Posted on 09/03/2011 2:14:54 PM PDT by Bigtigermike
INDIANOLA, Iowa -- Sarah Palin still isn't a candidate, but in an aggressive bid to lay down her marker in the 2012 Republican presidential race, she delivered a speech here Saturday that was as confrontational toward the Republican establishment as it was aimed at President Obama.
Despite her high-profile endorsement of Rick Perry during his 2010 gubernatorial primary fight, Palin used thinly veiled language to leave little doubt that she sees the Texas governor and national front-runner for the Republican nomination as part of the problem.
“Some GOP candidates, they also raise mammoth amounts of cash,” Palin said. “We need to ask them, too: What, if anything, do their donors expect from their investments? We need to know this because our country can’t afford more trillion-dollar thank-you notes to campaign backers.”
Again and again, Palin urged her audience to confront “the permanent political class,” “crony capitalism” and “the good ol’ boys,” whom she said she took on as governor of Alaska.
[.....]
“They’ve got a lot of mouths to feed, a lot of corporate lobbyists, a lot of special interests that are counting on them to keep the good times and the money rolling along,” Palin said. “It doesn’t surprise me. I’ve seen this kind of crony capitalism before.”
(Excerpt) Read more at realclearpolitics.com ...
This is from an interview with Univision back in 2008:
Univision: Governor, let me ask you about immigration. How many undocumented immigrants are there in Alaska?
Sarah Palin: I don’t know, I don’t know. That’s a good question.
Univision: As governor, how do you deal with them? Do you think they all should be deported?
Sarah Palin: There is no way that in the US we would roundup every illegal immigrant - there are about 12 million of the illegal immigrants - not only economically is that just an impossibility but that’s not a humane way anyway to deal with the issue that we face with illegal immigration.
Univision: Do you then favor an amnesty for the 12 or 13 million undocumented immigrants?
Sarah Palin: No, I do not. I do not. Not total amnesty. You know, people have got to follow the rules. They’ve got to follow the bar, and we have got to make sure that there is equal opportunity and those who are here legally should be first in line for services being provided and those opportunities that this great country provides.
Univision: To clarify, so you support a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants?
Sarah Palin: I do because I understand why people would want to be in America. To seek the safety and prosperity, the opportunities, the health that is here. It is so important that yes, people follow the rules so that people can be treated equally and fairly in this country.
“So if Palin runs, she isn’t going to take big donations? How’s that going to work running against Obummers massive cash machine?”
Exactly! You CANNOT be a candidate and make that statement at the same time. Every single serious GOP candidate needs millions in campaign contributions.
All of the top candidates, Bachmann, Romney, Perry are raising millions. None of them are pay-to-play leaders.
“What makes RCP think that was a swipe at Perry?”
Because they WANT it to be so.
Anything to help the liberal anti-Perry ‘narrative’. I’ve got the picks of Sarah smiling with some college-aged “Americans for Perry” t-shirt wearers to suggest otherwise.
I didn't hear anything anti Perry either. Her crony capitalism remarks were directed towards the Washington establishment. The media is trying to make it into something it's not.
She will raise $1B in small donations and will owe nobody anything.
Sounds to me like Palin’s position of illegal immigration is about the same as Perry’s.
I’m surprise that you just figured out that Palin doesn’t like big donors and big dollar fundraiser! Last year her PAC only took small donations ( a record in small donations) and didn’t hold any high dollar fundraisers. In the 2008 campaign she told the McCain advisors that she was adverse to pitching high dollar dinners when they told her, she had to do them.....she did a few but told the McCain aids that she wasn’t going to do them again.
That’s why in part Sarah is waiting to get in late - reserving her resources....but she has an advantage against the others and Obama in that she truly isn’t part of the political class
Thanks for the link. Bookmarked.
Did you really mean a billion? That would be close to impossible. Obummer isn't going to hit that mark and he is raising big dollar donations. Palin would have to raise a little over 2 million a day right up to election day.
