Sarah Palin Defends Her Participation in Tea Party Convention

In an op-ed piece in Wednesday's USA Today, Sarah Palin responds to the controversy about organizers of the Tea Party Convention, a gathering of conservatives in Nashville later this week -- and at which Palin will speak. Several high-profile lawmakers, including Reps. Michele Bachmann and Marsha Blackburn, have withdrawn from the event over questions about where its proceeds will go. Other Tea Party supporters were suspicious of the $550 price of tickets.

But the former governor of Alaska and vice presidential candidate, who will deliver the gathering's keynote address Saturday, said she "thought long and hard" about attending and decided to stand by the event. "Recently, some have tried to portray this movement as a commercial endeavor rather than the grassroots uprising that it is," she wrote. "Those who do so don't understand the frustration everyday Americans feel when they see their government mortgaging their children's future with reckless spending. . . . You can't buy such a sentiment. You can't AstroTurf it."

Palin extols the decentralized, somewhat disorganized nature of the Tea Party movement, and hints that she will not accept payment for her speech, which was rumored to bring her over $100,000. "I will not benefit financially from speaking at this event. My only goal is to support the grassroots activists who are fighting for responsible, limited government -- and our Constitution. In that spirit, any compensation for my appearance will go right back to the cause."