quotes a GOP source who says that Gov. Palin believes there is a real chance to make a difference in Ohio.

Another source, Hamilton County GOP Chairman Alex Triantafilou said:

"It makes sense to me that she may be looking to a future where Ohio matters to her, and if she’s building support, I think it’s great. We’ve got an incumbent governor in Ted Strickland who is very vulnerable, so perhaps she sees where her dollars can make a difference."

A poll taken last month by Wenzel Strategies showed Kasich with a 10-point lead over Gov. Ted Strickland. Portman was leading both potential opponents (Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher and Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner) by six points. Fritz Wenzel says his findings are similar to a Rasmussen Reports poll taken just a week prior to when his survey was conducted.

- JP

To The Atlantic: Your rotting garbage stinks; throw it in the dumpster

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Terminally unhinged conspiracy theorist Sicko Sully's attacks on Sarah Palin and her family have always been petty and mean-spirited, but the dope-smoking blogger has hit a new low by charging that the name "Trig" given their Down Syndrome son was chosen by Todd and Sarah to mock their own baby:

"The medical term for Down Syndrome is Trisomy-21 or Trisomy-g. It is often shortened in medical slang to Tri-g."

At the Washington Examiner, Mark Hemingway placed a wake-up call to The Atlantic's editors:

"At what point does Andrew Sullivan's derangement over Sarah Palin and his bizarre conspiracy theories about how her son was really birthed by her daughter become an issue for an otherwise respectable publication such as The Atlantic?"

All Palin supporters should add their voices to Hemingway's and call for the employers to take immediate action against the piece of filth named Andrew Sullivan who blogs under their banner. It's far past time for this maniac to go. Contact information for The Atlantic is here, and the masthead is here.

Update: For those not offended by strong language, Ace carves up Sully like those chefs do meat in Japanese steak houses here.  Boom! Taste his ginsu stick...

- JP

Hawkins: Sure looks like Palin is running for president

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John Hawkins says that Sarah Palin appears to be laying the foundation for a White House run. The Right Wing News editor lists her resignation as governor, book tour,  Facebook posts and decision to accept a position as FOX News as reasons for his conclusion. And he offers the following additional evidence:

* She burnished her outsider credentials and appealed to anti-establishment conservatives by supporting Doug Hoffman in NY-23.

* She's speaking at multiple tea parties to help cement that part of the base in her camp.

* Her PAC has been raising money that she'll dole out to candidates during the 2010 primary season.

* She endorsed Rand Paul in the Kentucky Republican primary. Why? Well, what better way to appeal to Ron Paul's fans without getting entangled with the man himself?

* Palin's endorsement of John McCain came early, before JD Hayworth got in the race, and may very well have been in return for Johnny Mac's endorsement in 2012. Like him or not, McCain has a lot of influence with moderates in the party and having him support her instead Romney or Pawlenty would be very helpful.

Hawkins admits that all of the above does not necessarily mean that Sarah Palin is running for president -- at least not in 2012. She still needs time to work on elevating her approval ratings, build her resume and continue to show that she understands the issues of the day and how to deal with them using both her new and old media megaphones. And he points our -- as have we -- that the governor can always wait another four or eight years to throw her cap into the ring.

Hawkins concludes by saying that more so than Romney, Huckabee Tim Pawlenty, Sarah Palin is doing all the things that you'd expect from a 2012 contender at this stage of the game. On this last point, we disagree with the RWN editor. One thing Sarah Palin hasn't done that Romney and Huckabee have is to start organizing at the state level. Granted, that Romney and Huckabee have do so is by virtue of their GOP primary efforts in 2008. Romney, especially, has left is state organizations in standby mode just waiting for the right moment to reactivate them.

Also those Romney, Huckabee and Pawlenty have each made several pilgrimage to the early primary and caucus states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. Sarah Palin had only one brief book tour stop in Iowa, and while there she didn't schedule time for interviews with the local media. That's one reason why we believe that Sarah Palin is in it for the long run. While we don't doubt that she would jump into the race if some unusually advantageous opportunity presented itself, we think she's looking ahead to 2016 or 2020. Time will tell.