Well, it was. Ole Rick likes to lives high on the hog. When the Governor’s mansion caught fire and became useless, he chose to live in the high-rent district.
This “cannot be deported” but “path to citizenship” looks and smells like amnesty. Much of the speech was super but not a word about the abysmal state of our culture that has rolled into the toilet.
She stayed clear of the hot button issues of abortion and homosexuality. Despite the rhetoric on the 10A, it would be interesting to see if she will support a constitutional amendment to protect the unborn and uphold traditional marriage. A question Sarah will surely be asked if she enters the race. The speech is the Sumpter shot- she is running. You can take that to the bank.
I don’t like being the one with a knife at gun fight. Handcuffing ourselves in the money dept is not wise and considering who we are up against, we will need every bit of cash necessary. It does not mean that you will have to sell out getting the donation either.
Path to citizenship? That is amnesty through and through. No different than what Perry has stated.
The hard core Palin crowd isn't exactly known for realistic expectations.
Here's how it can be done. Upon announcing, Palin should state that she will accept no larger than a $25 donation from each person - once a month, during the campaign season.
Then setup a donation website similar to what we see here on Free Republic and other sites. Donators may elect to have up to $25 per month taken off their credit cards during the campaign season. Given that we have 14 months until the election, that provides for a maximum donation of $350 per voter over the course of the election.
This accomplishes two things: It allows most Americans to participate in the campaign as most households can afford the $25/month. (Of course, some may elect to give less or just a $25 one time donation). But more importantly, by setting the maximum donation at $350, we will have the first president in modern history who does not owe any special favors to anybody.
Now lets say that Sarah can get one million people to donate the $25/month. That is $25m a month or $350m for the campaign. Now I'm thinking she'll actually get more around 3 or 4 million people to do this. Now we are well over a billion dollars.
| Amount | Contributor | Company | City |
| $4,000,000 | Republican Governors Association PAC | ||
| $2,531,799 | Bob & Doylene Perry | Perry Homes | Houston |
| $1,120,000 | Harold C. Simmons | Contran Corp. | Dallas |
| $750,000 | Republican National State Elections Committee | Washington | |
| $715,308 | Thomas Dan Friedkin | Friedkin Companies Inc. | Houston |
| $705,000 | Kenny & Lisa Troutt | Mt. Vernon Investments LLC | Dallas |
| $612,000 | Friends of Phil Gramm PAC | Friends of Phil Gramm PAC | Helotes |
| $563,334 | George Brint & Amanda Ryan | Ryan & Co. P.C. | Dallas |
| $537,740 | Peter & Julianna Hawn Holt | Holt Companies/San Antonio Spurs | Blanco |
| $506,740 | AT&T, Inc. PAC | AT&T | Austin |
| $496,668 | Lonnie A. 'Bo' Pilgrim | Pilgrim's Pride Poultry | Pittsburg |
| $490,258 | Robert Sr & Michelle 'Mica' Mosbacher Sr. | Mosbacher Energy Co. | Houston |
| $421,000 | James Doug Pitcock Jr. | Williams Brothers Construction | Houston |
| $420,000 | J. Ralph & Joy Ellis Jr. | Belmont Oil & Gas Corp. | Irving |
| $416,546 | Larry Anders | Summit Alliance Companies | Dallas |
| $410,000 | Texas Association of Realtors PAC (TREPAC) | Texas Association of Realtors | Austin |
