Posted by
Ron Devito on Sunday, May 27, 2012 4:34:12 PM
This week on The Palin Update with Kevin Scholla: After backing a series of challengers, Sarah Palin endorses incumbent U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah! Hatch joins Kevin to discuss the Palin nod, his record, and his thoughts on Mitt Romney. Also, Governor Palin calls out union thugs in South Carolina for their disturbing antics regarding Nikki Haley. Plus, Palin remembers a fallen friend on Memorial Day weekend. Tune in RIGHT NOW! SarahNET Radio!
Gov. Palin's Endorsement
In endorsing Sen. Hatch, Gov. Palin said,
"Orrin Hatch is part of the one percent. No, not that one percent you’ve heard about. He’s part of the one percent of national politicians who I think should be reelected. Orrin Hatch is a life-long conservative whose dedication and devotion to the conservative cause and to his beloved and beautiful state of Utah is well documented. Orrin was a Utah state campaign chairman for a fledgling and failing presidential candidate deemed “too conservative” and “unelectable” by the media. Ironically, that candidate was the man who restored our country to be a “shining city on a hill” – Ronald Reagan."
It was President Reagan who referred to Sen. Hatch as being "Mr. Balanced Budget."
"Should have known you'd get a Palin endorsement since her salon is the Beehive and you live in the Beehive State. Too much of a stretch on my end?" Scholla asked jokingly. "No, I don't think so. Sarah would find herself right at home here in Utah. This is a very conservative and a very good state," Sen Hatch said. Scholla asked, "why do you think the Governor got behind you and were you surprised at all?"
"Well, we've been friends and quite frankly, I think she is a terrific human being. I was really overjoyed when she decided to endorse me, and it came kind of as surprise to me. Although, I surely wanted her endorsement and...I was just tickled to death....I feel very deeply toward her," Sen Hatch said.
Sen Hatch's Opponent Has Slammed Tea Party...
"Some people expressed shock that Palin went for you, but you are the conservative in this race and Palin has lauded your record and explained it thoroughly to those who maybe didn't know outside of Utah and your opponent - some have tried to label him as the "Tea Party candidate," but isn't it true that he slammed the Tea Party movement and tried to distance himself from it," Scholla asked.
"I don't know that that's true. He's a very fine fellow, but the problem is he's just very ambitious and frankly he has tried to paint me like I'm not conservative. I guess my 36 years 90% American Conservative Union voting record is too liberal for them. Nobody else in the Senate has that."
Gov. Palin's Endorsement Reflects Integrity, Courage
Scholla said that Gov. Palin's endorsement reflects character and courage. While she often endorses underdogs and Tea Party challengers, sometimes she does endorse incumbents. "I think that really stresses how genuine she is." It's not about whether the endorsed candidate is an incumbent but whether he or she can do the best job.
"Anybody who doesn't know this doesn't know her. I mean she's a straight shooter, she's honest, she's intelligent, she's absolutely beautiful. I think she and Todd are the most handsome couple I've ever seen. You know, they're just good people. You know, she's the type of person who has the guts to stand up for what she believes in and what she wants and I think that's why so many people in this country love her. That's one reason why a lot of the Democrats hate her too. They know that people pay attention to her and they should.
This is a woman who is extremely bright, she's a terrific conservative. Everything she's done in life has been pretty darned impressive. She's a wonderful mother and wife. I mean my gosh, she's a very, very brilliant political figure who you don't want to take on. She can hold her own with anybody. I have nothing but admiration for her and I used to really get upset when the media tried to always put her down. And they did so much of that. It was very, very unfair the way she was treated. But, she held her own, and kept her chin up. I think she's won the respect of an awful lot of people throughout the country and throughout the world," Sen. Hatch said.
The Case for Sen. Hatch: Senate Finance and Judiciary History
"Let's talk about your race sir. Why should Utah keep you. Speak to the voters," Scholla said.
"Number one, I am the strong conservative in this race and I'm trying to be Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee....that's the most important committee in the whole Congress. To get this country back under control, to get it on its feet and do what's right - that committee plays a pivotal role, because that's where the tax code is, that's where capital gains taxes are, that's where the death taxes are, that's where the entitlements are: Social Security, Medicare. We've got to get those under control, or our kids and our grand kids aren't going to have a future. About 60% of all spending is in that committee....I've chaired two private committee and if anybody is a measure of whether I chaired them well - the first one was called the Health Committee - Health, Education, Labor and Pensions - that was in the Reagan years.
