Reuters (Photo) Palin Bats Clean-up at CPAC… Hits Home Run!
WASHINGTON, D.C – CPAC attendees packed the main ballroom, an extra ballroom and several overflow rooms -- some with men in suits and women in dresses sitting on the floor -- to hear Sarah Palin speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference.
The conservative superstar capped off a weekend of speeches, movies and networking by political activists of the American right.
Sarah Palin came to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington, D.C. on her 48th birthday. The crowd serenaded her. And her speech was received raucously, as conservatives saw in her someone who articulated conservatism while clearly -- and surgically and defiantly -- differentiating herself from President Barack Obama.
Symbolically clad in a bold-red blouse (and not in a pale, pink pastel color, which symbolizes the Republican establishment of which she is not a part), Palin also reminded the CPAC audience why CPAC was born.
“Conservatives wanted not so much government but the Republican Party to hear us,” Palin said, in describing the genesis of CPAC. “At the 1975 CPAC, Ronald Reagan … laid out a blueprint for rebuilding the GOP under a banner of bold colors not pale pastels … And ever since then, CPAC has been a rally for conservative action.”
Added Palin: “Today, the conservative movement has never been stronger or brighter … Yet, the federal government has never cast a bigger shadow.”
But while Palin said Americans were waving a “bold banner that shouts ‘Don’t Tread on Me’" and that “our movement is bigger than one person, one candidate, one party …”, the conservative movement lacks a leader who can not only galvanize conservatives but also attack the opposition while having a record to personally back up those criticisms.
And on a day when Palin reportedly generated more enthusiasm than every presidential candidate combined who spoke at CPAC and owned the room and conference, one could not wonder how many who were listening to the speech were coming to the realization that Palin should be the GOP nominee for president much in the same way the majority in attendance at Kemper Arena in Kansas City in 1976 at the Republican National Convention, in their hearts, knew that Ronald Reagan -- and not Gerald Ford -- was the rightful standard-bearer of bold conservatism.
"Candidate Obama promised to fundamentally transform America and that's one promise he has kept. Turning a shining city on a hill into a sinking ship," Palin said.
Most of her speech was aimed at President Barack Obama and what she called crony capitalism and the permanent political class.
Exhibit A: Palin indicted Obama for his “Winning the Future” plan she dubbed “his WTF plan” and his “bankrupt green energy plan,” and said, regarding the debt: “Cut it, gut it, get rid of it.”
"We look up and what do we see in our rear-view mirror? We see you (Obama) trying to overtake us, accelerating frantically in a direction we have been going," she said. "My friends, there is still time to turn aside."
Exhibit B: Palin fiercely defended life speaking out against abortion and for the rights of the unborn: “We believe every child is created equal with right to life,” Palin passionately said. “I ask you to stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves … if not us, then who?” It brought the strongest applause of the evening for Palin.
"We believe every child is created equal with the right to life," Palin said.
Exhibit C: Palin said she did not want Obama’s economy that lasts and, instead, wanted an end to his administration and false promises.
Sarah used Obama’s own words against him, “He can keep his change,” Palin said. “We’ll keep our God, our guns, our Constitution.”
Exhibit D: Palin’s fiercest words were against the crony capitalistic system of Washington that has turned all Americans off.
Palin said this is not the Washington of our founding fathers and it is “something our forefathers never envisioned.” She said the “permanent political class is content,” and they exempt themselves and play by a different set of rules.
She said the “money-making opportunities” for those in D.C. are endless and they “spread their wealth” to their friends and donors. Palin has repeatedly rebuked and attacked this culture of “crony capitalism.”
Describing a shrinking economy and stubborn unemployment, Palin said America is failing. "It is not a failure of the American people, or America itself, but of our leadership," she said to thunderous applause.
“This isn’t the capitalism of free men and free markets,” Palin said. “It’s the capitalism of connections. … This is the capitalism of Barack Obama of the permanent political class.”
She called Washington a “playground of the government rich” where “millionaires are minted overnight” even though nothing is produced except favors to friends and cronies.
“Our permanent political class is content, they are immune to the realities that the rest of us face; they exempt themselves, they play by their different set of rules,” Palin said, before adding politicians are elected by promising more programs and “new freebies and new favors” and government grows to accommodate their promises.
“It never shrinks,” Palin said, in reference to the ever-growing government that “crowds out equal opportunity” and “extinguishes the independent, pioneering American spirit.”
She said politicians run by indicting Washington as a “cesspool” but then, once they arrive in Washington, decide it is like a hot tub.