- JP

More Quote of the Day Honorable Mentions, Part 24

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"Have you no decency, sir?" Edition...

Flopping Aces:

"Sarah Palin asks the President to man up and get rid of an adviser who called some liberal Democrats 'retarded'... Emanuel should [have] been sacked long ago for many different reasons, many of which Bush and his advisers would [have] been vilified for. But not this President, and not his keepers."

Gary P. Jackson:

"This isn’t just about the hateful ramblings from a truly disgusting little man. No, this is about a society, and a political movement that has been destroying our nation, and the values it was built on, for over a century. It’s time for the entire 'progressive' movement to be dismantled and destroyed. Time to send this vile and disgusting ideology into that big old dumpster full of failed, evil dogma in the sky! Sending Rahm Emanuel packing is a good place to start the house cleaning!"

Jim Hoft:

"That didn’t take long. Rahmbo apologized this morning."

American Conservative Values:

"Rahm Emanuel caved in and apologized for his offensive remarks after Sarah Palin’s scathing rebuke... Thank God for Sarah Palin. I’m kind of curious why Rahm didn’t issue the apology to Sarah Palin and others with children of special needs? God bless America and Sarah Palin."

Lori Ziganto:

"Thank you, Sarah Palin. It’s about time we use Alinsy’s rules against them and hold them up to their own 'rules.' Alinsky’s fourth rule? 'Make the enemy live up to their own book of rules.' They are the Politically Correct Police for everyone else, all the time... and incessantly demonize people with those 'rules'... Remember George Allen and that whole 'Macaca' deal? Dude, he was vilified for a word that no one even knew! And Palin just showed that making them attempt to live up to their own rule book works. Rahm was forced to apologize."

Thegreyfalcon:

"The issue is not that Palin was offended, she has been attacked ruthlessly ever since she ran for vice president. Palin touches on something beyond herself... And for someone who is supposed to be so much less intelligent than Obama and his supporters, she sure does understand the interactive media and political process a lot better than they do."

JammieWearingFool:

"Under Pressure From Palin, Rahm Emanuel Apologizes for Calling Liberals Retarded"

GOP Toast:

"Sarah Palin took to her Facebook account yesterday to shed light on the fact that Barack Obama's chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, used the derogatory term "f------ retarded" in one of his tantrums. Like president, like chief of staff, huh? Don't forget that Obama made a Special Olympics joke last year. It appears that this administration suffers from an empathy deficit."

Abu Wabu:

"It's always a pleasure to see an obnoxious pr*ck like Rahm Emanuel get his comeuppance from a decent person, in this case Sarah Palin, who went after the little weasel with both barrels for his 'f-n retards' slur reported last week."

Uncoverage.net:

"Liberals can diss her till they are blue in the face; Sarah Palin is shaping national dialogue and policy with her bully pulpit on Facebook."

- JP

FOX News will cover Sarah Palin's NTPC address live (Updated)

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Fox News will cablecast Sarah Palin’s National Tea Party Convention keynote address to a potential audience of millions of viewers live Saturday night:

The network, which pays Palin as a political analyst and is considered the favored network of conservatives, will carry Palin’s speech during Geraldo at Large in the 9 p.m. hour, a network spokeswoman told POLITICO.

On Monday, convention organizers announced that they had credentialed Fox as well as CNN, Reuters TV and Pajamas Media, and was working with them to facilitate video coverage of select parts of the convention. But neither the organizers, nor the media outlets, announced specific coverage plans.

CNN apparently will not provide live coverage of Gov. Palin's speech, as it plans to air a documentary on Martin Luther King Jr. Saturday night as part of its Black History Month programming. But CNN will rebroadcast excerpts of the address and will dispatch a team of three correspondents and one political contributor to Nashville for convention coverage.

Update: MSNBC(!) and C-SPAN will both carry the speech live as well.

- JP

Quote of the Day (February 2, 2010)

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Rand Paul:

"We think it may be the biggest endorsement that a candidate could get in the country this year."

