Former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin has started a new political action committee – in a move that many are seeing as a precursor to a possible run for president in 2012.
The organization now has a website, SarahPAC.com, registered to a post office box in Arlington, Va. The PAC is scheduled to post on the Federal Elections Commission website tomorrow.
While the FEC website now lists Palin as a 2012 candidate, FEC representative Judith Ingram told WND the Alaska governor is not officially registered to run for the presidency, and the entry is only the FEC’s technical placeholder for the time being.
“Somebody is getting organized,” she said.
However, the committee has been registered. Palin is listed as the official chair of SarahPAC, and the website states it is “not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.”
A SarahPAC spokeswoman told Christianity Today it was launched today to assist Palin in keeping her connections across the nation. She said it was too soon to know whether Palin will run for president in 2012.
“SarahPAC is a federally registered political action committee that supports Gov. Sarah Palin’s plans to build a better, stronger, and safer America in the 21st century,” its website announces.
Registration of the committee comes after former presidential contender Mitt Romney announced his formation of Free and Strong America PAC and former candidate Mike Huckabee started HuckPAC.
The organization claims contributions will be used to support “local and national candidates who share Gov. Palin’s ideas and goals for our country.”
The PAC supports priorities Palin has had as Alaska governor, including: resource development, education, health, transportation and infrastructure development and reform and transparency in government.
The committee encourages citizens to stick to their values as President Obama takes charge of the nation.
“As a new president takes office and begins to lead our country, Gov. Palin believes that every one of us has a duty and responsibility in this time of economic crisis and international challenge. Each one of us must step up to the plate, get involved in the spirit of renaissance and renewal that is critical to America’s success,” it says.
News of the PAC comes on the heels of a Los Angeles Times report indicating Palin may have enlisted Robert Barnett, a Washington lawyer, in her pursuit of a book deal. Barnett has also assisted President Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton in garnering multi-million dollar book contracts.
The website promises to support Palin’s “plans to build a better, stronger, and safer America in the 21st century,” and it features a large portrait of Gov. Palin smiling in front of Alaska’s mountains. Next to the committee name is an outline of Alaska centered on a map of the United States.
