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| Republicans Disinvite Palin to Major Fundraiser |
| 2009-04-01 |
| Congressional Republicans Tuesday decided to ditch Sarah Palin in favor of Newt Gingrich for the critical House-Senate fundraising dinner in Washington June 8. Sarah Palin is out and Newt Gingrich is in. Congressional Republicans decided Tuesday to ditch the former GOP vice presidential nominee in favor of the former House speaker for the critical House-Senate fundraising dinner in June 8 in Washington. It's the marquee Republican event to raise money for GOP House and Senate candidates. Just weeks ago, the House and Senate Republican campaign committees were giddy at securing the telegenic Palin for the dinner. But then things grew murky. At the time, the Alaska governor's office told FOX News that Palin was still considering the invitation and had not yet made a decision. Meantime, spokespersons for the committees insisted that Palin was scheduled and it was just a misunderstanding between the Alaska governor's office and Palin's political action committee, SarahPAC, that accepted the invite. Sources familiar with the Palin snub fumed about how the governor handled this. "She was a disaster," one Republican source told FOX News. "We had confirmation." As for inviting Gingrich, National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Ken Spain said the GOP "decided to go in another direction." "Speaker Gingrich is a leader," Spain added. Another source familiar with the invitation indicated that the campaign committees were so incensed with Palin that they did not even bother to officially notify her that they rescinded the invitation. Multiple efforts to reach Palin's staff in Alaska for comment were unsuccessful. The decision to book Gingrich instead of Palin seems to be indicative of growing discontent in the party with the Alaska governor and her potential ability to lead the GOP. And it's the latest in a series of gaffes that have plagued her since the November. Palin withdrew at the last moment from speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference meeting in Washington earlier this year. |
| Posted by:GolfBravoUSMC |
| #18 The rethuglycon party is dead, it just doesn't know it yet. The dummycheat party will continue to twitch in rigormortis for a few more years, but it's dying off, too. We need a couple of replacement parties. I'd recommend an "American Constitution Party", with its primary party plank strict dedication to the Constitution of the United States. A couple of good leaders, some support at the grass-roots level, and both current political parties would be toast. People are fed up with the "Washington way" (similar to the "Chicago way", but at the national level.) |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2009-04-01 22:15 |
| #17 I think the same way as lblis whenever I read headlines like this. For the venue, I can see how Newt would be the better keynote. The future would be Palin who could potentially fill stadium after stadium and not only raise more money with a trainload of smaller donations but also increase voter interest. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2009-04-01 17:42 |
| #16 Transplant Newts' brain into SarahsÂ’ bodyÂ…now IÂ’d vote for that! |
| Posted by: DepotGuy 2009-04-01 15:00 |
| #15 Newt is not a contender in 2012. Palin is. But beware the media trying to create an impression of internal dissent among the R's. I suspect there is more (or less) story here than what is being reported. |
| Posted by: Iblis 2009-04-01 13:00 |
| #14 I think it's getting time to spool up the Belle Moose Party. |
| Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain 2009-04-01 12:53 |
| #13 Ed, I'd be more likely to agree with you if Noot hadn't drunk the global warming/de-industrialization Kool Aid. Reagan may have had two marriages but he at least kept on good terms with his previous spouse. And yes, this sort of thing matters. How one treats their spouses or ex spouses is kind of a leading indicator to how they'll handle other crisis situations. |
| Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain 2009-04-01 12:18 |
| #12 When I read this article my first question was whether Palin had higher priority obligations and couldn't give a firm answer. This time of year is crunch time for the Idaho legislature and it's proceedings. I suspect Alaska is the same and it' more than a 3 hour round trip on the train for her (Question; I wonder if they offered to pay the tab?). |
| Posted by: tipover 2009-04-01 11:30 |
| #11 forsaken not forsook. Past perfect tense. Still early here in AK. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2009-04-01 11:06 |
