How Much Did They Know?
The real issue about the selection of Sarah Palin isn’t about Sarah Palin. Even though she is an affirmative action candidate, if she checks out for the job, all the better. But every indication is that this was a last-minute choice based on Barack Obama not selecting a woman for his ticket. And it’s cynical to believe that women will switch parties based purely on internal plumbing.
The New York Times looks at what went into making this selection. Some recent disclsures:
it was learned that Ms. Palin now has a private lawyer in a legislative ethics investigation in Alaska into whether she abused her power in dismissing the state’s public safety commissioner; that she was a member for two years in the 1990s of the Alaska Independence Party, which has at times sought a vote on whether the state should secede; and that Mr. Palin was arrested 22 years ago on a drunken-driving charge.
But disclosures about Palin are less troubling than revelations about how much preparation the McCain campaign put into her selection. We already know that McCain met Palin only once and then spoke with her by phone shortly before he saw her again to offer her the gig. Well, at least they didn’t meet in a chatroom and then get to know each other through instant messaging.
A Republican with ties to the campaign said the team assigned to vet Ms. Palin in Alaska had not arrived there until Thursday, a day before Mr. McCain stunned the political world with his vice-presidential choice. The campaign was still calling Republican operatives as late as Sunday night asking them to go to Alaska to deal with the unexpected candidacy of Ms. Palin.
They didn’t speak to anyone in the state legislature or in the Alaska business community, and the FBI disputes a McCain campaign claim that they did a background check on her.
“They didn’t seriously consider her until four or five days from the time she was picked, before she was asked, maybe the Thursday or Friday before,” said a Republican close to the campaign. “This was really kind of rushed at the end, because John didn’t get what he wanted. He wanted to do Joe or Ridge.”
And, so, did they know, for example, of her ties to the Alaskan Indpendence Party, her political home from 1994 until 1996, which states these goals:
1) Remain a Territory.
2) Become a separate and Independent Nation.
3) Accept Commonwealth status.
4) Become a State.
AIP founder Joe Vogler makes Jeremiah Wright look like an American Legion commander:
“I’m an Alaskan, not an American. I’ve got no use for America or her damned institutions.”
Joe Vogler
UPDATE: Palin’s campaign is disputing the New York Times’ claim and statements by other media outlets that she was ever a member of the AIP,. They are saying she joined the Republican Party in 1982 and they have provided a copy of her voter registration records.
This year, Palin did send a supportive video greeting to the AIP convention:
Typical lib-loon B.S.
Politics of change, eh?
BTW, what the hell is wrong with your hair? You have a different hair-do every night on H&C, wtf is with that?
You shouldn’t interrupt people on the show, it’s really annoying, especially when you make stupid comments after a person makes you look like an idiot, which I guess isn’t too difficult.
September 2nd, 2008 at 1:22 pm
Now This:
It turns out she had a somewhat different approach. If a small-town mayor ever ruled with an iron fist — it was Palin. Eleven days after taking office in 1996, she mailed letters to each of the city’s top managers requesting that they resign as a test of loyalty.
The Anchorage Daily News at the time reported the strange events: (via Nexis)
Mayor Sarah Palin sent the resignation requests Thursday to Police Chief Irl Stambaugh, public works director Jack Felton, finance director Duane Dvorak and Mary Ellen Emmons, the head of libraries. A fifth director — John Cooper, who oversaw the city museum — resigned earlier this month after Palin eliminated his position.
September 2nd, 2008 at 1:35 pm
Sounds like a proud American and proud of the state she is from. This is unlike what I heard at the DNC. The theme I just kept hearing that America is a terrible place, wrong direction, mean people. Last I checked this is the greatest nation in the world, the most giving, and the first to be there to help other nations. Yet for some reason some people hate this place. Want socialism but want to live capitalism. BY THE WAY HOW COME WE DO NOT HEAR ABOUT BIDENS BROTHER AND SON BEING INDITED BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. OH BY THE WAY OBAMA VOTED FOR EARMARKS FOR A LOBBIEST WHO HAPPENS TO BE BIDENS SON.
September 2nd, 2008 at 1:52 pm
Yet another example of Republican Icompotent Boobery…
September 2nd, 2008 at 2:15 pm
If she was a member of the Alaskan Independence Party, then that’s certainly troubling.
September 2nd, 2008 at 2:21 pm
And even if she is not a member, how can she praise a party that wants out of America and go so far as to send them such a supportive welcome message for their convention? I would never question John McCain’s patriotism, and I never thought that I would question Sarah Palin’s either. Now I am. For her it’s “Alaska first” not “Country first”.
