Sarah Palin explains that she did not close SarahPAC because the funds dried up, it was because it already changed the face of American politics.

Courtesy of the Moosenugget shoveler's Facebook page: 

Because of your support we have changed the face of the Republican Party and American politics, so thank you! What a chapter it has been! And now together we'll write a new one. (Yep the PAC is not closing due to a lack of funds, it's because they won already!)

Anyone on the national political stage will tell you SarahPAC is different. Our team of volunteers and very few paid staffers have operated what is arguably the most unconventional but relevant and EFFECTIVE PACs in the country. (Oh Jesus, I am drowning in bullshit here.)

We didn't engage in political cronyism, didn't capitalize on PAC influence for anyone's employment or hob-nobbing opportunities, and we did not profit from the PAC. (Say what?)We "went rogue" every day for nearly eight years to prove an aspect of American politics could be clean and upright. (Unbelievable!)

Instead of conventional politicking, we strived to serve you by providing a voice for everyday hardworking patriots who knew the political status quo had to go. Our efforts utilized the platform God has graciously and inexplicably blessed me with. 

It's been you - our tremendous supporters - making it all possible. (Suckers!)

Friends, our shared belief in the mission to make America exceptional again will live on, and in fact can now grow exponentially with an even LOUDER and more OPTIMISTIC collective voice. The time is right to propel this mission forward! 

Stay tuned for the next steps we'll take with you as SarahPAC winds down and we leap forward into the next chapter. Let's keep living my dad's golden adage: "Don't retreat; reload!"  (Apparently that crappy website is the "next chapter." Let's call it "Chapter 11" shall we?)

God bless you, - Sarah Palin

And that my friends is how "alternative facts" work.

To be fair there really IS reason for Palin and her followers to believe that something has been achieved, and Palin DID have a hand in helping Trump appeal to the most ignorant, easily manipulated, people in the country.

Which ultimately helped him to "win."

However all of that talk about how "clean and upright" the PAC operated is absolutely laugh out loud funny.

As was pointed out by no less than the Washington Post, "The shuttering of the PAC coupled with the clear signal its spending sends — this was always for and about Palin — should put to rest any talk to the contrary."

Yes, exactly! 

As for this next chapter, as far as I can tell Palin's "next chapter" is keeping her son out of jail, keeping people from taking her grandchildren away, keeping her family's dirty little secretes out of the press.

Which may prove difficult since the judge just refused to keep Track's child custody case confidential and she no longer has the resources to pay people to be quiet.

SarahPAC is no more! Update!

After almost eight years of existence the Palin family slush fund is no more.

Here is the termination report on which you can see that the PAC started with $99,052.01 and spent $100,775.65. Their ending balance is a big fat zero.

Well I promised we would hound Sarah Palin until the bitter end, and this feels pretty bitter end like.

The family actually made loads of money so you would expect that they would be fine for years to come, but knowing how they spend money hand over fist, I  seriously doubt they have that much left in the ole piggy bank.

So far they have sold that giant RV they used to travel across the country lying about possibly running for office, the house in Arizona, and Bristol's house. Which leaves the plane, the snow machines, various gas guzzling vehicles, the cabin, and the Fox News studio as possible assets to liquidate.

Todd and Dakota are signed up to run the Iron Dog together, so there must still be a sponsor or two lurking around, but I don't know if there are many other sources of revenue coming in with SarahPAC now shut down and Sarah's judge show idea getting the axe.

And with Track's legal bills, and Palin having to essentially support the entire family,  I don't think she can keep up the facade for much longer.

I guess that now explains this new crappy website of hers, and why her daughter is desperately hawking tea on Instagram.

This actually gives a little more credibility to that Blind Item post from yesterday, because it really does seem that Palin went all in for Trump, who she clearly thought would provide for her in return, and he essentially left her high and dry.

You know this is the kind of thing that might force certain family members to do something desperate.

You know, like get a job.

Update: The Washington Post has the story now too.

After pointing out that the PAC spent almost every penny that it received on the PAC or the Palin, they ended the article with this statement:   

Palin's inner circle — such as it ever existed — spent lots and lots of time in the 2009/2010 period insisting that she was focused like a laser on increasing the number of Republicans in Congress, governors' mansions and statehouses. But, following the money never bore that commitment out. Palin's outlay from her PAC was always heavily tilted toward, well, herself.

The shuttering of the PAC coupled with the clear signal its spending sends — this was always for and about Palin — should put to rest any talk to the contrary.

Exactly!

Which by the way has been what we have been saying since the PAC launched in 2009.

