Military Charity Event Featuring Sarah Palin Goes Bust

Sarah PalinSarah Palin has spent most of the past two years trying to polish her credentials as a super-patriot and portray herself as a supporter of American ideals and, especially, soldiers and veterans. But her popularity (or lack thereof) outside of the Tea Party is increasingly a source of embarrassment.

Last month the Sharon K. Pacheco Foundation celebrated their booking of Palin to headline their fundraising gala. However, the foundation just announced that the event has been canceled. They wrote in a Facebook post that…

“Due to an onslaught of personal attacks against Governor Palin and others associated with her appearance, it is with deep sadness and disappointment that, in the best interest of all, we cancel the event for safety concerns.”

On the surface that would seem to be an unfortunate circumstance that reflects poorly on Palin’s opponents. But further exploration of the facts suggests a somewhat different reason for the event’s failure.

First of all, the foundation’s post also noted that “no direct threats have been made against anyone,” and that the safety concerns arose “despite the call for civility in America,” in the aftermath of the shootings in Tucson. That’s ironic in that Palin was a critic of such calls for civility and regarded them as an attack on her and her right to free speech.

More significantly, the Denver Post reports that tickets for the event were not exactly in demand. They went on sale in January for $185.00. Two weeks later a $15.00 discount was offered. Last week the price was cut in half. Apparently Palin isn’t the draw she thinks she is. It is not known if Palin was to receive her customary $100,000.00 speaking fee, but it is clear that the foundation was struggling to fill seats.

The Post also noted that there is an NBC/Politico sponsored GOP primary debate on May 2, the same day as the charity gala. Palin has not committed to participate in the debate (nor has anyone else), and she hasn’t even declared her candidacy. But she may have wanted to keep her calendar open, just in case.

Perhaps as a result of this affair, the media will start to represent Palin’s public profile more realistically. If she can’t sell tickets to a military charity, where is her support? Why is she still regarded by the press as a significant political figure? She routinely ranks near the bottom of GOP primary polls, and her favorability is in the gutter. Her canceled reality program on The Learning Channel lost half its viewers over its brief eight week run.

The truth is that she was a has-been before she began. She quit the only important job she ever held half way through. She was never taken seriously, even by her own handlers during the 2008 campaign. Her celebrity is akin to that of Kim Kardashian’s, and if there is a place for her in American culture, it’s on TMZ.

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4 thoughts on “Military Charity Event Featuring Sarah Palin Goes Bust

  1. Mark,

    Is there a particular reason you choose harangue Faux News and their constituents, while featuring their ads on your site?

    Education, perhaps?

    Just curious.

    • I do not feature any ads from Fox. What you may be seeing are ads from Google, over which I have no control. They are targeted based on Google’s browsing profile of the user (i.e. you).

      That said, if ads for Fox appear on my site and generate income for me, I think that’s great because my readers are really of no value to them.

  2. Oh, ok.

    I see that now. I was not trying to imply anything. 😉

    I cannot stand Fox News, Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin, and company.

    Constant education is the only safeguard against brainwashing; that could be why ads for their wares appear to me on your site.

    Republican Gomorrah, for instance, is a great source of education.

    I guess it is time for me to clear my cookies, lol.

    Thanks Mark.

  3. So sad…. What were these folks thinking when they attempted to politicize VETS? (and their families)

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