September 2nd, 2008 at 2:24 pm
you are a jerk
September 2nd, 2008 at 2:32 pm
If you’re so concerned about Mr. Palin’s 22 year old DWI/OUI/DUI charge, why aren’t you concerned about Sen. Biden’s son & brother who are currently under idictment for fraud. Also if Sen. McCain didn’t “vett” Gov. Palin completely, as you think, then that is his problem.
September 2nd, 2008 at 2:40 pm
Gee, Alan, I’ve never read here before but your againsters are dumber than ours. Makes one proud to be liberal, eh?
The facts on Palin are all we need – she’ll sink herself as another right-wing extremist, and the country (except, of course, for the other right-wing extremists) is so sick of that.
September 2nd, 2008 at 2:47 pm
So, if all of these commenters really hate you so much, why do they continue to read your blog? Why does your main audience continue to be conservatives? I’m a conservative myself, but I dislike the ad-hominem attacks. Read only conservative blogs if you can’t handle Alan.
September 2nd, 2008 at 3:09 pm
“…she joined the Republican Party in 1982…”
“…she was a member for two years in the 1990s of the Alaska Independence Party…”
“I’m an Alaskan, not an American. I’ve got no use for America or her damned institutions.”
September 2nd, 2008 at 3:14 pm
Can you tell us just how much you know about birthing babies. The liberal smear machine must really be worried about Sarah Palin. And with good cause.
VOTE MCCAIN/PALIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
……………………………………….
I’m hearing the circus music.
Tim Thompson in Georgia, you’re funny!
September 2nd, 2008 at 3:21 pm
She’s pretty and reads a teleprompter very well. Seriously, I’m not marginalizing that– she obviously has a talent that her degree in journalism has only enhanced. She’d be great to watch on TV (although she should have known to take off her windbreaker before the camera started rolling).
In terms of being a thinker or a manager, I don’t see evidence of it. We don’t need another Quayle, and I, personally, don’t cotton to the idea of a bastard grandchild in the White House (why isn’t her daughter married NOW? She’s 5 months along!), to join “Other Woman” Cindy McCain. I’m still too old-school conservative for all this nonsense, but I also resent that the Republican Neocons made this sort of personal-life-exposure fashionable back when Clinton dallied with Monica Lewinsky.
The irony? The McCains are the ones who are divorced. The Palins have a pregnant teen daughter, and 4 other kids they don’t have time to care for, with their full-time jobs.
If Palin was running to be a medium-size-town mayor? She’d definitely get my vote. If she was running for governor of a largely rural, gun-nut state? I could see it.
But I’m really P.O.’d at the Republicans, because they either:
a) Don’t want McCain to be elected, or
b) They’re really as stupid as this, or
c) They don’t care a whit about the well-being of the nation. This is another Quayle VP candidate, and it’s an atrocious choice.
September 2nd, 2008 at 3:32 pm
Check out what Saint Obama said. He says taht he has 1200 workers and works with 3 times as much money as Palin did as Mayor. What an a** or did he mis-speak or did he for get that she is a Gov. that over sees 24000 employes with a budget of over $10 billion. Audaciyt of Hype.
September 2nd, 2008 at 3:34 pm
Funny how all was fair when Senator Obama was accused of all sort of lies about himself and his associates. Now when the Repulicans are caught in their own BS it’s the liberal agenda. Bottom line, McCain and his cronies tried to play the “Female” voter card and it backfired. They
September 2nd, 2008 at 3:38 pm
Alan,
I’ve been meaning to ask: how come there’s a much greater concentration of screaming, frothing, extremely angry conservatives on your blog than elsewhere on the internet? I mean, if they hate you as much as they let on, why do they come here? If they really think you’re a godless baby killer, why read your blog? Don’t they have better things to do than write hate messages all day? Granted, the spelling, grammar and punctuation in some of them suggest that the level of dedication might not be too high, but it still takes time to type it all up. What gives, you think?
(Okay, I’ll be the first to confess that I hang out at Hannidate when I get bored, but that’s for totally different reasons: those people are *hilarious*. Make a ridiculously liberal profile and the offers to save your soul will be pouring in for months. Instant entertainment.)
September 2nd, 2008 at 3:44 pm
Palin was a weak choice for McCain camp no matter how you slice the pie. She has a tiny, red state as her backyard and now they want us to believe she is ready for the possible of facing national & international issues. I hope this costs the Republicans the election.
