The Canadian publication "The Globe and Mail" had the ingenious idea to published the complete transcript of the speech. It appears that the speech was taped "illegally", because as it is now "standard procedure" with many of Sarah's speeches, journalists were not allowed to bring cameras or tape recorders to the event.
The speech is a treasure - you can pick a random part and laugh for hours. ;-)
However, there is something even funnier which so far escaped the attention of the broader public. David Frum's wife Danielle Crittenden was present at this evening in Hamilton and live-twittered the speech - until her battery died.
David Frum was recently chastised by his fellow conservatives for his "Waterloo" article, which he published shortly after the healthcare reform bill passed in Congress. In this article he stated:
"Conservatives and Republicans today suffered their most crushing legislative defeat since the 1960s. It’s hard to exaggerate the magnitude of the disaster."
"Conservatives and Republicans today suffered their most crushing legislative defeat since the 1960s. It’s hard to exaggerate the magnitude of the disaster."
His wife Danielle Crittenden afterwards wrote about the fallout at Huffington Post in an article called "Put Down Your Pitchforks, People" and said:
"So fast forward to this week, when conservative hell erupted over David's now infamous "Waterloo" column on the GOP health care defeat. For days I've been sitting here in the bunker beside him (and our three dogs), watching the whizzbangs land all around. What is distressing is not the predictable hate mail he has been receiving -- and thanks to the internet, he's been receiving it in hundredfold; we've both seen that before. What is distressing (to me, anyway) are the dishonest slurs on his character and integrity by people who know him, and in some cases have known him for many years -- truly ugly suggestions that David is motivated by cynicism or sycophancy, or both. (If he were, maybe he'd still be employed...)
We have both been part of the conservative movement for, as mentioned, the better part of half of our lives. And I can categorically state I've never seen such a hostile environment towards free thought and debate -- once the hallmarks of Reaganism, the politics with which we grew up -- prevail in our movement as it does today. The thuggish demagoguery of the Limbaughs and Becks is a trait we once derided in the old socialist Left. Well boys, take a look in the mirror. It is us now."
"So fast forward to this week, when conservative hell erupted over David's now infamous "Waterloo" column on the GOP health care defeat. For days I've been sitting here in the bunker beside him (and our three dogs), watching the whizzbangs land all around. What is distressing is not the predictable hate mail he has been receiving -- and thanks to the internet, he's been receiving it in hundredfold; we've both seen that before. What is distressing (to me, anyway) are the dishonest slurs on his character and integrity by people who know him, and in some cases have known him for many years -- truly ugly suggestions that David is motivated by cynicism or sycophancy, or both. (If he were, maybe he'd still be employed...)
We have both been part of the conservative movement for, as mentioned, the better part of half of our lives. And I can categorically state I've never seen such a hostile environment towards free thought and debate -- once the hallmarks of Reaganism, the politics with which we grew up -- prevail in our movement as it does today. The thuggish demagoguery of the Limbaughs and Becks is a trait we once derided in the old socialist Left. Well boys, take a look in the mirror. It is us now."
So there we have proof that some intelligent conservatives still remain in the Republican Party.
However, little did we know that Danielle Crittenden not only has a sharp intellect, but also a devastatingly funny sense of humor. It is a lucky coincidence that the transcript of Sarah's speech in Canada has also been published, because only now can we fully appreciate the wit and humor which is contained in Danielle Crittenden live tweets from that evening.
+++
Danielle also wrote an excellent article about the evening HERE (h/t EyeOnYou). By the way, the article has greatly upset the peezoo...I see another facebook rant coming!
Excerpt from Danielle's article:
Finally, Palin surmounted the podium. The crowd gave her a standing ovation and then sat back, waiting to get their $200-per-plate worth.
Dinner speeches by politicians normally adhere to a few simple rules. The politician begins by thanking her hosts and any person in the room who might be insulted if overlooked. She follows with a couple of tested jokes. Then she speaks for approximately 20 minutes (this is key for a dinner-time speech, when the audience is tired), making no more than three key points. It’s not rocket-science.
But Palin couldn’t manage it. Her 45-minute speech rambled all over the place, from her challenges as a mother facing a teenage pregnancy and a Downs-syndrome baby to Todd’s Iron Dog racing to the tea partiers to Alaska-Canada ties, wildlife, the Al-Can highway to God helping us take back this nation and stand up for small business, to common sense solutions, to Plato telling us to be nice to others, to getting’ our economy workin’ again, to the importance of community, to ice hockey and the Olympics—in short, her familiar carpool-mother-with-Tourettes-syndrome.
It was hard to figure out whether she was working up some Christian motivational routine, or just kvetching about her poor treatment by the media, or trying to demonstrate her political cred by hitting the right “facts” about Canada-U.S. relations.
If you tried to parse it, you couldn’t. There was not a single memorable line, not a single new political idea, not a single proffered solution beyond the cliché of “needing new solutions.” And when the moderator “opened the floor to questions, guess what? Even those questions had to be written down by the tables and submitted in advance, to be selectively chosen by the moderator. Our table mischievously submitted, “Who is your favorite Canadian Prime Minister?” but for some reason it wasn’t asked.
.
Excerpt from Danielle's article:
Finally, Palin surmounted the podium. The crowd gave her a standing ovation and then sat back, waiting to get their $200-per-plate worth.
Dinner speeches by politicians normally adhere to a few simple rules. The politician begins by thanking her hosts and any person in the room who might be insulted if overlooked. She follows with a couple of tested jokes. Then she speaks for approximately 20 minutes (this is key for a dinner-time speech, when the audience is tired), making no more than three key points. It’s not rocket-science.
But Palin couldn’t manage it. Her 45-minute speech rambled all over the place, from her challenges as a mother facing a teenage pregnancy and a Downs-syndrome baby to Todd’s Iron Dog racing to the tea partiers to Alaska-Canada ties, wildlife, the Al-Can highway to God helping us take back this nation and stand up for small business, to common sense solutions, to Plato telling us to be nice to others, to getting’ our economy workin’ again, to the importance of community, to ice hockey and the Olympics—in short, her familiar carpool-mother-with-Tourettes-syndrome.
It was hard to figure out whether she was working up some Christian motivational routine, or just kvetching about her poor treatment by the media, or trying to demonstrate her political cred by hitting the right “facts” about Canada-U.S. relations.
If you tried to parse it, you couldn’t. There was not a single memorable line, not a single new political idea, not a single proffered solution beyond the cliché of “needing new solutions.” And when the moderator “opened the floor to questions, guess what? Even those questions had to be written down by the tables and submitted in advance, to be selectively chosen by the moderator. Our table mischievously submitted, “Who is your favorite Canadian Prime Minister?” but for some reason it wasn’t asked.
.
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