Convention goers start to line up at the door for Sarah Palin's speech during the National Tea Party Convention at Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee February 6, 2010.
Palin’s speech tonight will be her first speaking appearance since a report yesterday by MSNBC.com that her husband, Todd, inserted himself into a series of state decisions, including judicial nominations and gas pipeline bids, while she was governor.
A review of 1,200 e-mails obtained under a public records request that were sent during Palin’s time in office also shows she coached her staff on how to hide the amount of electrical work needed to hook up a tanning bed, MSNBC.com reported.
Tea Party activists could prove crucial to Republicans seeking gains in November, though organizing challenges remain for the mostly online community.
The convention began Feb. 4 in the U.S. country-music capital as a way to provide activists training and inspiration.
$100,000 Payment
Palin was paid $100,000 for her speech, according to the Associated Press. She wrote this week in a USA Today opinion article that her compensation will “go right back to the cause.”
About 1,100 people were to attend the dinner, said Mark Skoda, a convention spokesman. That includes 600 people who paid $549 to attend the full conference and 500 people who paid $349 to hear Palin speak.
Palin burst onto the national scene 17 months ago when Senator John McCain picked her as a running mate for his Republican presidential campaign. She sold herself as an outsider and “hockey mom,” and after losing the election capitalized on her exposure with a $1.25 million advance to write her memoir, “Going Rogue: An American Life.”
Americans are split on Palin, with 43 percent seeing her in a positive light and 46 percent holding an unfavorable view, according to a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll released yesterday. The poll was taken Jan. 22-24 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
