From Eric Dondero:

The Las Vegas Review-Journal covered the Tea Party protest in Searchlight over the weekend. The article - POLITICAL EYE: Tea Party dogma difficult to define, Even Sarah Palin stirs mixed feelings in the movement by Benjamin Spillman and Steve Tetraeult. Spillman and Tetraeult described the keynoter Sarah Palin as a "tool" to help the Republican Party win libertarian support.

From LVRJ:

Former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin greets fans as she makes her way to the stage to speak at the Tea Party Express event billed as the "Showdown in Searchlight," held Saturday at an open-air desert site 2.3 miles north of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's hometown of Searchlight.

Some see the 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate as a unifying force and a woman who articulates the feelings of people angry and afraid of government under President Barack Obama.

Others see Palin as a tool for Republican politicians to win the support of the libertarian-leaning Tea Party movement.

Later in the piece the local Libertarian Party Chairman expresses dissapointment that Palin didn't back primary challenger J.D. Hayworth for the GOP nomination in nearby Arizona. Continuing:

Palin's Friday speech in Arizona endorsing her former presidential running mate, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., against self-proclaimed "consistent conservative" J.D. Hayworth tapped into Tea Party movement concerns. McCain's stances on immigration and other issues have prompted some to question his conservative credentials.

"It is disappointing but not surprising," said Liz Kerby, former chairwoman of the Nye County Libertarian Party, of Palin's support for McCain.

Actually, in many ways the reverse may be true. Palin may be a "Republican tool" of the libertarian movement.

Palin has had many Libertarian Party supporters over the years. Her first campaign manager in her runs for Mayor of Wasilla was identified by the Boston Globe (Oct. 2008), as a "Libertarian." In 2005, she attended two local Libertarian Party meetings in Anchorage (Wed. night supper club sponsored by LPA Sec. Rob Clift). And in 2006 the entire board of the Libertarian Party of Alaska endorsed her candidacy. Additionally, the LP candidate against her on the ballot Billy Toien, publicly backed her campaign the last three days of the race.

In 2007/08, all three co-founders of "Draft Sarah Palin for VP" were self-described "libertarians."

Photo hat tip The Examiner