Sarah Palin’s appearances no longer inspire speculation about her presidential aspirations, but her reception at a large gathering of conservatives Saturday underscored her enduring popularity with the right. In a speech, she offered zingers for the Republican base but also a strenuous defense of her Tea Party-inspired friends who are challenging the Republican establishment.
In a sweeping pep talk at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Palin, a former governor of Alaska and Republican vice presidential nominee, attacked the president from the opposing party and the Beltway Republican groups that are promoting traditional candidates over insurgents in Republican primaries.
“More background checks?” she said, railing against new gun-control proposals offered by Democratsin Congress. “Dandy idea, Mr. President. Should’ve started with yours.” Lines like that frequently brought the crowd to its feet.
Despite her exit from electoral politics after the 2008 presidential election during which she was John McCain’s vice-presidential pick, Palin has secured an enduring type of influence within the conservative movement. Many of its upstart office holders credit her with their success. They include Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who came out to introduce Palin hours before he was scheduled to deliver the keynote address.
“She can pick winners,” said Cruz, who beat the state’s lieutenant governor in a primary last year. “I would not be in the U.S. Senate today if it were not for Gov. Sarah Palin.”
She’s expected to play a limited role in the future of the GOP but shared several recommendations Saturday.
Instead of focusing on rebuilding the Republican Party, she said that party leaders should focus on rebuilding the middle class.
Acknowledging that “we can’t just ignore that we lost a big election,” Palin said that “the last thing we need is Washington, D.C., vetting more candidates.”
In an apparent reference to Karl Rove, who established the Conservative Victory Fund to oppose insurgent primary candidates, she added, “The architects can head on back to …” Jeers from the crowd drowned out her proposed destination.
Palin drew cheers when she paused in the middle of her remarks to sip soda from a “Big Gulp” - the type of super sized, sugary drink that New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg tried to ban. A New York judge this week struck down the Republican-turned-independent mayor’s pioneering 16-ounce limit on sodas and other nondiet sweet drinks for sale.
“Oh, Bloomberg’s not around,” she mocked. “Our Big Gulp is safe.”
Palin’s name was one of nearly two dozen appearing on a presidential straw poll that serves as an early measure of enthusiasm in the Republican contest.
The thousands of activists who packed into suburban Washington’s national conservative summit gave Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul a narrow victory over Florida Sen. Marco Rubio in their unscientific presidential preference poll. Paul had 25 percent of the vote and Rubio 23 percent. Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum was third with 8 percent.
Speaking before Palin was Republican Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin, who had offered one of the party’s success stories from 2012. Walker, who remains the governor after beating back a union-driven recall campaign, spoke about political lessons from his state that could be applied nationally. Yet his suggestions were more modest in scope than those offered by other potential 2016 candidates, focusing more on how to reframe union fights than on how to fundamentally change the perception of the party.
Entitlement legislation, Walker said, should be cast as “moving people from government dependence to true independence.”
He added, to raucous applause, “It’s why we take off work on the 4th of July, not the 15th of April.”
Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker, and Rep. Michele Bachmann, both of whom vied for the Republican nomination in 2012, also had their 15 minutes. Gingrich said the Republican-controlled House “could be having a hearing every week on the future.” Using props - a candle and an incandescent light bulb - Gingrich imagined that if Thomas Edison’s technology emerged today,liberals would try to block the electric bulb, while subsidizing candles for the poor.
He was followed by Bachmann, who has championed the incandescent bulb, introducing a bill to block a planned phaseout of that technology in favor of compact fluorescent lights. On Saturday, she characterized conservatives as a “growing movement of people who care about all Americans.” She cited as evidence their support for $2 a gallon gasoline and for preserving Second Amendment rights for women.
Information for this article was contributed by Sarah Wheaton of The New York Times and by Ken Thomas and Steve Peoples of The Associated Press.
Front Section, Pages 4 on 03/17/2013