Palin's 'Rolling Menace' Tour

It looks as though Sarah Palin is headed back to Alaska. Just in time, before anyone is killed or injured by the bus! There is this report from Politico:

Sarah Palin’s bus is plastered with a mockup of the U.S. Constitution. But her entourage — both the three-vehicle motorcade that includes the bus and the smaller, two-SUV version she uses for smaller events — hasn’t been very respectful of the traffic laws.

They speed. They run red lights and stop signs. They make last-second lane changes to get off the highway, sometimes without signaling. ...

While reading "Sarah Palin's tour a rolling menace," I lost count of the number of traffic tickets the bus' driver should have received.

It wasn't named 'SarahPac' for nothing -- Palin running for money, not President - UPDATED

The Washington Post's Dan Eggen has written "The Influence Industry: The fine lines between a Palin vacation and Palin tour:"

When most families go on a summer vacation, they don’t have a political-action committee to pay the bills.

Not so for Sarah Palin, the former vice presidential candidate and Alaska governor, who has joined her husband, children and parents in a widely publicized bus tour of East Coast historic sites this week.

The trip appears to be part vacation, part political rally and part reality show. Fuel, lodging and other expenses are being paid for by SarahPAC, Palin’s political committee, which is also soliciting donations online in connection with the journey. ...

... The arrangement is perfectly legal, campaign-finance experts say. SarahPAC is set up as an unconnected PAC, meaning that the usual restrictions on candidate committees don’t apply. Regular candidate committees, for example, are barred from converting campaign money to personal use.

As a result, unless Palin decides to formally explore a possible presidential run, she is free to spend the money raised by SarahPAC for “any lawful purpose” under federal law, experts said. That means it doesn’t matter whether the trip is a holiday, a political event or something in between. (emphasis added)

“Not only can she use SarahPAC for a family vacation, she could use it for her home mortgage payments or anything else she wants,” said Paul S. Ryan, associate legal counsel at the Campaign Legal Center, an advocacy group focused on election laws. (emphasis added) ...

Palin's ability to convert PAC donations to personal use is an incentive for her to avoid being considered a candidate for the presidency. Even though use of the PAC's funds for personal use may be legal, doing so creates an appearance of impropriety.

Sarah Palin's supporters are fond of saying, "She's just like us," or "She's one of us," but how are their vacations paid for?

Eggen's article has more information than what has been excerpted, above; for example, the IRS may consider the PAC's expenditures for personal use to be part of Palin's personal income. If so, she would have to pay taxes on that income.

Update: The IRS has a "Whistleblower - Informant" award.

Update: It is a vacation! '“Thanks for ruining our vacation,” she [Piper Palin] said to our [TIME Magazine's ] photographer.'

Update: The Washington Post also has Piper Palin's comment.

Palin tries to downplay meeting with Fox News bosses

In Peter Hamby's story for CNN, "Palin: Timing of New Hampshire visit 'coincidental'," Palin's meeting with her "bosses" at Fox News is mentioned:

Palin also addressed her lengthy meeting at Fox News on Thursday and speculation that she might be jeopardizing her lucrative television contract by ramping up her political activity.

Palin said she met with Fox News president Roger Ailes. She told reporters that she did not offer to resign.

"I did get to speak to Roger Ailes, and we always have great conversations," Palin said.

Following yesterday's meeting, a network executive said of Palin: "Right now there is no change in her status with Fox News."

She said not to read too much into the meeting.

"Any time we get to New York I like to hop in and say hi to the folks there who work so extremely hard and get to see some of the hosts and some of the reporters," Palin said before hopping into an SUV.

Remember when this campaign-tour/publicity-stunt/road-trip was announced? Palin said that she would post a schedule of her stops, then none appeared. Yesterday there was video with her in the backseat of a red SUV with Piper in the middle and Palin's mother on the other side, and Palin mentioned that there wouldn't be an exploratory committee. I think -- am speculating -- that Palin has been told that a tour with scheduled stops or the formation of an exploratory committee would result in the suspension of her contract with Fox. There may be other reasons, but Fox News could presume that she's running based on this tour, alone. She could have done a low-key tour of the same places without so much fanfare. She'll obey her bosses, if she wants to keep her $1 Million per year job at Fox.