- JP

Sarah Palin on her Tea Party Convention speech

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In an opinion piece for USA Today, Sarah Palin explains why she intends to speak at the National Tea Party Convention this Saturday night. Here are some excerpts:

Later this week I'll head to Nashville, where I'll have the honor of speaking with members of the Tea Party movement.

[...]

Recently, some have tried to portray this movement as a commercial endeavor rather than the grassroots uprising that it is. Those who do so don't understand the frustration everyday Americans feel when they see their government mortgaging their children's future with reckless spending. The spark of patriotic indignation that inspired those who fought for our independence and those who marched peacefully for civil rights has ignited once again. You can't buy such a sentiment. You can't AstroTurf it. It springs from love of country and the knowledge that we can make a difference if we just stand up and stand together.

I thought long and hard about my participation in this weekend's event. At the end of the day, my decision came down to this: It's important to keep faith with people who put a little bit of their faith in you. Everyone attending this event is a soldier in the cause. Some of them will be driving hundreds of miles to Nashville. I made a commitment to them to be there, and I am going to honor it.

[...]

I will not benefit financially from speaking at this event. My only goal is to support the grassroots activists who are fighting for responsible, limited government — and our Constitution. In that spirit, any compensation for my appearance will go right back to the cause.

The nature of the Tea Party movement means there may never be a "perfectly orchestrated" event: Democracy in action doesn't come with a manual. But we must not get caught up in the politics or the controversies that some hope will distract from the heart of the movement. The focus must remain on our ideas and beliefs, and on supporting those ideas and beliefs however we can.

Once again, like the fresh breeze she is, Gov. Palin clears the air of the pollution around the Tea Party Convention that critics on both the left and right have been pumping into the atmosphere. The governor continues to speak common sense conservatism, and her op-ed should serve as a teaching moment for the circular firing squad.

Read the full Sarah Palin op-ed here.

- JP

Sarah Palin: Out-of-control spending is weakening our nation

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In a new op-ed published on her Facebook Notes page, Sarah Palin warns that out-of-control spending is threatening America's freedom and security:

Freedom, Influence, Security Shrink as Budget Balloons

The White House recently announced its pricey Childhood Obesity Initiative to tell us what we should feed our kids. Helpful I’m sure – but most Americans would rather see government focus on other important areas right now. We know what our kids should eat: more healthy food, less junk food. There – we just saved Washington a ton of money by announcing that finding on personal responsibility.

What does demand our full attention is the newly released $3,800,000,000,000 federal budget. The president and Congress have a huge job tackling the problem staring right at us as we look at a budget we obviously can’t afford. America’s freedom and security are endangered as we become beholden to other nations, thanks to ballooning deficits and debt. One congressman just warned that our nation may become insolvent if we don’t make better decisions starting now. As noted in a New York Times article today, unless “miraculous growth” or miraculous unforeseen change is on the horizon, America’s freedom, influence, and security will continue to erode. (Personally, at this point I believe it wouldn’t hurt to ramp up our nation’s humble request for the divine miraculous change and wisdom we’ll need to see us through.)

Getting our arms around this will take all of us working together, making sacrifices, taking more personal responsibility, and sending elected leaders to Washington that we can trust. That’s why some of us may come across as strident in our efforts to call out the White House and Congress. We want to trust you, Washington; we want to work with you, but we cannot stomach some of the things being rammed down our throats. Your actions to pile on more debt make no sense, so we must question your motives and intentions. For instance, there’s just no room for expensive, dangerous, and unsustainable new initiatives like Obamacare, Cap and Tax, and a dramatically expanded federal payroll. These government-growing proposals will obviously cause more problems than they’ll solve. They are just further steps towards insolvency.

Steps towards insolvency are steps away from freedom. They’re steps towards destruction. It’s the reason we ask why we should swallow what's coming out of Washington.

The Wall Street Journal has a brilliant column by Gerald Seib today. It reads in part:

The U.S. government this year will borrow one of every three dollars it spends, with many of those funds coming from foreign countries. That weakens America’s standing and its freedom to act; strengthens China and other world powers including cash-rich oil producers; puts long-term defense spending at risk; undermines the power of the American system as a model for developing countries; and reduces the aura of power that has been a great intangible asset for presidents for more than a century.

