'Sarah Palin to speak at a fundraiser for a socialist Canadian hospital'

I swiped that hilarious headline from a blogpost at Think Progress. It links to a story in the Hamilton Spectator, in which a fundraiser gushes over his 'coup' in getting the Quitbull to help his cause.

I guess Think Progress ran out of room because it should have read 'Sarah Palin to speak at a fundraiser for a socialist, abortion-loving, Canadian hospital with death panels'.

Think Progress elaborates:

– St. Peter’s Hospital is a public hospital within the national Canadian healthcare system. In Palin’s worldview, universal, government-insured health care is “socialism.”

– St. Peter’s Hospital performs abortions. Palin, a staunch anti-choice zealot, has protested outside of abortion clinics and has refused to denounce abortion clinic bombers as terrorists.

– St. Peter’s Hospital, through its Centre for Studies in Aging, offers “advanced directives.” Palin tried to derail health reform earlier this year by falsely labeling advanced directive reimbursements as “death panels.”

Why on earth would Sarah compromise her principles for such an unholy outfit?

Oh.

In any case, the Spectator reports that Palin is being paid “around the ballpark” of $200,000 for the speech, the going rate for a Palin appearance. Organizers hope to sell 1,000 tickets at $200 a plate, but raise more from selling photos with her.

UPDATE: Uh-oh. Judging from the Spectator's poll, an appearance by Palin might not be such a ring-tailed doozy of a notion. You can also comment on the Spec's blog here.


Screen shot at 2:25 p.m.

MORE UPPITY-DATE: Crap. The freepers are on it.

Screen shot at 8 p.m.

Palin for fundraiser? Brilliant, actually.

Blob Blogging Wingnut got all pissy hissy about the fun Progressive Bloggers are having with the news that a Hamilton hospital will hold an April fundraiser with Sarah Palin as speaker.

SHE asks:

"If public healthcare is such a hot idea, why should Sarah Palin even have to raise money? Shouldn't public revenue be able to cover all the medical costs of running a hospital."

As it so happens, government funding only covers the basics such as the salaries of physicians, specialists, nursing staff and other health care professionals, building maintenance and some administrative expenses. Every budget item approved by a hospital's board of directors and not covered by the provincial parameters must be covered by revenue generated from fundraising activities.

Thus the choice of Palin for this fundraiser as well as the brouhaha it's generating are guaranteed to nab the support of those who would shrieeekkk Socialism!! and Communism!!! if our taxes fully funded healthcare establishments like St. Peter's and the Juravinski Cancer Centre. These rightwing soCons, fundamentalist religious zealots and teabagger sympathizers are the target of the fundraiser. They're the ones who will descend upon Hamilton for the "pleasure" of hearing the Quitbull deliver a boilerplate speech. And also to fork over more money to be photographed with her? You betcha.

One rubber chicken plate: $200.

Sarah Palin's speaker fees: $200,000.

Delicious irony to be savoured: priceless

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The photograph above was found here ; the blogpost is titled "American Evita".

Palin not bailin', but. . .

Sarah Palin is still coming to speak at a fundraiser in Hamilton, but the beneficiary of the event has been switched.

Amid a barrage of criticism, organizers of a fundraiser featuring former Alaskan governor Sarah Palin have decided the event will no longer benefit public health care.

Instead, funds from the April 15 gala will go to the Charity of Hope, an organization that helps children.

"The attention became a health-care debate when the attention should've been on ... an event that benefits the community," said Dennis Concordia, one of the co-chairs of the event.

Paying, reportedly, $200,000 to a Merkin dimbulb who had recently dissed the Canadian healthcare system to speak at a fundraiser for the Canadian healthcare system created controversy? Who coulda seen that coming?

Apparently not Mr. Concordia.

"I don't think we could have predicted the backlash, not necessarily here in Hamilton but across North America," Concordia said.

Speaking of dimbulbs.

So what is this Charity of Hope?

The concept for The Charity of Hope, according to a message on its website from its president Sam Mercanti, started among friends at the local YMCA. They hope to grow the charity each year.

But if Sawah is going to speak at its annual fundraiser, it appears that an actual Canadian activist on behalf of children, Craig Kielburger, will be bumped.

Presumably the young and accomplished Mr. Kielburger wouldn't charge anything like $200,000 and would likely donate whatever the fee is to the charity he founded while just a kid, Free the Children.

So, has the switch of charities quieted the controversy? Um, no.

Here's a screenshot of the current poll at the Spectator:

Nyuk-nyuk-nyuk. Freeping iz FUN!

