Sarah Palin

Earlier this month, Brian noted that Sarah Palin was scheduled to speak at an Extraordinary Women Conference held at Liberty University.

This weekend, Palin is scheduled to speak at another one of these conferences, which is being held in Tupelo, Mississippi ... and she has reportedly decided to speak at this event because of its proximity to the American Family Association:

Former Alaska governor and conservative Republican star Sarah Palin will anchor a lineup of female Christian speakers who will give their testimonies this weekend in Tupelo.

The 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee will speak Saturday at 3 p.m. as the climax of the Extraordinary Women Conference at the BancorpSouth Arena.

Palin announced earlier this month that she would not seek the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, but her appeal among conservatives remains strong, and that's part of why she chose to make Tupelo one of only four stops on the Extraordinary Women tour at which she'll speak.

"We looked for markets where her appearance demographically made sense," said Michael Stewart, the conference's vice president for event development. Stewart also mentioned the presence of the American Family Association as a reason why Palin chose to speak in Tupelo.

The AFA is a certified anti-gay hate group and the employer of one of the Religious Right's most relentless bigots ... but it seems that for Palin, the AFA is a draw that is luring her to Mississippi.

In response to Sarah Palin’s announcement yesterday that she would not seek the presidency, WorldNetDaily columnist and managing editor David Kupelian wrote that Palin’s decision was a result of massive demonization from the left in a literal “war between light and darkness.” According to Kupelian, “this growth of spiritual darkness in America is the result of decades of assault by the political and moral left,” inevitably breeding hatred for Palin as a result of her “noble character, common sense and natural grace.” Kupelian warns that once over fifty percent of Americans become “corrupted” by the left, “that's the end of America”:

As we all know, ever since John McCain chose Palin as his VP running mate three years ago, the left – including the entire elite media – have been pathologically obsessed with her. During the 2008 presidential campaign, the big media couldn't be bothered to investigate Barack Obama, whose background was chock full of Marxists, terrorists, pornographers, criminals and rabid anti-American racists. Nothing of interest there. But they sent platoons of journalists to Wasilla, Alaska, dumpster-diving for dirt on Palin – including, for example, their investigation into who paid for the tanning bed she had installed in the governor's mansion. (She did.)

…

Early on, I took a passing stab at this question in "How Evil Works":

Haven't you ever wondered why, when someone on the public stage radiates noble character, common sense and natural grace – like Ronald Reagan did, or more recently Sarah Palin – he or she is regarded by the "big media" with an inexplicable revulsion? Hatred is almost too soft a word. It's because Reagan and Palin manifest the very qualities of character that the jaded media elite lost long ago, and since being thus reminded of their lost innocence is painful and unwelcome, they feel compelled to attack the "reminder."

…

Of course, this syndrome goes way beyond Sarah Palin. In fact, if you look carefully, this is actually the defining phenomenon of modern American life.

We're talking about literally a war between light and darkness. I don't mean that as a metaphor, but as hard reality.

…

This growth of spiritual darkness in America is the result of decades of assault by the political and moral left – a two-front war consisting of confrontation and simultaneous infiltration of almost every major institution in America: our government, our public schools and colleges, our news and entertainment media, the arts, the foundations and philanthropies, psychiatry and psychology at the highest levels, and even our churches.

Thus, tens of millions of us have been indoctrinated and infected over decades with philosophies and worldviews that glorify everything wrong with human nature and attack America's Judeo-Christian foundation. At the same time, we've been tempted to cross the sacred moral boundary into sexual anarchy, which locks us into the realm of sin and all the irrational philosophies and phony experts we need to justify our sin.

I'd say some significant portion, but less than half, of Americans have been thus corrupted – not all irredeemably, of course, but right now they're siding with the enemy. Once that percentage passes 50 percent, that's the end of America.

Michele Bachmann

Background: NPR looks into her transition from Jimmy Carter volunteer to right-wing culture warrior (NPR, 5/9).

GOP: Breaks with Speaker John Boehner over debt ceiling (The Hill, 5/9).

Herman Cain

Nevada: Addresses conservative group in the early caucus state (Las Vegas Sun, 5/9).

Debate: Claims his candidacy gained momentum, new supporters after Fox News debate (CBS News, 5/6).

Mitch Daniels

Religious Right: Decision to defund Planned Parenthood will bolster social conservative credentials despite 'truce' talk (TPM, 5/9).

2012: Report claims that Daniels' wife is final hold-out to presidential bid (HuffPo, 5/9).

Newt Gingrich

2012: Expects to make official announcement tomorrow in Atlanta (WaPo, 5/9).

Campaign: Built vast network of political organizations to promote his clout, image (WSJ, 5/9).

Family: Wife Callista to play a pivotal role in campaign (NYT, 5/9).

Mike Huckabee

Background: NPR explores his roots as a pastor and church leader (NPR, 5/8).

Media: Fox News wants answer from Huckabee about 2012 plans (MoJo, 5/5).

Jon Huntsman

Campaign: Launches leadership PAC during swing through South Carolina and New Hampshire (Fox News, 5/9).

Religion: Concerns that Huntsman is distancing himself from his Mormon faith (Salt Lake Tribune, 5/9).

Experience: Defends serving as ambassador to China in Obama administration (Business Week, 5/8).

Sarah Palin

Poll: Most popular among low-income Republicans (CBS News, 5/9).

GOP: Neoconservative Republicans increasingly abandon Palin (TNR, 5/6).

Tim Pawlenty

Environment: Abandons past support for cap and trade policy (Christian Science Monitor, 5/9). 

Foreign Policy: Knocks Obama's handling of Libya crisis (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 5/7). 

Government: Backs aspects of Paul Ryan's plan to privatize Medicare (Politico, 5/6). 

Mitt Romney

Religious Right: Plans to address Ralph Reed's Faith and Freedom Conference (CNN, 5/9).

South Carolina: Campaign wary that South Carolina primary victory is out of reach (Politico, 5/8). 

Rick Santorum

South Carolina: After winning state convention straw poll, looks to gain support from state's Religious Right, business communities (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 5/8). 

Foreign Policy: Says Obama "doesn't understand what it takes to defend America" (Fox News, 5/5).

Donald Trump

Media: Ratings for reality TV show falling rapidly (Hollywood Reporter, 5/9).

Race: Says he can't be racist because he picked a Black contestant as winner of The Apprentice (Think Progress, 5/9).

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you are not doubt familiar with Jerry Boykin, the former Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence under Donald Rumsfeld who retired after video emerged of him explaining that we were engaged in a spiritual war against Islam that the US would eventually win because our God was bigger than their God.

Since leaving the military, Boykin has joined up with self-proclaimed prophet Rick Joyner and become the Religious Right's resident "expert" on all things Islam and a leading member of the Religious Right's Spartan-like army. He is also the man who exposed the fact that President Obama is a Marxist who intends to use the health care reform legislation to build an army of Brownshirts loyal only to him:

So it only stands to reason that next month, Sarah Palin would share the stage with him at a "Tribute to the Troops" rally in Colorado:

Former Alaska Governor and 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin will speak at a May 2 fundraiser for veterans at Colorado Christian University in Lakewood, the school just announced.

Palin will be keynote speaker at "Tribute to the Troops with Sarah Palin" at the university in Lakewood.

Lt. Gen. William Boykin will also speak, and there will be appearances from representatives of all the military branches.