“We’ve reached a point now where there’s an intimate link between our solvency and our national security,” says Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations and a senior national-security adviser in both the first and second Bush presidencies. “What’s so discouraging is that our domestic politics don’t seem to be up to the challenge. And the whole world is watching.”

In the 21st-century world order, the classic, narrow definition of national-security threats already has expanded in ways that make traditional foreign-policy thinking antiquated. The list of American security concerns now includes dependence on foreign oil and global warming, for example.

Consider just four of the ways that budget deficits also threaten American’s national security:

• They make America vulnerable to foreign pressures.

The U.S. has about $7.5 trillion in accumulated debt held by the public, about half of that in the hands of investors abroad.

Aside from the fact that each American next year will chip in more than $800 just to pay interest on this debt, that situation means America’s government is dependent on the largesse of foreign creditors and subject to the whims of international financial markets. A foreign government, through the actions of its central bank, could put pressure on the U.S. in a way its military never could. Even under a more benign scenario, a debt-ridden U.S. is vulnerable to a run on the American dollar that begins abroad.

Either way, Mr. Haass says, “it reduces our independence.”

• Chinese power is growing as a result.

A lot of the deficit is being financed by China, which is selling the U.S. many billions of dollars of manufactured goods, then lending the accumulated dollars back to the U.S. The IOUs are stacking up in Beijing.

So far this has been a mutually beneficial arrangement, but it is slowly increasing Chinese leverage over American consumers and the American government. At some point, the U.S. may have to bend its policies before either an implicit or explicit Chinese threat to stop the merry-go-round.

Just this weekend, for example, the U.S. angered China by agreeing to sell Taiwan $6.4 billion in arms. At some point, will the U.S. face economic servitude to China that would make such a policy decision impossible?

Please read the rest of Seib’s column here. Our out-of-control spending is weakening our country. We can no longer afford to kick the can down the road to the next generation. We need to have a serious discussion about our spending priorities before it's too late. Commonsense conservatives have a sincere desire to work with the White House on these challenges, and we’re thankful for those in Congress making the offer to help.

- Sarah Palin

Southwest Michigan Going Rogue in May

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Sarah Palin will return in May to the state where she launched her end of the year book tour:

Palin will speak to the Economic Club of Southwestern Michigan in Benton Harbor on May 13, a spokesman for the group told CNN.

The only woman to be the vice presidential candidate of the Republican Party hearts Michigan. When the McCain's campaign pulled out of the state in 2008, Sarah Palin and her husband Todd publicly questioned the decision and pressed campaign officials to let the pair make more visits to the state.

The club's website is here, and the press release is here.

- JP

John Hawkins: Meg Whitman is dead to me

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Excellent John Hawkins post at Right Wing News today:

One the worst of McCain's staffers was Mike Murphy, who ripped on Sarah Palin like it was his new job. Where was the loyalty to the campaign? Where was the respect for all the conservatives that thought choosing Sarah Palin was the best move McCain made in the entire campaign?

[...]

So when Meg Whitman, who's running for governor, chose to hire Mike Murphy, what does it say?

It says that she holds Sarah Palin's many fans in the Republican party in absolute contempt. She thinks so little of them and feels their support is so unwanted for her campaign, that she's going to hire a guy like Mike Murphy, who made more of a name for himself trashing Sarah Palin than he did working for the McCain campaign.

Well, here's what I say: Any candidate who hires Mike Murphy, Steve Schmidt, or Nicolle Wallace -- the McCain staffers who trashed Palin -- that candidate is dead to me.

Read the unabridged original here.

- JP

Rahm Apologizes in the Wake of Sarah's Criticism

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Sarah Palin has forced an apology out of President Obam'a foul-mouthed chief White House goon, Rahm Emanuel. Jeff Zeleny at the NY Times' "The Caucus" blog has the story:

Rahm Emanuel, the White House chief of staff, apologized for using the word “retarded” to describe liberals at a closed-door meeting last year.