| $408,758 | Paul L. Foster | Western Refining Co. | El Paso |
| $400,500 | Gary R. Petersen | EnCap Investments LP | Houston |
| $398,625 | B.J. 'Red' & Charline McCombs | Red McCombs Automotive Group | San Antonio |
| $395,070 | Charles W. & Judy Tate | Capital Royalty LLC | Sugarland |
| $390,111 | L. E. Simmons | SCF Partners | Houston |
| $382,889 | Jeff Davis Sandefer | Sandefer Capital Partners LP | Austin |
| $378,967 | Charles Wood Jr. | Dallas Fire Insurance Co. | Dallas |
| $377,500 | T. Boone Pickens | BP Capital | Dallas |
| $372,500 | S. Reed Morian | DX Holding Company Inc. | Houston |
| $369,144 | Woody L. & Gayle G. Hunt | Hunt Corp. | El Paso |
| $365,002 | R. Steven & Donna Hicks | Capstar Partners LLC | Austin |
| $361,533 | Robert & Terry Rowling | TRT Holdings, Inc. | Irving |
| $355,000 | North Cypress Medical Center | North Cypress Medical Center | Houston |
| $337,027 | Lee Bass | Bass Brothers Enterprises | Fort Worth |
| $336,000 | Alice L. Walton | Wal-Mart | Mineral Wells |
| $331,000 | Stevan Hammond | Marketing Investors Corp. | Dallas |
| $330,578 | Charles Berndon Lawrence | Kirby Corp. | Houston |
| $330,000 | Robert C. McNair Jr. | Cogen Technologies/Houston Texans | Houston |
| $327,910 | Tilman J. Fertitta | Landry's Restaurants Inc. | Houston |
| $327,500 | James D. & Shirley M. Dannenbaum | Dannenbaum Engineering | Houston |
| $320,136 | Texas Association of Builders HOMEPAC | Texas Association of Builders | Lubbock |
| $317,179 | Richard Scott | Trans-Global Solutions (TGS), Inc | Houston |
| $310,000 | Robert Waltrip | Service Corporation International | Houston |
| $305,000 | Gulf States Toyota Inc. PAC | Gulf States Toyota | Houston |
| $301,000 | Clifton L. Thomas Jr. | Speedy Stop Convenience Stores/Thomas Petroleum | Victoria |
| $300,000 | Moshe Azoulay | Skyrise Properties, LLC | Dallas |
| $290,000 | Forrest E. Hoglund | SeaOne Maritime Corp. | Dallas |
| $289,593 | Phil D Adams | Phil Adams Company | Bryan |
| $287,750 | H. Ross Perot Jr. | Hillwood Development Group/Dell Perot | Plano |
| $286,400 | Lowry & Peggy Mays | Clear Channel Entertainment | San Antonio |
| $285,000 | Jeffery D. Hildebrand | Hilcorp Energy Company | Houston |
| $283,919 | John L. & Barbara E. Nau III | Silver Eagle Distributors L.P. | Houston |
| $283,888 | Dan L. Duncan | Enterprise Products Partners | Houston |
| $281,127 | Robert T. Brockman | Universal Computer Systems | Houston |
| $279,000 | Dian Owen Graves Stai | Owen Healthcare Inc. | Abilene |
| $275,000 | J. Dan Brown | Brown Distributing Co. Ltd. | Austin |
| $275,000 | Richard & Jill Salwen | Dell Inc | Austin |
| $272,653 | Larry Martin | USA Waste | Houston |
| $269,000 | Richard Wallrath | Champion Window, Inc.; Champion Ranch | Centerville |
| $268,500 | Stanley K. Harper | Lenders & Members Service Group Inc. | Arlington |
| $268,000 | Louis A. & Julie Beecherl III | Beecherl Companies | Dallas |
| $267,902 | J. Robert & Sherry Brown n/a | Desert Eagle Distributing Co. | El Paso |
| $266,290 | L. Frederick Francis | Bank of the West | El Paso |
| $265,000 | Ray L. Hunt | Hunt Consolidated, Inc. | Dallas |
| $262,000 | Texas Friends of Time Warner Cable | Texas Friends of Time Warner Cable | Houston |
| $261,652 | Ned S. Holmes | Parkway Investments/Texas Inc. | Houston |
| $258,000 | Erle A. & Alice Nye | TXU Energy Corp. | Dallas |
| $257,126 | Drayton McLane Jr. | McLane Company Inc. | Temple |
| $255,000 | BG Distribution Partners PAC | BG Distribution Partners, Ltd. | Houston |
