Why Sarah Palin Has Launched Her New PAC, SarahPAC

By Robert Schlesinger, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

What can we deduce from SarahPAC, the new political action committee affiliated with the Alaska governor? That she's not going to go quietly back to Land of the Midnight Sun. SarahPAC is a leadership PAC, a fairly common (the Center for Responsive Politics counted 340 of them in the last election cycle) vehicle for pols who want to play on a national stage. Obama had one, as did Hillary Clinton, and all of the leaders of both parties.

They serve two purposes: Leadership PACs give politicians a fund from which they can make contributions to candidates around the country, building political chits for down the line (a sure sign that Palin is gearing up specifically for a presidential run will be SarahPAC making contributions to New Hampshire and Iowa state-level candidates and parties); and the leadership PAC will also cover her expenses as she flies around the country fundraising and campaigning for Republicans, again stockpiling political chits.

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