Sarah Palin will not give a pro-life speech tonight for the Alaska Family Council at Anchorage megachurch ChangePoint, as event organizers had previously advertised.
A spokeswoman for Palin said the former governor had never accepted the invitation in the first place, though Alaska Family Council organizers said they've been speaking with "Palin contacts" for weeks. This is the fourth time such an incident has happened: Palin scheduled to speak at an event, organizations advertising the event for weeks, and the speech being cancelled at the last minute due to apparent miscommunication.
Spokeswoman Meg Stapleton told the Anchorage Daily News that Palin was invited to a private fundraiser for the group, and that "she had hoped to be able to attend but cannot return (to Alaska) in time for that private fundraiser." Stapleton also said "this is the first time we have ever heard of a speech" at the megachurch.
Alaska Family Council President Jim Minnery was surprised at the news, however, citing his organizers' work with the Palin contacts. "All we can do is take people at their word that we've worked with in the past. We've been working for several weeks on the event, promoting it very heavily. It would be a grave disappointment if she doesn't show up but the show will still go on," he said.
Previous scheduling mishaps with Palin:
*February: Palin pulls out of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), where she was due to speak, because of the "duties of governing."
*June: Palin attends a major GOP fundraiser in DC after weeks of hedging. She was originally invited to speak, but organizers gave her speaking role to Newt Gingrich after she wavered on the invitation, at which point Palin seemed to cancel her appearance at the dinner entirely, and didn't give organizers a definite answer until the afternoon of the event.
*August: Palin does not speak at an event for a California Republican women's group at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, despite it being advertised for weeks. Stapleton posted a statement saying Palin would not attend and had never been committed to the event on Palin's Facebook site.

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kunda311
August 27, 2009 2:44 PM
Palin is so amazingly shallow and flaky that she's inexplicably disappointing even her supporters. Presidential material indeed - GOP, please indulge us!!
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iluvcapra
August 27, 2009 2:49 PM
She's just gotta break down and hire an agent and a manager here in LA. We've got a lot of experience handling characters like her.
I wonder how CAA is doing pushing her TV show concept...
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slb
August 27, 2009 4:12 PM in reply to iluvcapra
Heh-heh -- if she had an agent or manager from LA, would that make her one of those Hollywood types that she is always railing about?
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ohyeathatsright
August 27, 2009 2:53 PM
She needs better handlers. All personal feelings about Palin aside, scheduling events isn't her problem it's her staff's.
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commie atheist
August 27, 2009 6:59 PM in reply to ohyeathatsright
Yeah, but she hires the staff. You'd think after the first or second time this happened she would have either gotten better people or kept closer tabs on things herself.
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Ann Arbor
August 27, 2009 2:54 PM
Now who could ever possibly imagine that Palin might be involved in a case of miscommunication?
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bluestatedon
August 27, 2009 3:06 PM
Just imagine the gigantic firestorm of ridicule that Hillary Clinton would endure at the hands of FoxNews and Rush Limbaugh (not to mention other Democrats) if she pulled this crap. But as we know, all things are OK if you're a Republican, especially if you're a hot-lookin' Christianist wingnut.
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Official A
August 27, 2009 3:08 PM
The odds of Sarah delivering cogent remarks are roughly the same whether she's invited or not.
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Chris Brown
August 27, 2009 3:14 PM
Palin's hiking the Appalachian Trail in Rio.
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derekbill
August 27, 2009 3:15 PM
Maybe she's an idiot. I think you people are being way too hard on her.
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LimoLiberal
August 27, 2009 3:21 PM
It is the same thing each time, she claims she never "accepted" or she claims she never "confirmed".
C'mon now, these organizations know how to book speakers. You cannot tell me that they hyped up an event simply hoping and praying that Palin would show up.
The event for the California Republican women's group was for their 50th anniversity for f*** sake. Really? Just wishin' and hopin' . . . I seriously think not.
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LimoLiberal
August 27, 2009 3:26 PM
"And also" (to borrow from the Palinese) the California Republican women's group function was INVITATION ONLY and NO MEDIA. She doesn't even really have the excuse that the big bad media found out about the event and ruined it for her, because they weren't permitted to attend to begin with.
(On the day of the event, Palin was in NYC for meetings with her publisher. Follow the money people.)
The invitation only tickets for the event, (to my recollection) were $100 per person for members and $120 per person for non-members. It appears that this was a big deal for this group. To put it into further perspective, Condi spoke at the Reagan Tyrant Library recently. In other words, they are brining in the ideologues; they aren't brining in light weights.
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jeffgee
August 27, 2009 6:20 PM in reply to LimoLiberal
I think you may have meant "bringing" but "brining" works for me. Nothing like a soak in salt water!
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commie atheist
August 27, 2009 6:53 PM in reply to jeffgee
Brining is really good for turkeys, too, which fits Sarah perfectly.
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LimoLiberal
August 28, 2009 3:36 PM in reply to jeffgee
Oh boy, talk about a Freudian slip. Oops!
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Strykur
August 27, 2009 3:31 PM
I thought the purpose of her resignation was to free up more time for her own secret blend of public service and snark.
Maybe she just needs to order one of these:
http://www.amazon.com/JudyPatrick-Photography-Sarah-Palin-Calendar/dp/B001HWKAVE
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commie atheist
August 27, 2009 6:56 PM in reply to Strykur
And only marked down 40% at Amazon, which is not bad, considering it's a 2009 calendar.
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Seeryer
August 27, 2009 3:53 PM
Is it possible she has a drug problem? I mean this seriously. A person who can't keep commitments and then blames others for it might be on drugs. Or at least she display symptons.
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TheraP
August 27, 2009 5:58 PM in reply to Seeryer
The symptom is a memory problem. She seems to have cognitive difficulties. But I bet it's not drugs now. Could have been drugs "then" - or whatever.
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Matt Jones
August 27, 2009 7:20 PM in reply to TheraP
Well, if she's hanging out with Bush and co, maybe she's caught the nasty virus that seems to be giving many of them the "I don't recalls". I think Gonzo was the first victim - either that, or they all caught it from the all the Iran-Contra "ex"-felons around the office.
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psyclone
August 27, 2009 4:59 PM
Who needs speaking engagements when your facebook posts get the same amount of coverage?
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ojim
August 27, 2009 5:23 PM
she does poorly when she has to share the stage with african americans. first she lost miss mooseknuckle to an african american and then of course there was what happened last november.
i guess she is afraid of either losing, or not getting the attention she so deserves.
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ejg3
August 27, 2009 5:49 PM
Somehow a revision of the old Gertrude Stein remark about Oakland. California (There is now emblazoned on the City's Seal) seems in order. Even if she (Palin) was there, there's no there there.
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TheraP
August 27, 2009 6:00 PM
She has a knack for bad publicity! What's next?
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jeffgee
August 27, 2009 6:17 PM
I McCain had won, by now she'd be chafing at the responsibilities and looking for a way out.
But on Planet Palin, this is a sign of strength and maverickitude.
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sherifffruitfly
August 27, 2009 7:38 PM
Awww.... Diva mean gurl might be realize that just being kinda hawt really isn't enough.
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kirenos
August 28, 2009 4:38 AM
another correct label: the ANTI-CHOICE movement (it is NOT pro-life, just as the PRO-CHOICE movement is not anti-life).
Palin and the current effluvium of the conservatives should also be labeled more correctly - as populists, pandering to the lowest common denominator of all those who do not want to think for themselves.
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