Mr. Emanuel expressed his regret to Tim Shriver, the chief executive officer of the Special Olympics, last week after the remark was reported in an article by The Wall Street Journal about growing liberal angst at the chief of staff.

The apology comes as former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin called on President Obama to fire Mr. Emanuel. In a statement on her Facebook page, Ms. Palin described the comments as a “sick and offensive tactic.”

Sarah 1, Rahm Zero.

- JP

Got marmots?

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Here's a great take on Marmot Day from the dean of blogger-journalists, Andrew Malcolm:

The weirdest thing:

Every year at this very same time on this very same day the very same thing happens: Bill Murray and others talking about groundhogs, of all things. And Pennsylvania, of all places. And none of it has anything to do with Arlen Specter.

This year, however, for a refreshing change we can talk about marmots (See photos). All due to best-selling author Sarah Palin.

That's because thanks to her signature way back when she was a state governor, today is the nation's first official Marmot Day. At least in Alaska.

Try to control your excitement.

The Marmot Day legislation was actually introduced by fellow Wasilla Republican state Sen. Linda Menard. And, hey, since some places have state dinosaurs, what governor is gonna pick a fight over vetoing a bill about something as important as Marmot Day?

As silly as it might sound, a Marmot Day actually makes more sense than a Groundhog Day. Especially in Alaska, which doesn't have any sluggish groundhogs like Pennsylvania Phil or whatever his Chamber of Commerce name is in the Keystone State. Groundhogs have great February PR, but aren't tough enough for Alaska.

We're just wondering -- if a marmot sees Linda Kellen Biegel's shadow, does that mean six more weeks of therapy? Poor little critter...

Read Andrew's full post here.

- JP

Playing in Peoria: How Five Points Signed Sarah

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It's tough for organizations which are not well known nationally to get the attention of star attractions, much less convince them to lend their faces, names and fame to an event the group is sponsoring. Had Washington, Illinois Mayor Gary Manier and representatives from Five Points not taken a tour of the Ronald Reagan Museum at Eureka College, the stars may not have aligned, and perhaps they never would have found themselves in a position to attract Sarah Palin to speak as part of their "Lessons from Leaders" series on April 17:

Sherril West, president of the Five Points board of directors, said before meeting with former Peoria City Councilman John Morris - now the director of development for the Ronald W. Reagan Leadership Program and the Ronald Reagan Museum - letter writing to the stars asking them to speak in Washington was unsuccessful.

Morris, though, was able to forward the Five Points group to the right connections with speaker bureaus. These are similar to groups used to lure former Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev to Eureka College for an appearance last year.

West said a phone call was made to one of the bureaus that, ironically on the same day, agreed to represent Palin.

"We were one of the first in line," West said.

Following Five Points' submission of a lengthy application, Palin's group announced she was coming.

More of the story behind Gov. Palin's speech in Illinois here.

- JP

Sarah Palin, The Magazine

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Making its debut at news stands and magazine racks across the nation is "Sarah Palin: The Untold Story" -- an unauthorized, single-issue magazine. For a price of $8.99 retail, the Paliniste get a 100-page glossy magazine which claims to tell "The Untold Story" of the former governor "...in her own words!" Those words apparently deal with the issues of faith, family and freedom, as those three topics are highlighted in bright colored blocks on the cover.

Potential purchasers are further enticed by the promise of "100 pages of MUST SEE photos," and the heady question at the bottom of the cover asks, "Can she save America?" 

Published by international marketing firm IMG and Imagine That Publishing, the Sarahzine went on sale in mid-January, and it will be available through April 30. The volume's print run, according to the publisher, is "in the hundreds of thousands," and they say that it has been selling well.

"The genesis of it was really simple," said Steve LeGrice, the publisher and editor of Imagine That. "We're up here in New York, and there was clearly this huge enthusiasm for Sarah Palin, and at the same time all the people in the media world were sitting around scratching their heads" about how people could support her.

