Palin to Begich: Tie Arctic drilling to debt ceiling vote

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) wants Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska) to seek a whopper of a concession in exchange for his vote to raise the debt ceiling: opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling.

Palin – who is flirting with running for president – predicted on Fox News Sunday that a deal would be struck to raise the debt ceiling even though she would vote “no” if she had a vote.

She said that lawmakers planning to vote for it, however, should push for a balanced budget and spending cuts equal to the debt increase.

And this:

“How about people like Senator Begich, a Democrat from Alaska. He better get ANWR in this bill, opening another domestic source of energy up there in Alaska when he votes yes for increasing the debt ceiling,” Palin said.

Begich supports drilling in ANWR but opening the refuge to oil rigs is short of the Senate votes needed.