Palin Goes After CPAC, Sticks With SRLC

Via Ben Smith, it seems meaningful that Sarah Palin’s camp explained her decision not to speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference with two unprovoked attacks on the American Conservative Union. The first is on a micro-scandal over ACU Chairman David Keene’s advocacy for FedEx. The second, less convincing attack is on CPAC for letting the John Birch Society co-sponsor the event. As I’ve reported, the conspiracy site WorldNetDaily, which posts content far to the right even of JBS’s content, is heavily involved in the Tea Party Convention that Palin is being paid some sum of money to speak at.

The news that Palin is speaking at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference, however, protects her from a little of the criticism that she’s skipping established political events because they won’t pay her. The SRLC conference doesn’t pay its speakers and is seen as must-attend run-up to the presidential primaries.