Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin defended Rick Perry on Wednesday night, siding with Mitt Romney's critics — and standing in stark contrast to conservatives who have warned Romney's rivals against attacking Romney's business record.
"I think what Gov. Perry is getting at is that Gov. Romney has claimed to create 100,000 jobs at Bain, and people are wanting to know, is there proof of that claim, and was it U.S. jobs created for U.S. citizens?" Palin told Fox News's Sean Hannity.
"That's fair, that's not negative campaigning," Palin said. "That's fair, to hold a candidate accountable to what's been claimed."
Republican presidential candidates Perry, Newt Gingrich and Jon Huntsman all piled on Romney's record at Bain this week, accusing Romney of "looting," "scavenging" and "picking the bones" of companies taken over by Bain Capital, the firm Romney co-founded in 1984.
Romney said Wednesday that Perry and Newt Gingrich, by criticizing his record at Bain, were attacking free enterprise.
Palin said Tuesday on Fox News that the GOP candidates needed to steer clear of an "anti-capitalist mantra" and focus on Republican free market principles. She said Wednesday that she didn't agree with attacks on free market capitalism, but defended Perry's motives.
"I don't believe that is really what is at heart of Gov. Perry's criticism of Romney and his time at Bain," she said. "The governor of Texas and having been so passionate about creating jobs in his state ... he knows what he's talking about when it comes to some of these job-creation antics."
Palin also rejected criticism that Romney's critics are sounding like Democrats, a charge leveled by both Hannity and prominent conservative Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.).
"What I heard was a little bit what's going on today is some inoculation of the candidate himself, the front-runner, and what it is that he's going to face when he comes up against Barack Obama. Nobody should be surprised that things about Bain Capital, and maybe tax returns not being released yet, and maybe some records not being as transparently provided to the public as voters deserve to see right now, don't be surprised that's all coming out today," she said. "Let's get it out there, let's hear the defense of the candidates who are being charged with some of this. It's kind of like some come-to-Jesus moments for these candidates, and that's good, that's healthy."
The Democratic National Committee was happy to promote Romney's Republican critics in a new video on Thursday that compiles clips of their public charges.
Palin, a very popular commentator who ran for GOP vice president on Sen. John McCain's (R-Ariz.) ticket in 2008, has not endorsed in the GOP race. However, her husband, Todd, endorsed Gingrich earlier this week.
