Fox News let her keep her unused one-liners

 

"We're not here to rebrand a party," Palin said, but rather to "put on a fresh coat of rhetorical paint," suggesting conservatives have a minor image problem, not a structural lack of appeal to the majority of voters.

But the very same speech overflowed with familiar conservative tropes that have helped cement the movement's unpopularity.

"Background checks: A dandy idea Mr. President," she said, before drifting into birther territory. "[You] should have started with yours." 

"Bloomberg's not around," Palin joked as she slurped on a giant soda, "our Big Gulps are safe."

She called on conservatives to elect more far-right members who "chew barbed wire and spit out rust."