And the second was of course Judiciary where most people watched what I did to save Clarence Thomas, Rehnquist, Scalia, even Roberts and Alito, and others as well. Not only them, but Circuit Court of Appeals judges across the country who will hear thousands of cases that will never come before the Supreme Court and decide cases for their particular regions that are very, very monumental, and of course all the District Court judges as well.
But ranking in the Finance Committee, if I can become chair of that committee, you're going to see a change in the way things are run," Sen. Hatch said.
Scholla said the Supreme Court justice nominees are a critical element in the Presidential race, because we want to replace retiring justices with those who will follow the law and interpret it vis-à-vis the Constitution, and not be activists.
Palinista Angst Over Mitt Romney
Many Palinistas - myself among them - believe Romney is not a conservative because he has flip-flopped on issues such as abortion and gun control. It was Romney's own campaign manager after all who made the infamous "Etch-a-Sketch" statement. Many of us believe these flip-flops betray an astonishing lack of integrity.
Many of us also believe Romney lacks courage, always making what he thinks is the "safe" choice and trying to "be all things to all people." Many of us believe this is reflected in his endorsements, and in statements such as, "I am not familiar precisely with exactly what I said, but I stand by what I said, whatever it was." This statement was uttered in reference to Romney touting his super PAC off to running ads discussing Obama's association with Jeremiah Wright. Yet, Romney had no problem with the same super PAC pursuing a scorched earth campaign against his primary opponents and claimed to be unable to control their actions.
Romney is the ultimate architect of ObamaCare. ObamaCare was drafted with its basis on RomneyCare, and as Conservatives4Palin reported a long time ago, Romney sent 12 of his advisers to Washington, D.C. to help Congress write ObamaCare. Obama may be the father of ObamaCare, but Romney is the grandfather.
Finally, Romney's operatives tried to destroy Gov. Palin throughout the McCain-Palin campaign and afterwards.
Thus, many Palinistas have what could best be described as a seething, boiling hatred of Romney and some among us have threatened to stay home and not vote at all if he is nominated. I think not voting is absolutely wrong - we should get out and vote - but I am among those who will not give Romney or the RNC one penny in donations or one second's worth of my time in support. Some Palinistas grudgingly accept Romney and will "hold their noses" and vote for him in the spirit of "anybody but Obama." Certainly, he will need their votes in the swing states if Obama is to be defeated. A few Palinistas have become full-bore Romney supporters and are either actively supporting his campaign, making large donations or both.
Scholla to Sen. Hatch: Do You Think Romney is a Conservative?
With all the foregoing in mind, Scholla, acknowledged that Sen. Hatch is a Romney supporter and said, "some Palin backers are less than thrilled with how the Presidential process has turned out on the GOP side. They don't think Romney is a conservative. Do you?"
"I know he is. I know Mitt very, very well, and he is not only conservative, he's got the brilliance and the ability to bring this country under control and back on its fiscal feet again," Sen Hatch said.
"Look, I know him intimately and very, very well. He's as conservative as anybody, but he's also open-minded and he's also somebody you can work with, and he is also somebody who would try to bridge the chasm between the two parties."
Romney and the Winter Olympics
"We in Utah really know him, because were going downhill on the 2001 Winter Olympics. We couldn't raise any money, we couldn't get the venues up, we couldn't do things that had to be done. There were accusations of fraud and mismanagement. There were even some criminal allegations. They weren't right and they weren't accurate, but nevertheless...and everything was stopped. It was going to be the biggest eyesore in U.S. Olympic history.
We brought Mitt in. Overnight, he turned it around. He started raising the monies, the billions of dollars that were necessary. He got the monies to set up the most beautiful venues in the history of the Winter Olympics. We had the best Winter Olympics in the history of the Winter Olympics, and not only that, at the end we wound up with a $100 million surplus to keep the venues alive.
That's what I call real leadership and this is a guy who can take charge, who's successful and knows how to make others successful. You know, just a short while ago, I wrote Mitt and I said, 'Mitt, don't try to be something you're not.' I said, 'just admit that you're a wealthy man, that you're rich and that your goal in life is to provide opportunities to for everyone else to have the same opportunity you've had in life.' And, he's been doing that, and I'm telling you, it's starting to come across. I'm telling you, he's going to win this," Sen. Hatch said.
