Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin weighed in Tuesday on the current budget fight to defund Obamacare and the use of anonymous attacks to attack her.
She pledged her support Sens. Ted Cruz and Mike Lee who have been at forefront of the pro-defund push.
“What Sen. Cruz is doing is waving [the U.S. flag] and he is saying, ‘Hey, what is the alternative here in fighting for our economic liberty in the United States of America?'” Palin said on “Your World” on Fox News. “What his colleagues, too many of them are doing, they’re waving [the white flag] and they’re saying, ‘Oh, let’s surrender until we win.’ That is their tactic? This is nonsense. More power to Sen. Ted Cruz, Mike Lee, others who are standing up for what they campaigned upon, and that was to do whatever they can do, seize whatever tool that they have, in this case the tools are in the legislative branch, the purse strings, getting rid of the socialized health-care coverage policy of Barack Obama.”
The 2008 Republican vice-presidential nominee and current Fox News contributor said those wanting to “wave that white flag” to fight another day are declining to uphold American principles.
Going back to the aftermath of the 2008 presidential election, there have been some well-publicized hostilities between Palin and aides involved with that campaign, including Nicolle Wallace and Steve Schmidt. Parts of the conflict were laid out in Mark Halperin and John Heilemann’s book “Game Change,” which was later made into an HBO movie.
On MSNBC’s “Hardball” on Monday, Schmidt went off on a rant about the tactics employed by Cruz in the fight to defund Obamacare. Host Neil Cavuto referenced that rant, and Palin used it as an opening to attack the former McCain campaign aide and address the use of anonymous sources, something she tweeted about on Sunday.
“I’m going to make the point though about anonymous sources being used that Steve Schmidt has been a part of, you know, and there’s dots that can be connected back to him and his ilk that have allowed that,” Palin said. “Journalists need to quit using these anonymous sources. So I won’t be anonymous in making a statement about John McCain and the campaign that I participated in with him. John McCain disrespected those who, at the end of the game, running the campaign, started turning on Republicans who were standing up for the right things.”
“I know John McCain,” she continued. “We have spoken about this. And I don’t think that he will be hurt or harmed that I am speaking publicly about what he has told me. He disrespects those people who use anonymous sources to attack their own. He has told me that. So Steve Schmidt and his crew especially, and granted, Steve Schmidt allowed his name this time to be attached to another besmirching comment about another Republican. But when those having used anonymous sources are elevated and continue to be cited as sources, I join John McCain in dismissing them and saying, journalists, quit using them.”