Sarah Palin appeared on Bill O’Reilly’s show last night to discuss the internal GOP debate over how to welcome Christine O’Donnell to the party stage. Palin had previously appeared on the network and spoken out against Karl Rove’s dour comments about O’Donnell’s election prospects (which he’s since walked back). O’Reilly tried to smooth things over with a can’t-all-us-paid-Fox-employees-just-get-along tone, and Palin ended by offering O’Donnell some branding advice.
“Well it wouldn’t be prudent of me either to get into a tussle with Karl Rove, as you say,” Palin told O’Reilly. “But what the heck, lets go ahead and do it.”
“Some of these good ol’ boys — and I have nothing against Karl Rove personally, you know, he’s the expert — some of these folks, they are saying that people like Christine O’Donnell and other tea party Americans can’t win because they don’t want them to win,” Palin said. “I think that some of those in the hierarchy of the political machine — on both sides of the aisle — they are very much into control and titles and egos in everything else.”
[TPM SLIDESHOW: Christine O’Donnell: Anti-Masturbation Crusader. Witchcraft Dabbler. Republican Senate Nominee.]
She couched these comments by saying that she didn’t believe any of these things about Karl Rove, of course.
“You and she and Rove are sympatico in your positions,” O’Reilly offered, as Palin nodded in agreement. O’Reilly asked if she didn’t agree with Rove on O’Donnell’s electability. Palin wouldn’t bite.
“I grant you that she’s going to have to learn very quickly to dismiss what some of her handlers want,” Palin said. “Go with her gut, get out there, speak to the American people, speak through Fox News, and let the independents who are tuning into you let them know what it is that she stands for.”
Ah, finally, something we can all agree on.
Watch:
(h/t Media Matters)
Eric Lach
Eric Lach is a reporter for TPM. From 2010 to 2011, he was a news writer in charge of the website’s front page. He has previously written for The Daily, NewYorker.com, GlobalPost and other publications. He can be reached at ericl(at)talkingpointsmemo.com
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