“Well America, it is time we drain the Jacuzzi and we throw the bums out with the bath water,” Palin said.
And then, Palin brought down the hammer. Walked the walk. And cast herself as someone who faced the same problem that Obama faced and took a different path than Obama.
“I came from a state with a corruption problem too -- though you don’t make many friends in the establishment doing it, I fought the corrupt political mistake,” Palin said. “Barack Obama used it … he brought it here with him.”
To combat Obama’s cronyism, Palin said conservatives needed reinforcements and the Republican establishment should give the coming reinforcements leadership posts and described why it was essential for Republicans to be united in the fall.
But while she said conservatives and Republicans had to unite around the eventual nominee that she hoped would address CPAC in 2013, Palin said that the GOP nominee must be “strong,” “fortified,” “passionate,” and “a fighter for America’s ideals.”
She called for the activists in the room to support whoever the Republican nominee is in order to defeat Obama, who she claimed was trying to turn America towards a European social welfare state.
She added, in a veiled shot at Mitt Romney: “Our candidate must be someone who can instinctively turn right to constitutional conservative principles,” Palin said. “It’s too late in the game to teach it or spin it … it’s either there or it isn’t.”
Palin said the 2012 election was critical because Americans could “look to the old world to see the new world’s future” if America does not take care of its fiscal crisis. Her remarks echoed those of British politician Daniel Hannan, who earlier in the day had warned Americans not to follow the European experiment.
“So help me God, it’s not the future we will ever accept,” Palin said.
Palin will not accept that future because it is an un-exceptional one. An un-American one, to say the least.
“We are the heirs of patriots who cast off the chains of tyranny, of immigrants who braved the seas, of pioneers who pushed into the great unknown, of soldiers who stormed foreign shores, of farmers and workers laboring in field and in factories from dusk to dawn,” Palin said. “They toiled so their children would have a better life. That is America. And that is freedom. And that is why we are exceptional.”
Palin repeatedly said the door was open for a conservative victory, but the door that seemed to be open the widest was the one to her political future as the leader of the conservative movement and as heiress to the Reagan legacy.
A brief attempt by protesters to interrupt Palin's speech was quickly ended by security and chants from the crowd of "USA, USA."
Sarah Palin proved her conservative relevancy... It was her Party on Saturday, and it could be for the foreseeable future.
Video: Full Speech – Sarah Palin at CPAC 2012
Sunday morning Palin appeared with Chris Wallace:
Palin and Wallace began discussing the ‘positive’ (false) numbers being churned out by the Obama Administration on jobs, etc. Palin’s comment was, “Total Spin!” She asked why we aren’t we counting all the people who are no longer looking for work, have dropped off the unemployment rolls but aren’t collecting welfare, or are under-employed. Palin also said, just ask the average American who isn’t working (or is supporting someone who isn’t working), about the recovery.
When asked, Palin said she thought Mitt Romney was a good candidate and that he was evolving in his Conservatism. She said she could support any of the four candidates if they are chosen as the nominee, but none have risen to the full measure of conservatism, and that is why she wants the primary process to continue. She said all the GOP candidates have their strengths but that they all needed to lay out their plans and specifics.
When asked about the upcoming liberal HBO movie about Sarah Palin, based on a false narrative, starring Julianne Moore, Palin said she should have her own jobs act, for putting so many liberal to work! She also said she would not watch the movie and that there was no truth in it. She encouraged others to spend their time on something more positive than on that dribble!
Chris Wallace talked to Sarah about how her latest Newsweek essay (also posted on facebook) on her life with her special needs child, Trig, touched his heart. She says that Trig teaches the whole family much more than they can teach him.
Happy Belated Birthday, Sarah (Friday at CPAC) and as she said, Happy Birthday, President Abraham Lincoln, the man who freed the slaves and was the 1st Republican President.
CPAC speeches are posted at CSPAN All there or at Bing Videos
For those that love Sarah or what she stands for:
· Palin shines brightest at CPAC conference
Saturday, February 11, 2012 8:28:54 PM · by jennychase · 7 replies
The Hill ^ | 02/11/12 06:15 PM ET | Josh Lederman
If Sarah Palin had been on the ballot for the straw poll at the Conservative Political Action Conference, there is little doubt she would have won. The former Alaska governor received far-and-away the most spirited and enthusiastic reception at this convention of about 10,000 conservative activists. She drew the audience to its feet more than a dozen times during her keynote address on Saturday.
