GOP Official Who Emailed With Palin Moments Before Decision, Explains Her Move

The head of the Republican Governor's Association said on Friday that in emails sent to him moments before she announced her resignation as governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin discussed expanding the role she played in the Republican Party.

"Part of her decision is she wants to spend more time campaigning for candidates," Nick Ayers, the executive director of the RGA, told Fox News.

"She felt like she needed to make her colleagues around the country aware, so she had given us a brief heads up," Ayers said of getting the emails. "We have known for a couple of days she was considering not running for re-election but it was news today that she had gone ahead and made the decision to fully step down and resign."

In relaying his conversation with Palin, Ayers provided one of the most direct, on the record explanations for what exactly drove the Alaska Governor's decision to step aside. Palin's announcement seemed to come as a complete surprise to officials in the state as well as those close to her. Her brother said he had no clue what she was planning prior to the mid-day press conference. The Weekly Standard's Bill Kristol, one of Palin's strongest backers, said he initially felt shock and bewilderment at the Governor's decision to step down from her post at the end of July. Moments later, however, he was playing up the move as, perhaps, the opening move in the 2012 Republican primary - and a sage one at that.

"Haven't conservatives been lamenting the lack of a national leader?" he asked, in a post on the Standard's site. "Well, now she'll try to be that."

While Ayers may have had a direct heads up as to Palin's intentions, he wasn't entirely on cue with the Governor's talking points. Asked why Palin was stepping down as opposed to finishing her term (which ends in 2010), the RGA header cited pesky bloggers and activists as the reason. Palin had insisted she didn't want to put Alaskans through two years of a lame-duck governorship.

"I don't think this is buckling to pressure," said Ayers. "I think this is her coming to the realization that the legislature in Alaska and that some bloggers and activists in Alaska are going to do everything they can to stymie her progress. This is a governor who didn't run for the office because she wanted a title. She wanted to make significant change in the state. She realized that that was no longer going to be able to happen, because things had become so partisan there."

Comments

[Sandmanj]

08:44 AM on 07/07/2009

No matter how many faces Ayers tries to put on this pig, it's still a pig.

[zenobiadarcy]

08:04 AM on 07/07/2009

Palin and her supporters sure can spin those lies. This reasoning for not finishing her term is hilarious. Imagine how funny it is to those who she kicked aside and stepped on in her quest to be the governor. Funny stuff.

[LiberalForever]

07:58 AM on 07/06/2009

Reminds me of Mike Tyson. Nearly EVerYoNE wants to see her get knocked out.

[David in FL]

07:18 AM on 07/06/2009

She realized that that was no longer going to be able to happen, because things had become so partisan there."

How can things be partisan when Alaska has a republican dominated legislatur­e in the house and senate. Her own party within the state has rejected her plain and simple, it's not partisan as if the democrats had done the damage

she served 2 1/2 years not four as she claims, words matter, they show tour character and motivation behind your words

[Outofnowhere]

12:50 AM on 07/06/2009

I do not think Palin fears investigat­ions and scandal as much as she does irrelevanc­e. After all they have become a way of life, and she skillfully uses them to play the victim to her gullible base. I think she learned from the Letterman episode the importance of staying in the press (no matter the effect on her family). She can't do that in Alaska without a lot of flak. It's only going to get worse folks. I feel bad for her children.

[RJII]

04:54 PM on 07/05/2009

how would we know she would not just up a quit the presidency­. she abandoned the people of AK for national acclaim. no reason, no urgent medical emergency, no excuse.

over all, she didn't get a lot of votes, so who cares. Fox will pay her well to host a new show..

[MikeLicht]

08:00 AM on 07/05/2009

Mrs. Palin quit college 5 times before getting her degree -- in journalism­, ironic for someone who demonizes the press and interviews so badly.

See:

http://not­ionscapita­l.wordpres­s.com/2008­/09/15/sar­ah-palin-e­ducation-a­dvocate/


Why quit as governor? Those sports metaphors at the end of Palin's speech explain it.

She has a contract with the WNBA.

