On Tuesday’s “Hannity” on the Fox News Channel, former Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin made a proclamation that she would vote for former House Speaker Newt Gingrich — in the South Carolina Republican primary “in order to keep this thing going.”
Palin went through some of the remaining candidates, including Texas Gov. Rick Perry, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and Gingrich, but not Texas Rep. Ron Paul or former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. (RELATED: Palin returns fire on Newsweek for calling Obama critics ‘dumb’)
“Rick Perry, you know, he showed up having seemed to have been able to partake in some of that famous Texas chili and Dr. Pepper … I was so proud of him and he should be proud of his debate performance. And then Santorum too, he had an opponent up on the ropes, and that’s what you have to do too in order to get to the truth, get to the foundation of some of the ideas and beliefs that are being espoused by candidates.
“But I do think that Newt is the one that won the debate, if you will. Because Newt came out just like South Carolina’s own ‘Smokin’ Joe Frazier,” Palin continued. “He came out there swinging, talking about work and jobs and work ethic and how government needs to get out of the way in order for all Americans to have a sense of opportunity to work. And I think that’s what a lot of voters have been craving to hear.”
Palin maintained that each primary contest in the various states was different and that the candidates were only being made better by the elongated process.
“[If] I were a South Carolinian because … ,” she said. “I want to see this thing continue because iron sharpens iron. Steel sharpens steel. These guys are getting better in their debates. They are getting more concise. They are getting more grounded in what their beliefs are and articulating what their ideas are to get the country back on the right track and get Americans working again.”
And based that theory, Palin said she would vote for Gingrich, if she were a South Carolinian.
“If I had to vote in South Carolina, in order to keep this thing going, I had vote for Newt … more debates, more vetting of candidates [is what we need] because we know the mistake made in our country four years ago was having a candidate that was not vetted, to the degree that he should have been so that we knew what his associations and his pals represented and what went into his thinking…”
Watch:
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