Palin speaks at a tea party rally in front of the statehouse in Madison, Wis., Saturday. Palin to GOP: Fight like a girl

Sarah Palin unleashed a withering critique of congressional Republicans Saturday, lambasting them for not cutting spending deeper and faster, and saying the party needs to “fight like a girl.”

"We didn’t elect you just to rearrange the deck chairs on a sinking Titanic," Palin said during a rally in front of the Wisconsin statehouse in Madison. "What we need from you, GOP, is to fight." Pointing to the national champion University of Wisconsin women's hockey team, Palin said the GOP could learn from its resolve and “needs to learn how to fight like a girl."


Palin took issue with the GOP leadership for promising $100 billion in cuts from the current budget, trimming that pledge to $60 billion and finally settling for $38 billion in the recent budget battle.

"Then after some politics as usual and accounting gimmicks we found out — ya know that $38 billion? We’re actually borrowing that $38 billion," Palin said. "That is not courage, that is capitulation."

The former Alaska governor also painted President Barack Obama as unserious about cutting government spending. "Our president isn’t leading, he’s punting on this debt crisis," Palin said. "Win the future? The only future he wants to win is his reelection.”

Her 15-minute speech came toward the end of a nearly-two hour tea party rally pegged to tax day, as snow pounded the region. After a quick introduction by Andrew Breitbart, Palin took the stage and lavished praise on the conservative activists still rallying in support of Wisconsin GOP Gov. Scott Walker's push for concessions from state employee unions.

"These are the front lines in the battle of the future for our country," Palin said.

"A pension is a promise that must be kept," she added. "Scott Walker understands this. He understands that states must be solvent to keep their promises. He’s not trying to hurt union members. Hey folks, he’s trying to save your jobs."

This article tagged under: 2012

Sarah Palin