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Sarah Palin Launches Political Action Committee

(AP)
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has launched a political action committee, SarahPAC.

PACs are groups – regulated by federal law -- that use donations to influence elections. The basic rules are that donors may contribute up to $5,000 per PAC per year and PACs may contribute up to $5,000 per candidate per election (with primaries and general elections counted separately. (Read more> from the Center for Responsive Politics.)

The PAC's Web site is pretty sparse, offering some political boilerplate ("Our country, founded on conservative principles and the fight for freedom, must confront the challenges of the 21st century with integrity, innovation, and determination"), several shout-outs for energy independence, a form to sign up for e-mails and, pivotally, a place to donate.

As Salon's Alex Koppelman notes, most PACs started by politicians exist almost entirely for the purpose of aggrandizing their namesakes and this one will likely be no different. Palin is thought to be eyeing a presidential run in 2012.

She is expected to address the Conservative Political Action Committee meeting in Washington next month.

Also, does anyone else think that PalinPAC would have been catchier? Any chance that it was already taken?

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