Sarah Palin's Souvenir of Arkansas

On Tuesday, February 16, Sarah Palin delivered a 45-minute spiel to Arkansans at the Verizon Arena. Though attendence is speculated to be less than 5000, members of the media were not allowed to make audio or video recordings of the event.

Regarding the Tea Party movement, Palin stated that the "smart thing" for the involved independents to do is to choose to align with Democrats or Republicans. Tea Party protests are on the basis of restricting power of the Federal Government (that is to say current Democrat and Republican lawmakers). The very notion of an independent aligning with either party is counter-intuitive to the cause.

Another point she made was in the form of the question: "How dare a terrorist who hates America and hates our Constitution be given those same rights?" At least, she thought she was raising an issue that was, well, an issue. Recent CIA missile strikes indicate otherwise when a Taliban commander was narrowly missed, killing his brother. It seems to me that Constitutional rights are not granted to those who pose a genuine threat to the ideals of the Constitution. Civilians in the vicinity of target areas are sometimes not elligible for said rights, either...seeming more like calculated risk.

Fox News made Palin seem...something...when they felt it imperative to note, "Arkansans shelled out big bucks to see former Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin." The dinner tickets were $175 each. The reception, however, was a whopping $500 per person/couple, which included a photo with Palin. Let's all cheer because Arkansas Republicans know how to throw away some money. Do not get me wrong, Democrats do it, as well. But this is Sarah Palin. I do not even watch her on Fox for free. They were probably hoping for a good opening act. The Arkansas GOP was reportedly advertising $20 tickets to boost ticket sales at the last minute. The strategy failed.

One thing Palin did tell Arkansans that was right on the money (okay, nothing Palin says is "right on the money," but this was close) was, "[l]ike Alaskans you too probably cling to your guns and religion." We do like our guns. As a souvenir of her trip to Arkansas, Palin was presented an engraved, lever action Henry Big Boy .44 Magnum rifle by the Republican Party of Arkansas. While Henry rifles are iconic, I do not think Sarah Palin is the type of person who should be handed a gun...much less a .44 magnum rifle. I also think that a more suitable gift could should have been chosen, as a gun does not truly encompass Arkansas...especially since the special $2000 rifle was manufactured in New Jersey.

Image taken from here.