Romney vs. Obama
Sen. Hatch said that "deep down the American people don't believe that the President has what it takes to pull our country out of this mess. They like the President. I do too. He's charming, he's articulate, he's charismatic, but a lot of people are starting to come to the conclusion that he's not up to the job and his suggestions always add up to 'let's have more federal government spending.'"
Sen. Hatch continued, "Romney knows how to turn it around. When he took over Massachusetts, they were $3 billion in the hole, and you know $3 billion is a lot of money. He not only turned that around, he balanced the budget every year he was in the governorship, and I remember being up there in Massachusetts, and even Democrats were talking about "our Mittie.'"
Gov. Palin Galvanizes Conservative Base
"You know, I got so doggone mad at a lot of the media in this country, because they were constantly berating her and I can tell you right now, John McCain's a friend of mine. I care a great deal for him; he's a wonderful man, a hero, but the fact of the matter is Sarah is the one who got the conservative base out because they were kind of angry at John or at least concerned about John and she was the one that got out the conservative base and without her, I don't think we'd have done as well as we did, so look, I have nothing but admiration for Sarah Palin. I think she is a terrific human being and I'm just honored that she would endorse me," he said.
Romney Operatives Trying to Destroy Gov. Palin?
Scholla said, "I've heard, Senator from some Palin supporters. They feel that some Romney operatives, not the Governor himself, but some operatives have been less than gracious toward Gov. Palin in trying to maybe marginalize her and her supporters. Would the Romney camp be better served and smart to embrace Palin and her loyal following and get her involved in this as we move forward, especially if he becomes the nominee officially?"
"Well, I hadn't heard that. I think the Governor has a healthy respect for Gov. Palin, and I know he'd want to have her on his side helping him in this race and I know she will be. She knows how important this race is to the country. He knows it is. Mitt Romney is not the type who would reject anybody who is sincere and dedicated in wanting to support him...in all these Presidential races, and I've been in every one of them since the Jimmy Carter/Gerald Ford race, in all of them you have people who work in the campaign that pop off and make comments they shouldn't make. I haven't heard any of those though, and I'd be surprised if any Romney people would be disparaging to Sarah Palin and if they would, I'd like to know their names, because I'll call them and tell them to knock it off."
Many Palinistas, however, would argue that since Romney's operatives were working at his behest, he has the ultimate responsibility for their actions. He also had the ability to stop these operatives and fire them. He chose not to, thus he is not only culpable, but he is the ultimate author of their actions.
Gov. Palin and her Role at the Convention a Question Mark
Scholla said a lot of Palinistas got angry over an article citing un-named GOP sources discussing whether or not "Gov. Palin would have a big speech at the RNC with Romney as the nominee or whether they would push her and her supporters aside and say 'well the Palin supporters aren't as big as people think or important."
"I personally believe that she'll be speaking at the national convention and that she should be. I don't control that...and they have so many people who want to speak and many of whom they're actually going to give an opportunity to speak but I don't know how that's all going to work out. But, I would hope that they would call in Sarah Palin to say a few things and I hope that Sarah will get completely behind Gov. Romney because we have simply got to win this election....I don't think we can stand another four years of this type of leadership, and keep in mind this coming from somebody who actually looks for the good in people, and likes the President, but I don't like his leadership, and I don't like what he's doing and I don't think he believes in American Exceptionalism....I think he thinks we're just like anybody else," Sen. Hatch said.
"This country can pull out of any mess it's in, but it's gotta have the right leadership. My experience has been if you want to reform the tax code, if you want to get entitlements under control, and so many other things, you're going to have to have dynamic presidential leadership, and that's what I think Mitt Romney will provide. And I think people like Sarah Palin can be very, very helpful in helping him to provide that kind of leadership."
Special Note for AGU/O4P
American Grizzlies United/Organize4Palin has not endorsed any Presidential candidate. Anyone holding any rank - volunteer, regional coordinator, or state coordinator - within AGU/O4P can neither endorse nor denounce Romney when acting in an official capacity on an AGU state site or social media venue such as Twitter page, or Facebook pages and groups.
Gov. Palin has repeatedly said that she will support the GOP nominee and will support "anybody but Obama."