"What we decided to do is put out a magazine all in her own words," he said -- a magazine "without any opinion or anything added in."

"This is an independent project," said LeGrice, who has never met Palin but says he "would very much like" to. "We are not endorsed by her at all."

The editor claims that the magazine includes family photos of Sarah Palin never before published by a magazine and purchased from private sources. 

So what does the first woman to be the vice presidential candidate of the Republican Party think of the glossy magazine devoted entirely to her? The Palin camp has so far declined comment.

- JP

Quote of the Day (February 1, 2010)

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Health Care BS:

"This endorsement, combined with that “generous donation” from Sarah PAC, will no doubt cause a new outbreak of Sarahphobia and produce another round of MSM Palin-bashing."

- JP

Sarah Palin: Is Rahm Emanuel Capable of Decency?

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On her Facebook Notes page tonight, Sarah Palin called recent tactics of Rahm Emanuel "sick and offensive":

Are You Capable of Decency, Rahm Emanuel?

The newly-released mind-boggling, record-smashing $3,400,000,000,000 federal budget invites plenty of opportunity to debate the merits of incurring more and more debt that will drown the next generation of Americans. Never has it been possible to spend your way out of debt. So... let the debate begin.

Included in the debate process will be opportunities for our president to deliberate internally the wisdom of this debt explosion, along with other economic, military and social issues facing our country. Our president will discuss these important issues with Democrat leaders and those within his inner circle. I would ask the president to show decency in this process by eliminating one member of that inner circle, Mr. Rahm Emanuel, and not allow Rahm’s continued indecent tactics to cloud efforts. Yes, Rahm is known for his caustic, crude references about those with whom he disagrees, but his recent tirade against participants in a strategy session was such a strong slap in many American faces that our president is doing himself a disservice by seeming to condone Rahm’s recent sick and offensive tactic.

The Obama Administration’s Chief of Staff scolded participants, calling them, “F---ing retarded,” according to several participants, as reported in the Wall Street Journal.

Just as we’d be appalled if any public figure of Rahm’s stature ever used the “N-word” or other such inappropriate language, Rahm’s slur on all God’s children with cognitive and developmental disabilities – and the people who love them – is unacceptable, and it’s heartbreaking.

A patriot in North Andover, Massachusetts, notified me of Rahm’s “retarded” slam. I join this gentleman, who is the father of a beautiful child born with Down Syndrome, in asking why the Special Olympics, National Down Syndrome Society and other groups condemning Rahm’s degrading scolding have been completely ignored by the White House. No comment from his boss, the president?

As my friend in North Andover says, “This isn’t about politics; it’s about decency. I am not speaking as a political figure but as a parent and as an everyday American wanting my child to grow up in a country free from mindless prejudice and discrimination, free from gratuitous insults of people who are ostensibly smart enough to know better... Have you no sense of decency, sir?”

Mr. President, you can do better, and our country deserves better.

- Sarah Palin

The Wall Street Journal article Gov. Palin referred to is here.

- JP

The Latest Nothingburger from the Anti-Palin Left

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Here we go again. ABC News, after going over SarahPAC's FEC disclosure reports with a fine-tooth comb, figured that there was a story in the details:

Sarah Palin has been using her political action committee to buy up thousands of copies of her book, "Going Rogue," in order to mail copies of the memoir to her donors, newly filed campaign records show.

The former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate had her political organization spend more than $63,000 on what her reports describe as "books for fundraising donor fulfillment." The payments went to Harper Collins, her publisher, and in some instances to HSP Direct, a Virginia-based direct mail fundraising firm that serves a number of well-known conservative politicians and pundits.

Yes, SarahPAC, to encourage donations, for a time was offering free, autographed copies of her book for a donation of $100. No big deal, but you wouldn't know from the hysterical rantings on the anti-Palin hate blogs of the moonbat-o-sphere. The Leftist bloggers, who clutch at every straw they can find to fashion their straw men, now claim that Sarah Palin's PAC was buying copies of her book to drive the sales numbers up. They must have SarahPAC confused with labor unions, which are notorious for buying large lots of books written by "progressive" pols. 

