In a surprise announcement during last night's appearance with Greta Van Susteren, Governor Sarah Palin endorsed Orrin Hatch of Utah then later posted the following to her Facebook page and to SarahPAC.
Orrin Hatch is part of the one percent. No, not that one percent you’ve heard about. He’s part of the one percent of national politicians who I think should be reelected. Orrin Hatch is a life-long conservative whose dedication and devotion to the conservative cause and to his beloved and beautiful state of Utah is well documented. Orrin was a Utah state campaign chairman for a fledgling and failing presidential candidate deemed “too conservative” and “unelectable” by the media. Ironically, that candidate was the man who restored our country to be a “shining city on a hill” – Ronald Reagan.
When asked about Orrin Hatch, President Reagan once said: “If every member of the Senate were like Orrin Hatch, we’d be arguing over how to deal with a federal surplus, and that’s why I like to think of Orrin as ‘Mr. Balanced Budget.’ The United States has been strong enough to deter aggression and maintain the peace, in no small degree due to the efforts of Orrin Hatch. He has been a champion of those who fight for freedom.”
As President Reagan said, Orrin is “Mr. Balanced Budget.” Long before the issue of debt was on the forefront of Americans’ minds, Orrin Hatch knew our government would face insolvency if we did not get our budget under control. He sponsored or co-sponsored a Balanced Budget Amendment 17 times, and he voted in favor of a Balanced Budget Amendment at least 9 other times. We know he will use his seniority and influence to dissuade politicians from continuing to raise the debt ceiling without any plan to balance the budget and end these dangerously unsustainable deficits.
Orrin Hatch voted against Obamacare and has pledged to repeal it. While we’re on the topic of Obamacare, which is currently before the Supreme Court, keep in mind that the Supreme Court would not look the way it does today if it were not for Orrin Hatch fighting for conservative nominees on the bench – from Clarence Thomas to John Roberts and Samuel Alito. Unlike other Republican Senators who are up for reelection this year, Orrin voted against both of President Obama’s nominees, Kagan and Sotomayor. And unlike some others, Orrin has gone out of his way to embrace the Tea Party movement.
For the past two years, Orrin has received a 100 percent rating from the American Conservative Union. He’s staunchly pro-life – receiving a 100 percent rating from the National Right To Life Committee. The NRA has given him an A+ rating. Club for Growth listed him as one of the most conservative U.S. Senators and gave him a 99 percent rating.
I join other conservatives like Mark Levin, Sean Hannity, and Tea Party leaders like Sal Russo in encouraging Utah voters to return Orrin Hatch to the U.S. Senate. Since Mark Levin has always got a way with words, read what he recently told Senator Hatch: “I feel that you would be… a terrific elder statesman to a lot of these other young guys who I’m going to be pushing in these other states.” I’m with Mark. That’s spot on.
We need Orrin’s conservative Reagan-like leadership – and our new crop of conservative senators Richard Mourdock, Deb Fischer, and Ted Cruz might need some friendly advice finding their way around the Senate.
- Sarah Palin
P.S. You can learn more about Orrin Hatch by visiting his website www.orrinhatch.com and by following him on Facebook and Twitter.
Todd and I with Jay last year at Rolling Thunder. Photo by Shealah Craighead