Palienated

Earlier this week, former governor/mayor/councilperson and failed running mate Sarah Palin was out in familiar territory- republican safe zones in the heartland- trying to sell her book that doesn’t otherwise sell itself very well. The tactic of the right to make a book a “best-seller” by having the right-wingnut media buy up thousands of copies at the start may have worked well for the likes of Ann Coulter and Sean Hannity, but Palin will have to chalk it up as another failure in her self-promotion whirlpool tour. The book Going Rogue- an American Life was rushed into publication months before she originally stated it would be released, and possibly before she was done writing it; it has no table of contents, but I suppose if you read enough books to remember their titles when interviewed, you know the importance of things like that. It was reported on Fox News as a New York Times best-seller, which was odd because, at the time, it wasn’t even for sale online, much less in the stores. Maybe they were just wishful thinking, or perhaps forecasting- it was being bought up by the thousands direct from the publisher at list price by the likes of Newsmax, for give-aways and promotions. When it did go on sale, it was first offered for “pre-sale” price through Wal*Mart online, and the price was $29. Not moving very many of them through that venue, they expeditied it to store shelves, and soon found they had to drop the price to get it to move at all. After only a couple of weeks, it had dropped to $8. Then $4. (Newsmax has them for $4.95, but they’ll give you one if you’re gullible enough to buy a premium subscription to their oil slick of an online “news source”).
In light of all of this, Caribou Barbie has been traveling the country in her million-dollar motorcoach, and greeting her devoted followers at book outlets for scheduled signings. She’s only going into places that are strong republican territory (>70%), and one would think that it’s not good to piss off your “base”, especially when they are the ones making sacrifices to come and see you, and you are cruising the country while claiming to be broke.
But in Noblesville, IN this week, Palin and crew dropped anchor at a chain bookstore to sign books and greet worshippers, many of whom had stood in line for over 9 hours to see her. Abruptly, Palin decided she’d had enough for the day, and canceled the rest of the signing early, leaving over a hundred Palinites standing in the pouring rain without explanation. Only a few minutes later, a staffer began distributing “signature stickers”- mass-printed with Palin’s autograph, which only served to make a disappointed crowd angry and upset. As Palin sat dry and warm in her wheeled mansion, the “left-behinds” began chanting and shouting “Sign our books!” and booing. A large number of the soaked and screwed then headed back to the store to get refunds on the books they had just purchased.
Palin waited until much later to make anything resembling an apology, saying in a press release that she had no idea what went wrong at the event.
The soundproofing in those expensive motorcoaches must be really good indeed.

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19 Responses to Palienated

  1. Neal says:

    Drew must have gotten wet…Time to call out the WAAAAAAMBULANCE.

  2. mainstreeter says:

    It’s fun to watch the right wing of the gop (Rush, FOX) continue to promote her as a ‘maverick’. The RNC is crippled by her presence.

    http://www.cafepress.com/+horny_old_republicans_for_palin_sticker_bumper,303723857

  3. Whoopeedo says:

    Good reporting Drew. Whoop

  4. seagal says:

    And she is coming to Richland over Thanksgiving to sign some more books! I’m guessing she will be visiting with the conservative teabagger football player from Pasco who says he may challenge Patty Murray. If she can get a teabagger candidate, she will be in Washington a lot – goody, goody! Lots to blog about!

  5. Drew says:

    Seagal- let’s all go down there to Richland, and instead of chanting “sign our books”, it’ll be “READ SOME BOOKS”

  6. Neal says:

    Amazon.com has the book at 14.50

    Walmart.com has the book at 14.50

    Steven King’s new book (list price 35.00) also 14.50.

    None of these are on my Christmas list, but Drew’s “good reporting” is, as usual, a bit suspect.

  7. Drew says:

    It’s called retail, neal. You know, like when you like to refer to the “free” market, and how it should never be criticized? It was been well reported on CBS and CNN last week that it had fell to $4 in several markets. Even $14.50 is half what it’s original publisher listing was just a couple of weeks ago, and it hasn’t been on the shelf very long- so much for being a “best-seller”.
    I think Palin’s abandoning of her submissives in the rain will leave more books unsold and gathering dust on the shelves.
    Unless your propaganda network buys up a few thousand of them. Again.

  8. Neal says:

    I didn’t realize you were a book wholesaler, Drew.

    As the two biggest online retail book powerhouses have it at 14.50, seems like your sources are a bit tainted…as usual.

    As for half off? Stephen King’s book is 59% off. It was released a few days earlier. He must be a crappy Republican author too.

    (Same for Dan Brown’s new one too)

  9. Drew says:

    The people Palin left out in the rain when she quit signing just want their money back- shall we list the jobs she’s abandoned so far, and the people who were counting on her?
    Besides her book buyers, I mean…

  10. Neal says:

    Based on your previous posts, I would have thought THIS would get you motivated more than just getting your 4 bucks back…

    http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/nov/18/mayor-says-closed-door-sessions-were-proper/

    (pssst…the Mayor is a Dem…)

  11. corie says:

    Newsmax is offering the book for free or for $4.50 based on what subscription you buy.

    What does the mayor have to do with Sarah Palin?

  12. Drew says:

    Hmmm…a “news website” that claims to be unbiased is promoting a cons book as she limps away from one political derailment and plans for her next. It makes them more of a media arm of the republican’t party, much like…

  13. Neal says:

    Drew will give me his copy for free too, if I’ll pay him $80,000.00 for his AMC Pacer….so what’s yer point, corie?

  14. Neal says:

    I thought you Libs were against injustice wherever it occurred.. ergo, I sent you a link..

    I guess your rhetoric was just a bunch of bullshit.

  15. Drew says:

    Neal, you’re a little late…most everybody had already read about this guy, and he’s being investigated. Because he’s a Democrat, did you want him drawn and quartered? Public stocks? You wanted the amigos left alone because they are cons (and because you were embarrassed by them). You cons are all about the double standard.

  16. Neal says:

    No, drew…the double standard here is evident. YOU knew about this and chose NOT to report it? Shame on you.

    If the standard is to be realized, then he should have suffered your scorn equally with Ensey. But that wasn’t going to happen, was it?

    And I don’t want your Pacer either, Drew.

  17. Neal says:

    On a happy note, I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

  18. Drew says:

    So Palin left ANOTHER EVENT before it was done. At least she’s consistent with one thing. And the cons wonder why their party is hovering around 24% popularity.

  19. sundancekid says:

    Palin was drawn into national politics much because of her good looks. McCain figured he had a shoo in with that kind of sex pistol on his left (or was it right) bank during the campaign. He underestimated her drive to be somebody on her own. There are people in the transmission of power who do intelligent, resourceful, philanthropic things (read actions that will put the people ahead of where they were before the action). Ex: Senator Murray and her unwavering drive to help veterans, Lech Walesa, California politician Henry Waxman, NY politician Mario Cuomo, Senator Ted Kennedy, President Jimmy Carter and Karol Jozef Wojtyla from 1978 to 2005 (Pope John Paul II).

    Then there are people who just don’t give a damn, because they have risen to their level of incompetency and cannot do more (read Richard “Doc” Hastings) and dozens of other hangers on.

    Then there are those who do outlandish, enigmatic, bizarre things–they have been given a boost out of some other source of power (read McCain’s campaign) and are living on that and wringing it out for all the power and popularity they can achieve. Examples are: Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, that former governor of Illinois, Marion Berry, Rick Ensey, Slobodon Milosevich, a former Yakima policeman brought down on check-kiting, and so on and so on.

    We watch, we wonder and then we forget…all this too will pass.