Sarah Palin Answers Karl Rove’s Challenge On Continued Support Of Christine O’Donnell
Last night Christine O’Donnell won the GOP Senate primary in Delaware, sending shockwaves throughout the GOP establishment. The Sarah Palin endorsed, Tea Party candidate won a decisive and stunning victory over her opponent Mike Castle has led to lots of infighting within traditionally unified and disciplined Republican base. Earlier today on Fox News, Karl Rove challenged Palin to continue her support of O’Donnell, which was nearly immediately replied with Palin’s pledge to “do whatever (she) can do.”
Last night, Rove made some pretty significant waves within the GOP when he rather aggressively called to question both the electability and the character of Ms. O’Donnell. This morning he followed up by training her sites on Ms. Palin, seemingly suggesting that Palin need to continue her support of O’Donnell, or risk getting blamed for the predicted loss of the Senate seat. Rove said “If Sarah Palin is for Christine O’Donnell I hope she will bring her formidable fund-raising prowess and magnetic personality to back her choice in the election.”
Fox News host Jon Scott followed up with Palin on Happening Now, and went right to the issue of her continued support of O’Donnell. Palin did not demur, saying that she would do what she could, but added the caveat that her support was a “sometimes it’s a double-edged sword there, if my name is connected to anybody, and I don’t want to hurt the efforts of the GOP in Delaware” A rough transcript of the interview follows the video clip below.
Jon Scott: Governor, welcome. You may have heard Karl Rove a moment ago suggesting that Christine O’Donnell is not electable as a statewide candidate. your thoughts.
Sarah Palin: Well, bless his heart. You know, we love our friends, they’re in the machine, the expert politicos, but my message to those who say that the GOP nominee is not electable are that — or that they’re not even going to try, I say buck up. buck up. Competition is really good and it makes everyone work harder and the contested primaries have been great for voters, great to our party, great for democracy at work, and I have absolutely nothing against Karl rove or any of the guys who have much fatter political resumes than I will ever have, but I just want these fellows, they need to realize that the time for primary debate now is obviously over and it’s time for unity, because the time for choosing is near. what we need to do is not lose sight of the ability we have here now, the opportunity to celebrate and capitalize on a weekend left, a — a weakened democrat party. we need to go forth and conquer for the American people.
Scott: and some have suggested that what was happening, at least until last night, was sort of Republican cannibalism and even democrats who said — have observed that one — one observation was they thought they were watching the republican party, instead, it turns to be the Donner party.
Palin: well, yeah, the cannibals, i think there are fewer of those than there are of us, and us would be just we the people, just wanting to get back to some time-tested truths to put our country back on the right track. and so it is time toput aside internal power grabs and greed and egos within the party and to fight united for what’s right and beneficial for all americans.
Scott: Karl Rrove suggested it remains to be seen how much of your considerable fund-raising power and prestige you will put on the line for Christine O’Donnell. are you in her corner from now until election day?
Palin: Yeah, absolutely, I’ll do whatever I can. I want to help, though, and not hurt, and sometimes it’s a double-edged sword there, if my name is connected to anybody, and I don’t want to hurt the efforts of the GOP in Delaware. And yeah, you know, hearing that some of these GOP experts, politicos, the punditry that, you know, they’re going to leave it up to me or the Tea Party Americans or others, and that they won’t support their GOP nominee because they say, quote, we can’t win, well, again, you know, I’m saying buck up, and let’s try, and I’m wondering, too, though, Jon, what’s this we stuff in are these beltway politicos, the expert machines that sometimes gets it wrong? We all sometimes get it wrong. Are they registered voters in Delaware? Because it’s the good people of Delaware who will decide, and it’s the common sense freedom loving Constitutionalists everywhere who are saying enough is enough. And it’s we the people wanting to get our government back. Victory in the hands of the people. That’s what this is about. Not so much the politicos coming out of the beltway.
Scott: So your feeling is that even though Christine O’Donnell doesn’t have the statewide name recognition that Chris Coons, her democratic opponent has, he’s the county executive from new castle county, i believe it is, in Delaware, you think she can knock him off?
Palin: I think she’s got the name recognition now. She, because of her efforts and Tea Party Americans in that state, too, saying enough is enough, and we’re going to take this government back and put it back on the side of the people, with just some common sense solutions, yeah, I think she’s going to have the name recognition.
Scott: it seems that the kind of thing your talking about in this conversation is already happening. We’ve just gotten word that Mitt Romney endorsing her, we’ve gotten word that the National Republican Senate Campaign committee is also going to be spending some money, which until, well, as of last night, it had said it would not do on her behalf.
Palin; Yeah, because they’ve been reactionary, and they were bummed that their candidate didn’t win last night. But again, I maybe, you know — maybe sleeping on it. Some realized that okay, it was the voice of the people, and if we, within the GOP machine, are not willing to listen to the voice of the people, and if we’re underestimating their wisdom, then we’re in for a rude awakening. But some, like RNC Michael Steele, he came out right away and said this was victory in the hands of the people, I’m going to support Christine O’donnell, so more power to Michael Steele.
Scott: I want to get reaction to what Robert Gibbs said, he, of course, the president’s spokesman, and we’re load thank right now. I’ll get to that in a second. One of the questions out there, Governor, is whether there’s a bit of an internal battle underway between you and senator Jim Demint. Now we’re going to be talking to him a little bit later, but some political observers said you two seem to be setting up power bases for yourselves in the number and the types of candidates that you are endorsing. Can I get your thoughts on that?
Palin: Jim Demint is brilliant, and I have great respect for him, and I am not in this for any kind of personal gain or power grab at all. I don’t even know how to play those type of games, and I don’t have the people, the machines, the whatever it takes to be in a position like that. I am thankful that Jim DeMint is so bold and courageous that he is getting out there and making these endorsements, too, and no competition there at all. j
Scott:: All right, well, now let’s talk about somebody who is on the other side of the political spectrum from you, and that’s Robert Gibbs. he commented just now at his white house briefing about the prospects for democrats in the fall election, specifically in the house. i want to play that for you and get your reaction:
Palin: I remain confident, as I’ve that we will retain control of both the house and senate but I don’t think anybody would tell you there’s not a frustration, particularly based on what has happened economically, and where we are in that recovery.
Scott: All right, he says he expects to retain, democrats to retain, control of the house and senate. a couple of weeks ago, he got lambasted by the democratic establishment for suggesting that they could lose the house. what do you think?
Palin: Yeah, right so, he’s flip-flopping on that issue, even. you know, I think his confidence in being able to retain the left seats there in Washington is kind of reflective of a lot of other things that he gets wrong. He’s also, you know, they were quite confident that the almost trillion dollars stimulus package would keep unemployment at about 8 percent, and we see where that landed us, they’ve been confident in so many of Obama’s polices that have been utterly failing for America. So it doesn’t surprise me that he would remain confident and wrong in his assumption that the left is going to continue to control the Obama-Pelosi-Reid agenda, will continue to control our government.
Scott: Sarah Palin is the former Alaska governor and Fox News contributor, joining us by phone from Oklahoma at the moment. Governor, thank you.
