The media seems to have accepted Palin's story that she wasn't a member of AIP

[book_worm]

I thought this would be the issue which would have legs, but it doesn't appear to be. The teen pregnancy issue is a non-issue (as it should be). She will be nominated tonight. But we still have troopergate, the fact that she wanted to ban books in the library, and her general extremism and inexperience. No matter what this is a bad nomination.

[davepc]

1. it's a tepid retreat

September 2, 2008, 10:32 pm Alaska Party Official Says Palin Was Not a Member By The New York Times

The chairwoman of an Alaskan political party that advocates a vote on the state’s secession from the union said Tuesday that she had been mistaken when she said Gov. Sarah Palin was a member of the group.

A front-page story in The New York Times on Tuesday and articles in other news media reported that Ms. Palin was a member of the Alaska Independence Party for two years in the 1990’s.

The information in the Times article was based on a statement issued Monday night by Lynette Clark, the party’s chairwoman, who said that Ms. Palin joined the party in 1994 and in 1996 changed her registration to Republican. On Tuesday night, Ms. Clark said that her initial statement was incorrect and had been based on erroneous information provided by another member of the party whom she declined to identify.

The McCain campaign also disputed the Times report, saying that Ms. Palin had been registered consistently as a Republican. After checking the party’s archives, Ms. Clark said that she could find no documentation that Governor Palin had been a member of the party. She said Ms. Palin attended the party’s 1994 and 2006 conventions and provided a video-taped address as governor to the 2008 convention. Ms. Clark said that Ms. Palin’s husband, Todd, was a former member of the party.

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/02/alaska-party-official-says-palin-was-not-a-member/

[redqueen]

2. What's she doing even speechifying for a secessionist party?

[davepc]

6. I've asked this before on DU:

Almost every state has a secessionist movement (google it, you'll find their web pages)

What other sitting governor of a state has given speeches and publicly supported their states secessionist party.

To even ACKNOLWEDGE them is to give them legitimacy.

[redqueen]

8. Exactly! By acknowledging those extremists as governor, she has legitimized that movement.

She does not have the judgment to be a heartbeat away from the presidency and likely never will.

[davepc]

10. questions no one is asking.. :(

[valerief]

18. Well, looks like they got to Lynette Clark. I'm sure a lot more Alaskans will be silenced. nt

[Moochy]

3. NPR called those questions about AIP "distractions"

Not "Troubling questions" but distractions. Thanks National rePublican Radio!

[ErinBerin84]

4. well

I think that we all know that if Obama had attended several conventions and adressed another of some Hawaii fringe party- one that his wife was the member of- the media would not care that he was a registered Democrat when he was involved in party activities and would pursue the story.

[Brotherjohn]

5. They've released AK Div. of Elections records showing she has always been Republican. However...

... those same records show her husband has until recently been a member of AIP. She inarguably has a relationship with that group, in that her husband was a member and in that she has attended at least one convention and spoken to another.

So my question is: Why are Obama's sideways relation to a bomber (who did his crime when Obama was 7 and served his time), and Michelle's alleged "angry black woman" persona, issues when Palin's husband's proven membership in a secessionist organization is NOT? Especially an organization which has stated in 2008 that they should 'infiltrate" the membership of mainstream parties?

[No Elephants]

12. She at least needs to be questioned hard about it .

[The Stranger]

7. The teen pregnancy IS an issue in play (as it should be).

The media is all over it, and it splits the Right on issues of teen pregnancy, abstinence, child care, and whether Palin can deal with the burdens of the Vice Presidency with a special needs baby and a grand baby on the way.

[redqueen]

13. It's a distraction. (nt)

[The Stranger]

15. That helps us.

[redqueen]

17. And it's already all over the media... unlike this other stuff.

So the stuff without the buzz around it yet is what we should be pushing.

[ieoeja]

9. Because she was never a registered member.

Her hubby was a member. She attended a convention. But she was not a member herself. Even the speech I read by her to the convention refers to, "your party".

[redqueen]

11. How many other governors legitimize secessionist parties like she did?

It's outrageous that she's getting away with this.

That the M$M is letting her get away with it.

Typical M$M fealty to the GOP, but still an outrage.

[ieoeja]

21. There is still plenty to criticize here.

If we falsely claim Palin was a member, then the reality that her husband was a long-time member and that she supported the AIP will get lost in the argument over her membership that never was.

