Palin: 'Let Gov't Chill for a Little Bit'

On Monday, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said Republicans should not fear a potential government shutdown and could actually use it to remind Americans how bloated and irrelevant the federal government can be.

If Congress does not pass a short-term resolution to fund the government on Monday, parts of the federal government will shut down on Tuesday. 

On Fox Business Channel’s Cavuto, Palin said when the federal government shut down in the 1990s, though President Bill Clinton was “hooking up with Monica,” there were a lot of good things that came out of it.

Palin said Republicans gained two Senate seats, retained the House majority they had won for the first time in nearly 40 years in 1994, and pressured Clinton to enact welfare reform and a balanced budget after the government shut down during the 1990s.

“That sounds pretty good to me,” Palin said. “Let government chill for a little bit.” 

Palin said Republicans should not “fear some kind of government shutdown.” She then emphasized that Republicans must “stand firm,” “not blink,” and not “allow the media to drive this whole narrative” that a shutdown would be bad for Republicans.

Palin said that a shutdown would allow the American people to realize “how irrelevant the federal government could and should be in our lives.” She then noted that the government needed to prioritize the military and social security in the event of a shutdown. She also emphasized that if government employees are deemed “non-essential,” perhaps they shouldn’t be on the payroll anyway.

When host Neil Cavuto mentioned that an anonymous moderate Republian told him that Tea Partiers are “ruining our day and our chances,” Palin replied that the Tea Party are the fiscal conservatives who are concerned about Obamacare. They “are not going anywhere,” she insisted, so moderate Republicans “better get used to it.”