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Sarah Palin At Washington Biker Rally

05-29-2011 by Linda S. Carbonell

Sometimes, the best rebuttal to my critics comes from someone else…….

The Politico.com report of Sarah Palin’s appearance at the Rolling Thunder motorcycle rally in support of our military, POWs and MIAs, made it clear that the participants were not thrilled to have their event usurping by the half-gov.

What may have been intended as a low-key entrance, sans sufficient handlers and security, left “disgruntled” members of the Rolling Thunder trying to deal with Palin’s security and a press presence they didn’t want. Palin was sucking oxygen away from a very serious gathering that since 1987 has existed for the benefit of our military. The Palins arrived on three motorcycles – Sarah riding behind Willow and Todd and Bristol each riding their own. There was no word as to whether they flew their own bikes in for the rally or rented them.

A “crowd” of about 200 surrounded the half-gov, while tens of thousands of Rolling Thunder participants tried to get out of the way and distance themselves from the “throng” of Palin supporters. Ted Shpak, the national legislative director of Rolling Thunder, shouted at the Palin-chasing reporters “This is our run, back up!” while Don Dicks repeatedly yelled at her fans, “Back up from my bike! Stay away from my bike!”

Quoting Andy Barr of Politico: “Organizers of the annual veterans motorcycle ride were clerarly frustrated by the media attention and fuss brought by Palin and the bikers weren’t as encouraging [of the press] as the Palins, and in a few instances, shoving, they tried to keep away press trying to snap photographs or capture a rare quote.”

I just watched the NBC report on the rally and caught reports on CNN earlier.  Rolling Thunder was right in their objections to her presence.  The national media insulted these veterans and activists by focusing on the Palin presence. 

My deep thanks to Andy Barr of Politico.com for backing up my report that the organizers of Rolling Thunder did not want her there and resented her hijacking their event.

Palin’s people have finally issued an itinerary for her – the Washington Monument, the Liberty Bell, the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Boston Harbor, then on to New Hampshire where she will either be testing the waters for a presidential run or praising the residents of the wrong Concord for “firing the shot heard round the world.” The original map of her tour had her bus going directly from the Liberty Bell to the southwestern corner of New Hampshire with a diagonal route through the Dirty Dancing territory of the Catskills, the northwestern corner of Connecticut and the Berkshires in Massachusetts. For a tour that was supposed to highlight our great historical site, that map left most New Englanders scratching their heads and wondering if Palin had even less a sense of history and geography than Michele Bachmann. What would be interesting would be Palin getting out of her bus and talking with people along her route to hear what they think of corporations that gut a whole region’s economy to move south to avoid unions, and what happened in Connecticut after the tech bubble burst or what these areas have had to do to sustain and restore themselves. Then again, this is a lady (and I use the term advisedly) whose family foul-mouthed a retired teacher in Alaska who hung a banner calling her the worst governor in the state’s history. They don’t do criticism very well and their idea of reality is a paycheck from cable television.

　

　

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