Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin broadsided liberals at an annual summit of social conservatives in the nation's capital Friday, saying they consider the activists "their threat" because their philosophy "scares the bejesus out of them."
The former 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee also chided President Barack Obama for saluting a Marine on Tuesday
while holding a coffee cup – a videotaped flub that triggered a flood of criticism from Republicans – by sarcastically returning the gesture to the president using her own styrofoam cup.
Video of the speech was posted
by Mediaite.
"You are their threat," Palin told conservatives gathered at the annual Values Voter Summit, which also drew fellow Republicans Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and former presidential candidate Rick Santorum,
The Hill reported.
"You value equal opportunity, and that scares the bejesus out of them because they know that you can't argue against those things," adding it was "time to end the politics of division of theirs. It is time for the politics of values.”
"I don’t want anybody to be afraid or ashamed of the core values that we are here celebrating," she said, accusing liberals of trying to censor ideas.
"They scream 'racism' our way just to end debate. Well, don't retreat. You reload the truth," she urged.
Palin tripped up, however, on the White House address when she declared: "Truth is an endangered species at 1400 Pennsylvania Avenue." The correct address is 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Cruz and Paul competed for the hearts and minds of the crowd as well.
Clad in blue jeans and quoting the Founding Fathers and modern authors from a teleprompter, Paul portrayed himself as a non-conformist during his approximately 17-minute speech,
Time reports.
He also criticized both parties for abandoning a strong faith in God and adherence to the Constitution.
"What America needs is not just another politician or promises," Paul said, Time reports.
"What America really needs is a revival."
Paul also called for a change in America's foreign policy, saying even secular dictatorships in the Middle East were better than the chaos that followed their toppling, and declared:
"It's time to put a stop to this madness – and take a good heard look at what our foreign policy has done," Time reports.
In contrast, Cruz walked around the stage, dressed in a business suit, quoting passages from the Bible in calling for spiritual rebirth, Time reports.
In his nearly hour-long address, Cruz asked – and answered:
"How do we turn this country around? We offer a choice not an echo," he told the receptive crowd. "We defend the values that are American values. We stand for life. We stand for marriage. We stand for Israel."
His address also was posted
on Mediaite.
Family Research Council President
Tony Perkins told The Hill that Cruz got people excited because of his tell-it-like-it-is style.
“At the heart what they are looking for is leaders who will say what they mean and mean what they say," he told The Hill. "They’re not looking for nuanced speeches. I think that’s why Ted Cruz gets such a strong reception — he just says it like it is. He doesn’t kind of shuck and jive, he says what he means,."
For his part, Santorum urged the crowd to fight harder on the issues most important to them.
"If you look at the current conservative movement, the Republican Party, there are issues we haven't even lost yet, and we're talking about giving up," he said, according to
The Hill.
"Do something," he added. "Quit being scared and start being activists and making things happen in America."
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.