"Patriots" hoping to shake Glenn Beck's hand on the nine-year anniversary of the September 11 attacks will be out of luck if they waited too long.
At CBS News, Brian Montopoli reports, "Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck are appearing together in Anchorage, Alaska Saturday to mark the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and tickets don't come cheap: The Ticketmaster page for the event lists regular adult tickets at between $73 and $130 and tickets plus a 'meet & greet' at $225."
At The Hill, Michael O'Brien observes, "There is one key difference, though, between the 'Restoring Honor' rally and Beck's event in Anchorage: This one costs attendees. Tickets for the event range from a low of $73.75 per person (including taxes and fees) to a high of $225, for a spot in the arena and participation in a 'meet and greet.' There was no indication to whom or what the proceeds will go."
The CBS article continues,
The event will also have a "dry section" where no alcohol is served and a "wet section" for those who want to drink.
Palin heralded the event on her Facebook page last night with a message beginning, "Glenn's coming to the Last Frontier!"
"I hope my fellow Alaskans (and anyone visiting from Outside) will join me this Saturday, September 11, 2010, at Anchorage's Dena'ina Center at 8:00 p.m. Glenn Beck will be there - you won't want to miss it," she wrote.
Added Palin: "We can count on Glenn to make the night interesting and inspiring, and I can think of no better way to commemorate 9/11 than to gather with patriots who will 'never forget.' Hope to see you there!"
All the "meet and greet" tickets priced at $225 are currently sold out, along with the "wet" seat tickets, so only tea party teetotalers can still salvage their 9/11 anniversary plans in Alaska.
The Alaska Dispatch notes,
According to a letter to the editor of The Frontiersman, the Conservative Patriots Group is holding a "non-partisan, non-political remembrance rally" (a remembrance 'rally'?) to commemorate the victims of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. Speakers include Wasilla Mayor Verne Rupright, plus Joe Miller and tentatively Scott McAdams, both candidates for U.S. Senate. The organizers promise to show what they believe is a "never-before-seen slide show" of the attacks. The event will begin at Wasilla's Menard Sports Center at Noon on Saturday, Sept. 11, and end at 2 p.m. The Conservative Patriots Group's statement concludes:
All are invited. Bring your children. Cake and coffee will be served, and Conservative Patriots Group will be sponsoring a youth essay contest with the theme “How Has 9/11 Affected the United States of America.” Cash prizes will be awarded, and contest entry forms are available only at Saturday’s rally.
Gryphen, the administrator of the progressive blog, Immoral Minority, hears from an unnamed source that Sarah Palin herself will be attending the Wasilla rally, and that attendees will follow her to Anchorage in a giant motorcade for her scheduled speech at Glenn Beck's event at Anchorage's Dena'ina Civic and Convention Center.
At Immoral Minority, Gryphen complained that "apparently much of Beck's audience will be made up of these wingnuts from the Valley who will be arriving in MY city on 9-11 to 'commemorate' the death of 3,000 Americans in New York."
This is well beyond the regular kind of crazy, even for Wasilla! This sounds like the same kind of insanity that inspires the minister in Florida to advocate the burning of Korans as a way to commemorate this same day.
At Think Progress, Lee Fang blogs, "Last year, Glenn Beck and a variety of right-wing organizations and corporate front groups exploited the anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks to stage a protest of President Obama. This year, many of the same groups are planning yet another rally with the same themes as last time."
But in addition to using September 11th as a launching pad to score political points, the right is now using the day to rake in cash. A sampling of the 9/11 profiteers:
– This weekend, Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck are hosting a rally in Anchorage, Alaska to mark the anniversary of the September 11th attacks. Ticket prices range from $73.75 per person (including taxes and fees) to a high of $225. As the Hill newspaper reports, “there was no indication as to whom or what the proceeds will go.”
– Disgraced lobbyist Ralph Reed is using his consulting firm Century Strategies to host a “Faith and Freedom Conference and Strategy Briefing” with an assortment of conservatives, including Brent Bozell, Tony Perkins, Rich Lowry, Tucker Carlson, Grover Norquist, Gov. Bob McDonnell (R-VA), Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA), Erick Erickson, and others. The event is on September 10th-11th, and costs $95 for early registration.
– Newt Gingrich is using the September 11th anniversary to unveil a new movie called “America At Risk,” which Gingrich says will drive the “national dialogue” about President Obama’s failure to address the rise of “Radical Islam” and its attempt to impose Sharia law on the United States. Gingrich’s website notes that the public can “pre-order your copy now for just $19.95 plus $4 shipping.”
"But it’s more than just hate and lame election season political rallies," Fang argues. "Right-wing leaders see September 11th as just another opportunity to enrich themselves."
