The "movers and shakers" here on both sides of the aisle were caught completely off guard, according to the following article in this morning's Anchorage Daily News. You would think that they would have talked to people here who have worked with her and know her well. It's kind of insulting, actually, that they didn't.
Sarah is pretty well liked here, so it might have helped the R's with damage control if they had some prominent Alaskans to back them up.
http://www.adn.com/politics/story/513143.htmlQuestions surround Palin's background check
IN DEPTH? In Alaska, very few people were involved in the GOP vetting process.
By RICHARD MAUER, LISA DEMER and SEAN COCKERHAM
Anchorage Daily News
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The former U.S. attorney for Alaska, Wev Shea, who enthusiastically recommended Palin back in March, said he was never contacted with any follow-up questions.
Chris Coleman, one of Palin's next-door neighbors, said no one representing McCain spoke to him about Palin. Another neighbor also was never contacted, he said Monday.
Republican Gail Phillips, a former speaker of the Alaska House, said Friday that she was shocked by McCain's selection of Palin and told her husband, Walt, "This can't be happening because his advance team didn't come to Alaska to check her out." She said she would've heard had someone been poking around.
"We're not a very big state," Phillips said. "People I talk to would've heard something."
Monegan, fired by Palin in July, said that no one from the McCain campaign contacted him, either. His firing is now the subject of a special legislative investigation into whether Palin or members of her administration improperly interfered with the running of his department by pushing for dismissal of a state trooper involved in a divorce and custody battle with Palin's sister.
Alaska Senate President Lyda Green, R-Wasilla, told The New York Times, "They didn't speak to anyone in the Legislature, they didn't speak to anyone in the business community."
Wasilla Mayor Dianne Keller said she had not heard of any efforts to look into Palin's background, the Times reported. And Randy Ruedrich, the state Republican Party chairman, said he knew nothing of any vetting that had been conducted.
State Sen. Hollis French, a Democrat who is directing the legislative investigation, said that no one asked him about the allegations. "I heard not a word, not a single contact," he told the Times.
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And it goes on and on. It just seems very odd to me that people here weren't contacted by the McCain campaign when we Alaskans know her best, and probably better than most states' citizens know their governor since there are so few of us, and this could potentially have such unforeseen consequences on what happens next here. She IS our governor, after all.