http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/03/31/gingrich-replacing-palin_n_181469.html

WASHINGTON — Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is out, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is in as keynote speaker at a Republican dinner this spring.

[b]Palin, the party's 2008 nominee for vice president, had been slated to address the annual Senate-House Dinner in Washington on June 8. The dinner, sponsored by the House and Senate Republican campaign committees, is one of the GOP's biggest fundraisers.

Palin will be replaced by Gingrich. Both are popular figures with the party's base.

A spokesman for the Senate GOP committee, Brian Walsh, said Palin's team informed the campaign committees that her responsibilities in Alaska prevented her from committing to the speech until the end of the legislative session.

"We completely understand and respect Governor Palin's focus on her official state business; however, there is obviously an enormous amount of planning that goes into this annual event. For that reason, we invited and are honored to have former Speaker Newt Gingrich join us as our speaker," Walsh said in an e-mail.

A spokeswoman for Palin denied that she had ever confirmed her role as a speaker, even though the NRSC and the NRCC issued a joint press release two weeks ago trumpeting her appearance.

"Enthusiasm during a scheduling meeting among SarahPAC members to discuss events that we thought the governor should consider attending was misinterpreted as a confirmation of attendance," Palin spokeswoman Meghan Stapleton said in an e-mail.

A GOP official trashed Palin to Fox News and insisted that her camp wasn't telling the truth. "She was a disaster," the source said. "We had confirmation."

Palin catapulted to fame last year as Republican presidential candidate John McCain's running mate and is widely believed to be eyeing a presidential bid in 2012. The leadership committee is intended to help serve as a vehicle for Palin's political activities.[/b]Asked about possible miscommunications between the leadership committee and the governor's office, Stapleton said: "We are always working hard to make sure the bright line exists between official and unofficial business as we respond to thousands of requests for Governor Palin's time."

WASHINGTON – The husband of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin says the Republican Party's lavish spending on her wardrobe during the presidential campaign was "out of our control."

In the May issue of Men's Journal, Todd Palin was asked about the more than $150,000 that the Republican National Committee spent on clothes, accessories and beauty services for the GOP vice presidential nominee. He defended his wife, saying she was focused on preparation for her debate with Joe Biden.

"She never went to Saks, or any of that stuff," he said. "You come into a campaign late, you put all your trust into the team, you got people who are working on VP ops for a long time, and we're just focused on debate prep. I couldn't give a rat's (expletive) about clothes. Please. I mean these are my Sunday go-to-meeting jeans!"

Sarah Palin and Republican presidential nominee John McCain faced a storm of criticism over the tens of thousands of dollars spent at high-end stores to dress the Alaska governor and her family. Some of the purchases included a $75,062 shopping spree at Neiman Marcus in Minneapolis, one for $49,425 from Saks Fifth Avenue and $4,902 at Atelier, a stylish men's store.

The buys were a stark contrast to Sarah Palin's image as a "hockey mom" who calls herself part of an average, middle-class American family.

Sarah Palin has said she neither wanted nor asked for the wardrobe.

Some of the clothing was returned immediately because it was the wrong size, or for other reasons, the McCain-Palin campaign said at the time. The Republican National Committee has said the remaining items would be donated to charity.

Todd Palin told the magazine that his wife had been through tough campaigns before becoming McCain's running mate.

"You got to remember, it's not like they just plucked us off the fishing boat with scales still under our nails, you know?" he said.

Todd Palin, a champion snowmobiler racer, also told the magazine about his temporary Secret Service protection during the campaign.

"They liked cruising around with me," he said, "because we went to the Arctic Cat snowmachine factory and then drove up to North Dakota, went to a Penn State-Michigan football game, went to a NASCAR race. Rough duty, hanging out with me."

The Men's Journal issue reaches newsstands April 10.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090401/ap_on_el_pr/palin_clothes

some hussy do have them. Palin 2012

Is this the Right To Live fundraiser?

I though she was gonna run in 2011 I guess not!!

why did they stop her they should let her come to the event and make speeches. why stop her this is wrong

sarah palin should go to court to challenge this. she should be allowed to come before national television making speeches, etc

we love her to be in public view always

Sarah Palin is a disaster for the GOP. She shld pls run in 2012, Obama wont even need to campaign.