More than 14,000 show up for Palin rally in Salem

By Jay Warren
WSLS
Published: October 28, 2008

Sarah Palin arrived in Salem to a roaring crowd of more than 14,000 and an introduction by a regular Joe, who announced to the crowd, “I’m a mechanic from Blacksburg Virginia.”

Gov. Palin was quick to name him “Greg the Mechanic.”

She was playing off Joe the Plumber and she kept the joke going throughout her speech.

“There’s Doug the barber, Cindy the citizen, one of my favorites is Joe Momma,” she said, even calling her opponent “Barack the Wealth Spreader.”

In fact early on, Palin set the tone for her speech, declaring, “It is not mean spirited and it is not negative campaigning to call someone out on their plans and their record and their associations.”

And, she did that time and again, mainly on the issues of taxes.

She fed the crowd lines like “Sen. Obama has an commitment to higher taxes,” “he voted 94 times for higher taxes,” Sen. Obama says he wants to spread the wealth,” and “Barack Obama is on the side of more controlling government and higher taxes.” She even had a line for her vice presidential opponent, saying, “Joe Biden calls raising taxes patriotic.”

From there, Palin argued forcefully that only one team will really cut taxes.

“John and I don’t think government should take more of your hard earned money. We think that bureaucracy should do more with less so that you can prosper and thrive. We don’t think you should be working for government, we think government should be working for you,” she said.

And, Palin warned against complete Democratic control in Washington.

“If you can imagine the Obama, Pelosi, Reid agenda. That unchecked agenda if put in power will erode that strong work ethic that made this country great.”

The crowd, dressed in red with some even spelling out USA, was charged up as was Palin, despite the weather.

“This is so beautiful out here tonight,” she joked. “I love the weather because it reminds me of home.”

Palin wrapped up her speech with a simple question: “Virginia are you ready to help us carry your state to victory?”