Why isn’t Sarah Palin being invited to speak at the Republican National Convention?
There are a couple of reasons. They are both bad.
What are they and why should she have a prime time speaking slot at the convention?
The first reason Sarah Palin is being excluded is simple payback. Anyone remember the day Mitt Romney officially kicked off his presidential campaign in New Hampshire? Do you remember what else was going on that day?
Sarah Palin rolled through New Hampshire on her bus tour. It rained on Romney’s parade. Whether she did it on purpose or it was just one of those things that happened is subject to debate. The people who know aren’t talking and it is in the past so there is no reason to talk about it now.
While payback is certain a major consideration, there is another reason why the Romney campaign does not want Sarah Palin at the convention.
What ever else you want to say about her, no one denies she is an electrifying speaker. She lights up an audience. She did it in 2008. She overshadowed John McCain with her speech and if she is given the prime time speech she deserves in Tampa, she will blow Romney away.
Romney and his people do not want someone overshadowing the nominee. It is a good point. However, the fact that Romney is not a charismatic speaker is his problem.
Denying Sarah Palin a speaking role at the convention creates another problem.
No other major figure has been as associated with the Tea Party movement in the last three years than Sarah Palin. From her first speech at the National Tea Party Convention in 2010 to her speeches at CPAC and at the Tea Party Express rallies, she is identified with the Tea Party movement.
The Tea Party movement is something Romney does not want to deal with. He ran his campaign specifically ignoring the Tea Party. He has given no nod to the Tea Party. His team has not reached out to any of the major Tea Party groups.
Someone needs to remember where we were four years ago. Four years ago, the Republican Party was on the endangered species list. It had been killed in the 2006 elections and was about to be destroyed in the 2008 elections.
Who was the person who lit up the Republican Presidential campaign in 2008?
What group has revitalized the Republican Party? Here’s a hint, it was not the Romney campaign.
There are only a few prime time slots available at the Republican Convention. The Republicans need to show some gratitude to the Tea Party movement for saving it. There are a lot of ways they can show some appreciation.
One of them is to give Sarah Palin a prime time speaking slot.
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