Sarah Palin Headed To Haiti

JUNEAU, Alaska — Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin plans to visit Haiti amid a period of political upheaval this weekend to aid humanitarian efforts in the Caribbean country.

A Palin staffer confirmed Thursday that Palin, the 2008 vice presidential nominee and a potential 2012 presidential contender, planned to travel to Haiti with the Rev. Franklin Graham as part of the outreach of his Samaritan's Purse relief organization.

A spokeswoman for the group confirmed Palin planned to visit relief sites this weekend.

A cholera outbreak has killed more than 2,000 people in Haiti, a country that is still recovering from a devastating earthquake earlier this year and is in the midst of a disputed presidential election.

Gunfire and barricades were reported Thursday in the capital city of Port-au-Prince, and the U.S. State Department reissued a travel warning to the country and recommended against nonessential travel.

Graham said he appreciates Palin's willingness to visit Haiti during such troubled times.

"I believe Gov. Palin will be a great encouragement to the people of Haiti and to the organizations, both government and private, working so hard to provide desperately needed relief," he said in a statement.

Graham heads the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, founded by his father, the Rev. Billy Graham. His Samaritan's Purse has maintained a presence in Haiti, treating thousands of people, building a cholera clinic and bringing in plane loads of medical aid, according to its website.

Palin staffer Rebecca Mansour said plans called for Palin to be joined by her husband, Todd, and, Mansour believed, daughter Bristol as well. She described the plans as fluid.

After resigning as governor last year, Palin focused heavily on getting conservative candidates elected, earning a reputation as something of a kingmaker during the midterm elections and raising her own political profile.

Her travel outside the country has been limited since she burst onto the national stage, including a trip last year to Hong Kong, where she delivered a speech on U.S.-China relations.

Comments

[mrptso]

05:45 PM on 12/14/2010

hello,

i have been following the graham/palin trip to haiti and requests for more charitable contributions with disbelief. money raised immediately after the earthquake is not being spent on haiti relief efforts by the fundraisers. why the hoarding?
http://philanthropy.com/article/How-Charities-Are-Helping/66243/

i hope you investigate this matter and prod these organizations to give what was given to them to give to haiti. thank you for your tireless efforts.

[Doosmom]

01:07 AM on 12/13/2010

What did all the other possible Republican presidential candidates do this weekend? Oh that's right I don't care......quit covering her every move!

[onecrazyprogressive]

10:14 PM on 12/12/2010

Palin because of her own nasty personality deserves most of the comments.
It wasn't just the 2008 election campaign her whole political history is a nightmare of mistreating people and abusing the system.
I can't remember any VP candidate that lost that didn't go back to their state with dignity and continue on with a postive future.
Has Palin ever did anything with dignity.
I was so proud of President Obama's campaign. Young & Older people all excited.
Palin's ugliness stuck out like a disease. By ugliness I mean her foul and offensive remarks directed to her base for their pleasure.
But that's how I see it. I know her base thinks she is a saint & perfect.
I didn't vote for President Bush in 2000. I don't remember anyone wanting him to fail.
Even though alot of us thought that the Supreme Court give him the won.
I just really want the country to have the spirit of unity. That we can differ but the final goal should be what is best for all.

http://www.adn.com/2010/12/11/1599427/sarah-palin-arrives-in-haiti-with.html#disqus_thread#ixzz17xS25Q6q

[danielboone]

03:27 AM on 12/13/2010

What happened after he was elected?

[onecrazyprogressive]

10:05 PM on 12/12/2010

11 Months Later: Will Help Ever Arrive? (not from Palin and Crew)

Sun, 12/12/2010 - 15:29 — melindayiti

Spend a moment with the reality of Haiti’s earthquake survivors today. Eleven months after the earthquake, so little has changed. Haitians who have been living out in the open are beginning to lose patience, as we saw through the angry protests in the street last week.

http://konpay.org/node/812

[onecrazyprogressive]

10:01 PM on 12/12/2010

There are 600-800 children of high school age here in the Mat-Su Valley that are homeless. They couch surf or sleep in their cars. The money that Palin has accrued could go a long way to assisting her community, yet she jets off to a foreign land and does nothing. It's -5 right now, and there are teenagers sleeping in their cars, probably running out of gas. We help each quarter with donations to the food banks and cash to one of the family rescue centers. The homeless teens though are a real tough thing to deal with as they are a forgotten segment of the needy.
A "Palin Family Rescue Center For Homeless Teens" would be a nice way for her to show her love to her community. She quit her job so she could "better serve Alaska". B ulls hit. She's done nothing.

h/t Palingater

[onecrazyprogressive]

09:52 PM on 12/12/2010

Listen to "Why is Palin a fraud, yet worshiped by many anti-intellectuals"
hosted by beardog321 on 12/13/2010 3:30 PM MST

http://tobtr.com/s/1423507

[lenuk]

08:56 PM on 12/12/2010

As a non-US citizen, I want to say how shocked I am at the disrespect that you show to your future president ....

