Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said Monday’s House vote to lift the debt ceiling was a victory for the tea party, proving that conservative activists had shifted the conversation in Washington. “We shall take this victory and make sure our politicians in office today are learning from this victory,” Ms. Palin said Monday night on Fox News, where she is a paid contributor. “It’s not a 100% pure genuine victory. We just handed the most liberal president, I believe, in U.S. history a $2.4 billion debt increase.”
Many Republicans have said the GOP should be satisfied it got a Democratic president to accept a debt-reduction deal that is all spending cuts and no tax increases. But some tea party activists are complaining that the deal struck Sunday fails to meet tea party goals of no increase in the debt ceiling and far bigger spending cuts. The Senate is expected to clear the measure today, and send it to President Barack Obama for his signature.
Ms. Palin didn’t fully embrace the deal, saying she had plenty of problems with the compromise between the White House and congressional leaders, including Republican House Speaker John Boehner. In the past, the former governor said she was not convinced America would face a default if lawmakers did not raise the debt ceiling by Aug. 2.
But while Ms. Palin lauded tea party lawmakers who “stuck to their principles,” she made no mention of the 59 Republican House freshmen who voted for the debt-ceiling increase Monday.
Last week, the former vice presidential nominee threatened “contested primaries” for rookie lawmakers who campaigned for smaller government in 2010 only to vote to raise the debt ceiling in 2011. It’s unclear if Ms. Palin is now willing to take on two-thirds of the House’s freshman class, including those with national reputations like Reps. Allen West (R., Fla.) and Sean Duffy (R., Wis.), both of whom voted for the debt-ceiling deal. Ms. Palin, who is expected to decide on a presidential run in September, endorsed both Messrs. West and Duffy as they ran for Congress last year.
The Senate is scheduled to vote today on the measure, and send it to President Barack Obama for his signature.
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