September 2nd, 2008 at 3:46 pm
@Cecilie
I would imagine that, being that Alan works for Fox News, the network of choice for many conservatives, that his audience on this blog stems largely from his audiences on TV and radio. On TV, with Sean Hannity in the mix, there have to be a lot of conservatives watching, and on radio, his is the only liberal show that Fox has, so I would imagine that there are many conservatives that listen to Fox News radio anyway for people like John Gibson and Bill O’Reilly and just continue listening when Alan is on.
September 2nd, 2008 at 3:53 pm
Radio is different. We’re syndicated to different stations in different markets, many of which are progreswsive. In radio, the the brand of the syndicator is not relevent to the listenership.
September 2nd, 2008 at 3:58 pm
It’s over for the Republican party. There is a new and improved America coming, hypocrites. And we have plans for you…
September 2nd, 2008 at 4:02 pm
Hey Michael—Nah, just recently, it’s because Alan questioned…What was the nickname?….Princess Mooseburger’s decision to loaf around before she popped out her last, special-needs child at a hospital, hours and hours after her water broke.
That brought a flurry of protective mother-hens among conservatives who appear to have no sympathy for children who are held at gunpoint by police “pre-emptively” busting up their parents’ would-be protests to the RNC.
September 2nd, 2008 at 4:02 pm
Hey Spiderbucket what do you mean hypocrites? Liberals are hypocrites. I thought the base was about women being able to have a family and make achievements at the highest points. And Michael get your fact right about FOX NEWS. As close to 30/30/30 as any news sector out there. What I mean by that is 30% conservitive viewer, 30% liberal and 30% independent. Check the facts first!
September 2nd, 2008 at 4:42 pm
McCain can’t do a thing right. It’s really amazing. It’s like he wants to fail…
September 2nd, 2008 at 5:05 pm
You wonder if Sarah Palin took proper prenatal care prior to the birth of her 5th child. I wonder if your mother had proper prenatal care when she was carrying you. From the looks of you and listening to your comments, I would guess, NO.
September 2nd, 2008 at 5:32 pm
“…how come there’s a much greater concentration of screaming, frothing, extremely angry conservatives on your blog than elsewhere on the internet? I mean, if they hate you as much as they let on, why do they come here?”
Because McCain pays the radical right to “express” themselves.
September 2nd, 2008 at 5:55 pm
@Sarah
Yeah, you’re probably right about that as far as the site is concerned anyway. But Alan has always had a pretty large number of conservatives listening to his show.
@Alan
I was referring to Fox’s XM/Sirius station. I have a feeling that’s where most of your conservative listeners are tuning in from, while the more liberal listeners are tuning in through their local (possibly progressive) AM talk radio station. I don’t have any stats to go by, just guessing.
September 2nd, 2008 at 6:03 pm
Karl and Jeff – play nicely or you can’t come over to my place no more. I’ll tell Dad.
September 2nd, 2008 at 6:47 pm
The left’s desperation is hilarious and obvious. Sarah Palin is driving the left crazy. You have NOTHING on her so you are lashing out in every direction. A woman who would rather keep her baby than kill it! What a concept. You muckrakers disgust me. I still like you Alan, but it is funny to watch you get owned night after night on H&C.
September 2nd, 2008 at 7:06 pm
Nothing on her?! Holy cow are you paying attention? Troopergate? $20 million deficit as mayor of a 5k population village? Scandals for firing police chiefs, attempting to ban books, connections to the AIP, Abramoff..it goes on and on and on…
September 2nd, 2008 at 8:20 pm
For future reference, you might want to cite articles by journalists who actually check facts rather than simply make up stories.
And to FORCEFIELD!
Yes, and Obama is an absolute angel. Rev. Wright, connection to a domestic terrorist, making sure that no one knows what exactly he did with said domestic terrorist and the Annenburg Challenge, absolute lack of executive experience, asking the DOJ to silence those who do not support him…it goes on and on and on…
September 2nd, 2008 at 9:37 pm
Republicans tout Governor Sarah Palin’s experience as commander-in-chief of the Alaska National Guard as preparation to be commander in chief of the United States.
Let me tell you what a Governor who is commander-in-chief does — or more accurately, does not do. She does not command.
I was commander-in-chief of the Vermont National Guard when I was governor of Vermont from 1985 to 1991. I flew in a helicopter when I visited the troops at Camp Drum where they were doing their summer training each year. I attended ceremonial events and had my picture taken with the troops, just like Governor Palin. That was it.
