Sarah Palin, surrounded by as like-minded an audience as she could hope for, delivered an eruption of conservative resentment to close CPAC on Saturday.
Hundreds of conference participants waited in line more than two hours before her speech to get into the main ballroom. A blue haired CPAC volunteer roamed the aisles searching for empty seats as private security guards paced the room and audience members waited anxiously for Palin’s arrival. An elderly man wearing a red “FIRE OBAMA” hat sat near college students sporting Romney stickers.
Amid wild cheers as she took the stage, audience members joined to serenade her with a cacophonous “Happy Birthday” for her 48th that day. She proceeded with a culture war jeremiad reminiscent of her 2008 convention speech that slammed elites, liberals, and especially the city in which she delivered her speech, Washington, DC.
“While America struggles, Washington prospers,” she said. “While our real-estate market’s crash, Washington is strong. Washington is hiring, but they are hiring for what? They do not manufacture. They do not drill. They produce nothing. The services that they provide, they increase dependency, not freedom. They do not create wealth, they take it.”
Calling it “Obama’s Washington,” she went on to note that the city has abnormally high per-capita income in its surrounding counties and a real estate market that’s weathered the economic downturn far better than the nation at large, accusing politicians of being seduced by monetary gains upon arriving.
“This is the playground of for the government rich,” she said.”They are hoping you work really hard to keep it going.”
Even for a party that’s made anti-Washington sentiment its number one talking point, It was an especially provocative passage given that two of the current GOP presidential frontrunners, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum, have had post-Congress careers working for special interests in Washington.
Palin was interrupted briefly by a small group of young Occupy protestors, but their chants were almost immediately drowned out by the audience shouting “USA! USA! USA!” and “Sarah! Sarah! Sarah!” Security escorted them out within minutes and Palin returned to the speech with the crowd more energized than ever.
Palin referenced the presidential primary without mentioning any of the candidates by name, asking GOP to both keep the campaign positive and, in what could only be interpreted as a dig at nominal frontrunner Mitt Romney, lengthy.
“Competition will lead us to victory in 2012,” she said. “I believe that the competition has to keep going. Let’s make sure this competition brings out the best in our party. We know that the far left and their media allies cannot beat us on the issues. They will smear our record and smear our reputations. They will attack our families. Let’s not do the job for them. Okay, Republicans?”
“Frankly, it was one of the best speeches I heard her give,” American Conservative Union chairman Al Cardenas, the event’s principle organizer, said afterwards.
In the audience, Nadine Thurman, 84, a veteran Missouri Republican official who has seen and met Palin numerous times, said she thought it was a standout moment.
“She was on today,” Thurman said “It was typical Palin — guts, godliness, genuine love for country.”
