Not Birthers. Birchers.One of the most lame ideas being floated about this Friday is that Sarah Palin has decided to not speak at the 2010 CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference) Convention because they have some sort of nebulous tie to the John Birch Society.
Here's Palin's official photo from her term on the Wasilla City Council. She's happily posing with the then current copy of The New American, the journal of the John Birch Society.
Palin turned down CPAC, which doesn't pay speakers. She will be speaking instead at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference. They do pay speakers. However, CNN is reporting Palin will not be paid for her speaking engagement at the SRLC. We'll see.
This comes at a time when Palin has polled way back in the pack amongst influential inside-the-beltway GOP apparatchiks. Influential, outside-the-box pollster Nate Silver thinks that's exactly where Palin wants to poll in the minds of those folks:
But back to the point I made in November -- there's going to come a time, probably in July 2011 or so, where the knives are really drawn on Palin and Republican pundits, strategists and candidates start saying in public some of the things they've been thinking in private. And that in all likelihood will play very well for her. Although the Establishment's concerns about Palin's viability as a general election candidate are well grounded, mostly they're just terrified of her because she doesn't need them.
Obstensibly, Palin's spokes-staplegun, Meg Stapleton, claims Palin is refusing the CPAC invitation over scruples about CPAC Chair, David Keene:
At issue is the role of David Keene, head of the American Conservative Union which organizes CPAC. In September, POLITICO reported that Keene asked FedEx for between $2 million and $3 million to get the group's support in a bitter legislative battle with rival UPS.
A source close to the Palin camp says that request led to a decision to stay away from the upcoming CPAC conference, calling it a forum that will place "special interests over core beliefs" and "pocketbook over policy."
"That's not what CPAC should be about and people are tiring," the source said. "Palin is taking a stance against this just as she did in Alaska."
When asked about the move, Palin spokeswoman Meg Stapleton said: "We support those who advance our core beliefs and lead by principle."
There actually may be some truth to Palin's claim. One thing it certainly indicates is continuing influence upon Palin by film mockumentarian, John Ziegler. I posted this video back when it came out. It is Cenk Uygur, of The Young Turks, defending John Ziegler, after Ziegler's confrontation at last year's CPAC, with Keene:
Gryphen may be closer than anyone else on aspects of this:
They really expect the American people to believe that the woman who has written a book of lies, and then prostituted her own children to sell more copies, actually has ETHICS!Because as we know, only truly ethical people rack up the most ethics charges in Alaska political history, including one she filed against herself. Or demands thousands of dollars in speaking fees before helping out a charity. Or uses her daughter and grandchild to punish a young man for speaking out against her after she used him for political gain and then cast him aside. Oh yeah those are some seriously well defined ethics you have their Mrs. Palin.
Well I think we can rest assured that the reason Palin is NOT attending CPAC has absolutely nothing to do with her "cough, cough" ethics. And if we take her at her word that it is not about the money then what is left?
Keene has criticized Palin in the conservative press, telling Newsmax in July that she was "whining" about her press coverage and was not yet ready for primetime.
"Conservatives like her, but you've got to have more than that," Keene told the outlet. "You've got to be more than a rock star. If in fact she's interested in the presidency, she has got to establish herself as someone you can envision in the Oval Office. And it's become more difficult to envision than it was at the time of the election."
Oh no he didn't! Well you know that could DEFINITELY be the reason.
As we all know Caribou Barbie does not like it when people criticize her! Too bad she already published that book, Keene could have received his very own dishonorable mention. Of course she still has the option of banning him from one of her events. That seems to be her fallback position.
And you know it STILL could just be about the money. After all this is "Wasilla Grifter" we are talking about.