| $253,837 | HillCo PAC | Hillco Partners | Austin |
| $250,000 | Charles C. Butt | HEB Grocery Co. | San Antonio |
| $250,000 | National Republican Senatorial Committee | Washington | |
| $248,333 | Johnny Baker | Baker Managers LLC | Houston |
| $247,401 | John McStay | McStay & Associates | Dallas |
| $245,000 | Peter & Edith Jones O'Donnell Jr. | O'Donnell Foundation | Dallas |
| $239,233 | James R. & Cecelia Leininger | Kinetic Concepts Inc. | San Antonio |
| $238,635 | Lee Roy Mitchell | Cinemark USA Inc. | Plano |
| $235,000 | James C. Flores | Plains Exploration & Production Co. | Houston |
| $233,500 | Texas Dental Association (DENPAC) | Texas Dental Association | Austin |
| $231,500 | Mr. and Mrs. Albert D. Huddleston | Hyperion Resources Inc. | Dallas |
| $231,000 | George C. 'Tim' & Karen Hixon | Hixon Properties | San Antonio |
| $229,422 | Gerald Rubin | Helen of Troy | El Paso |
| $225,000 | Border Health PAC (BHPAC) | Border Health PAC | McAllen |
| $221,500 | William A. & Wendy J. Boothe MD | Boothe Eye Care | Dallas |
| $221,295 | Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC (TLR) | Texans For Lawsuit Reform | Austin |
| $221,000 | Brad & Stephanie Tucker | Mustang Tractor & Equipment Co. | Houston |
| $218,115 | Bobby and Phyllis Ray | Hovnanian Ent. | Plano |
| $215,000 | Texas Apartment Association PAC | Texas Apartment Association | San Antonio |
| $215,000 | Sam Wyly | Ranger Capital | Dallas |
| $209,094 | Vance & Geraldine 'Tincy' Miller | Henry S. Miller Companies | Dallas |
| $207,000 | Morton L. Topfer | Castletop Capital Management | Austin |
| $206,000 | Donald J. Carter Jr. | Home Interiors & Gifts, Inc. | Addison |
| $205,000 | Hushang Ansary | Stewart & Stevenson | Houston |
| $203,375 | Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson | Linebarger Heard Goggan Blair Graham Pena & Samson | Austin |
| $202,500 | TXU Energy PAC | TXU Energy Corp. | Dallas |
| $201,879 | James L. Huffines Jr. | Huffines Auto Dealerships | Dallas |
| $201,463 | James Dondero | Highland Capital Management LP | Dallas |
| $200,000 | James Schneider | Dell Inc | Austin |
| $193,682 | Fulbright & Jaworski LLP | Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. | Houston |
| $190,402 | James Lee | Ascendant Advisors, LLC | Houston |
| $190,000 | Vinson & Elkins Texas | Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. | Houston |
| $188,900 | Associated General Contractors of Texas (AGC) | Associated General Contractors | Austin |
| $187,000 | Joe R. & Teresa Long | First State Bank Central Texas | Austin |
| $185,500 | William P. Clements Jr. | SEDCO | Dallas |
| $185,000 | United Services Automobile Association Group (USAA) | United Services Automobile ASN | San Antonio |
| $184,946 | Frank & Mary Yturria | Yturria Ranch | Brownsville |
| $182,720 | Bobby D. and Leona Cox | Bobby Cox Companies Inc. | Ft. Worth |
| $178,419 | Danny Janecka | J&B Foods | Flatonia |
| $177,300 | James P. Wilson | Rice Sangalis Toole & Wilson (RSTW Partners) | Sugar Land |
| $174,926 | Texas Medical Association TEXPAC | Texas Medical Association | Austin |
| $173,300 | Robert D. Gillikin | Cummins Southern Plains Inc. | Dallas |
| $167,500 | Bank of America PAC | Bank of America Corp. | Austin |
| $166,918 | SBC Corp. | SBC | Austin |
| $165,291 | Harold & Beth A. Hahn | Rocky Mortgage Company | El Paso |
| $165,211 | Clayton W. & Modesta Williams Jr. | Clayton Williams Energy Inc. | Midland |