I had zero authority over the troops. I even tested my power during my term of office when I objected to the Vermont National Guard being sent to Honduras for training. I was responding to many of my constituents who objected to the guard being deployed there because they feared it would heighten U.S. participation in the strife in Nicaragua.
I was promptly told, “No way.” To make certain that no Governor tried to be “commander-in-chief” of the national guard the Congress passed a law in 1987, called, the Montgomery amendment which states “that a governor cannot withhold consent with regard to active duty outside of the United States.” In 2007, governors’ powers were whittled down further by the John Warner Defense Administration Act: “the Governor of a state is no longer the sole commander-in-chief of the National Guard during emergencies within the state. The President of the United States will now be able to take control of a state’s National Guard units without the governor’s consent.”
Governor Palin may have some qualities that would enable her to perform as Vice President, but being commander-in-chief of the Alaska National Guard is not one of them.
September 2nd, 2008 at 9:44 pm
Lefties think that just because they disingeniously bitch and moan about her and that the press carries their water that somehow this means that it’s Sarah’s fault.
bzzzt
The Left has shown time and again that it is always for whatever is harmful to American values and against whatever is in defense of AMerican values.
So it’s obvious this hyperreaction to her nomination is because you know you’ve been checkmated.
It’s pretty sad that the VP choice is more qualifed to be President than the Dem’s Pres candidate.
September 2nd, 2008 at 9:52 pm
I’m curious. If McCain and Palin are running as Mavericks, of the Peublican Party, and boosting to standing up and fighting against their own party. What does this suggest about their party and other republican elected official, that they have been wrong or bad? And why do these fellow Republicans rollover and support that tactic? Do they like being thrown under the bus or do they just support the McCain scam? Thank God my parent aren’t alive to see what happened to their Grand Old Party! One week McCain is saying Drill here, drill now and the next week he’s boosting that his soul mate has stood up to Big Oil. His mixed messages are confusing.
September 2nd, 2008 at 10:10 pm
Deborah asked “What does this suggest about their party and other republican elected official, that they have been wrong or bad? ”
It suggests that conservatives aren’t in denial about basic human nature.
Are you seriously suggesting that there are no human beings in the Democrat who wrong or bad?
Can you be that dumb?
September 2nd, 2008 at 11:03 pm
I’m not dumb but I am temperamental and impulsive, like McCain. You won’t want my finger on the button either.
September 2nd, 2008 at 11:23 pm
The reason conservatives read this blog is they need a good laugh. Are the libs panicking?????
September 3rd, 2008 at 10:21 am
“It suggests that conservatives aren’t in denial about basic human nature.”
Oh, Deborah. Oh, honey. Check out Vince P. Chicago’s nonsense above. And think, “abstinence education,” the BIGGEST FREAKING DENIAL ABOUT BASIC HUMAN NATURE THERE IS!
This is why you, and I, and your dead parents, and my living Republican parents, are dying over and over again lately, mortified at the words that are pouring like diarrhea out of Neocons’ mouths.
Just absolutely amazing, the disconnect between reality and fantasy. At this rate, I’m never voting Republican again. They give a sane person nothing to go on.
September 3rd, 2008 at 1:38 pm
Gayle, AMERICANS are panicking. It’s not just libs, although you’d probably like to think that anyone who’s a moderate is a screaming pinko commie liberal.
Do me a favor. Stop pretending the GOP is the Crips and the Democrats are the Bloods. Let’s all try to be Americans who take off our blinders and try to figure out whose policy will get us out of our economic slump, reduce our dependence on foreign oil while preserving our own resources for future generations, create jobs, improve education, etc.
September 3rd, 2008 at 1:41 pm
“It’s pretty sad that the VP choice is more qualifed to be President than the Dem’s Pres candidate.”
Yeah, for a yahoo she’s not bad. But I’ll go with the guy who graduated Columbia and Harvard. He might know something more than how to turn caribou into snack food.
September 3rd, 2008 at 3:27 pm
[...] Your husband was a member of the Alaska Independence Party, and you addressed them with a welcoming video for their most recent convention where you congratulated them on the good work they do as a [...]
September 8th, 2008 at 6:18 pm
[...] Sarah Palin praised the group for their “good work” and self-sufficiency earlier this year. Jed Lewison put this video together that tells the whole story: [...]
October 7th, 2008 at 10:49 am