Hypocrisy Watch: Country First?
The Alaskan Independence Party: Polar Bears First
Sarah Palin may or may not have been a member of the Alaskan Independence Party, the state’s third largest political party, in the 1990s. At the very least she attended the party’s convention in 2000, around the time her husband was registered as a member. The AIP’s main objective is to allow Alaska the opportunity to secede from the nation and become an independent country.
I guess when McCain specified he wanted a VP who would put “country first,” he should have been more specific about which.
September 3rd, 2008 at 2:33 pm
Your views have never changed over time? In politics, it’s easy to be accused of flip-flopping a la John Kerry, but often it’s simply a learning process. If she truly was a member of AIP, she probably realized at some point that such a group’s aims were incompatible with a national view.
September 3rd, 2008 at 3:17 pm
That argument assumes her opinions have, in fact, changed. It is my belief that Sarah Palin is an expert at political maneuvering. She supported pork spending and earmarks when they were popular, and now uses them as evidence to support her “but I’m a reformer!” argument. Similarly, Palin has severed ties with the group because its secessionist goals could obstruct her “national view,” as you put it, not because she no longer agrees with them.
September 10th, 2008 at 8:41 am
“If she truly was a member of AIP, she probably realized at some point that such a group’s aims were incompatible with a national view.”(Steve)
How do you realize at some point other than the first time you hear about them, that a group who supports secession’s aims where contrary to a national view? I mean… would it not be pretty obvious immediately? I don’t think you can make that mistake. Now, it is possible that you would not have the same national views then, and later formulate some that become contrary to your earlier beliefs, but that is a pretty wild swing in politics, and I don’t see how it would not be fair to address such a bizarre turn.