| $165,000 | Mickey & Renee Long | Westex Well Services | Midland |
| $165,000 | Joe Sanderson Jr. | Sanderson Farms | Laurel |
| $165,000 | H. B. 'Bartell' Jr. & Mollie Zachry Jr. | Zachry Construction Corp. | San Antonio |
| $163,946 | Richard W. Weekley | Weekley Properties/Texans for Lawsuit Reform | Houston |
| $161,500 | W. Marvin & Barbara Rush | Rush Enterprise Inc. | San Antonio |
| $159,336 | Texas Optometric PAC | Texas Optometric PAC | Austin |
| $156,000 | Gerald Stool | Greenway Investment Co. | Dallas |
| $155,000 | Ronald Steve Letbetter | Reliant Energy Inc. | Houston |
| $155,000 | Union Pacific Fund | Union Pacific Railroad | Washington |
| $152,500 | Bennett Joe Glazer | Glazer's Family of Companies | Dallas |
| $151,000 | Independent Insurance Agents of Texas (IMPACT) | Independent Insurance Agents of Texas | Austin |
| $150,000 | Gallagher Law Firm (Gallagher Serafin Kim & Lewis) | Gallagher Law Firm | Houston |
| $150,000 | Kent R. Hance | Texas Tech University System | Lubbock |
| $150,000 | John Herschel McCall | Armstrong McCall Beauty Supply | Spicewood |
| $150,000 | Curtis W. Mewbourne | Mewbourne Oil Company | Tyler |
| $150,000 | James R. Moffett | Freeport-McMoRan Inc. | New Orleans |
| $150,000 | Trevor D. Rees-Jones | Chief Oil & Gas LLC | Dallas |
| $150,000 | Michael Stevens | Michael Stevens Interests Inc. | Houston |
| $148,500 | Morris Foster | Exxon Mobil Corporation | Houston |
| $148,000 | Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell LLP | Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell LLP | Houston |
| $147,925 | Jerry and Glenda Kane | Sam Kane Beef Processors Inc. | Corpus Christi |
| $147,500 | Chickasaw Nation | Chickasaw Nation | Ada |
| $145,150 | Clayton Reaser | Texas Teachers, LLC | Dallas |
| $143,500 | Texas Consumer Finance Association (TCFA) | Texas Consumer Finance Association | Austin |
| $142,115 | David & Teresa Disiere | Deep South Holding L.P. | Southlake |
| $140,578 | Valero PAC | Valero Energy Corp | San Antonio |
| $140,284 | Republican Party of Texas | Republican Party of Texas | Austin |
| $140,000 | Texas Oil & Gas PAC (TXOGA) | Texas Oil & Gas Association (TXOGA) | Austin |
| $137,067 | Anne W. Marion | Burnett Oil Co. | Fort Worth |
| $136,616 | R. Michael Ward | Double Diamond Companies | Dallas |
| $135,953 | Nathan E. Crain | Crain Information Systems | Dallas |
| $135,000 | Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. | Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Co. | Fort Worth |
| $133,333 | J. Frank Miller III | JPI Companies | Irving |
| $130,230 | Harlan R. & Katherine Crow | Crow Holdings | Dallas |
| $128,090 | H. Gary and Diane Heavin | Curves International, Inc. | Gatesville |
| $128,000 | J. O. Stewart Jr. | Community Capital Corp. | El Paso |
| $127,549 | Independent Bankers Association | Independent Bankers Association | Austin |
| $127,500 | Allan Polunsky | Polunsky & Beitel LLP | San Antonio |
| $126,000 | William A. & Nancy F. McMinn | Sterling Group | Houston |
| $125,000 | Gene Phillips | Prime Income Asset Mgt | Dallas |
| $125,000 | Polunsky & Beitel LLP | Polunsky & Beitel LLP | San Antonio |
| $125,000 | Texas Automobile Dealers Association (TADA) | Texas Automobile Dealers Association | Austin |
| $125,000 | Michael Vollman | Vignette Corp. | Austin |
| $125,000 | Charles J. Wyly Jr. | Ranger Capital | Dallas |
| $124,000 | Chaz Glace | Chasco Contracting Co. | Round Rock |
| $123,700 | Eugene H. Dawson Jr. | Pape-Dawson Engineers Inc. | San Antonio |
