Quitting her job as governor of Alaska in the middle of her elected term was the most lucrative decision Sarah Palin ever made; who needs actual responsibility when she can haul in the dough by tossing red meat to the rubes? Sarah Palin Has Earned An Estimated $12 Million Since July.

The actual number is probably much higher, but is hard to quantify because Palin does not publicize her earnings. She reputedly got a $7 million deal for her first book, with the bulk of that money due after her resignation as governor, and will earn about $250,000 per episode, according to the web site The Daily Beast, for each of eight episodes of a reality show about Alaska for the The Learning Channel. She has managed to keep a lid on reliable figures for her earnings from a multi-year contract with Fox News and a second book deal with HarperCollins.

A Palin aide responding to questions from ABC News said the governor “is now a private citizen. As a result, her fees and earnings are private.”

Sarah Palin is now speaking at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference, and of course Fox News is carrying it live. Some quotes:

“What’s wrong with being the Party of No?”

“We’re the party of Hell No!”

“My favorite saying — Don’t Retreat, Reload!”

[Crowd goes nuts.]

“Oh that’s not a call for violence! Oh no no no!”

[Crowd is silent.]

And every time she talks about “nuclear power,” she mispronounces it as “nucular.”