'night all ......

[politicaljunk0]

09:15 PM on 12/12/2010

Palin will never be president. Even America isn't that stupi d.

[Tony Sacco]

11:49 PM on 12/12/2010

o yes they are they voted for Obama

[onecrazyprogressive]

07:35 PM on 12/12/2010

God, so many articles coming out fast and furious today
This Headline reminds me of Patricks Palingates Headline:

Ready for her close-up... Sarah Palin lands in Haiti
(well, she wants to look just right for those poor cholera-stricken residents)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1337900/Ready-close--Sarah-Palin-lands-Haiti-dont-care-hair-looks-like-long-helps-them.html#ixzz17wg7zGLR

Comment:
"These people don't need a preening, self-serving wannabe politician deigning to visit them - they need help. They need homes, safe clean water, decent food and a chance to rebuild their lives - not some braindead i diot stomping into their lives in order to make herself look good. You disgust me, Palin!

[Willow207]

07:24 PM on 12/12/2010

"Oh goody, more photo ops...turn the camera this way, no this way,
make sure your get this angle, and be sure the lights are correct on my face....
Now don't ask me any questions, because I won't know the answer to things
like how many people have died in Haiti, what kind of medicine is needed, or
anything "real" and relevant, because that isn't why I am here anyway."

[onecrazyprogressive]

07:37 PM on 12/12/2010

You are Spamming Benson.

[BENSONM]

06:41 PM on 12/12/2010

Sarah Palin urges Americans "not to forget Haiti" PART 2

The country has more recently been hit by a cholera epidemic that has killed more than 2,000 people and is wracked by political upheaval over a contested presidenti­al election that has sparked violent street protests.
Palin, the former U.S. vice presidenti­al candidate who is considerin­g a presidenti­al run in 2012, did not refer to the political chaos and charges of electoral fraud, which have led to calls for the administra­tion of President Barack Obama to suspend aid to Haiti.
But on a trip that could help bolster her foreign policy credential­s, Palin said "job opportunit­ies especially for the young people of Haiti" were something the poorest country in the Americas needed perhaps more than anything else.
"God created man to work, to produce, to be able to contribute and to take care of one's own family and one's own community,­" she said.
Palin spoke to reporters outside a Samaritan'­s Purse warehouse in this town in barren hills about 7 miles north of Port-au-Pr­ince.
She declined to take any questions, saying, "We don't need to be getting political today."
She did appeal for foreign aid, however, after health experts last week called for intensive vaccinatio­n and more use of antibiotic­s to step up Haiti's fight against cholera.
(Editing by Tom Brown and Cynthia Osterman)

[BENSONM]

06:41 PM on 12/12/2010

Sarah Palin urges Americans "not to forget Haiti" PART 1

Reuters – Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin speaks to reporters at a storage area containing supplies for shelters …
By Allyn Gaestel – 2 hrs 15 mins ago
TITANYAN, Haiti (Reuters) – Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin on Sunday urged her fellow Americans not to forget Haiti as she wrapped up a two-day visit to the crisis-tor­n Caribbean country.
"I do urge Americans not to forget Haiti," said Palin, who was in Haiti at the invitation of Franklin Graham, an evangelica­l preacher whose Christian relief organizati­on, Samaritan'­s Purse, is involved in cholera treatment efforts in the deeply impoverish­ed nation.
[ For complete coverage of politics and policy, go to Yahoo! Politics ]

Haiti is still recovering from the January 12 quake that killed nearly a quarter of a million Haitians a year ago, and the 1.3 million people made homeless by the disaster are still living in makeshift camps and under tents and tarps in the sprawling capital Port-au-Pr­ince.
"There were such ravaged conditions and environmen­tal aspects of this country before the earthquake­," said Palin.
"Haiti has been a country that has suffered in the past, that's going to continue to suffer until some fundamenta­l changes are being made here," she added.

[FreeAmerican7]

03:53 PM on 12/12/2010

Pssst! Sarah Plain.....
Pssst!

Cholera is NOT a
CARIBOU
Therefore; you can't shoot it!

[Try the truth]

12:41 PM on 12/12/2010

How are they actually helping to aid humanitarian efforts? Did they bring water, food, shelter, medicine? Bibles DON'T feed or cure the hungry and the sick!

[onecrazyprogressive]

11:06 AM on 12/12/2010

She was there to build up contributions to Samaritan's Purse, which rakes in small donations to pay for Graham's $200,000+ salary, private jet, solid gold retirement benefits, and ensuring the $200,000+ still paid to his senile father through the Billy Graham Evangelical something-or-other.
These are scam organizations, which may do well, but,first, take care of their B-list religious zealots.
Now that Sarah's done them a favor, of course they'll be returning the same.
Watch out Samaritan's Purse! The IRS is looking at your 301(C)3 tax-exempt religious status. You're once again charging into political waters that are prohibited.

h/t ADN