Sarah Palin

Palin draws huge crowd

bniolet — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:34:18 -0500

An estimated 1,500 people lined up at a PX store at Fort Bragg this morning to see former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and have her sign copies of her new memoir.

Palin greeted people at a table just inside the door of the North Post Exchange, a Wal-Mart-size department store on the base. The line waiting to see her spilled out the front door and wrapped around the building.

Many people went into the PX to buy Palin’s book, “Going Rogue: An American Life,” then emerged to take their places in line. People took shelter from the rain under umbrellas and shielded their books in plastic bags.

Palin’s tour bus, with large photos of her plastered on the sides, pulled up to the store around 11:15 a.m., and she walked in, sat down and started signing books, without any opening remarks. The Army had asked Palin not to make a speech, to avoid giving her a platform from which to criticize the commander in chief, President Barack Obama.

Palin chatted only a moment or two with each person as she signed, almost always making a point to speak with children who came along with their parents. Two of Palin’s own children, Trig and Piper, are traveling with her, as are her parents and an aunt.

Fort Bragg is the only scheduled North Carolina stop on Palin’s tour to promote her book, which was published last week. The next stop on the tour is in Birmingham, Ala., later today.

Dome memo: Awkward relationships

bniolet — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:16:16 -0500

GOING CHILLY: Former Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin didn't appreciate having to share a campaign bus with U.S. Sen. Richard Burr when she was stumping the state. Palin is scheduled to appear at Ft. Bragg next week to promote her book, which could make for an awkward moment if Burr shows to get a book signed.

POLITICAL PRENUP: Presidential candidate John Edwards offered to quit his campaign and endorse President Barack Obama in exchange for a guaranteed spot on the ticket. Hillary Clinton got the same offer. This reminds us of a time when Edwards' political value meant more than a cheap joke, such as this one.

LIGHTWEIGHT GOVERNOR: At a women's health conference, Gov. Bev Perdue shared stories about her days as a lawmaker when she would scarf a whole bag of Doritos. On a stage in front of a crowd, Perdue challenged her transportation secretary, Gene Conti, to slim down. Woe to any Perdue cabinet members who still smoke.

IN OTHER NEWS: Former Gov. Mike Easley's campaign manager appeared before a federal grand jury this week. Members of the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission are heavy political contributors. An African American artist unveiled a portrait of U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms.

Palin in, press out, sir!

markjohnson — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:06:17 -0500

Former Alaska Gov. and former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin will be allowed into Ft. Bragg for her book signing on Monday but the news media won't.

Army officials said they don't want the base outside Fayetteville used as a political platform for criticism of the President. The Associated Press reports Bragg spokesman Tom McCollum saying that:

(Palin) has already agreed not to give a speech at Bragg. But he worried that Palin's supporters might make the event political and use the media to express opinions from the base.
"This will stop someone from grandstanding," McCollum said.

The Awkward Express

bniolet — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:10:04 -0500

Vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin wasn't happy about having to share her campaign bus with U.S. Sen. Richard Burr.

We at Dome know the Winston-Salem Republican as a personable guy who's pretty easy going. And so, Palin's unhappiness over her travel companion has us thinking of possible reasons, beyond the fact that Burr was very close to Sen. John McCain, who led the ticket.

So here are five possibilities:

1. Palin, used to the colder climate in Alaska, didn't trust a man who wears dress shoes without socks.

2. Two hours of Wake Forest football war stories was more than enough, thank you.

3. She got tired of Burr wanting to pull over at every ATM to withdraw money.

4. At campaign stops, Palin noticed Burr's VW "Thing" parked illegally.

5. Burr kept bragging that his staff was better looking than her staff.

Palin grumpy over ride with Burr

bniolet — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:05:34 -0500

As she campaigned around the country, Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin feuded with Sen. John McCain's senior staff.

In her new book, "Going Rogue," Palin describes those staffers as trying to hold her back and making big blunders. But e-mail messages obtained by the Atlantic magazine show the problems were running both ways.

Palin didn't like having to ride on her campaign bus, the Straight Talk Express II, with special guests, politicians or celebrities.

By late October, Palin and headquarters staff were communicating through intermediates. On October 26, after a long day of stumping in North Carolina, Palin issued an edict to her traveling staff.
"We were informed today that she no longer wishes to do talk radio interviews in the car. It's too distracting," wrote a senior Palin adviser, in an e-mail to senior headquarters staffers.
"We were informed today that she no longer wishes to do TV or print interviews post-rally. She's drained. We were informed of her displeasure that her host and US Senator Richard Burr was allowed to ride the [Straight Talk Express II] with her."
He ended the e-mail: "I don't know what else to tell you."

