Story updated at 11:00 a.m. EST to correct transcript of robocall
RICHMOND, Virginia (CNN) – Sarah Palin isn’t staying out of the Virginia governor’s race after all.
Less than 48 hours before voters head to the polls to elect a new governor, several Virginians reported receiving robocalls on Sunday from the 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee, urging them to “vote your values” on Tuesday.
But the recording makes no mention of the Bob McDonnell, the Republican gubernatorial candidate who has been reluctant to embrace Palin during the governor’s race, out of fear that she might alienate some of the independent voters who have helped him climb to a healthy lead in the polls over Democrat Creigh Deeds.
“Virginia, hello, this is Sarah Palin calling to urge you to go to the polls Tuesday and vote to share our principles,” the former Alaska governor says in the call, which was provided to CNN by one Democrat who recorded it. “The eyes of America will be on Virginia and make no mistake about it, every vote counts. So don’t take anything for granted, vote your values on Tuesday, and urge your friends and family to vote, too.”
Meg Stapleton, a spokeswoman for Palin, confirmed the authenticity of the calls.
According to the call, the phone blitz is being paid for by the Virginia Faith and Freedom Coalition, the state branch of a national conservative group founded by former Christian Coalition director Ralph Reed.
McDonnell spokesman Tucker Martin said the campaign had nothing to do with the phone blitz and was not aware of the robocalls until he was told about them by a reporter.
Last October, during her vice presidential bid, Palin told reporters that voters get “irritated” by the automated calls being used at the time by both presidential campaigns, calling the tactic part of the “old conventional ways of campaigning.”
CORRECTION: The Faith and Freedom Coalition passes on cleaner audio of the call, which makes clear that Palin tells listeners to "vote to share our principles," not vote "for Sarah's principles" as had been earlier reported.
From CNN Politics
© 2012 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
| Advertising practices | Advertise with us | About us | Work for us | Help
Sarah's values???????? What was that a late April Fools joke?
Vote for Sarah's principles!
Like lying to the press...corruption in office...abuse of power...
Hmmmm...might want to consider that vote.
More "speaking in tongues" from the hypocrite Saint Sarah of the Silly.
What exactly are "Sarah's values" today? It looks like whatever will promote her remaining 15 minutes of fame. She's irrelevant to the majority – in fact, she inflicts more harm than good.
Way to go Sarah, we behind you 100%. Don;t listen to the jealous liberals
Doesn't this woman borderline between low moron and idiot?
Didn't her excellent mothering skills lead to her minor child dropping out of high school and having an illegitimate child?
Didn't she have several ethic investigations?
Didn't she make a fool of herself several times on national television?
Didn't she quit her first term as governor because she's lazy and greedy?
How anyone thinks that somehow Democrats are afraid of this woman is barely palpable and very laughable.
Same tired old hater blog posts everyday on Palin threads...
Why is this news...blah,blah, blah...Why won't she just go away...blah,blah, blah...Conservative Christian hypocrite values blah,blah, blah..Levi must have been correct...won't buy her book...blah, blah, blah,
I can see _______ from my house (fill in the blank with a word that will make the sentence funniers than yesterday's word...
...wink, wink...you betcha...blah, blah, blah...run for pressident in 2012 to ensure Obama wins blah, blah, blah...
You all sound like a bunch of Jeff Foxworthy's telling the same redneck jokes for the 978th time.
What values are those?
Feel free to express your opinion as long as I agree with it?
Hate and polarization is a good thing as long as it will get me elected?
Government should stay out of the free market, but should tell people how to act, how to speak, and who to love?
Deeds might have a chance if too many people get these calls.
Sarah Palin's ego is so large, you can see it all the way from Virginia
CNN starting the week off as normal? Red meat for the party of tolerance and acceptance–if you agree with them. You guys hate Fox, hate Palin, hate anything remotely conservative and you want the rest of us to agree with you. I prefer to not hate anyone and I am much happier. Call me the ignorant, uneducated, bigoted racist but a post about Palin, Pelosi or even George Soros doesn't get me foaming at the mouth spewing out hatred.
I agree with Bryan from another post. You hate too much to debate us on the issues. Name calling is much easier than actually debating a point.
If Ralph Reed is involved, you know it has to be something sleazy. That man is the very scum of the earth !!!
The only irritation I feel is this woman's self-appointed moral authority on who I should vote for. The choice is obvious, if Sarah endorsed it, I'm going the opposite way.
if sarah,s value,s is americas values your in zombie land
After all of the corruption and scandal that took place in Alaska during her short tenure, after the horrific Jerry-Springer-Show mess her family life has been revealled to be, and after she resigned from her public service responsibilities in favor of selfishly making money on the book-and-lecture circuit instead, someone's still claiming that this phony sociopath has VALUES?!?!
Amazing what the deluded can talk themselves into despite being confronted with mountains of evidence to the contrary!
Again Palin shows how stupid she is by supporting herself and not the candidate. Common sense should have told Palin to notify McDonnell about the robo calls, but then again they had nothing to do with him. Republicans need to rein in this idiot because Palin is the gift that just keeps giving to the Democrat Party.
Creed Deeds is likely to lose do to his own inability to run a campaign. However, McDonnell wil be another Gilmore - wrecking the state.
"...vote for Sarah’s principles,” if anything could guarantee my vote against McDonnell and tighten the race it is this plea from Palin - the entire state of VA is not the 23rd of NY - but there are parts.
Sarah's values: lying, cheating, quitting and avoiding responsibility.
I hope that principled conservatives reject "Sarah's values."
Palin's principles? Why would we want our governor to quit halfway through the term?
How appropriate ! A robot to write her book and a robot to talk.
Well, leave it to Palin to flip flop on what she says and does. She hides behind facebook and robo calls, pathetic. And not surprising.
Why is Fox news oh i mean Cnn covering this moron.
Cool – this should help Deeds!
Tell this joke to sit down and shut up. Who cares about her opinion. She quit!
Sarah Palin has the principles of an attack dog!
Yes, take your pick between Socialism or Capitalism.