The first-ever Tea Party convention kicks off today at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville, and, when it closes with a banquet on Saturday night, Sarah Palin will take the stage as the event’s only marquee speaker–and opinions vary on whether it’s a good or bad move, politically, for her to be there.
The convention has been fraught with criticism from segments of the Tea Party movement–activists who protest the $549 ticket prices and the for-profit status of the group that’s putting it on as a sign that it's not truly “grassroots”–and Palin’s appearance has driven some of that criticism. She’s rumored to be getting $100,000 for her keynote speech (her going rate, according to documents obtained by Politico), and the big bucks have turned off some Tea Party activists who don’t want to be associated with the convention, which is being put on by the group Tea Party Nation.
Reps. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) were scheduled to speak but dropped off the list (convention organizers say it was because of conflicting information from the House ethics committee), leaving Palin as the only conservative star in attendance.
Full story: Is Palin’s Tea Party Speech A Mistake? Tea Partiers Have Mixed Opinions – The Atlantic Politics Channel