Hat tip: RTB

NCGOP brings in Hoffman, NY candidate

bniolet — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:39:59 -0500

The N.C. Republican Party is bringing in Doug Hoffman, the defeated conservative New York congressional candidate who helped spark a national debate about the party's future, to speak at a political fund raiser in Raleigh later this month.

State GOP Chairman Tom Fetzer said that Hoffman would be a good fit for Tar Heel Republicans, Rob Christensen reports.

"His candidacy in New York inspired conservatives across the country, and he will reach out to North Carolina conservatives to help us reclaim our government," Fetzer said in a statement.

Hoffman has been part of a national debate about what should be the party's stance toward moderates. The GOP leadership had nominated Dede Scozzafava for a U.S. House vacancy after President Barack Obama named Republican Congressman John McHugh as Army Secretary.

But her conservative credentials were criticized her because she favored abortion rights and same sex marriage. Hoffman, a local businessman, ran as a conservative party candidate, picking up the endorsement of such conservative luminaries as former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and TV personality Glenn Beck.

Scozzafava ended up withdrawing from the race and throwing her support to Democrat Bill Owens who won a congressional seat that had been in Republican hands for 100 years.

The N.C. Republican Party has long been a conservative party associated with the late Jesse Helms, and Fetzer said he had personally supported the Hoffman candidacy.

Hoffman will speak at the party's Hall of Fame Dinner on November 21 at the North Raleigh Hilton.

Obama vs. Palin in NC

janestancill — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:59:49 -0400

President Barack Obama would defeat Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin in a 2012 matchup, according to a new poll.

Obama would win 49 percent compared to 42 percent for Palin, according to a survey by Public Policy Polling, a Democratic-leaning polling firm based in Raleigh, reports Rob Christensen.

Voters remain divided about Palin, who was the GOP nominee for vice president last year and who recently announced she'll resign as governor.

The survey found that 44 percent of Tar Heel voters viewed her favorably while 46 percent viewed her unfavorably.

The poll of 767 North Carolina voters was conducted from July 10-12 and had a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.

North Carolina has gone Republican in 10 of the last 12 presidential contests.

Daves takes GOP to task over clothes

ryanteaguebeckwith — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 10:59:53 -0500

Linda Daves had some harsh words for Sarah Palin.

At a recent question-and-answer session with top-ranking Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell, the North Carolina GOP chairwoman brought up a lingering issue from the 2008 campaign, according to MSNBC:

Another interesting moment during the question-and-answer session came when North Carolina Party Chair Linda Daves rose to ask if there was a budget for clothing candidates, an obvious -- and sharp-edged -- reference to Sarah Palin's paid-for campaign wardrobe.

In response, a Republican National Committee member in charge of the budget blamed the McCain campaign, which had blamed the RNC during the campaign.

Perdue gets invite to Gridiron

ryanteaguebeckwith — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 14:04:18 -0500

Gov. Beverly Perdue should get an invitation soon.

Although the new governor said at her inaugural ball that the time for partying would soon end, she will get an invitation soon from the McClatchy Co. to the annual Gridiron Club dinner in Washington, D.C.

Founded in 1885, it is the oldest and most prestigious journalism group in the nation's capital, and the annual white-tie dinner has featured speeches by every U.S. president since then except Grover Cleveland.

The newspaper chain, which owns the Charlotte Observer and the Raleigh News & Observer, has also sent invitations to Bono, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and nine other notables.

Candidate spent $1,000 on clothes

ryanteaguebeckwith — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 17:02:24 -0500

Sarah Palin wasn't the only one with new clothes thanks to donors.

North Carolina Republican Congressional candidate Will Breazeale also used campaign money for clothing, according to a complaint that a watchdog group filed Tuesday with the Federal Election Commission.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington said Breazeale and five other candidates each spent hundreds of dollars on clothes, violating a ban on personal use of campaign money, the Associated Press reports.

The group had earlier complained about spending by the Republican National Committee on the GOP vice presidential candidate.

According to campaign finance reports, Breazeale's campaign spent $1,000 in clothing for Breazeale at Fisher's Men's Store in Elizabethtown on Oct. 4, 2007.

A spokesperson for the campaign did not respond to the AP's request for comment.

Breazeale lost to longtime Democratic Congressman Mike McIntyre in November.