Exaggerate her connections, and we lose. The truth is our friend here. So lets stick to that.

That might, in fact, be why this story was dropped. It started with a false claim that she was a member. Once it was proven otherwise, the media dismissed the rest of the story. So symbolman's sister and brother-in-law may have already screwed this up.

[redqueen]

22. Nobody said to exaggerate anything. Someone in that party took it upon themselves to do that.

I didn't say she was a member.

The truth, our friend, is that she has given two speeches that we know of, legitimizing a secessionist party.


What'd symbolman's relatives do?

[ieoeja]

23. Guess who "someone in that party" was!

symbolman's sister and brother-in-law are the people in that party who said she was a member of their party! He was laughing at himself yesterday over the fact that for all his efforts, it might turn out to be Democratic-hating relatives of his who end up sinking the Republicans.

The OP complained that the media is accepting her "story" that she was not a member. Which is what I was addressing. You, I agree with. We can still push her support for secession. But the OP is wrong. We can NOT push that she was a member. And as long as someone is arguing that she was a member, nobody will listen to us.


I was on a jury for a lawsuit once where the vote went 9-3 in favor of the defense. My reason for voting for the plaintiff was that 100% of the evidence presented in the trial favored the plaintiff. It didn't matter if we thought the guy was faking an injury. We don't know. And 100% of the medical evidence presented said he was injured. The defense presented no evidence contrary.

I had the nine shuffling their feet and squirming in their seats with that argument. Then the other two who voted for the plaintiff spoke up.

#1 - "He wouldn't have pursued this case this far if he weren't really injured."

#2 - "I bet he was conned into doing this by that slick-talking lawyer, and I don't want to see him have to pay that lawyer when the defendant's insurance company could at least pay his legal fees."

That was the end of my argument. Any attempt I made to point out the 100% evidence issue was ignored as all the arguing focused on the two above idiotic points. So the defense won in a ruling that even the defense attorneys said afterwards was horrendous.

[redqueen]

24. Yup... the OP is wrong.

Fucking unreal that our side screwed the pooch on this one.

Nice job muddying the water.

:nuke:

[FVZA_Colonel]

25. I don't know if they're that muddied yet.

There is the legitimizing speech, and Todd's membership. It will be difficult, much more so now that we know she wasn't a member, but I do not believe impossible. The trick will be getting around the media crap of "oh, that's just an untrue distraction."

[vaberella]

14. Shoot.

Without any solid proof like pictures, or videos, or even a paper of her there...we have nothing. Damn MSM.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

16. oh really?...watch this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Re0vmbtHK8

[bidenista]

19. from what i've been reading...

the AIP is more like the Libertarian Party on a national level than other secessionist movements. The anarcho-capitalists seem to love them.

[...of J.Temperance]

20. No, we WANT Palin nominated, her nomination is good for us

We have plenty of time to nail Palin, we have until November 3rd.

Don't forget that, we still have the whole Presidential Election campaign to go after the RNC.

So don't give up hope that we can't nail Palin on stuff, because we can.

"No matter what this is a bad nomination"

No, this is a GOOD nomination, from our side, the Palin nomination is GOOD for the Democratic Party, it's good because Palin is an Extremist who's political and social beliefs are way outide of the mainstream.

We don't want McCain choosing another Veep candidate, that's less extreme and has more experience, someone like Tom Ridge for example.

McCain/Palin is a very weak ticket, and it's the ticket that's the best for Obama/Biden.

[skooooo]

26. Her husband is/was a member...

And it wasn't until McCain's people got to Alaska did the AIP change its story. I smell a rat, and this story needs more investigation.

[DangerDave921]

27. RW Radio

I was in the car this afternoon, flipping between Laura and Rush to get a sense of what their listeners are thinking. My feeling is that the RW'ers like this pick. They think we are afraid of her, hence our "attacking" her.

[GoesTo11]

28. Seems she has plausibly denied all the stories to rest just in time

They're intimidating witnesses to stall Troopergate until after the election.
They've taken a shotgun to bring Bristol & Levi to the land of wedded bliss.
She wasn't an official member, only a strong supporter and married to an official member of AIP.
etc.

Now it's time to call for sympathy.

[weezie1317]

29. That's fine -- Let's get back to the issues anyhow. That's where we'll win.

[Disturbed]

30. I like their Logo.

Didn't Gov. Palin file a Suit against the Busholini Regime about those pesky Polar Bears?