· Palin to Press on Brokered Convention (Updated)
Saturday, February 11, 2012 7:09:18 PM · by winoneforthegipper · 31 replies
markonamerica ^ | 02/11/12 | MarkonAmerica
Governor Palin said that a brokered convention would not be a negative for the Republican party.
· Sarah Palin Wows CPAC 2012; Proved Her Conservative Relevancy
Saturday, February 11, 2012 6:53:58 PM · by 2ndDivisionVet · 38 replies
The International Business Times ^ | February 11, 2012 | John Talty
Washington, DC -- It wasn't speeches by Republican presidential candidates Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, and Newt Gingrich that generated the most enthusiasm at CPAC 2012. That honor would go to former Alaska governor and Republican vice president nominee Sarah Palin, who stole the conservative summit with a rousing speech on Saturday. Palin mania was palpable throughout the Marriott Wardman Park hotel. Earlier in the day hundreds of attendees swarmed Palin for photographs and an opportunity to get a glimpse at one of the most famous conservative women in the United States. Elsewhere thousands of CPACers waited in line to try...
· Palin and CPAC crowd shout down Occupy hecklers
Saturday, February 11, 2012 6:41:36 PM · by 2ndDivisionVet · 13 replies
The Oklahoman ^ | February 11, 2012 | Joel Gehrke
Occupy hecklers tried to disrupt Sarah Palin's CPAC speech, in which she regularly turned President Obama's rhetoric against him, but the crowd shouted them down and Palin turned the moment into a example of how grassroots conservatives can beat Obama. "We aren't red Americans, we aren't blue Americans, we're red, white, and blue and President Obama we are through with you," Palin said in an appropriation of Obama's 2008 campaign lines. She called for "Change that we can believe in, change we need," she said, continuing that meme, explaining that "we can't wait -- our country hangs in the balance."...
· Palin Calls On Romney To Work Harder For The Conservative Vote [Explain "Shifts in Ideology"]
Saturday, February 11, 2012 6:11:19 PM · by Steelfish · 45 replies
CNN ^ | February 11, 2012 | Peter Hamby
Palin Calls On Romney To Work Harder For The Conservative Vote Peter Hamby Washington (CNN) - Sarah Palin issued a warning to Mitt Romney Saturday, calling on the former Massachusetts governor to do a better job explaining his record to conservatives or risk dampening voter turnout in November if he wins the Republican presidential nomination. In an interview with CNN and The New York Times before her speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, Palin said she was confused by Romney’s declaration here on Friday that he was a “severely conservative Republican.” “I wasn’t quite sure what the...
· Palin on Romney: "we need someone who can instinctively turn right..it's too late to teach that..."
Saturday, February 11, 2012 6:03:36 PM · by BCrago66 · 18 replies
http://twitter.com/#!/DanaBashCNN/status/168459261997887488 ^ | 2/11/12 | Dana Bash
Dana Bash's tweet is now being re-tweeted many times over, and Palin's "dig" at Romney will, I predict, become the subject of news articles and be the chief political take-away from her CPAC speech. There's no way she's talking about anyone but Mitt Romney. Here's the full tweet, and later we'll get a transcript of Palin full speech: Palin dig at Romney: "we need someone who can instinctively turn right..it's too late to teach that or spin...it must be there"
· CPAC Wraps Up: Sarah Palin, Grover Norquist Among Final Speakers [C-SPAN LIVE]
Saturday, February 11, 2012 2:48:15 PM · by fight_truth_decay · 42 replies
C-Span ^ | Saturday, February 11, 2012 | C-Span
C-SPAN continues its LIVE coverage of the 39th annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) Saturday in Washington. The last of the 3-day conference wraps up today with speeches by Grover Norquist and Sarah Palin. Also speaking today, Chairman of National Republican Senatorial Committee Sen. John Cornyn. On Friday, the three top GOP candidates for the Republican nomination -- former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum -- addressed the conference. Rep. Ron Paul was invited to speak this year but instead stayed on the campaign trail. More than 10,000 conservatives are in...
· PHENOMENAL!!! Daniel Hannan speech at CPAC
Saturday, February 11, 2012 4:27:45 PM · by American Dream 246 · 7 replies
The Right Scoop ^ | 2/11/12 | CPAC
Please DO NOT MISS that speech. PHENOMENAL!!! http://www.therightscoop.com/full-speech-daniel-hannan-at-cpac-2012/
Palin called for the activists in the room to support whoever the Republican nominee is in order to defeat Obama, who she claimed was trying to turn America towards a European social welfare state.
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