Despite the dismal turnout for Jacksonville anti-abortion group Heroic Mediaās āAn Evening of Hopeā event, keynote speaker Sarah Palin still managed to stray from pregnancy to politics.
The event was essentially a showcase for the organization responsible for the various āPregnant? Worried?ā billboards popping up around the state, and consisted mostly of fundraising efforts from Heroic spokespeople, including Southeastern President Deborah Ortiz, who implored the audience to donate money to help fund more Florida advertisements: āWe need $1 million. Iām looking for someone to give $50,000, two couples to give $10,000 ⦠so that we can increase our advertising efforts in the state.ā
Earlier in the night, Heroic Director Mark Nelson made the same please: āIf we could raise $122,000, we can run 10 weeks of television commercials. ⦠With $3,850, 10 weeks of Facebook ads.ā
The cheapest seats to the event were $50 a head, and though the pricetag for keynote speaker Palin is currently unknown, itās a safe bet that it was quite expensive. In January, Politico reported that Palinās going rateĀ was around $100,000.
State Sen. John Thrasher introduced Palin as one of āAmericaās leading advocates for less government, less taxes and more personal freedomā and said that her life was a ātestimony to the valuesā of Heroic Media.
The former Alaskan governor came to the stageĀ in typical Palin fashion. After a rousingĀ āDo you love your freedom?ā she playfully told the senator that she loved his name because, āin Alaska, [calling someone] a thrasher means theyāre a really tough snow-machiner.ā She also made light of her time spent on the 2008 Republican presidential ticket, telling audiences she was āa neophyte on the campaign trailā and admitting she ādidnāt always know what [she] was doing.ā
And though she spoke passionately about the organization she said worked at ābuilding and affirming life,ā she made a point to speak freely about politics. Palin receieved a standing ovation upon her mention of President Obamaās health care reform, saying āit is essential that we use the 2010 elections to end ObamaCare.ā Calling the health care bill āthe mother of all unfunded mandates,ā Palin said that President Obama was the āmost pro-abortion president to ever occupy the White Houseā and that his time in office had been āa trail of broken promises.ā
Though she said that the ābiggest advance of abortion [has been] the advance of ObamaCare,ā Palin didnāt place all the blame on the current president. When speaking about Floridaās much-publicizedĀ ultrasound bill, Palin was quick to charge Governor Charlie Crist with vacillating over an issue he had once espoused. She said the bill āwould have provided women with a picture of their baby,ā but that āunfortunately, current Republican ā well, I donāt know if he wants to be a Republican ā decided to veto the bill [because] he had lost his pro-life convictions.ā
Later in the evening, Sen. Thrasher also reprimanded Crist for his veto of the bill, saying that, come November, he needs to be āheld accountable.ā
Later in her speech, Palin said that leaders were needed āto bring this country together under God, under the Consitution and under the Declaration of Independance.ā And, though she said that policies were important in the abortion discussion, the private sector ācan do it better than government.ā
Palin grew personal during a story of giving birth to son Trig while working as Alaskaās governor, saying that she was initially scared to go public with news of her pregnancy: āSome of the old sourdoughs and their neanderthal thinking. ⦠āLook, we elect a woman and what does she do? Go and get herself pregnant.āā
Daughter Bristol (who Palin hinted would be a contestant on next seasonās Dancing with the Stars) was also mentioned. Calling her a single mother and a full-time student, Palin said that she was proud of her daughter for āgracefully plowing through the embarassmentā of harsh media inquiries. Utilizing one of her now infamous one-liners, Palin said that she personally takes all of the mediaāsĀ tough shots in stride: āIām not gonna retreat, Iām gonna reload. Because I know youāve got my back.ā