| $122,500 | Vernon & Emily Reaser III | Texas Teachers, LLC | Houston |
| $120,000 | Robert Stillwell | BP Capital | Houston |
| $120,000 | Texas Aggregates & Concrete Association (TACPAC) | Texas Aggregates & Concrete Association | Austin |
| $119,500 | Richard Sheldon | Rick Sheldon Real Estate | Waco |
| $116,500 | W Jonas | Holland & Knight | San Antonio |
| $115,502 | Gordon T. Graves | Graves Management, Inc. | Austin |
| $115,000 | Richard Fant | New Process Steel | Houston |
| $115,000 | Farmers Employee & Agent PAC | Farmers Insurance Co | Austin |
| $115,000 | Julia Jones Matthews | Dodge Jones Foundation | Abilene |
| $112,500 | Baker Botts Amicus Fund | Baker Botts LLP | Houston |
| $112,500 | Christopher (Kit) Goldsbury Jr. | Silver Ventures Inc. | San Antonio |
| $112,300 | Weldon R. Denman | Denman & Company | Austin |
| $112,228 | Republican Party of Texas Victory 2002 | Austin | |
| $112,000 | Mike G. Rutherford Sr. | Rutherford Oil Co. | Houston |
| $110,848 | Thomas O. Hicks | Hicks Muse Tate & Furst | Dallas |
| $110,250 | Toby and Melissa Neugebauer | Quantum Energy Partners | Lubbock |
| $110,000 | Teamsters DRIVE Committee (IBT) | International Brotherhood of Teamsters DRIVE Committee | Washington |
| $109,500 | David and Jennifer Spencer | Mandelbrot Ventures Inc (prev On Board Software Inc.) | San Antonio |
| $108,700 | John Victor Lattimore Jr. | Lattimore Materials | McKinney |
| $107,688 | Leslie Doggett | WL Doggett LLC | Houston |
| $107,500 | Gary & Susan Farmer | Heritage Title Company of Austin Inc. | Austin |
| $107,083 | Winstead P.C. | Winstead PC | Dallas |
| $106,250 | S. Wil Vanloh Jr. | Quantum Energy | Houston |
| $106,000 | Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld | Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP | Austin |
| $105,000 | Texas Society of Architects Committee | Texas Society of Architects | Austin |
| $104,225 | Texas Hospital Association HOSPAC | Texas Hospital Association | Austin |
| $104,000 | Jack A. Cardwell | Petro Stopping Centers | El Paso |
| $103,587 | William F. Scott | Trans-Global Solutions (TGS), Inc | Nederland |
| $102,500 | Texas Bankers Association (TBA) BankPac | Texas Bankers Association | Austin |
| $102,000 | Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants (TSCPA) | Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants | Dallas |
| $101,000 | J. Kyle Bass | Hayman Advisors, LP | Dallas |
| $101,000 | Ray Davis | Energy Transfer Partners | Dallas |
| $101,000 | Grande Communications PAC | Grande Communications | San Marcos |
| $100,000 | ACC Capital Holdings - PAC | ACC Capital Holdings | Austin |
| $100,000 | Sid Bass | Bass Brothers Enterprises | Fort Worth |
| $100,000 | Glenn Collins | NeoDyme Technologies | College Station |
| $100,000 | Darwin Deason | Affiliated Computers Services, Inc. (ACS) | Dallas |
| $100,000 | Dlloyd Investments LTD | Houston | |
| $100,000 | Mark W. Eidman | Scott Douglas & McConnico LLP | Austin |
| $100,000 | Foster Friess | Brandywine Financial | Jackson |
| $100,000 | Marcus Hiles | Western Rim Investments | Coppell |
| $100,000 | KOCH PAC | Koch Industries | Washington |
| $100,000 | Scott Kubitz | EP Fitness | El Paso |
| $100,000 | John McHale | Tipping Point Co. | Austin |
| $100,000 | Charles & Beth Miller | Meridian Advisors | Houston |
| $100,000 | Ira Rennert | Renco Group | New York |
| $100,000 | Texas Health Care Association PAC (THCA) | Texas Health Care Association | Austin |
Not true.
