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Palin Suggests Obama Is A Socialist

(CBS)
From CBS News' Scott Conroy:

(SHIPPENSBURG, Pa.) Sarah Palin issued a scathing new line of attack on Barack Obama's economic philosophy at a rally here, citing an interview he gave as an Illinois state senator in 2001 as evidence that he favors socialist policies that fly in the face of the Constitution.

"It was just the other day that a tape of an interview from 2001 turned up, and there he was talking about the need for quote 'redistributive change,'" Palin said. "And Sen. Obama said that—he said that he regretted--he regretted that the Supreme Court hadn't been more radical and he described the Court's refusal to take up the issues of redistribution of wealth as a tragedy and he said that he also regretted that the Supreme Court did not break free from the essential constraints that were placed by the founding fathers there in the Constitution, that's a quote."

Palin said that voters have to ask themselves whether Obama—a former Constitutional law professor—would like to rewrite the Constitution and questioned what kinds of Supreme Court justices he would appoint.

"Our opponent's ideological commitment to spread the wealth around—taking more from you—spreading it around, it's been tried in other societies, friends," Palin said. "And the only things that ever spread were scarcity and poverty and bureaucracy and stifling the entrepreneurial spirit that made this country the greatest country on earth."

Palin next issued the lofty accusation that Obama wants judges to confiscate people's property.

"And let me remind Barack Obama of something else. When judges don't confiscate your property and your hard m-- all of your hard-earned money and then redistribute that, he may call that a tragedy, but I call it fairness and adherence to our U.S. Constitution," she said.

Asked whether Palin was suggesting that Obama favors economic policies similar to the ones found in Communist countries, Palin's traveling press secretary Tracey Schmitt wrote in an email message, "No she said what she said."

DNC spokesperson Damien LaVera issued the following response to Palin's remarks: "Sarah Palin and John McCain will say anything to avoid explaining to the American people why they think it makes sense to double down on the failed Bush-McCain economic policies that have been a disaster for working families. Instead of repeating debunked lies about Barack Obama's record, Sarah Palin should respect the voters enough to honestly defend the McCain-Palin ticket's promise of more of the same."

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