Sarah Palin – feminist first, tea partyer second
Sarah Palin defends her endorsement of Carly Fiorina in the California Republican Senate primary over the tea party favorite. In speaking out against abortion, she rallies the 'pro-women sisterhood.'
Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin speaks at the Susan B. Anthony List 'Celebration of Life' breakfast May 14 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington.
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Sarah Palin, it is now clear, is a feminist first and a “tea partyer” second.
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Last week she endorsed businesswoman Carly Fiorina in the California Republican Senate primary, to the shock of tea party activists in that state, who tend to favor state Assemblyman Chuck DeVore. Friday evening she is endorsing Nikki Haley in the GOP primary election for governor of South Carolina. Ms. Haley was once viewed as a long shot in that race (against three well-established men), but she is picking up steam following the endorsements of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) and Jenny Sanford, ex-wife of Gov. Mark Sanford (R).
True, Haley, a state representative, is the tea party favorite in her race, so Ms. Palin isn’t taking any flak for her endorsement. But she is clearly still smarting over the Fiorina flap. In a speech Friday morning to the Susan B. Anthony List (SBA) in Washington, Palin came back to the Fiorina endorsement right at the top.
“You all have endorsed her; you get it,” she said, referring to the SBA’s agenda of supporting anti-abortion women (and a few men) for Congress and other major elected office.
Palin rejects the “RINO” label – Republican In Name Only – that some Republicans have put on Ms. Fiorina, and she applauded the former CEO of Hewlett-Packard for her stands on abortion, guns, business, taxes, and size of government.
“There in the deep blue California, she is unabashedly pro-life and all those other common sense conservative things that she stands for,” Palin said.
In a day packed with public appearances, Palin was also a headline speaker Friday afternoon at the National Rifle Association convention in Charlotte, N.C.
But it was in her SBA speech that Palin made her case for conservative feminism. She spoke of the women leaders in the tea party movement, and likened activist moms to “mama grizzlies,” rising up against Washington to protect their cubs.
“I think a whole lot of moms ... are concerned about government handing our kids the bill; it's generational theft, too,” Palin said. “We're stealing opportunities from the future of America. We rise up and moms say, come on, now that's enough. That is enough and we're going to do something about this.”
