Update, 12:57 PM: According to NBC, Tea Party of America president Ken Crow said “I had to cancel O’Donnell,” and is trying to lure Palin back to the event.
Update, 2:45 PM: Success! Palin sources tell RCP’s Scott Conroy that the ex-governor will be in attendance.
First Sarah Palin was scheduled to attend the Tea Party of America’s Iowa rally this weekend. Then Christine O’Donnell was invited. Then Christine O’Donnell was uninvited. Then she was re-invited. Now Palin is out. Maybe.
Easy to follow, right? According to the Wall Street Journal, Palin will not share the stage with O’Donnell, who she famously endorsed in 2010, because the ex-governor is sick of “continual lying” by the event’s organizers. But there’s still confusion over what’s going on: Real Clear Politics’ Scott Conroy disputed the report on Twitter, saying sources had told him the event was only “on hold,” while a Tea Party of America official told reporter Shushanna Walshe the event was still a go after a talk with Palin.
It’s easy to see where Palin might get a negative impression of the organizers, however. After initially asking O’Donnell to join the event, Tea Party of America’s top officials split over their reasons for rescinding O’Donnell’s initial invite, with president Ken Crow citing scheduling problems and co-founder Charles Gruschow citing widespread disdain for the former Senate candidate among Tea Party activists. They quickly brought her back into the fold, however, and Crow said they had “panicked” initially in dropping her.
Palin, who has yet to rule out a presidential bid, will still visit Iowa this weekend for other events.
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Benjy Sarlin
Benjy Sarlin is a reporter for Talking Points Memo and co-writes the campaign blog, TPM2012. He previously reported for The Daily Beast/Newsweek as their Washington Correspondent and covered local politics for the New York Sun.
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