Politics

Palin: I’ll let Santorum’s wife call him a ‘knuckle-dragging neanderthal’

Laura Donovan Contributor
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Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin took swipes at former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum on Wednesday during an interview with Fox News’s Sean Hannity.

Palin didn’t respond well to Santorum’s assertion that “business opportunities” and her responsibility to take care of her children influenced her decision to turn down the invitation to deliver the keynote address at the Conservative Political Action Conference.

“I will not call him the knuckle-dragging Neanderthal that perhaps others would want to call him, I’ll let his wife call him that,” Palin said. “Maybe he’s uninformed as to why it is that I can’t make it to another political speech in a couple weeks. As I’ve explained, February is our busiest winter month. I’ve never been to that conference, so I don’t know why anybody would think it’s that big of a darn deal not to be there this time.

Palin’s comments come in response to what Santorum told conservative commentator S.E. Cupp on Tuesday about Palin’s decision not to address CPAC.

“I have a feeling she has some demands on her time, and a lot of them have financial benefit to them,” Santorum said. “I wouldn’t have turned it down, but I don’t live in Alaska…I’m not the mother to all these kids and I don’t have other responsibilities like she has, other opportunities that she has, to…for, like I said, other business opportunities that may be in conflict with what she was asked to do.”

Santorum tweeted Wednesday that Politico’s article on this interview was “garbage” and taken out of context.

“This article is garbage,” Santorum tweeted Wednesday morning, linking to the Politico piece. “All I said was- she is VERY busy, PERIOD. Reporter trying to create something out of nothing.”