Palin Rebuffs CPAC
James Joyner
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Friday, January 8, 2010
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3 comments
Sarah Palin will not be speaking at CPAC this year, citing the pay-for-play scandal involving organizer David Keene.
Palin is declining an invitation to address the Conservative Political Action Conference next month because, a source said, she does not want to be affiliated with the longtime organizer of the traditional movement confab.
At issue is the role of David Keene, head of the American Conservative Union which organizes CPAC. In September, POLITICO reported that Keene asked FedEx for between $2 million and $3 million to get the group’s support in a bitter legislative battle with rival UPS.
A source close to the Palin camp says that request led to a decision to stay away from the upcoming CPAC conference, calling it a forum that will place “special interests over core beliefs” and “pocketbook over policy.” “That’s not what CPAC should be about and people are tiring,” the source said. “Palin is taking a stance against this just as she did in Alaska.”
That’s a principled stance and one I share. When the scandal broke in July, I called on ACU to
fire David Keene, whom they claimed signed the letter in question on his own behest, albeit on their stationery. They did not which, so far as I’m concerned, makes them just as dirty.
I’ve gone to CPAC the last several years and may well do so again, as it’s a great opportunity to see some other bloggers that I’d never otherwise run into and otherwise network. But the convention and its organizers have lost a lot of luster in recent years.
As an aside, it’s noteworthy that Palin declined to attend CPAC last year, well before the scandal broke. And Keene has been quite critical of Palin, essentially saying she’s not ready for prime time. So Keene’s effort to strongarm FedEx may be a convenient excuse.
Also, Palin’s not being paid to speak by CPAC, unlike the Tea Party Convention, which may influence her decision.
Smells like third-party spirit to me. Yay!!
Fill in the dirty word for yourselves. I got dibbs on ‘liberal’, ‘leftist’, and ‘Obama’.
yep, I suspect she has her own ideas about what “pay for play” means.
and just in case, I’ll add that that is her right.