Sarah Palin told the National Tea Party Convention on Saturday night that “America is ready for another revolution,” and that the tea party movement would lead it.
“This movement is the future of politics in America,” the former Alaska governor told the estimated 1,100 people who paid at least $350 each to attend the speech in a hotel banquet room and dine on a steak-and-shrimp dinner.
In a 40-minute speech followed by a 15-minute session answering questions pre-selected by the convention organizers, Palin, a tea party hero and prospective 2012 GOP presidential candidate, praised conservative activists, but repeatedly insisted she is not seeking to become the movement’s leader – even as the crowd chanted “run, Sarah, run.”
In remarks laced with harsh attacks on Democrats similar to the rhetoric she used during her 2008 GOP vice presidential campaign, Palin assailed President Obama and congressional Democrats for their stewardship of the economy, bailout and stimulus packages, and also for what she deemed a lax stance in the war on terror and an overly conciliatory foreign policy.
Palin called for “tough actions like sanctions on Iran,” and faulted the administration for allowing the Christmas Day bomber to invoke “our U.S. Constitutional right to remain silent,” and said that treating terrorists like criminals helped create the atmosphere that let the would-be attacker board the flight without setting off red flags.
“To win that war, we need a commander-in-chief, not a professor,” Palin said, to one of many standing ovations she received.
She accused Democrats in Washington of presiding over out-of-control spending and said “they’re sticking our kids with the bill and that’s amoral – that’s generational theft.”
And she accused Obama of breaking his campaign promises to increase transparency and limit the role of lobbyists, at one point mocking his campaign themes. “How’s that hopey, changey stuff working out for you?” she asked rhetorically, to wild applause.
Palin touched on one of the touchstone themes of her vice presidential bid – off-shore drilling – in calling for a more diversified energy portfolio, and she also threw in some media-bashing and religious conservatism for good measure.
Political leaders should “start seeking some divine intervention again in this country, so that we can be safe and secure and prosperous again. To have people involved in government who aren’t afraid to go that route, and also afraid of the political correctness that, you know, they have to be afraid about what the media would say about them if they were to proclaim their reliance on our creator.”
Palin, who was paid $100,000 by convention organizers to deliver the keynote address at the conclusion of the three-day event, reiterated her intention of donating the fee to conservative causes and candidates.
The convention featured sessions on political organizing, as well as speeches from conservatives including Colorado Congressman and 2008 candidate for the Republican presidential nomination Tom Tancredo.
Palin was introduced by Andrew Breitbart, a rising star on the right who created the conservative websites Breitbart.com and Big Government, and who called Palin an “inspiration.”
He praised Palin for her campaign critiques of President Obama’s work as a community organizer and her more recent assaults on the Democratic healthcare overhaul plan. And, he said, she’s stood up to underhanded attacks by liberals.
“They tried to destroy her and she kept walking forward,” said Breitbart. “And she has given us all in this room the courage to stand up when we were told to sit down.”
Palin’s decision to deliver the speech – even as she turned down an invitation to speak at this month’s Conservative Political Action Conference, considered a must-attend for establishment conservatives and Republicans – suggests an effort to position herself as the leader of the tea party movement, a move with major political upside, but also one rife with risk.
The tea party movement burst onto the scene last year as hundreds of thousands of mostly conservative activists – many newly engaged – flocked to congressional town halls and protests to voice their opposition to the big-spending initiatives of President Barack Obama and the Democratic Congress.
The energy behind those protests could bode well for candidates seen as simpatico with the movement, but by affiliating herself with it Palin could further alienate the independents and Democrats who were left with a sour taste from her 2008 GOP vice presidential campaign. She also runs the risk of appearing to try to co-opt a movement that’s stood apart from both parties, remains wary of mainstream Republicans and suspicious of Washington culture and organized politics.
Yet, Palin pointed to the recent election of Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown, a moderate Republican, as evidence that the electoral tide was turning against Democrats headed into the 2010 midterm elections. “If there’s hope in Massachusetts,” she said, “there’s hope everywhere.”
And, during the question-and-answer session, Palin asserted “the Republican Party would be really smart to start trying to absorb as much of the tea party movement as possible, because this is the future of our country. The tea party movement is the future of politics.”
Yet, Palin told activists that they – and she – were proof that “you don’t need an office or a title to make a difference, and you don’t need a proclaimed leader, as if we are all a bunch of sheep and looking for a leader to progress this movement.”
Palin’s speech proved she could make a good presidential candidate and then president, said Janine Ripley of Ovilla, Texas, who said she was on the fence about Palin beforehand.
“It was perfect – her dignity, her love of country, her appreciation of the people” said Ripley. “She knows that if she’s at all interested in going forward in her career in politics, she needs the people and this is a good place to start.”
(Source: http://www.politico.com/)
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17 Responses
what a difference between this relatively positive piece, and the critical report you get in the AP article…
it’s scary when sarah palin gets an applause for saying this country is ready for a revolution and that we have to go back to common sense conservative principles.
i’m not sure that sarah palin knows enough about fiscal policy, economic theory, and political philosophy to lead anything.
while the ideas behind the tea party are heavily influenced by libertarian thinkers, it bothers me very much to hear sarah palin say things like “we need a commander in chief and not a professor”, it seems that the beauty pageant winner who went to the university of idaho is neither fit to be a commander in chief nor a professor.
i would certainly feel more comfortable with someone like professor hans hermann hoppe, professor jan narveson, or the late professor murray rothbard speaking about politico-economic policies, than hearing an uneducated soccer mom talk about christmas miracles, old fashioned christian values, and the many other silly things that come out of the hole in her face.
the fact that people are gathering to listen to her is indicative of the direction in which the “american idol” generation is headed. soon they’ll just have a swimsuit model lip syncing speeches, occasionally referencing 9/11 to get an applause.
the only way to bring back true ethical values to a land being trampled by the carnal chariot of base human desires is for a true intellect to take the stage.
unfortunately intellects are a dying breed.
it seems that not too many recent presidents have been experts on fiscal policy, economic theory, and political philosophy (or even one of those three). a president should surround him/her self with such experts, though, which our current POTUS has not done. Palin probably would. Uneducated does not equal unintelligent, and educated does not always equal smart. Those professors #2 mentions might do a fine job of discussing policy but Palin’s point is that “those who can, do, those who can’t, become professors” (no offense to the many teachers who read this).
