The Accidental Secessionist – An Alaskan Fable.
1 07 2009And the leaks continue. CBS has released a series of emails between Palin and McCain staffers that happened during the campaign. The date? Joe the Plumber minus three hours. On October 15, Palin saw a CNN story with a subtitle “The Palins and the Fringe” that detailed her connections with the Alaskan Independence Party, a statewide political party that advocates for Alaskans to take a vote about whether they want to secede from the union. Todd Palin had been a member of the party from 1995 – 2002. The Governor herself had delivered opening remarks via videotape to their convention in 2008.
Most Alaskans aren’t too freaked out by the AIP. We even elected a governor, Walter Hickel, who defected from the Republican Party and ran as an AIP candidate in 1990. I don’t know what percentage of Alaskans would vote for secession, but this isn’t really the point. We Alaskans can take it. But how would being married to a secessionist play in Peoria? Not well, probably. To the rest of the country…let’s face it. Secession is fringy.
Palin didn’t like seeing the CNN piece, nor a comment that came from someone in a crowd holding a sign that day.
So, bearing all that in mind, here are the emails between VP Candidate Palin and Steve Schmidt, McCain’s chief strategist, starting with one from Palin (and do go back and read the entire article HERE):
“Pls get in front of that ridiculous issue that’s cropped up all day today – two reporters, a protestor’s sign, and many shout-outs all claiming Todd’s involvement in an anti-American political party,” Palin wrote. “It’s bull, and I don’t want to have to keep reacting to it … Pls have statement given on this so it’s put to bed.”
Her reference to a single protestor’s sign and “many shout-outs” was indicative of Palin’s occasional tendency to take anecdotal evidence of a minor problem and extrapolate it into something far more menacing. [snip] It was not a time for distractions, but the campaign was compelled to deal with the drama that seemed to follow Palin wherever she went.
Schmidt hit “reply to all” less than five minutes after Palin’s e-mail was sent. “Ignore it,” he wrote. “He was a member of the aip? My understanding is yes. That is part of their platform. Do not engage the protestors. If a reporter asks say it is ridiculous. Todd loves america.”
This clear cut response from the campaign’s top dog carried an air of finality, but it did not satisfy Palin. She responded with another e-mail, adding five more names to the “cc” box, all of whom traveled on her campaign plane.
[snip]
“That’s not part of their platform and he was only a ‘member’ bc independent alaskans too often check that ‘Alaska Independent’ box on voter registrations thinking it just means non partisan,” Palin wrote. “He caught his error when changing our address and checked the right box. I still want it fixed.”
OK…Just for the record, the box on the voter registration doesn’t say “Independent” or “Alaska Independent” or “Independent Alaskan”. It says “Alaskan Indpendence Party” and no Alaskan who was born and raised here, and has lived here all their life is going to confuse the Alaskan Independence Party with Non-Partisan. There is no plausible ”Oops! Checked off the secessionist box by mistake!” scenario.
As this email story circulates throughout the state, there will be a lot of good chuckles over that “pants on fire” statement, believe you me. She might have been trying to fool the McCain campaign, but she’s not fooling Alaskans.
Clearly irritated by what he saw as Palin’s attempt to mislead her own campaign and apparently determined to demonstrate that the ultimate authority rested with him, Schmidt put the matter to rest once and for all with a longer response to everyone in the e-mail chain.
“Secession,” he wrote. “It is their entire reason for existence. A cursory examination of the website shows that the party exists for the purpose of seceding from the union. That is the stated goal on the front page of the web site. Our records indicate that todd was a member for seven years. If this is incorrect then we need to understand the discrepancy. The statement you are suggesting be released would be innaccurate. The innaccuracy would bring greater media attention to this matter and be a distraction. According to your staff there have been no media inquiries into this and you received no questions about it during your interviews. If you are asked about it you should smile and say many alaskans who love their country join the party because it speeks to a tradition of political independence. Todd loves his country.
We will not put out a statement and inflame this and create a situation where john has to adress this.”
Palin dropped the issue after that.
Just for fun, let’s dredge up that old YouTube footage that came to light last September. This one has clips from Joe Vogler, founder of the Alaskan Independence Party, who is described on their website in this way.
The formation and history of the AIP largely revolve around Joe Vogler, a plain-spoken gold miner, non-practicing attorney and charismatic icon of local politics who ran unsuccessfully for governor three times between 1974 and 1986.
The text on the YouTube is one of several alleged stories surrounding him.
And here’s a nice quote from a meeting of the Alaskan Independence Party after Palin became governor, and before the nomination.
“Our current governor, we mentioned at the last conference, the one we were hoping would get elected, Sarah Palin, did get elected. There’s a joke, she’s a pretty good looking gal, there’s a joke goes around we’re the coldest state with the hottest governor. (laughter) And there was a lot of talk about her moving up. She was an AIP member before she got the job as a mayor of a small town — that was a non-partisan job. But to get along and go along — she eventually joined the Republican Party, where she had all kinds of problems with their ethics, and well, I won’t go into that. She also had about an 80% approval rating, and is pretty well sympathetic to her former membership.“
You can read the rest of the very interesting transcript and watch the video back on the old Mudflats site HERE. I originally posted it on September 8.
