What would Sarah Palin want with Rhode Island?

The latest rumor wending its way around the Interwebs – and it's a doozy – has Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin ditching Anchorage for the suburbs of the Rhode Island. According to the Anchorage Daily News, Palin would fund the move to blue state America "with $7 million from her book and a contract with FOX. And, oh yes, she's never running for office again."

Silly, right? After all, just a month ago, Palin was using Twitter to wax poetic on the enduring beauties of her home state: I'm "tasting a nibble of AK's bounty,knowing AKns are never bored;so much to do & discover [sic]," she tweeted. The gossip, for now, is just gossip -- the Palin team has remained mum. Still, the Providence Journal thought enough of the rumors to run its own article.

The Journal's Randal Edgar even tracked down Rhode Island Republican Party Chairman Giovanni Cicione for a quote. Cicione, a conservative marooned in a very blue New England state, wondered what would compel Palin to choose the Ocean State. “Anyone who wants to move to Rhode Island, we would have to question their sanity,” he said.

So what would Palin find if she moved to Rhode Island? A whole lot of Democrats, for starters. As Tabassum Zakaria of Reuters notes, Rhode Island has gone for the Democratic candidate in all but four presidential elections since 1928. According to RI.gov, the state went blue in a major way in 2008 -- some 63 percent of the ballots were cast for Barack Obama. Compare that to the 35 percent of Rhode Islanders who voted for the John McCain and Sarah Palin ticket.

On the plus side, compared to the harsh winds of Alaska, the New England winters will feel positively balmy.

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