Sarah Palin

Palin/O'Donnell Event Descends Into Total Chaos

Benjy Sarlin | August 31, 2011, 11:28AM

Sarah Palin

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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Christine O'Donnell

Christine O'Donnell Re-Invited To Iowa Tea Party Rally Featuring Sarah Palin

Evan McMorris-Santoro | August 31, 2011, 8:46AM

Christine O'Donnell

According to a chagrined tea party leader, Christine O'Donnell will once again be a belle at the movement's ball for Sarah Palin this weekend.

The Delaware News-Journal reports the Iowa-based Tea Party of America re-invited O'Donnell to speak at its Saturday event in Indianola, Iowa after booting her from the list of speakers.

On Twitter late Tuesday, O'Donnell wrote she has "humbly re-accepted the re-invitation."

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Christine O'Donnell

Christine O'Donnell Booted Off Tea Party Event With Sarah Palin

Benjy Sarlin | August 30, 2011, 3:59PM

Christine O'Donnell

Christine O'Donnell, back in the news this month promoting her new book, is no longer welcome at a Tea Party event with Sarah Palin this weekend.

O'Donnell was set to appear with Palin, who endorsed O'Donnell's 2010 Senate bid, at a rally in Indianola, IA. But officials at Tea Party of America, which is hosting the event, told the Wall Street Journal on Monday that they were dropping her. While the group's president cited scheduling problems as the cause, co-founder Charles Gruschow offered a very different explanation: backlash from local Tea Party activists upset over O'Donnell's inclusion.

"We decided not to have her speak," Gruschow said. "We felt it was in the best interest of the movement."

O'Donnell was a brief cause celebre for Tea Party activists in 2010, who helped her defeat heavily favored Rep. Mike Castle (R-DE) in a Senate primary before she was trounced in the general election by Democrat Chris Coons. But the magic seems to have faded after her defeat as her much-hyped book has only sold about 2,000 copies.

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Christine O'Donnell

Christine O'Donnell: I Walked Off Piers Morgan Because Of 'Creepy' Sex Questions (VIDEO)

Ryan J. Reilly | August 18, 2011, 1:55PM

Christine O'Donnell

Failed Republican Senatorial candidate Christine O'Donnell said Thursday that she walked out of an interview on Wednesdasy with CNN's Piers Morgan because he "would not stop trying to talk about sex."

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Christine O'Donnell

Christine O'Donnell Walks Out Of Piers Morgan Interview

Eric Kleefeld | August 17, 2011, 6:41PM

Christine O'Donnell

Christine O'Donnell, the Delaware conservative activist who shockingly won the Republican nomination for Senate in 2010 -- and then lost what had looked like a safe seat by a double-digit margin -- walked out of taping an interview with CNN's Piers Morgan on Wednesday.

O'Donnell is currently promoting her book, Troublemaker: Let's Do What It Takes to Make America Great Again, mostly through appearances on friendly conservative media.

In this case, she apparently reacted badly to Morgan's questions about her views on sexuality. As the public learned in the 2010 campaign, she is a vociferous abstinence campaigner, and has even gone so far as to speak out vigorously against masturbation. Morgan apparently couldn't resist prodding her on this, nor could he resist raising her infamous anecdote about having once dabbled in witchcraft. The final straw, however, appears to have been a question about her opposition to gay marriage.

Early Wednesday evening, Morgan tweeted:

BREAKING: Christine O'Donnell just walked out of my interview for @PiersTonight in disgust at my 'rudeness'. Tune in at 9pm ET.

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