Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., after giving a rebuttal to President Joe Biden's State of the Union address last week, is drawing comparisons to former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.
"I think Katie Britt is one of the most impressive people to come to the Senate in a long time," said Vin Weber, a GOP strategist, The Hill reported Tuesday. "I think that the Democrats know that she is a rising star in the Republican Party, and if they can do something to tarnish her early on in her career, they're going to do it."
Britt's rebuttal, given from her kitchen, was parodied two days later on NBC's "Saturday Night Live," drawing comparisons with how Palin, who became late Sen. John McCain's running mate in 2008, was portrayed on the same show.
But Weber said the ridicule is because Democrats "don't want to see an attractive, articulate, intelligent, rising star — a young woman, particularly — in the Republican Party."
Palin, the 2008 vice presidential nominee, also scared Democrats, Weber said, noting that polls in 2007 showed her with 93% and 89% approval among voters.
"The way she was treated was unfair, and the way Senator Britt's being treated is unfair," Weber said.
Britt is being mentioned by some as a potential vice presidential running mate for former President Donald Trump.
Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, said on X that Britt's speech was "over the top" and "out of character" for her. While Romney described Biden's speech the same way, he said the media's "overreaction" to Britt "tells us who liberals most fear as VP nominee."
Democrat strategist Jim Manley said Britt gives him "bad flashbacks to Sarah Palin," who presented herself on the national political stage as a hockey mom.
Britt, while introducing herself as a senator from Alabama, downplayed that achievement as being less important than her role as a "a proud wife and mom of two school-age kids."
Manley added that like Palin, he believes Britt would be picked without a complete vetting.
"Senator Britt has an extremely conservative voting record, but no one is paying attention to that," he said.
Britt was picked by House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to present the response, with several people interpreting the choice as a play for appealing to women voters.
Senate Republican Whip John Thune of South Dakota defended Britt's speech, saying her remarks "drew a nice contrast with what the president had to say."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.