So SarahPAC only has $154,347 left?

I refuse to accept that my fifteen minutes of fame has finally come to an end.

Today the October quarterly report came out, and let's just say that Palin's days of living off the mentally challenged in this country are all but over.

When the quarter began the fund had $171,686.

It brought in a measly $166,090 over a three month period.

And it spent $183,429. (Including $20,000 to political campaigns.)

Leaving it with only $154,347 at the time of this report.

Remember that in the last quarterly report we learned that the PAC started with $267,574, brought in $149,246, and spent $245,136.

We thought THAT was pathetic, and it was, but this report essentially proves that it is all over but the crying.

I did a quick rundown of some of the numbers and found the expenditures to be much the same as they have been all along, Though there are significantly less of them.

Consultants pocketed a cool $57,000. (And yes it is still Northstar Strategies and Tim Crawford who are receiving that money. Crawford and Northstar were also reimbursed for travel and lodging expenses.)

Postage and direct mail still approximately cost SarahPAC a whopping $51,000. (Can you say "money laundering?")

They spent about $1,670 on fundraising. (What a waste.)

The fund is also still paying Marilyn Lane and Carol Ryan for "clerical" work.

And attorney fees cost them $6.738, with the largest portion going to the law offices of Baker and Hostetler which apparently is the firm representing SarahPAC.

At some point soon the operating costs for this slush fund will far exceed the amount that Palin can still squeeze out of the pockets of these poor ignorant slobs and then completely drain the few dollars left behind each month.

I imagine when that finally happens we will see this sad little grifting operation finally come to an end.

 Then Track Palin will have to start paying his own attorney fees. Bummer!

The Daily Beast digs deep into SarahPAC's spending methods.

Courtesy of the Daily Beast: 

Sarah Palin and her folksy turns of phrase returned to the stump last week, trailing amped-up Trump fans and self-serving fundraising requests in her wake. 

“In order to get Sarah to political events to support endorsed candidates we need your help to fundraise her travel,” said an email from Sarah PAC after her “historic” Trump endorsement.

It’s true, travel is expensive. After all, what self-respecting reality TV star stays at a Holiday Inn these days?

And where does all of that money come from?

According to Federal Election Commission reports, in the first six months of last year, Sarah PAC—Palin’s organization that purports to be dedicated “to help[ing] elect principled, conservative leaders” spent $16,062 on a private charter in Jackson, Wyoming, $3,855 on a “car and driver” in Long Island City, New York, and a total of $4,364 at La Playa Hotel in Naples, Florida. 

So as much as Palin rages against the Washington political machine, the consultant class and all the “elites,” the spending by Sarah PAC shows that it remains the same lifestyle-fundin’, consultant-payin’ organization it has been since she launched it in 2009. 

Now, it’s all legal and—to be fair—$35,000 of the $825,556 that Sarah PAC began with in 2015 ($493,507 of which was raised in the first six months of last year) actually went to federal candidates and causes in the first half of last year: $25,000 to candidates for federal offices and $10,000 to the Navy Seal WFF Family Foundation, a charity for the families of the Naval special forces. 

But after that, it seems that the PAC has had more to do with pumping up Palin and her entourage than pumping up conservative candidates. 

For example, $38,000 was spent on speechwriting—$36,000 of which went to Aries Petra Consulting LLC, owned by longtime Palin aide Rebecca Mansour.

Of course that last expense may not be showing up in future filings, as RAM has moved on up.

Well not so much "up" as "over" to the dark side.

I think my favorite part of this article is how it lists the lists how the donations have dwindled over the years:

A look through FEC filings for Sarah PAC throughout the years, shows the bulk the money—largely from small donors —has been spent disproportionately on the people who run the PAC as well as fundraising efforts and direct mail. 

For example, in 2010, the first election cycle after Palin’s unsuccessful bid for vice president, Sarah PAC raised $5.7 million, spent about $4.4 million, of which $467,000 went to conservative candidates. 

The numbers from 2012 aren’t terribly different: $5 million raised, $5.1 million spent, $298,500 went to candidates. 

And in 2014, SarahPac raised $2.8 million, spent $3.1 million with $205,000 of the haul going to candidates.

I never get tired of watching Palin's credibility and support crumble all around her.

Of course most of this we have already documented ourselves here on IM over the years, but the fact that a news outlet like the Daily Beast is talking about it ahead of the next filings shows that there may be more scrutiny this time around, and I imagine they will have much to scrutinize.

And by "much," I mean expenditures, not incoming donations.