In a CPAC keynote speech filled with applause lines and momentarily interrupted by hecklers, Sarah Palin refrained from endorsing any of the current GOP presidential candidates and instead repeated her calls for a long primary.
“We’ve all heard we have to wrap it up, but in America, we believe competition leads to victory,” she said.
At the same time, she urged conservatives to stick together no matter what.
“We’re not red and blue Americans; we’re red, white and blue — and, President Obama, we are through with you,” she said. (It sounded a little like a Valentine’s Day card in reverse.)
She hit the unity theme throughout, at one point saying: “The left may smear our records or attack our families [but] we can’t let the left divide the next campaign. We must stand together as conservatives. For the sake of our country, we must stand united, no matter who our nominee is.”
Her speech itself furnished an immediate example of turning liberal enmity into conservative unity. When a smattering of Occupiers chanted, “We are the 99 percent,” the CPAC audience shouted them down with “USA! USA! USA!” — and, shortly thereafter, “Sarah! Sarah! Sarah!”
The former Alaska governor — who frequently appears on national TV before a natural background that looks pretty remote from D.C. — really hit her stride midspeech as she denounced “the permanent political class” and knocked the District.
“Often, politicians come to D.C. denouncing it, but, after a year, they decide it’s not a cesspool, but a hot tub,” she said to laughter.
It’s up to voters to drain the jacuzzi, she said, before she declared that the grassroots will do just that — by sending more Tea Partiers to Congress.
“This time, Establishment,” she said (and I’m pretty sure she looked sternly over her glasses at just that moment), “we expect them to get leadership positions in Congress.”
This woman is someone to be proud of, rather than shunned of many of the republicans, the Krauthammers, and rest of our better!
Sarah would make a fine presient!
I’d love to see any form of Perry & Palin… failing that, I’d love to see Alan West as VP – we need strong Constitutional Consevatives to bring our country back from the brink that this administration is doing its best to push us over!
ps, I’m really tired of the 4 muppets that we have running right now!