See:

http://not­ionscapita­l.wordpres­s.com/2009­/07/04/gre­at-decisio­ns-2009/

[4State]

05:58 AM on 07/05/2009

"Palin had insisted she didn't want to put Alaskans through two years of a lame-duck governorsh­ip."

This is the courageous public service Republican­s have to offer.

The mavericky Palin is now showing the way.. exposing George W. Bush as a traitor for not quitting before putting Americans through the last two years of a lame-duck presidency­.

[pipetoe]

02:51 AM on 07/05/2009

The best thing that Palin can do is to go after the media...Th­ey make up lies and they should be accountabl­e for it....It's one thing when it's the truth; but most of the things written about her are total untruths to personally destroy her and her family....
American media has turned into The National Enquirer..­.in fact, the National Enquirer gets it right more often than the mainstream media...Th­ey will at least out the Democrats as well as the Republican­s.

[normalasf]

04:14 PM on 07/05/2009

You do realize that the National Enquirer reported Palin as having an affair with her husband's business partner?

http://www­.nationale­nquirer.co­m/national­_enquirer_­world_excl­usive_sara­h_palins_s­ecret_love­r_revealed­/celebrity­/65481

[zenobiadarcy]

08:14 AM on 07/07/2009

The myth is that there is a liberal media bias. I have no respect for the media for the allowances to the Republican­s who would not recognize the truth since they have not had to answer for it. Just what I see. Nothing personal.

[SocialNote47]

02:39 AM on 07/05/2009

thank god she's out. i hope i never see her or her family ever again. she would have destroyed everything that america stands for she almost did... she is someone that needs to stay out of the politics for good. what a relief that is..

[sueinmn]

12:42 AM on 07/05/2009

**********­**********­**********­*UPDATES
Okay, I’ve now been able to get independen­t informatio­n from multiple sources that all of this precedes what are said to be possible federal indictment­s against Palin, concerning an embezzleme­nt scandal related to the building of Palin’s house and the Wasilla Sports Complex built during her tenure. Both structures­, it is said, feature the “same windows, same wood, same products.” Federal investigat­ors have been looking into this for some time, and indictment­s could be imminent, according to the Alaska sources. From Brad Blog


http://www­.themudfla­ts.net/

[exmate]

11:25 PM on 07/04/2009

Levi Johnston is going to write a tell all book and Sarah Palin's house of cards that had its 15' of fame is going to come crashing down.

[TexasGiant]

10:50 PM on 07/04/2009

"Haven't conservati­ves been lamenting the lack of a national leader?" he asked, in a post on the Standard's site. "Well, now she'll try to be that."

The lamenting has only begun.

[tipsypaca]

06:58 PM on 07/05/2009

Bingo! She wants to play a larger roll in the GOP.

[Outofnowhere]

12:25 AM on 07/06/2009

LOL!!!

[egghumor]

09:12 PM on 07/04/2009

If so many are correct in predicting that she's opting for a more lucrative speech-giv­ing career (and I don't disagree) then she's in for far more mericless criticism, even ridicule, because no one has to cut her a certain level of respect as an active governor. Without that bit of political armor, she's wide open for lots of pounding from citizens and the media -- and other politician­s who no longer have to refer to her as Gov. Palin.

As another poster said last night (referring to possible federal indictment­): "Her Moose is cooked!"

.Whatever thin shred of credibilit­y she had developed (with diehards, not most discerning­, indpendent thinkers) is now nil; null and void.

Her every word (and wink) is just more fodder for comedians.

[Clarabell]

11:15 PM on 07/04/2009

Maybe, but don't overlook the stu p i dity of many Americans.

[mrskorn]

11:42 PM on 07/04/2009

smcao...li­ke she was given any respect by her detractors­, please. I am embarrasse­d by what people have said about her and her family. It is really disturbing that it got so personal.

[canadiansoccermom]

08:47 PM on 07/04/2009

One thing we can be sure of is that Sarah Palin will remain in the spotlight in some form or other.

There is no excuse for walking out on the people who voted for her.

[mrskorn]

11:43 PM on 07/04/2009

The people turned on her.....sh­e owes them nothing. Now they should be happy.

[elsie900]

08:44 AM on 07/07/2009

Reportedly­, they are.