Sarah Palin Rallies GOP at 'Victory 2010' in Anaheim

The Republican Party is fired up and determined to take back America. That was the message repeated by every speaker who took the podium Saturday at the Victory 2010 Rally in Anaheim. Sarah Palin headlined an event that doubled as a major fundraiser for the Republican National Committee. RNC Chairman Michael Steele focused the message on California, indicating that November's election would not only turn the country back toward liberty, but would begin to restore the American dream for the people of California.

The O.C. Register has a report: "Palin Rallies Faithful in Anaheim":

Sarah Palin brought her bold brand of folksiness and ferocity to Orange County on Saturday, telling a throng of admirers that Republican success on Election Day is their only hope of "saving our republic as we know it."

Ear-splitting applause erupted from the 2,000-person audience as Palin, sporting a gray pantsuit, took the stage inside an Anaheim Marriott ballroom.

"Tell 'em Sarah!" one man shouted shortly after the start of her 25-minute stem-winder.

Though billed as a benefit for state and local candidates, Palin's appearance at the "Victory Rally" consisted largely of a broadside against Democratic policies and a paean to "American exceptionalism."

"There is nothing wrong with America that a good old fashioned election won't fix," she said.

There's a report up at CNN as well, "Palin Rallies California Republicans." And at ABC News, "Palin Tells Supporters 'Soon We'll All Be Dancing'."

Neither article mentions Andrew Breitbart, shown below talking with Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle:

And there's no mystery there: Breitbart brought the crowd to cheering roars when he went straight at the press corps on top of the media stand beyond the crowd. Check it out on video at The Right Scoop: "Andrew Breitbart at GOP Rally in Anaheim, CA." Watching the clip I'm laughing again because Breitbart slammed the congressional leadership as "Harry Pelosi," and as the crowd screamed in approval, he spread his arms and said with a laugh, "Hey, Harry Pelosi!" Breitbart warned members of the press that after the election "you will not divide us again." He also warned that "we can play this game too --- we can be the media," yelling to the crowd: "Show them your cameras!" It was Breitbart in his prime. He's been around media politics for a long time, but after seeing him speak numerous times since April 15th, 2009, he's just better than ever.

With the exception of John Campbell (my Congressman), the rest of the county's GOP delegation was on hand. And there's a good chance that Assemblyman Van Tran will be joining them in Washington in January. A September poll found Tran running within two points of Representative Loretta Sanchez, and Bill Clinton campaigned for Sanchez in Santa Ana yesterday (a sure sign of desperation). That's Van Tran below. He gave great speech, rallying the crowd with predictions that Republicans would take back the House. Tran, who is Vietnamese, moved the crowd, saying "I know what freedom feels like."

Michaele Steele is not my favorite, for reasons folks are well familiar with by now, but he's our guy and he's going to be able to claim some credit with the huge GOP pickups next month. Steele's full speech is at The Right Scoop: "Michael Steele at GOP Rally in Anaheim, CA." I liked his pledge that the RNC was putting California in the win column. (Although we'll see how well that goes in 2012). Anyway, Steele introduced Sarah Palin to wild cheers. The Right Scoop has it: "Sarah Palin’s powerful speech at GOP Anaheim Rally":

She looked great --- happy and enthusiastic.

And folks on hand weren't holding back either:

Neither Carly Fiorina nor Meg Whitman showed up for the event, and the New York Times wants everyone to know about it, "2 Top Candidates Skip G.O.P. Rally" (via Memeorandum). Hey, it's a big blue state, and it's going to be black and blue for the Dems on November 3rd.

More on that later.