Alaskan Independence Party

Here's a video of a speech by an Alaskan Independence Party (AIP) official in which he claims that Sarah Palin was a member of the AIP and just registered as a Republican to appear more mainstream. Is he in a position to know?



He says (start at 6:00 in): "[Palin] was an AIP member before she got a job as the mayor of a small town (that was a non-partisan job) but to get along and to go along she eventually joined the Republican party ... and is pretty well sympathetic to her former membership."

He goes on to speak favorably of Ron Paul (see the previous post on Paul and Palin), claiming that he also joined the Republican party just to get elected.

Hat tip: ElectoPundit

Hangin' Out With Secessionists?

How closely aligned is Sarah Palin with a fringe political party whose goals are stated on its website as:

The Alaskan Independence Party's goal is the vote we were entitled to in 1958, one choice from among the following four alternatives:

1) Remain a Territory.
2) Become a separate and Independent Nation.
3) Accept Commonwealth status.
4) Become a State.

The call for this vote is in furtherance of the dream of the Alaskan Independence Party's founding father, Joe Vogler, which was for Alaskans to achieve independence under a minimal government, fully responsive to the people, promoting a peaceful and lawful means of resolving differences.

Ron Paul

Sarah Palin expresses her admiration for primary candidate Ron Paul, a man who puts even Pat Buchanan (see below) to shame with his conspiracy theories, outright bigotry, and insane ideas for governance.




Strike Two!

Shrinking Base "Energized" by Mysterious Woman - Story at 11:00

I get a feeling that all of the social conservative political junkies on the 'net are sending emails to pundits in support of Sarah Palin. Most people didn't even know who she was until the day before yesterday, and now she's a conservative icon. Rick Brookhiser at NRO weighs in:

Palin will also be assigned to pacify conservatives. On the evidence of the numerous emails reprinted here, that will be easily done. Reader after reader said that the base was now energized. You would have thought the base was energized by being in a war. If not, perhaps we need a new base.

The Bailey Tape

Very eeeenteresting.

It takes a little while to get going, but it's certainly damning for the Palin administration.

Rasmussen

Rasmussen says Palin made a good first impression:

Sarah Palin made a good first impression. She was unknown nationally before being introduced as the GOP Vice-Presidential pick but is now viewed favorably by 53% of voters nationwide. Her counterpart, Joe Biden, is viewed favorably by 48%. While Palin has made a good first impression, the more significant numbers will come a week from now after the nation has a chance to learn more about her.

However, looking at the crosstabs, it shows that among independent voters, the selection of Palin makes 9% more likely to vote for him, and 31% less likely to vote for him. It looks like the pander may not pan out as well as Republicans had hoped.

Links

NRO: David Frum is worried, and even more so now than when the pick was announced. Take-away lines:

If it were your decision, and you were putting your country first, would you put an untested small-town mayor a heartbeat away from the presidency?

and

So this is the future of the Republican party you are looking at: a future in which national security has bumped down the list of priorities behind abortion politics, gender politics, and energy politics.

Some perspective from an Alaskan blog: “Is this a joke?”

On the day of her selection, a right-wing news site (Newsmax.com) reports that she doesn't believe mankind is having any effect on climate. I wonder what McCain thinks about this:

A changing environment will affect Alaska more than any other state, because of our location. I'm not one though who would attribute it to being man-made.

Also, the interview shows that she doesn't really know what she's talking about on energy issues:

I thought when we hit $100 a barrel for oil it would have been a psychological barrier that would have caused Congress to reconsider, but they didn't. Now we are approaching $200 a barrel. It's nonsense not to tap a safe domestic source of oil. I think Americans need to hold Congress accountable on this one.

Today's oil price? $117.49 per barrel. That's still expensive, but it's not "approaching $200 a barrel".

Power Line Blog, which wasn't all negative on Palin (they're Social Conservatives, after all - but smart) says:

The most important thing McCain has going for him in this race is the perception that he is the serious candidate. Choosing a running mate who will be widely perceived as unqualified would go a long way toward squandering that advantage.

I agree.

Later, they offer this assessment in an update to the post linked above:

UPDATE: OK, it's later. I'm worried about Palin. I'm afraid she may be the Geraldine Ferraro of 2008. If she really is the nominee, will it come across as a desperation move, a Hail Mary, as Mondale's choice of Ferraro did in 1984? I'm afraid so. Her experience just doesn't justify a place on the ticket.

Paul Mirengoff offers this detail:

A friend who is toiling at the convention on one of the committees reports that Palin's selection was greeted by "thunderous applause and a standing ovation." (The reaction from Alaskans at the convention apparently is more mixed -- a sign that she's been a genuine reformer there).

Maybe they just know something about her that the rest of the delegates don't...


PZ Myers is unenthusiastic.


amazingdrx provides a few details on the Troopergate scandal.



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