9.02.2008

Alaska First -- Alaska Always, Sarah Palin Belonged to Alaskan Secession Movement?!?

ABC News:

Officials of the Alaskan Independence Party say that Palin was once so independent, she was once a member of their party, which since the 1970s has been pushing for a legal vote for Alaskans to decide whether or not residents of the 49th state can secede from the United States.

And while McCain's motto -- as seen in a new TV ad -- is "Country First," the AIP's motto is the exact opposite -- "Alaska First -- Alaska Always."

Here's the information that bothers me most. Follow the link and watch the video of her, as Gov. addressing and blessing the AIP here. Also watch the video of the meeting and listen as the Vice Chairman of the AIP, Dexter Clark, says this of Palin: "Our current governor who I mentioned at the last conference, the one we were hoping would get elected, Sarah Palin, did get elected ... and there was a lot of talk about her moving up. She was an AIP member before she got the job as mayor.... " Did Palin agree with the group's platform?

"It never came up in conversation," Clark recalls. "But when she joined the party our platform was right under her nose."

In the second video, Clark talks about the necessity of infiltrating the major national parties with sympathetic candidates in order to further the goals of the AIP.

And what does the AIP believe?

  • A belief that "the vote for statehood was invalid because the people were not presented with the range of options available to them" and that "the federal government has since breached the contract for statehood on numerous occasions in over a dozen serious and substantial instances."
  • A belief that there should be a vote on Alaskan secession.
  • Remaining "steadfastly opposed to environmental regulations and actively promotes the private ownership and widespread development of Alaskan land."
  • A platform which includes:

    [A]mending the Constitution of the State of Alaska so as to re-establish the rights of all Alaskan residents to entry upon all public lands within the state, and to acquire private property interest there in, under fair and reasonable conditions. Such property interest shall include surface and sub-surface patent.

    [F]oster a constitutional amendment abolishing and prohibiting all property taxes.

    [S]eek[ing] the complete repatriation of the public lands, held by the federal government, to the state and people of Alaska[.]

We also learn that not only was Palin a member, but she and her husband attended the group's 1994 convention.

It's unclear how much Palin's involvement with the AIP has influenced her political philosophy today. Now a member of the Republican party, does she still, as the Vice Chairman of the AIP put it, "pretty well sympathetic to her former membership"?

This really is bothersome!! It's not that she's a woman, I was a Hillary supporter! And I don't care who's having who's baby (except if she lied to her State or to the McCain staffers). The legal troubles are also worrisome, but I do care if she belongs and still harbors sympathies for open secession as a VP candidate for one of our two major political parties!! I may not like Joe Biden much, a view I've held for 20 years, but if God forbid something were to happen to a President Obama, I know Biden could step in and do a good job. I've said this for months now, with a man as old as McCain and a figure as unfortunately polarizing to racists and red necks as Obama, the most important pick these men will make before Jan, 2009 is who their VP will be.

EVERY AMERICAN should be very worried about this choice, and the failure of McCain to properly vet her shows an extremely poor judgment on his part. This whole episode captures the essence of McCain - a maverick, a rebel, a political risk taker, but also a man capable of being mercurial, whimsical, careless, petulant, irresponsible. Traits that make an interesting, active and successful Senator but not my choice for a President.

My ex-wife, a life-long Republican, is an open and avid Obama supporter, an Obamacan, She told me the other day that as a woman she was insulted by the choice and thinks that Hillary supporters should be angry and insulted, that woman in general should be insulted by the choice. She ticked off about 6 names of Republican women who, in her opinion should have been chosen over Palin.

Do you think Palin will make it all the way to the election or will she be dropped by the campaign for a worthwhile and capable candidate worthy of running alongside McCain and of being a heart-beat from the Oval office?

Information Via: NYT, NPR, ABC, Daily Kos, Huffington Post

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