Ed Morrissey strikes a match and puts it to that straw man:

Um … so what? Palin isn’t a candidate for office (yet), and since each book retails for $13.50 on Amazon, that amounts to less than 4700 books — hardly an effort to pull a Dianetics-like dodge and artificially keeping it on bestseller lists. Making the book an incentive for larger donations is not only a no-brainer, it’s just about SOP with plenty of other politicians as well..

Even if SarahPAC had been able to buy the books at half that price, we would still be talking about less than ten thousand copies -- a drop in the bucket -- of a book that has sold millions of copies.

As Freeper kristann reminds us, the DNC did the same thing with Hillary Clinton's book in 2004:

Newsmax reported in early 2004 about Hillary Clinton and the Democratic party giving away copies of Living History to donors. There was no controversy raised by the media back then like they are trying to do with Palin:

The Democratic National Committee is "giving away" copies of Sen. Hillary Clinton's book "Living History" to any contributor who ponies up $29.95 per month till Election Day - a move that raises questions about whether the party has made bulk purchases of Clinton's book.

SNIP

"As a Member of Presidential Partners," DNC chief Terry McAuliffe promises in the Web site's message, "you will receive: A copy of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s book, Living History. The first 500 books will be personally signed by Senator Clinton!"

SNIP

The DNC's Hillary book offer coincides with the senator's own attempt to boost book sales through her political action committee, HILLPAC.

On HILLPAC's Web site, "FriendsofHillary.com," potential donors are offered "your own personalized copy of this historic book" in exchange for "making a contribution to Friends of Hillary."

SNIP

HILLPAC says the senator does not collect royalties on any books sold through FriendsofHillary.

The media (ABC News, National Journal, Politics Daily, Seattle Post Intelligencer, NY Daily News, MSNBC, Media Bistro, and Salon) are going potty over Sarah Palin using her book as an incentive for donations to her PAC. A search of news sites shows that as of this writing none of the outlets attacking Palin are reporting she is only following in the footsteps of Hillary Clinton.

Well, of course not! After all, they have a double standard to uphold...

Capt. Ed sums it up nicely:

The big news here is that Palin’s PAC had at least 4600 donors in the fourth quarter who gave enough money to warrant the incentive gift. Otherwise, this is a big nothingburger.

More from Jerry Wilson at Goldfish & Clowns here.

- 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

Surprise! The Revolution WILL Be Televised

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Tea Party Nation, in a surprise Sunday night announcement, disclosed that it will host live broadcasts of the opening ceremonies of the National Tea Party Convention, as well as keynote speeches, including Sarah Palin’s address. Examiner Mike Morrow has the story from Nashville:

Convention officials said working with internet company PJTV and arrangements with Fox News, CNN and Reuters TV will make it possible for millions of people interested in the convention to see key parts of the proceedings. A statement from Mark A. Skoda, media relations representative for the convention, said viewers will be able to see special interviews of delegates and speakers through the exposure.

Tea Party Nation President Judson Phillips said in a press release:

"Tea Party Nation and my family have taken much criticism over the weeks preceding the convention. Working with our media relations team, the new media and our key broadcast journalists, we kept our plans close to the vest. Obviously, we believe that the delegates and banquet attendees are going to enjoy the networking and the excitement of being here directly. However, as we are all committed to grassroots activism, we wanted to share this event with those who could not come to Nashville."

Skoda, who is also founder of the The Memphis Tea Party, said in the news release that event organizers, who have taken intense criticism from both the left and right, are committed to the Tea Party movement:

"When I came on board to help, Judson was clear that he wanted to make this conference available to a great many more people. With our team effort and the many friends we had in the new media, we planned this surprise. We are hopeful that these millions of activists will participate with the local delegates through technology. As my father always said, you keep your powder dry until there's something to shoot at! Judson and Sherry are patriots and I am proud to be associated with them and this event."

More information, including schedules, broadcast and viewing times will be posted soon on the National Tea Party Convention website. The event begins Thursday and runs through Saturday at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville.

- JP