Sarah Palin: Already a Millionaire

Since the Republican defeat in 2008, Sarah Palin has launched her own public career where she is the head entrepreneur. As America measures its politicians by their ability to raise funds, the former Alaska governor’s performance in this area has been closely monitored. Also closely monitored: her expenses. So what’s on the horizon for 2012?

America has a hard time taking its eyes off of everything that revolves around Sarah Palin. Each piece of information has its own place in the puzzle and fuels the disease that is epidemic, but no one knows quite what to do about it, as it escapes the usual classifications. The Sarah Palin mystery seems to point to 2012, so we remain watchful.

In late 2009, she made a promotional tour by bus across the U.S. for her novel, “Going Rogue,” the story of her presidential campaign. This was the beginning of her new life. The book played on her “unconventionality” and was directed at Americans who were frustrated at not having their voices heard. She immediately moved to the top of the political book lists and though she and the deceased political icon Ted Kennedy aren’t in the same category, “Going Rogue” is found alongside “True Compass,” Kennedy’s memoir.

And it’s true: “Going Rogue” has given a new dimension to Sarah Palin and has driven home the idea that she is ready to play in the big leagues. The book also caused a stir with its presence in all four corners of the U.S. as it proclaimed to be on the side of all those who were seeking to be heard. The book brought in a lot of money.

Alongside the tea partiers, Palin fulfilled her role as the Madonna, and her presence was treated as that of a rock star. Her success was considerable, and she hasn’t stopped offering her support for Republican candidates who share her ideas or swallow their pride in the name of the electorate that she “controls.” Thus, Palin gave a token sum of around $5,000 to various contenders — John McCain, who was having difficulty in the Senate primaries; Carly Fiorina for the California Senate seat; and Nikki Haley for the governorship of South Carolina — and each time she found herself as a “shareholder” of the success of the candidate that she supported. Follow my vision for the 2012 presidential election …

Sarah Palin has changed gears since she first entered the public eye. The partner of McCain’s Republican ticket in 2008 — the small-town girl who was badly undermined and forced to change her look for a budget of $150,000 — is far behind us. That Sarah Palin will never be revived. Now she’s the boss of SarahPAC, a political action committee which reports quarterly to the Federal Election Commission.

Politico has watched its accounts very closely — therefore, so do we. At the beginning she had a million dollars in cash and a list of 529 donors but only one from Alaska, where she was governor for two years and from where she resigned after the presidential campaign. So, how hard would it be to support a lot of people before the midterm elections at a rate of $5,000 per candidate!

For the first time, Palin passed a plateau in the second quarter, up $865,000 in three months, more than she ever raised in a quarter since January 2009. She has also spent a great deal: $742,000, including expenses for jets ($17,000) to travel around the country. (The bus is fine, but America is vast, and time mattered.) Journalists are grinning even wider when they focus on two figures: SarahPAC invested $87,500 in support of candidates and three times more in “counseling” ($210,000). To say she’s a bit feeble on the merits is one thing. At least she seems aware of her weaknesses. She paid speechwriter Lindsay Hayes for the 2008 campaign, as well as $10,000 per month to a consulting firm run by John McCain’s former foreign policy adviser. She seems to have been right in that choice, as Randy Scheunemann’s international discourse was very sharp and taken very seriously by a vast public who considered it a new dimension.

As evidence: the videos available on YouTube and the blog “Conservatives4Palin”, developed by Rebecca Mansour as a new communications approach, and the opinion assessment tools that work along with it. It looks like we’re on our way to the Republican presidential primaries in 2012. Palin’s known future challengers: Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee. They all better be ready for the challenges ahead. All of the pieces are coming together for 2012.