On the first hour of his nationally syndicated radio show Tuesday night, Mark Levin interviewed Republican veep selection Gov. Sarah Palin. She scorned Barack Obama's ideological commitment to higher taxes and noted that the 2001 tapes of Barack Obama radio shows demonstrate that "he had thought even back then that government should redistribute others people's hard earned money according to a politician's priorities." She said it was scary and would "squash the entrepreurial spirit."
Below is a partial transcript. There's more at Mark's website, marklevinshow.com.
LEVIN: Now I want to ask you something, in 2001 Barack Obama said the Warren court is not that radical because I quote, "it did not break free from the essential constraints that were placed by the founding fathers in the Constitution," unquote. Now Governor, he was a law professor they say, those constraints are called the Bill of Rights, they are called enumerated powers, they’re called separation of powers, they’re called federalism, if he is president of the United States, God forbid, now this is me talking not you, if he’s president of the United States, God forbid, he is expected to uphold the constitution, now what does this say about the kind of judges he would pick to put on the court?
PALIN: Well, unfortunately Mark, some would want to rewrite the founding document of our nation, the Constitution, to accomplish their goals, wanting to remove the ancient landmarks that have allowed our country to be the greatest country on earth and instead we have got to stand for the things that endure, chief among which is righteousness and justice and we do that by making sure that our Supreme Court Justices will not legislate from the bench but will do their job in interpreting laws that the administrative administers and the legislative branch have adopted.
LEVIN: See you understand that, your actually, you’ve actually been an executive, you’ve been a governor, and Obama, well he campaigns. Let me ask you this, they’re going to appoint, or you, John McCain is going to appoint about 40 percent of the federal bench, now will you pick people like Ruth Bader Ginsburg, or would you pick people like Scalia, and Thomas and so forth?
PALIN: I would choose the latter principles that those justices represent.
LEVIN: Now you know we got people who record this program and they are going to say doesn’t Sarah Palin know that the Vice President doesn’t choose, yes we know that and we don’t need to be corrected by left wing groups. Now I want to ask you about Senator Obama’s economic philosophy. You know he said to Joe the Plumber he wants to spread the wealth, he said in 2001 repeatedly in a radio interview he wants to redistribute wealth, isn’t the purpose of government to just raise enough taxes to do what the government is supposed to do, not to play at social experiments with the American people?
PALIN: Well, government is not to be there for us to have to work for them. Government is supposed to be working for us, and Senator Obama has made so many promises, flip-flopping all over the place on his tax increase plans, but fundamentally of course he’s got an ideological commitment to higher taxes, and he has proven that over and over again with his recorded votes and with the statements that he has made now this most recent tape revealing that in 2001 he had thought even back then that government should redistribute other people's hard earned money according to a politician's priorities. That’s scary and it would obviously squash the entrepreneurial spirit that created this uniquely American system and allowed America to be the greatest country on earth.
LEVIN: You know, Governor Palin, I also find it curious how they keep changing the definition of the middle class. Now people who don’t pay any federal income taxes are in the middle class. Well if they are in the middle class aren’t they supposed to pay some? And he says he is going to cut or give tax credits, you know I can’t follow how they change the language all the time, they’re gonna give tax credits to people who don’t pay taxes. Am I living in another universe? Haw do you give tax credits or tax cuts to people who don’t pay taxes?
PALIN: Yeah you can’t do that unless you are taking from others and then redistributing that. So you know he was spot on finally in his candidness that Joe the Plumber got him to state. Obama making promises and flip flopping around on the details. First remember he said people making less than $250,000 would benefit from his plan, and then he announced a couple of days ago that it was families making less than $200,000 who’d benefit, and then yesterday though in Pennsylvania Biden said that tax relief should only go to middle class people making under $150,000 a year and before you know it Obama is going to get right back to his vote that he cast that Americans making just $42,000 a year should get a tax increase, so can not let that happen.
LEVIN: It’s constantly shifting, isn’t it?
PALIN: Constantly shifting, and that of course alludes to someone’s truthfulness, judgment, trustworthiness.
LEVIN: Now you don’t have to answer this question, but you have to admit, Joe Biden and his comments, I mean, they are hilarious. I don’t think he means to be, don’t get me wrong. But he says some of the goofiest stuff, do you agree with that? You don’t have to answer that. I have to say, this guy, well okay, I won’t put you on the hot seat, well let me just say, as a matter of fact, that this guy is hilarious. He’s funnier than David Letterman and he doesn’t even mean to be. Alright let me ask you this: The House Democrats….
PALIN: But he is very funny though, but also very, very wrong. Remember Biden’s idea to divide Iraq into 3 different countries. I mean, anybody in their right mind would look at an idea like that and say ‘Huh?’. And this guy’s in the US Senate, serving on a foreign relations committee? No, he doesn’t get it.
