[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/11/03/art.palinlive.cnn.jpg caption="Palin campaigned in Missouri earlier Monday."]

JEFFERSON CITY, Missouri (CNN) - After warning an audience Monday in Missouri that a government run by Democrats would “gut” defense spending, Palin asked the crowd: “Do they think that terrorists have all of a sudden become the good guys?”

“So what do they think?,” Palin mused, referring to Democrats. “Do they think that terrorists have all of a sudden become the good guys? And changed their minds? No, the terrorists still seek to destroy America and her allies and all that it is that we stand for: freedom, tolerance, equality. The terrorists have not changed their minds.”

Her question was new, but Palin was pushing an argument she has made frequently in the closing week of the campaign - that Democrats in Congress, led by Rep. Barney Frank, favor a cutting the defense budget by a fourth.

“This is not the time to gut the defense budget, and this is not the time to entrust the powers of the federal government to the one party rule of Obama, Pelosi and Reid,” Palin said.

Frank, the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, has said he would favor a 25 percent cut in defense spending, but Obama has said he would actually increase military spending.