Iowa Republicans have differences over the propriety of a conservative group’s effort to raise a $100,000 fee for former Alaska governor Sarah Palin to speak at a banquet next month,  according to Politico.com.

Whether Palin requested a fee (and there’s no indication that she did says Politico) or whether she should be paid may be a moot point — but, more about that later.

First — It’s not the amount of the fee that has some Iowans bothered — it’s that a fee is even being considered at all.

Iowa is sacred ground for presidential aspirants (is she or isn’t she?) and folks there tend to feel that people with presidential ambitions should be grateful for any opportunity to visit the state.

According to Politico.com, some Republicans see the Iowa Family Policy Center’s effort to cobble together the speaking fee for Palin as a striking departure from customary practice of White House hopefuls paying their own way in that state to advance political ambitions.

Other Iowa-based political advocacy groups say they would never consider paying for what many politicians see as a privilege, Politico said. “I found it really, really odd,” one influential Iowa Republican insider was quoted as saying.

Palin’s spokeswoman Meg Stapleton says the Nov. 21 event in Iowa is just one in 1,000 requests for Palin’s presence and the former Republican vice presidential candidate may not be able to work it into her schedule.

“This particular invitation arrived late last week. It is under consideration, as so many are, but will be incredibly difficult to attend with her tightly-scheduled book tour underway at that point,” Stapleton said.   Palin’s memoir, “Going Rogue,” is scheduled to be released on Nov. 17th.

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Photo credit:Reuters/John Gress (Palin campaigning in Missiouri in August 2008)

The following is reported by Yereth Rosen in Anchorage, Alaska.

Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin got a $1.25 million advance from HarperCollins for her soon-to-be-released memoir “Going Rogue.”

Palin listed the advance, which she received while still governor, in the 2009 financial disclosure form filed Monday with the Alaska Public Offices Commission. See the form on The Anchorage Daily News Web site.

“The Governor has complied with Alaska disclosure law by her filing yesterday. Now, as a private citizen, her business dealings, including her publishing agreement, are confidential,” Palin spokeswoman Meghan Stapleton said in an email.

The report covers Palin’s last seven months as governor. She announced her resignation on July 3 and left her post on July 26. During that time, she received a state salary of $73,000 and perdiem payments of $6,370.80, according to her financial disclosure report.

Palin also reported taking out an unspecified home loan from Wells Fargo Bank to pay for “legal fees to fight false allegations while governor,” according to her handwritten explanation.

And she reported that she has set up a marketing business, called Pie Spy LLC, with headquarters at the office of her Anchorage attorney.

Palin’s husband Todd was paid $34,086.14 during that period by BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. in wages for his job as a North Slope oil-production manager. He resigned that position effective Sept. 18, according to BP.

Todd Palin also earned $32,260.35 during the period from his commercial fishing operation in Bristol Bay, according to the report.

The report also lists numerous valuable gifts received by Palin and members of her family during her last seven months in office, including out-of-state trips. She reported receiving $6,885 from her political action committee, SarahPAC, to travel with her husband to Indiana to appear at the Vanderburgh County Right to Life dinner and attend associated events. She, Todd and daughter Willow received Yankees tickets worth $4,250 from former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, part of her June trip to New York that produced a now-famous feud with television host David Letterman.

Other gifts included a $2,666 “Nu Skin skincare” package, $1,664.70 for air transportation to a pair of remote Alaska villages, courtesy of evangelist Franklin Graham and his Samaritan’s Purse organization, $1,000 from Republican patron Fred Malek to attend the Alfalfa Dinner in Washington in January and $2,000 from the Candie’s Foundation for Todd to travel to New York to attend an abstinence-promotion event with daughter Bristol.

UPDATE: The $1.25 million book advance reported in her financial disclosure form is likely only a portion of the full advance she received for the book, with some media reports estimating the total advance could be as much as $7 million.

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Photo credit: Reuters/Nathaniel Wilder (Palin shares a laugh at governor’s picnic in Alaska in July)

Why is former Alaska governor and Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin passing on the summit of self-styled conservative Christian “Values Voters” this weekend?

It’s a question worth asking because the annual meeting of “Religious Right” activists has become a “must attend” on the political calendar of any Republican who is serious about running for the party’s presidential nomination in the next election cycle.

Former governors Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney  – frequently mentioned as 2012 heavyweight Republican contenders — will be there.  So will Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who many pundits see as another possible candidate for a White House run in 2012.

But the moose-hunting hockey mom who makes liberals see red remains the favorite with this crowd. A recent Bliss Institute and Public Religion Research survey found she was ranked highest among conservative leaders by conservative Christian activists with 86 percent viewing her in a favorable light.

Does her no-show suggest something about her political intentions or lack of them for 2012?

((PHOTO: Sarah Palin delivers her final address as Alaska governor in Fairbanks, Alaska, July 26, 2009. REUTERS/Nathaniel Wilder))

Ever wanted to ask Sarah Palin over dinner what she really thinks? Now’s your chance. But it’s going to cost you — more than $25,000.

Dinner for five with the former Alaska governor and Republican vice presidential candidate is up for grabs on ebay. The last bid was more than $38,000 (yes that’s three zeroes) for a dinner whose value is being promoted as “priceless.”

It looks like this time ebay may work for her (remember the campaign trail stories of her unsuccessful effort to sell the Alaska governor’s plane on ebay).

Palin is donating her presence for a charity auction with all proceeds to benefit Ride 2 Recovery, which supports cycling programs for injured veterans.

But the winner will have to agree to some restrictions for the experience of breaking bread with Palin.

A background check is mandatory, respect for Palin and her guests “is expected at all times,” and dinner won’t be more than four hours but she can cut it short.

Palin also has the right to refuse dinner with the winner if the bidder is considered unsuitable “based on her subjective standards of suitability, professionalism, background and other factors.”

Basically if she doesn’t want to have dinner with you, too bad. But you do get a refund.

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Photo credit: Reuters/Nathaniel Wilder (Palin serves hot dogs at picnic in Alaska in July)

Vice President Joe Biden says he won’t second guess the decision by his former political rival Sarah Palin to resign as Alaska governor, because in politics sometimes it is just about the personal.

Palin, who famously greeted Biden with “Nice to meet you. Can I call you Joe?” at last year’s vice presidential showdown debate, has seen her political fortunes rollercoaster after John McCain plucked her from relative obscurity to be his Republican running mate.

 She once again surprised everyone on Friday at a news conference in her hometown of Wasilla, Alaska, by announcing she would resign this month. The unexpected move raised speculation that perhaps she has her eye on running for higher office.

Biden said he took her decision at face-value,  saying in an interview with ABC’s “This Week” that people deeply involved in politics “know at the end of the day it is really and truly a personal deal.”

“So I’m not going to second guess her,” he added.

But when it came to Palin casting herself as a victim of ”political blood sport,” Biden disagreed.

“I don’t know what prompted her decision … And I take her at her word that had a personal ingredient in it. And you have to respect that,” he said.

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Photo credit: Reuters/Larry Rubenstein (Palin and Biden at October 2008 vice presidential debate)