Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin isn’t scheduled to attend an upcoming Phoenix conference hosted by the Tea Party Patriots, but that hasn’t prevented speculation about what surprises may be in store.
The “American Policy Summit” will run Feb. 25-27. Liberal publication Mother Jones reports that there are rumors that Palin will announce her candidacy for president at the event.
Mother Jones reports that Florida Tea Party Patriots coordinator Everett Wilkinson wrote Thursday on his website: “I just heard a rumor that Sarah Palin is going to make a surprise visit and announcement.”
Mother Jones concluded that the rumor is most likely a ploy to increase attendance and advertising for the event.
Mark Meckler, co-founder and national coordinator of the Tea Party Patriots, told The Daily Caller that Sarah Palin is not attending the conference.
“Sarah Palin is not appearing at the American Policy Summit,” Meckler told TheDC, “The good news is that the journalistic standards at Mother Jones remain consistent. LOL.”
A blog entry on the Tea Party Patriots’ website from February 2010 by “PaulRevere” said that “Sarah Palin would like to have us all believe that she is the leader of the Tea Party movement” but that “claims that there is a leader is dangerous to the political career for persons claiming to be that leader.”
Meckler said the entry about Palin on the Tea Party Patriots’ blog is reflective of his organization’s beliefs.
“I don’t know who posted that post, but it is correct that Sarah Palin is not the leader of the tea party movement,” said Meckler, “To my recollection, she has never claimed to be.”