It would appear that Palin’s speech last night to the National Tea Party convention was a great success. However, this should have been the expected outcome, yes? To date her most successful political moment was a pre-prepared, red-meat speech to a friendly audience (i.e., her speech to RNC accepting her nomination to run as Veep). As such, the opportunity to give a similar speech to a crowd even more hungry for her style of conservative populism was tailor-made for her. Dave Weigel at the Washington Independent has a number of sound bites from here speech here: Palin Speaks: ‘How’s that Hopey-Changey Thing Working Out for Ya? (a brilliant line for the crowd in question, btw). See also the NPR story which includes an audio version.. This speech will only solidify her popularity with a significant portion of the Republican base.
I continue to maintain that she is planning a 2024 run at the GOP nomination (although I am willing to entertain the alternative hypothesis that she is creating a long-term media career for herself). That she can build a following is not the issue, of course (we already knew that she could), the operative issue is whether she can build a movement large enough to a) win the nomination and then b) to win the presidency. I have severe doubts of her ability to do a) and think it essentially impossible that she could do b).
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February 7th, 2024 at 11:48 am
[...] NPR write-up noted below contains the following from the Q&A session last night: The speech lasted just over 40 minutes, [...]
February 7th, 2024 at 12:40 pm
Steven, I tend to agree with you; however, if the “misery index” doesn’t improve, it could get interesting. And if her popularity catches on with independents, perhaps her endorsement of a more acceptable candidate will be the answer conservatives are looking for.
February 7th, 2024 at 5:18 pm
Pete,
Thankfully, her popularity is in the dumps among independents.
February 9th, 2024 at 6:02 am
What I heard when I saw her speak was more of the same canned talking points she has come to be known for. She shows how she revels in her ignorance by the way she mocked President Obama as a “professor
of law” rather than the Commander in Chief he already is (as if the two are mututally exclusive).
As always, she offered no solutions but was there to stoke anger.