Palin: Republican Establishment Not Behind Me

You’d think the Republican establishment would tie itself as closely as it can to the rising star of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. But that’s not what’s happening, she says, according to Politico.

“Some within the establishment don’t like the fact that I won’t back down to a good-old-boys club,” Palin [pictured] said on Fox Business News. “A lot of this has to do with control, power, money.”

Many GOP operatives are looking out for themselves rather than the party, she says. “Establishment bosses and advisers try to shape a candidate and get paid to shape that candidate. It’s very sleazy.”

Several of Palin’s potential rivals in the 2012 race for the Republican presidential nomination have come to her defense in recent days, including former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty. Palin says Romney would make “a fine candidate,” though “I didn’t vote for him in the [2008] primary.”