Kevin Wright: "Thoughts on Salina" (Update)

Thanks for the write up and audio of Governor Palin's speech from the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce Annual Banquet, Kevin!

"Thoughts On Salina" by Kevin Wright

If I had any doubt about Sarah Palin's national ambitions going into tonight's event (and I admittedly had some doubts she was interested in running in 2012), the content of her speech to the Salina Chamber of Commerce did much to squelch them. Like many Kansans, I read the news of the Governor's visit to Salina in an online article several months ago and immediately bought tickets for both myself and my family, some of whom had their own doubts about not only her national ambitions, but perhaps her actual governing abilities as well. Well, apparently tonight was a night of doubt-squelching, because by the end of the evening, they were as reassured of both her conviction of character and her good ideas to progress this nation forward as I have always been. A longtime fan of Gov. Palin and reader of this blog in particular, I immediately saw it as an opportunity to contribute something to the Conservatives4Palin community.

I'd like to relay some of the things I gleaned from tonight's speech to you all. As someone who had, until tonight, never seen her speak in person, I know that simply being unable to attend an event -- whether for financial or geographical reasons -- is no reason not to be privy to the ideas shared and put forth. As such, I recorded the entire speech for everyone to hear.

For those of you unable to listen to a 40-45 minute talk (I say "talk" rather than "speech" because of her innate ability to connect with a crowd) I'd also like to do a quick summation of some of the things spoken about during her time on stage.

She was first introduced by Rep. Jerry Moran, whose introduction spans the 0:00-6:52 time mark. As she took the stage and began to speak, I was amazed to see many people visibly lean forward, as if somehow drawn in -- after the standing ovation, that is. It was clear that they were incredibly interested in what she had to say, and I have to assume that there were many people in that room who were neither conservatives nor Republicans, as it was not a campaign event or Republican event. For Sarah, the goals of the event were simple: speak to the small but effective local government of Salina and relay some of the wisdom she'd acquired over her years as a small-town mayor and councilwoman. I was surprised by how eager and receptive the attendants were to hear such a conservative message despite a definite lack of political consensus among those in attendance.

The environment was also varied in more ways than just politically. There was no one group that dominated the event's seating; In fact, there were a surprising number of young people (15-20) and 20 somethings, along with some older men and women, and yes, Chris Matthews -- plenty of different races represented. (Is your leg tingling yet?)

The part that seemed most to resonate with the people in attendance had nothing to do with the healthcare or energy or even the economy. In actuality, it was when the Governor began to frame the debate about War on Terror terminology and so-called "terrorist rights." More specifically, the fact that they had none, in spite of what our current administration would have us believe. Though she didn't come out swinging against President Obama or his administration for most of the night (in fact, I don't think she even called him by name), the one distinct reference to him was when she spoke about the Obama administration's decision to give Miranda rights to Christmas Bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, effectively allowing him to lawyer up after only a few minutes and "evok(ing) our US Constitutional right to silence." A right that, as she pointed out clearly, was not his to utilize.

She summed up her thoughts nicely when she said the following: "We need a Commander-in-Chief. Not a professor of Constitutional Law." This comment literally had people rising to their feet in applause. (39:00-39:12. Fades out a bit at the end.)

In short (okay, not so short given all that I've babbled on about), the speech read like something of a campaign speech in disguise. Rather than explicitly saying "This is my plan for America" as a Presidential candidate would say, she was much subtler about it, instead implying it in a "This is what I think we should do" or "This is what I would do if I could" sort of manner. But truthfully, whether or not it was a campaign speech is of little importance, because in a room of 6000, I'd venture to guess she just secured 5800 votes for herself. I say only 5800 because there were some people under 18 there...and, yeah, my aunt said there were four eye-rolling Democrats in front of her who refused to applaud anything. Such is life.

The speech was heavy on the details. Unlike some interviews on Fox or on other networks where she often simply says "We need free market solutions," Sarah used specificity akin to that which was present in "Going Rogue," particularly when it came to which taxes need to be eliminated and/or reduced. Same goes for the content of the energy portion of the speech.

Oh, and by the way? Not a Teleprompter in sight. She did have a sheet of notes in front of her, but she rarely if ever used them. If it had been a speech, I would say it was delivered almost entirely from memory. But as said above, it was more of a talk, and thus came much more believably from the heart than her memory.

Enjoy!

Update: You can check out RD's write-up of the event here.