What to think when the voting and the comments don't line up in an online poll? Is the poll at The Spec asking whether people would pay to hear Sarah Palin being freeped?

Yup.

Here's the managing editor on the matter:

Wondering about the numbers behind the percentages in our Sarah Palin poll? To the question "Would you pay to hear Sarah Palin speak", 1,252 respondents (31.2%) said yes as of Satruday evening. But 2,887 respondents (69.7%) voted no.

The controversy over Palin's visit is driving Spectator web traffic to unusually high levels, and tracking software suggests much of that traffic is coming from outside Canada, a rough indicator of how passionate people are on the subject of the former Alaska governor and possible Republican candidate in the next U.S. presidential election.Visit Have Your Say to join the lively discussion.

-- Howard Elliott, Managing Editor

Currently (about 10:30 a.m.), about 71% say they would not pay to hear her, 29% would.

And while Palinistas have invaded the comments, sentiment there is strongly against her visit to Hamilton.

Palin in Lotusland

Barbara Yaffe wonders if there's an appetite in Canada for $arah's politics.

But first this stunning note:

An Angus Reid poll reported Thursday that fully one half of Republicans regard her as "intelligent, down to earth, strong and honest."

Fully. One. Half.

Oh. Wait. Half of ReThuglicans. Never mind.

We continue.

The Vancouver event, organized by the Mon Bot book club, will pay Palin $75,000. Tickets to the Oct. 13 Vancouver Club session, by invitation only, are $500.

Yaffe reminds us that 900 turned up in Hamilton, Ontario, paying $200 to listen/watch as the nitwit served up the word salad.

It's hard to know whether that bit of Canadian attention was borne of admiration for her political philosophy or simply curiosity.

Because the smart money says Palin's political style would flop here.

"My instinctive reaction is to hope Palin is unique to Alaska and the U.S.," says University of Victoria political science professor emeritus Norman Ruff.

Whew, that's a relief.

But just a minnit. Looky here at what my Facebook friend Connie has to say:

I would fly to Vancouver to see her if I could afford it. [Very Happy smiley]

They walk among us. *shiver*

How's that Canadian Mavericky-Roguey Thing Working Out for Ya, Sarah?

Remember the brouhaha over $arah Palin's invitation to speak at a fundraiser for a socialist, abortion-loving hospital with death panels that was hurriedly changed to a fundraiser for children?

Well, it seems the event is not quite the hot ticket its proponents envisioned.

Tickets are still available to hear a potential American presidential candidate in Hamilton.

Despite one organizer's prediction in December that the April 15 visit of Sarah Palin to Hamilton would be sold out within two weeks, good seats remain available.

Organizers have just launched a marketing campaign to sell tickets and attract more sponsors to the fundraiser at Carmen's Banquet Centre for the Charity of Hope, which helps underprivileged children.

They refuse to say how many tickets they have sold, but Carmen's is making room for 1,000 people to hear the former Alaskan governor and vice-presidential running mate of Republican candidate John McCain.

(snip)

Tickets are $200 a person, but $1,000 will get you an opportunity to meet her, have your photograph taken with her and an autographed copy of her bestselling book Going Rogue.

Her plunge in USian polls may be catching on up here.

AFTERTHOUGHT: Wonder if dodo went for the $200 breathless-to-be-in-the-same-room ticket or the moist-panties-for-months-to-come (snerk) dealie?

Mavericky-Roguey Sarah at 7

Per cent, that is.

In a surprising result, Texas Congressman and 2008 presidential candidate Ron Paul (R) won the presidential straw poll at the Conservative Political Action Conference, capturing 31% of the vote. Three-time CPAC straw poll winner Mitt Romney (in '06, '07, and '08) finished second with 22%, followed by Sarah Palin with 7%, and Tim Pawlenty with 6%.

When the announcement of Paul's victory was made, many in the crowd responded with “boos." That said, as people left the convention, "Ron Paul" chants could be heard coming from across the hotel lobby.

(snip)

Though 10,000 were registered at CPAC, just 2,395 participated in the straw poll. Almost half of them (48%) were students, and more than half (56%) were 25 years old or younger. Men made up 64% of participants.

Interesting demographics. Male -- whose support during the presidential campaign forced me to find out what MILF stands for -- but young -- so maybe that MILF-thingy makes young people also go 'ewwwwww'.

To be fair to $arah, she wasn't there to give a word salad barn-burner of a speech like Paul was.

But, still being fair, why the hell wasn't she there?

So, it appears that her fantabulous sparkliness continues to fade. I wonder how that will turn out for ticket sales at her upcoming Hamilton bunfest.