From US News and World Report:
Bye-Bye, Sarah Palin
Sarah Palin's days as a paid commentator for Fox News are over. This
will mean a serious decline in media exposure for the former Alaska
governor, and it raises doubts whether she can rise again to the level
of a conservative national icon.
Palin says she was tired of preaching "to the choir" at Fox and
wants a bigger platform. But chances are that she will never recover
the extraordinary fame she enjoyed when she was named John McCain's
vice presidential running mate on the Republican ticket in 2008. She
drew huge audiences and vast media coverage, but many Americans
concluded that Palin didn't know enough about the issues to be vice
president.
After the 2008 election, Fox gave her a national platform as a
commentator and for a while she retained a loyal following. But without
a political office, a compelling message, or fresh ideas, Palin's
stock sank and by the end of the 2012 presidential campaign she was not
a factor.
She didn't elaborate on her plans, but Palin does have a political
action committee that has $1.2 million in the bank, and she can use
that money to travel and donate to conservative candidates. She told
Breitbart.com, a conservative web site, that she still wants to "shake
up the GOP machine."
She said, "I encourage others to step out in faith, jump out of the
comfort zone, and broaden our reach as believers in American
exceptionalism. That means broadening our audience. I'm taking my own
advice here as I free up opportunities to share more broadly the message
of the beauty of freedom and the imperative of defending our republic
and restoring this most exceptional nation. We can't just preach to the
choir. The message of liberty and true hope must be understood by a
larger audience."
Palin, 48, also declared, "I was raised to never retreat and to pick
battles wisely, and all in due season. When it comes to defending our
republic, we haven't begun to fight."
Regarding the 2012 election, she was typically defiant.
"Conservatism didn't lose," Palin said. "A moderate Republican
candidate lost after he was perceived to alienate working class Reagan
Democrat and independent voters who didn't turn out for him as much as
they did for the McCain-Palin ticket in 2008."
Palin was paid an estimated salary of $1 million a year by Fox.