As it is, we have in office a business-suit model lipsyncing from his teleprompter, occasionally referencing his campaign speeches to get an applause.
For good or ill, America has never (until now) been a country to elect true intellectuals, as Adlai Stevenson’s example could attest.
hanavon, you are definitely not one of the intellectuals.
The problem with Palin was the timing. She shouldn’t have been there when she was, maybe keynote speaker for the convention but NOT veep nominee. A newbie to big league politics, with young kids including a newborn with challenges? (Not to mention the grandchild to be.) The Republicans shot themselves in the foot.
Maybe, she could have used the first few years in the limelight to gain the knowledge she needed to be credible.
If a democrat called for a “revolution” … it would be called “Marxist.”
If the quitter, oops … Pallin, calls for a revolution, it it called “patriotic” and “her love of country.”
Does that make sense?
I can’t believe people still pay this woman to speak. I know many, many people who would chip in to pay her to shut up, but I don’t know if they could match the hefty fee these fools gave her.
Her speeches remind me of the kinds of speeches kids would make in my grammar school elections. And even there, I don’t think she would win.
Oh, and EXCELLENT post, hanavon.
flatbush bubby:
interesting that you say that i’m “not one of the intellectuals”.
by the way, what is your level of education again?
usbaers
i would suggest you watch the debate between obama and the republican cong reps….done sans teleprompters
palin couldnt even answer a simple question without looking at the cheat sheet she had written on the palm of her hand
nice of ywn to shill for this woman
You see here when someone says;
“i’m not sure that sarah palin knows enough about fiscal policy, economic theory, and political philosophy to lead anything.
while the ideas behind the tea party are heavily influenced by libertarian thinkers, it bothers me very much to hear sarah palin say things like “we need a commander in chief and not a professor”, it seems that the beauty pageant winner who went to the university of idaho is neither fit to be a commander in chief nor a professor.”
You see that liberalism is what so called liberatrianism passes for.
You never hear this kind of attack or such a strong harshly worded attack on a liberal candidate by so called “libertarians”.
It is always reserved for Republicans only, especially those who are more conservative.
No one calling themselves “libertarian” has ever said that Obama, had “no business even thinking he was qualified to be president” or that he had “no intelligence” to do the job.
Some try and say things like “both parties are bad” but that is far from a post that specifically targets only a Democrat, and uses such harsh strong language to not just criticise, but to try and rip apart and pound, a Democrat like Obama, the way Palin is constantly attacked,
in so many posts that target only her, without any fake ‘equivelency’ like “well the Democrats are bad too”.
It’s not the same thing at all, and shows the so called “libertarians”, to be nothing but liberals in disguise.
And it does not matter what some professor said in a book.
We see in real life what they do, and how they act and liberal ‘is’ as liberal ‘does’.
If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck and looks like a duck, it must be a duck.
Same for walking, talking and looking, etc…like a liberal.
And unlike Obama, Palin never had to go “uuhhh, mmmmm, huhhh, mmm, eh hem, uuuuhhhh” when she did not have a teleprompter.
And she at least, can produce an American birth certificate.
“ooohhhh how dare you say that”
Of course Palin would have been hounded out of office if she had not had one, but how dare you apply the same standards to Obama.
I think sarah palin is an excellent candidate-the best and most genuine out there now. And she will surround herself with good people that share her values. It would be wise of us to start backing her now and hopefully she will continue gaining momentum and stay strong. She is real-much more real than any other politician now in the running.
hanavon, I don’t need to push my credentials but I don’t just accuse and insult unlike yourself and Not Bubby. Just because someone believes in limited government, strong defense, low taxes, a strong private sector with little government interference, and energy independence, doesn’t mean that it gives both you and Not Bubby the right to start attacking and insulting me or Sara Palin.
It justs goes to show the level of patience the YWEditor has to put up with you two bozos who can’t do anything but call people names who have a different political philosophy as either of you.
Are either of you afraid of my ability to destroy the Jewish electoral base of the Democratic Party?
flatbush bubby:
well, if i may remind you, and the audience, that you are the one who calls other people names and insults people, i, on the other hand, hand not said insulting words in any or at least the vast majority of my posts. even now you call us bozos…
i do insult palin, because she has very little education, very low intelligence and gets up and calls for a revolution.
flatbush bubby:
an addendum to what i just said,
i agree with ‘sickandtired’, i cant imagine that anyone is afraid of any of your abilities. if, however, you believe that you have some kind of abilities that others don’t have, i can direct you in different medications for that ailment.
Mr. / Ms. “hanavon,” May I remind you that unlike Obama, Ms. Palin did not rise in politics via Chicago smoke-filled backroom deals.
Palin is genuine. That’s what people admire about her. Hard-working and conservative! She doesn’t even pocket a dime of her $100,000 speech! I think that shows real character!
After four years of Obamanation, this country is going to really need someone like Sarah Palin to clean up his mess!! Specifically, by reducing Big Brother’s strangle hold on businesses and banks, and allowing the average American to be successful and prosper!!