The Palins and the Alaska Independence Party

Apparently Sarah Palin and First Dude are not just accused of guilt by association with members of the Alaska Independence Party(AIP). Based on the reporting included in this piece and others First Dude was actually a member of AIP for seven years, and Sarah Palin as Governor of Alaska cheered them on earlier this year.

This is an organization that was founded to promote secession from the United States of America. That seems to qualify for the label Anti-American.

According to this account the founder of the group, Joe Vogler, was a "raging Anti-American". That seems to be confirmed by quotes from his public rants.

This kind of actual membership in such a group makes any accusation made against Obama for past association with Bill Ayers appear ludicrous.

It's a shame Obama might have to use this information to offset the spurious claims McCain and Palin are making. Obama is doing all he can to avoid mud wrestling of this kind. But he deserves to be excused if he does use this to embarrass his opponents. Then he should point out forcefully that McCain and Palin are doing all they can to deflect attention of the voters away from the real issues at hand, the loss of jobs, the loss of savings and investment values which all Americans find themselves faced with.

Here again is a quick reminder: George H.W. Bush lost his battle for a second term because the economy had soured so that the voters needed someone to blame, and it happened on Bush I's watch. This even though he had been given credit and cheered for his success earlier in his first and only term for putting together the powerful coalition which chased Saddam out of Kuwait and back to Baghdad.

Barack has every right to tar McCain and Palin with the same brush they are trying to use on him, but then he must keep turning the flood lights back onto the big picture, the economy which has tanked on Bush II's watch, backed by McCain's record of voting to support Bush 90% of the time.

Leanderthal, Lighthouse Keeper