When former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin went to Wausau, Wisconsin on Thursday, the whole city sold out of her new book, Good Tidings and Great Joy: Protecting the Heart of Christmas. Palin held a book signing at the local Walmart, where a line snaked around the gigantic store (see video below) for the sold out book. Breitbart News has confirmed the town's Sam's Club and Barnes & Noble also sold out all their copies of her new book as well yesterday. At Walmart, Palin greeted a multitude of well-wishers and signed book after book. Just like her Bethlehem, PA stop, she stayed late because of an abundance of supporters.
She may have stayed later if not for one very relevant detail. According to a Walmart official, the store ran out of books.
Walmart wasn't alone. The entire town of Wausau was cleaned out. A Harper Collins source told Breitbart News that along with Walmart, Wausau's Sam's Club and Barnes & Noble had also sold all of their copies.
The stores have confirmed that all their books were sold.
Among the many that showed up Thursday to greet Palin was Rachel Campos-Duffy, national spokesperson for The LIBRE Initiative and wife of Rep. Sean Duffy (R-WI), whom Palin endorsed early in 2010 in his upstart bid to unseat Democrat Rep. David Obey (D-WI).
Campos-Duffy found out quickly that Palin had seen her on TV that Thursday morning. "She had watched me on Fox & Friends doing a segment about food stamps, dependency, and Hispanics," Campos-Duffy told Breitbart News. "The LIBRE Initiative is an organization that seeks to empower Hispanics to economically prosper and achieve the American Dream. The governor told me my message was 'right on' and thanked me for my work reaching out to Hispanics with a message of empowerment, self-reliance and entrepreneurship. She's a smart lady."
Campos-Duffy, a mother of six, has been a Palin admirer for some time. "I have always related to her easy maternal style and the way she embraces her femininity," she said. "It's what separates her from old-guard feminist politicians like Hillary Clinton. Can you imagine Hillary bouncing a baby on her hip after accepting the VP nomination? Sarah embraces motherhood and the things that make us different from men with an unapologetic style that gives them their rightful power."
Those feelings toward Palin made a meeting in Wisconsin a must for Campos-Duffy. Plus, it was a chance to express some personal gratitude. "I went to see her because I wanted to welcome her to Wausau," said Campos-Duffy. "I told her how much I admired her strength and grit amid so much vitriol from people who claim to be tolerant. I also thanked her for her endorsement of my husband Sean back in 2010. Sarah Palin chose Sean as the very first congressional candidate she endorsed in the 2010 cycle. It totally put his campaign on the map and folks really started paying attention."
She said, "In many ways, [Palin’s endorsement] was a turning point for us and gave the campaign real momentum. We will always be grateful to the governor for her early support."
Campos-Duffy added that Palin "told me she just couldn't resist the story of a Northwoods Wisconsin lumberjack competitor taking on a 42-year incumbent Democrat."
"It was a bold move on her part, as my husband's victory was very unlikely at the time," she said. "His opponent was the very powerful chairman of appropriations and the man who wrote the stimulus bill and who also held the gavel in the House of Representatives the night Obamacare passed. Sarah's political instincts and independent streak were totally confirmed for me in that decision."
Campos-Duffy also said it was striking to see Palin in person, saying the former Alaska governor was "gorgeous in person" and "has definitely discovered the fountain of youth. I brought some friends of mine and their kids with me to meet her and she was so sweet with them – especially the kids."
"She's a mom first and, as she told me, 'it's the hardest job in the world.' With Sarah, you know it's not just a cliché. She's knows it's true because she lived it," she added. "Her real life experience and down-to-earth style is the reason why hundreds of women lined up at Walmart to meet her and why every one of her books was sold out in Wausau and the surrounding area. She truly is every woman – only hotter!"
Wausau is Palin's only scheduled stop thus far in the Badger State, and the town was not chosen by mistake.
Earlier this fall Palin highlighted a controversy in the town when a local high school tried to "crack down" on Christmas carols. Parents, children, and a spirited music teacher fought back against the Ebenezers. Because of the public outcry, the songs were put back in the school program. On Thursday, Palin was presented with a Wausau West High School Christmas CD at her book signing, and the music played at the Walmart.
Meg Ellefson of the Wausau Tea Party was on hand as well. She told Breitbart News that the alleged demise of Palin, not unlike what is said about the Tea Party, is greatly exaggerated.
"In 2009, this mom who had never before been involved in Wisconsin politics decided to get involved by starting a tea party group because I wanted my children to have the same chance at the American Dream that I had," Ellefson said. "Never did I imagine that I would be called an 'extremist' or vile names like 'teabagger' because I believe in the commonsense principles of limiting the role of government in our lives, expecting fiscal responsibility among our elected representatives and encouraging a culture that is friendly to small business owners. The fact that they're still talking about us, obsessing about us, suggests that we are indeed very relevant in 2013."
As far as the Palin stop in Wausau, Ellefson was thrilled. "Recently our beloved music teacher stood up for Christmas," she told Breitbart News. "He inspired many in our community to come together to speak out and defend Christmas and our children’s right to sing Christmas songs in our public schools."
"Based upon Governor Palin's reception at Walmart, I think it was a brilliant decision to have a book signing here," Ellefson said.
She added that it "means a lot that she is paying attention to even a small community like Wausau in central Wisconsin and cares enough to lend her support to us here" before noting that Christmas cheer was everywhere even in the middle of November.
"The fact that the local media and the angry libs in our community are in a tizzy over Sarah Palin coming to Wausau speaks volumes," Ellefson added. "If she and all of her supporters were irrelevant, they wouldn’t bother with us. The way I see it, the media needs Sarah Palin more than Sarah Palin needs the media."
In the meantime, at least three stores in Wisconsin need more Sarah Palin books.
Palin posted a video of the line at Walmart on her Facebook page on Friday:
Big Government
