During an appearance on Fox News' "Hannity" on Wednesday night, Sarah Palin sent a strong message to Republicans on the issue of raising the nation's deficit limit.
"We cannot default, but we cannot afford to retreat right now either," the former Alaska governor said. "Now is not time to retreat, it's time to reload."
She continued, "We reload with reality by giving facts and numbers to the American public so that those of us across the United States can start chiming in and letting our representatives know that we will not capitulate."
Speaking at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans last year, Palin used similar language in calling for political action from conservatives. "Don't retreat - reload, and that's not a call for violence," she said at the time.
On Wednesday night, the former governor also took issue with an unconventional plan to raise the debt ceiling put forth by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) earlier this week. "This plan of McConnell's, I think, makes no sense because it does cede power to our president and takes away that authoritey that is inherent in Congress to control the economic decisions that have to be made when it comes to debt," she said.
HuffPost's Ryan Grim and Elise Foley relay background on the proposal:
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) floated a novel way out of default Tuesday, suggesting that Congress give up its power to raise the debt ceiling, and instead effectively transfer that authority -- and the political pain that comes with it -- to the White House for the remainder of Obama's current term.
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Under current law, Congress raises the debt ceiling, which allows the Treasury Department to issue more bonds to pay off debts and fund projects that Congress has already authorized. Raising the debt ceiling does not authorize or appropriate new spending, but merely settles old bills.Yet under McConnell's plan, which he called his "last-choice option," the White House would request an increase in the debt ceiling and Congress could only block that request with a veto-proof super majority -- effectively ceding control over the debt limit to the White House. A super majority would likely be difficult to amass, especially when neither party's leadership genuinely wants the nation to default.
"This debt ceiling debate is the perfect time to do what must be done," she wrote. "We must cut. Yes, I'm for a balanced budget amendment and for enforceable spending caps. But first and foremost we must cut spending, not 'strike a deal' that allows politicians to raise more debt! See, Washington is addicted to OPM - Other People's Money. And like any junkie, they will lie, steal, and cheat to fund their addiction. We must cut them off and cut government down to size."
Palin underscored her bottom line on the issue on Wednesday night: "I'm still not one to buy into this notion that we must incur more debt, we must increase the debt ceiling by August 2, otherwise there will be catastrophe, I still don't believe that that's necessarily the case."
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