They have been playing this song and dance for awhile. The following is Gov. Palin’s postion and nothing I’ve heard has changed. Oh one thing changed she is against the Dream ACT.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,592942,00.html
VAN SUSTEREN: All right, now, I know that your past as governor of Alaska didn’t — was not the same time that Governor Jan Brewer of Arizona has gotten into office, but I assume that sort of governor to governor...
PALIN: Yes.
VAN SUSTEREN: What’s your thought on the heat that she’s taking over this statute?
PALIN: I’m proud of Jan Brewer for standing up for the constituents in her state, sending a message to Washington, sending a message to President Obama saying, Hey, you need to do your job, sir. And if you’re not going to do it, OK, then we are compelled to do the job for you until you get it right.
President Obama has been suspiciously silent on this issue, hasn’t he? We don’t even know where he stands on immigration reform or securing our borders. He doesn’t talk about it. He gets to punt on that one. And that’s unfortunate because this is a big issue. It’s all about national security. It’s about our sister border states that are inundated with violence and with crime because people illegally crossing the border, engaging in illegal activities for too long now. And some of these border states are saying, Now we’ve had enough. I admire Jan Brewer for taking a stand.
VAN SUSTEREN: Why do you think — I mean, for 20-some years, maybe even longer, even going back to President Reagan — everyone has always said, We’re going to secure the borders.
PALIN: Yes.
VAN SUSTEREN: Nobody has done anything. I mean, or almost nothing.
PALIN: Because they’ve made it political and they haven’t understood that unsecure borders isn’t fair to anybody. It’s not fair to American citizens who ware here legally, paying taxes, following the rules, doing all the things that an American citizen is expected to do. It’s not fair to them. But it’s not fair to the illegal aliens, either, here. They want to come pursue an American dream. Some of them do want to be here to work. But they’re forever going to have to hide because, you know, government’s going to crack down on them when (INAUDIBLE)
So they need to follow that path of legal citizenship, obviously. But these politicians, presidents in the past who have not secured the border, they’ve made it a political issue. They haven’t wanted to tick off a potential base of Hispanic voters, so they haven’t made the tough decisions. And that’s no way to solve the problem. That’s no way to solve any challenge in America, by ducking and hiding and creating division and making these partisan issues out of it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAN SUSTEREN: Well, we have still more with Governor Sarah Palin. Governor Palin is blunt about what she would do about illegal immigration. She’s going to tell you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAN SUSTEREN: Continuing with former governor Sarah Palin on illegal immigration.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VAN SUSTEREN: Both parties have made promises. I mean, we pull up sound bites where, you know, both sides, you know, Democrat, Republicans, say, you know, Secure the border, secure the border. And then once in office, we certainly don’t see a whole lot of action. Had the election gone another way, or even if you were president, what would you do about immigration?
PALIN: The very first thing is literally secure the border!
VAN SUSTEREN: How?
PALIN: People mock the idea of a fence. What’s wrong with building a fence? Yes, let’s physically secure the border. Let’s ramp up border control. Let’s provide the tools for those who are putting their lives on the line in order to stop illegal immigration of these aliens. Those are a couple of things.
And then you don’t start talking about amnesty, either, kind of as this last-minute, Oh, anybody who’s here in the country right now, we’re going to provide you amnesty, and even though you’ve broken the law and we are a nation of laws, you’ve broken that, we’ll still give you — because then there’s going to be a huge influx of those wanting kind of at the last minute to come over the border because they know that they will forever then receive that amnesty.
So you don’t start talking about that, but the very first thing you do is physically, literally secure those borders. It baffles me and most Americans why for all these years presidents, administrations have spoken about it but never done it.
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