At CPAC, Sarah Palin puts her own spin on ‘Green Eggs and Ham’

Sarah Palin has smartly forsaken a career in politics for a career in political entertainment.

Unburdened by the rules that keep serious politicians tethered to serious messages, her task was to toss red meat to a ravenously appreciative conservative crowd Saturday at the closing session of the American Conservative Union’s annual CPAC conference.

By my count, her speech got more standing ovations than the one delivered Friday by CPAC favorite Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who won the CPAC presidential straw poll.

Touching on some of her favorite themes – the crony capitalism that infects Washington, the importance of overturning President Obama’s signature healthcare law, the role of women in the Republican Party – she got off the best zingers of any of the long roster of overwhelmingly male speakers who preceded her.

But her most memorable moment, which provoked a raucous standing ovation from the crowd of about 3,000 conservative activists, occurred when she took a page from Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who read from the Dr. Seuss classic “Green Eggs and Ham” during his “filibuster” against Obamacare last fall.

Holding the famous red book, she said, “I have five kids, so reading ‘Green Eggs and Ham,’ … I totally had it memorized, especially by the time Trig was born. So I had to spice it up a bit. And little Trig — lucky little fella — his bedtime story, now it goes something like this:

– “I do not like this Uncle Sam. I do not like his healthcare scam.

– “I do not like these dirty crooks or how they lie and cook the books.

– “I do not like when Congress steals. I do not like their crony deals.

– “I do not like this spying, man. I do not like ‘Oh, yes we can.’

– “I do not like this spending spree. We’re smart, we know there’s nothing free.

– “I do not like reporters’ smug replies when I complain about their lies.

– “I do not like this kind of hope, and we won’t take it, nope, nope, nope.”

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