Posted on 07/17/2012 1:41:58 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Last May, a cult-like throng of journalists chased Sarah Palin and her bus along the East Coast, eager that she’d drop the slightest of hints that would answer an almost fanatical question: Was she jumping into the GOP primary?
This weekend she gave a speech in front of hundreds of supporters, revving them up with some of her favorite lines — blasting both President Obama and “crony capitalism” and calling the “bitter clingers” to action. She even unveiled this new line to huge cheers:
“We’re little tea pots, and we’re getting steamed up because Obama is tipping us over, pouring us out and draining the entrepreneurial spirit from us, that which grew America into the most exceptional nation ever known,” she said at a tea party event for wounded soldiers in Belleville, Mich., sponsored by the Koch brothers-backed Americans for Prosperity.
She was once the most visible spokeswoman for the conservative cause, and now her reality star daughter Bristol gets almost more attention. Not that the elder Palin isn’t still good at it; she riles up a crowd in a way no one on the GOP side can. So why the fading headlines?
SarahPAC is still a secretive organization, but those willing to lift the veil a bit say she’s actively taking a step back and not much is going on inside. What’s not clear is if they are gearing up for attack or if she will stay in the background.
Even her chief of staff has left, ABC News has learned. Michael Glassner was hired last February and it set off a flurry of early will-she-won’t-she run headlines. He recently left SarahPAC because there just wasn’t enough for him to do, according to several sources knowledgeable of the inner workings of the organization.
They are still fundraising, though. According to their Federal Election Commission filing Friday they raised $780,000 over the past three months. That’s up from only $388,000 they raised in the first three months of the year.
Despite the slower schedule, she is focused on congressional candidates as opposed as to the top office. She went after Obama in Michigan (“Why would anybody want to fundamentally transform what is so good and free and strong about America?” she said, according to the Detroit News), but she isn’t firing up the crowd for the presumptive GOP nominee, a visible distinction.
Palin never officially endorsed Mitt Romney, and she prefers to slam Obama rather than praise his challenger.
Palin’s next steps are a bit of a mystery, but why isn’t she hitting the road with Romney, jazzing up the so-called base that the former Massachusetts governor has struggled so hard to win over?
“I think it would be essential for victory in the fall for Gov. Palin to be involved in galvanizing turnout in key battleground states,” said Steve Bannon, the executive chairman of the right-wing Breitbart News who is also Palin’s friend. “In order to win, we need the same type of surge in the fall of 2010 among tea party and grassroots organizations, working-class people — and Gov. Palin talks to that audience better than anybody else today. … There is no scenario for victory in November in the battleground states that is not directly tied to turnout. Governor Palin is the key that picks that lock.”
Palin has yet to make an appearance on the road to the White House being traveled by Romney. As we approach Romney’s announcement of his own running mate, four years after Palin was plucked from the frontier, the headlines about the pride of Wasilla are almost more about her daughter’s reality show than her comments or aspirations. Her daughter, Bristol, stars in Life’s a Tripp on Lifetime.
And what about the Republican National Convention next month — the place she made such a splash just four years ago — there’s no sign that she will have a speaking role, but we do know her political action committee will be there, if not on site.
On FEC forms filed in April, SarahPAC spent $4,500 to reserve space at the Channelside Bay Plaza in Tampa for the event. It’s a five-minute walk from the Tampa Bay Times Forum, where the actual convention will be, and it’s easily accessible to all the big GOP leaders and delegates, as well as the thousands of journalists who will descend on Florida.
Grover Norquist, the anti-tax hawk, said the Romney campaign would be wise to build a strong relationship with Palin just as it has done with Ron Paul, the libertarian candidate who marshals a loyal following in the GOP. But with Palin, formalities might matter — Romney shouldn’t expect Palin to beg for a speaking slot at the convention, he said.
“Some people need to be invited. Some people need to be told, ‘We want you,’ ” Norquist said. “People like to be asked.”
And in a hint as to how Palin is thinking about Romney’s campaign and what advice she would give, Bannon said he believes she would agree with a Romney surrogate who hasn’t always been so kind to Palin.
So if Romney kisses Her ring, he suddenly becomes acceptable?
No sandwich reference? I’m dissapointed in you, buddy.
If Romney doesn’t invite her onboard she can still have a huge impact by working to get tea party candidates elected. Sarah wins either way. Romney can only lose if he ignores her.
I don’t give a damn where she is.
Donald Trump and I think Ron Paul do also.
That was only half as effective as I'd hoped.
I was forced to quit that halfway through.
Not quite. If Romney acknowledges Palin's capabilities, charisma and conviction, he might suddenly become acceptable.
Sara is off in deep meditation; contemplating her navel and why she is supportive of the LOST!
You're a seriously defective moron. You know that, right?
And many more millions don’t care about you!
I hear she was seen in Scottsdale in the last few weeks. Good luck with your search.
People are just trying to make it through a long, hot summer. Midwest farmers are wondering what they’re going to do with scorched corn, the economy continues to suck, and London proves it can screw up anything.
No one is paying attention to Presidential politics....
We have some FR jackasses that seem to be liberal hacks.
Thank you bumblehummer, for the compliment.
Thank you fatso…
I am pleased to know I am very popular among millions.
Thank you for sharing.
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