Palin's Cry: Cling to Your God, Guns, Constitution

By Mary Toothman

LAKELAND | Former Alaskan governor Sarah Palin was fired up about God and country when she spoke Friday at Southeastern University in Lakeland. And she was dressed for the part.

The 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate visited the Sunshine State at the request of the organizers of the school's seventh annual leadership forum. She was quite a presence on the stage, in a lipstick-red suit and fierce high heels.

Her passionate talk was peppered with such vibrant cries as "Cling to your God, your guns, your Constitution!" and pleas for the next generation to change the country's moral fiber. "That will make our foundation crumble if we choose to ignore it," she said.

Not one to tiptoe around sensitive topics, Palin got right to the point on reasons she said the country is in crisis.

"Today, look around, and don't you wonder sometimes if, as a nation, we have forgotten God altogether? This is a crucial question," she said. 

Palin said the school asked her to talk about hope and resilience. She said she would but "not that Washington, D.C., ‘hopey-changey' blah, blah, blah stuff, but real hope."

Mostly, the 49-year-old hammered such topics as the corruption of Washington, D.C. — "It's a hotbed of cronyism" — and federal spending — "The federal government is bloated, corrupt and out-of-control."

The Forum is a fundraising event for scholarships at Southeastern, and sponsors pay for the speakers. Southeastern officials don't disclose how much speakers are paid, but it was reported Palin received $75,000 in May 2010 to speak at California State University, Stanislaus. 

Palin said Friday she was happy to visit a Christian school, and she encouraged students to go forth and spread the word. She encouraged them to "infiltrate" the nation. Study journalism, she said. Get into Hollywood and the sports world.

"Get out there and influence culture," she said.

Palin closed her talk with a battle cry.

"The future of the country depends on what you do," she said. "God bless you."

After the speech, Palin answered questions from Southeastern professor Christina Gard, who was Miss Alaska in 2004. It was then Palin said something that brought the strongest applause.

Asked how she dealt with critics, Palin said it's important to know who you are, and that's why she speaks out for God publicly in a country where she said it's often frowned upon or against the law to talk about religious beliefs.

"God deserves so much better than what we give him," she said. "What has happened when we can't say his name in public?"

[ Mary Toothman can be reached at mary.toothman@theledger.com or 862-802-7512. Her Twitter feed is @MaryToothman. ]