| #10 The Republicans have lost their way. And they have forsook their base. Their spending habits, their neglect of the southern border, their failure to stand on basic principles has destroyed their credibility. From me they will get none of my hard-earned money or the time of day. They are traitor-lite to the basis of this country's existence. The handwriting is on the wall in bold and they cannot read it. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2009-04-01 11:05 |
| #9 And the RNC wonders why middle America doesn't donate to them anymore. Wastes of oxygen, all of 'em. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2009-04-01 10:30 |
| #8 Hasn't every non-RINO Repub national leader in the last 30 years been turned into poison by the Democratic propaganda machine and a more than willing national media? Nixon, Ford, Bush I, Bush II, Cheney, Quale, Gingrich, Lott, Dole, Frist, Boehner, DeLay, Armey. Even Reagan was viciously demonized. He lucked out when the Soviets threw in the towel. If the Repubs want a better public image then they need to recapture the media battleground from the radical left. They know that by controlling the message they control the debate. Time for the right to learn that ancient lesson. That means buying and controlling a decent portion of the networks, giving scholarships to upstanding young kids to study journalism and media and mentoring through their careers. Because the highly partisan media will magnify and dig like a starving tick into every foible of of the right, it means picking squeaky candidates that can resist the toxic Capitol atmosphere of power, money and sex. Difficult, but it can be done. The military has shown that it can cultivate and promote intelligent, moral and effective men and women from all backgrounds. For that they are the highest respected institution in the country. They have also shown that they can control the message in the face of a hostile press when they put their minds to it. But first the right should review the original intent of this Republic's creators and decide what they want to accomplish before attaining the power of office and dismantling the corrupt power structures that are choking the economic, civic and moral life out of America. |
| Posted by: ed 2009-04-01 10:11 |
| #7 If they got Palin up there Gingrich could have suffered in comparison and then they'd have lost all their philandering adulterer donors in a fit of pique. Whenever I see a republican news item like this I remember Gerard Vanderleun's post title, "Republicans, They Thirst For Death!" Part Twenty Thousand in a series, today. |
| Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain 2009-04-01 10:01 |
| #6 The article doesn't bother to explain why the Pubs couldn't have had both come and speak ... |
| Posted by: Steve White 2009-04-01 09:43 |
| #5 Not that it really matters in this circumstance but Gingrich is poison. The Congressional Repubs like him no doubt because he was one of their own. The talking heads however have marginalized him over the years to be no more credible in the eyes of most than Buchanan. Palin has been worked over pretty well by the smear machine as well, but she is a more sympathetic character than Newt. Gingrich has many warts and more than a few self inflicted wounds. He is also ferociously smart and IMO could easily trounce 99% of our elected betters in a debate on most any subject. He is one of the very few public figures I believe to be to smart to be President. If you couldn't tell, I'm a Newt fan, and there is no doubt in my mind that they are using him to boost this congresses conservative bonafides for the donors. Palin needs to repair the damage and step up, I think the establishment is truely afraid of her. |
| Posted by: NCMike 2009-04-01 09:29 |
| #4 The sad thing is I am more likely to believe Sara Palin than the Republicans. The contract with America didn't happen- Newt Gingrich is old news. The Republican blue bloods will not give up power to the conservatives. Should the Dems swing right and field a conservatives the Republicans would have nothing to offer America. When unemployment, Medical Assistance, Medicare, Retirements, power sources and other Government control programs fail the riots will be back in our cities. We were at one time looking to the stars now we will look to the dumpster. |
| Posted by: Dale 2009-04-01 09:20 |
| #3 Oh, yes. More old white men to show how connected those who blew the last election are with the voting population. Is it something in the beltway water? |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2009-04-01 09:18 |
| #2 Just proof that they are idiots too! |
| Posted by: 3dc 2009-04-01 07:59 |
| #1 "She was a disaster," one Republican source told FOX News. "We had confirmation." Quite possibly, but I've got "confirmation" that she was NOT self-nominated to run alongside Senator John McCain. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2009-04-01 07:36 |