WASHINGTON -- Sarah Palin is heading to Wisconsin this weekend to address a Tea Party rally at the state Capitol, a site that has more recently hosted thousands of labor protesters speaking out against Gov. Scott Walker (R).
The Tea Party gathering will be held on Saturday, two days before this year's tax day. The event is being organized by Americans for Prosperity. Palin aide Rebecca Mansour confirmed on Twitter that the former Alaska governor will be in attendance.
While running for governor, Walker actively courted Palin's endorsement. She more recently has inserted herself into Wisconsin's politics by endorsing conservative incumbent David Prosser in the heated state Supreme Court race.
In February, she posted a message to her Facebook page addressed to her "union brothers and sisters," saying "real solidarity means everyone being willing to sacrifice."
During a Tea Party gathering on Feb. 19 in Madison, one of the most persistent rumors around town was that Palin would be showing up and addressing the crowd. Labor activists, not surprisingly, told The Huffington Post that they were worried the rumors were true, while Tea Partiers were excitedly holding out hope. While all that talk ended up being nothing more than rumors, it's likely that her appearance this weekend will draw out similarly polarized crowds.
Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Mike Tate immediately sent out a statement criticizing both Palin and Walker.
"She was an early supporter of Scott Walker's and so it makes sense that Sarah Palin would come to Wisconsin to celebrate Scott Walker's war against its working families," said Tate. "Equally divisive and equally hungry for attention, the two make a perfect pair of poster children for a bizarre social agenda, diminished Wisconsin standards, a hostility to education and lower wages and benefits for Wisconsin families."
"The question now becomes, Do the eight Republican senators facing recall election stand with Sarah Palin as she lavishes praise over the Scott Walker union-busting, anti-family agenda?"