About upstaging Romney's announcement, Hamby mentioned, "News leaked late yesterday that Palin is organizing a clambake for Thursday evening along the New Hampshire seacoast, just minutes from the Stratham farm where Romney plans to officially announce his second presidential bid." Who was responsible for that "leak?"

Update: Media Matters' "The Palin Bus Tour And Fox News' Ethical Morass" brings-up these three ethical concerns about Palin's tour: 1) Palin keeps hinting that she's running; 2) Fox News personalities are promoting Palin's brand and potential candidacy; 3) Is Fox News applying the Santorum/Gingrich standard to Palin?

Fox News considering Palin suspension

In his "Afternoon Fix: Sarah Palin goes to Fox News," The Washington Post's Chris Cillizza wrote:

Sarah Palin met with executives at Fox News in New York today, a not-exactly-historic stop on her tour of historic American sites. (The former Alaska governor was at Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty earlier in the day.) Palin is a paid contributor for the network; she called them “my bosses.” There’s been speculation about whether Palin’s contract with the network will be suspended as she contemplates a presidential campaign. “Right now there is no change in her status with FOX News," said executive vice president of programming Bill Shine in a statement after the meeting.

And Politico's Ben Smith wrote:

After a long meeting at Fox today -- where execs may not have been pleased by the interview she gave CNN -- Sarah Palin emerges with her contract intact.

“Right now there is no change in her status with FOX News," said executive vice president of programming Bill Shine in a statement. The "right now" didn't appear in earlier statements.

If Palin is honest with her "bosses," we should know whether she's going to run before she announces. That will be when Fox News suspends her, like it suspended Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich. Apparently, the network has Palin under surveillance, 24/7, and her status as a paid contributor is being constantly evaluated.

Comedians Backing Sarah Palin!

Comedians have been hurting since George Bush left office. President Obama doesn't provide them with enough material. What to do? Back Sarah Palin! Comedian Dean Obeidallah makes the case for Palin and announces the formation of a new organization:

... We comedians can wait no longer for this comedy downturn to end. We have decided it's time to take matters into our own hands. We are putting aside our petty differences to actively support the candidate who will best help our comedy careers.

That is why I'm excited to announce the formation of: "Comedians for Sarah Palin." Our slogan is: "Comedians putting aside their differences and the good of America for comedic material." You can follow us on Twitter @ComicsforPalin.

To comedians, Sarah Palin is not just a less-than-one-term governor with few achievements on the national or international stage. Sarah Palin is comedy gold. Comedians haven't been this excited over a political figure since George W. Bush was president -- in fact, comedically speaking, the only difference between Palin and Bush is lipstick. ...

There is a lot more to Obeidallah's post than what has been excerpted here. He has already started developing Palin material.

Sarah Palin Pregnant Again? Photo proof!

This photo is from The Washington Post's "Palin rewrites the rules but is that enough?" I thought a little levity was in order. I couldn't resist. She looks pregnant. Can anyone prove she isn't pregnant?


In other news, Vanity Fair's "Sarah Palin’s “One Nation” Tour Is a Secret Publicity Tour?" is interesting.


She's finished in Iowa before she gets there: "Sarah Palin calls to eliminate energy subsidies."


She's sure she can beat Obama: "Palin confident she could beat Obama." So why have some of the big-name Republicans -- full-term governors! -- announced that they won't run? Wouldn't they have a better chance of beating Obama than Palin?


And what now? Sarah Palin is in the presence of The Donald!

Sarah Palin Ready to Scream?

Early in this video, about the 25 second mark, a reporter asks Sarah Palin why she quit as Alaska's governor:




Am I imagining things or does Sarah Palin's voice go into a high-pitched, i'm-about-to-scream tone as she recites her "frivolous ethics complaints" lie?

Palin's going to be asked that question again and again, should she decide to run. People are concerned that she'd up and quit the presidency.

Later, about the 2:00 minute mark, when Palin's asked about the Republican candidates, she's sure a "more strong" candidate will jump in. And, at about the 1:00 minute mark, she says that if she runs, it would be a non-traditional campaign. Facebook and Twitter? Good luck with that. People will then also want to know, "Why's Sarah hiding?