Palin supporters are fond of citing things that President Obama, or other politicians do and saying, “Can you imagine if Sarah Palin did that? They’d just rip her apart!” Well, just for fun, imagine if you will what they would say if Hawaii had a secessionist party, and Michelle Obama had been a member for seven years, and Barack Obama had these kinds of ties and delivered a message to their convention last year. Just sayin.
July 2nd, 2009 at 10:33 AM
The video here contains several complete mischaracterizations of Joe Vogler, Alaskan Patriot (as he was known and signed his name to Letters to the Editor) and the Alaska Independence Party (aka Alaskans for Independence.)
My membership card in Alaskans for Independence was signed by Joe’s wife, Doris, many years ago when I was a student at UAF and their meetings were held up at the Geophysical Institute.
First off: AIP is not a “radical” organization and never was.
Second, Joe was not “attempting to buy plastic explosives on the black market.” He was murdered in the course of an attempt to steal his legendary cache of gold. He wa a gold miner. He had all the dynamite he could want, purchased perfectly legally and I am sure he held a State of Alaska Powderman card!
But he never did or would advocate violence against anyone or anything.
Joe was as big a character as our State. I am proud to be able to say I knew him and enjoyed talking with him. All he wasnted was to have another vote, a plebiscite, with 3 choices: Territory, Statehood or Nationhood.
Was he tilting at windmills? Maybe. But he had plenty of logical argument for everythign he said. Did a lot of peole disagree with him? Sure they did. But hey, we are talknig Fairbanks, folks.
I do not know who made the YouTube vid – a little attribution, perhaps?
This video does a terrible disservice to an Alaskan legend. Please, all you folks in the Lower 48 and around the world who watch it, all I can say is that that was one of Joe’s favorite things to say, everyone knew it, and noone who knew Joe Vogler ever thought of him as anything more than a good man with a big idea. And, he paid his taxes.
So on behalf of a lot of people who knew Joe Vogler and his wife Doris, don’t go spreading lies about him just to make someone else look worse.
Thanks,
Mark E. Springer
Bethel, Alaska
I do not know who made the YouTube video. I have heard several stories about Mr. Vogler’s passing, and I think many mysteries remain. I will edit to clarify that these things are alleged. Thanks, AKM
July 2nd, 2009 at 10:33 AM
oh yes, I see the “mismanagement” now. They saved her butt. Remember the “too controlled” talk by her supporters, they thought she was overhandled, lol, good lord just imagine had they let Scarah be Scarah, go rogue, be the “true” maverick.
lol……I can only imagine how many Scarah stories there are, probably at least one for every painful day of working with her, lol, and multiply that by all her family members in tow, but the kids are off limits, except stories of Piper neglect. I wonder if father Chuck or Toad ever got involved.
July 2nd, 2009 at 10:44 AM
and I’d still like to know who put her speech on the teleprompter. Surly “that” would have been a topic of conversation amongst staff. Now I’m thinking it was either Toad or John Recher (her McCain senior aide). was good old Bill there? he probably knows how to do that.
I posted this on the open thread but will put it here too.
John Recher (her McCain senior aide that is still a staunch supporter)
went to the Auburn thingy in NY, WITH Meg and Scarah. Does that add up to anything? hmmm? wonder what’s going on behind the scene.
AND he’s defending her and promoting her when quoted.
July 2nd, 2009 at 10:50 AM
“Tell me lies
Tell me sweet little lies
(tell me lies, tell me, tell me lies)
Oh, no, no you cant disguise
(you cant disguise, no you cant disguise)”
It’s only a matter of time before the bigger lies come out. Time to get the popcorn, sit back and enjoy
I can’t believe Darth Stapleton has not fired off a response yet……what’s up with that? Or perhaps GINO will be calling People magazine herself on this one.
July 2nd, 2009 at 10:50 AM
trish and sjk, good ones! lol
July 2nd, 2009 at 11:09 AM
Why am I not surprised. Not only does our governor try to revise history to suit the needs of the day, but she’s enough of a dumbass to think she can get away with it.
July 2nd, 2009 at 11:27 AM
so, I wonder who they sent an email to? Scarah’s team? and they responded with the “smear” lie? because the part about trying to arrange one of the gov’s people to make a statement sure does not sound like it came from Schmidt.
Schmidt and Scarah’s email exchange took place on Oct.15
the campaign statement (below) to CNN was made Oct. 14, a before the emails. I bet this had to come from Scarah and her campaign staff. Caught lying to the media and public? Not just to staff. The release sounds just like her style.
am I right?
………………………………………….from the crooks and liar blog
“Now, when we were preparing the Salon piece for publication, I contacted the McCain/Palin campaign first by phone to ask for their reactions to our report’s findings. They asked me to send an e-mail, which I did. But I never heard a word back from them.
So today, after CNN picked up the story, they were in fact able to elicit the following response:
” CNN is furthering a smear with this report, no different than if your network ran a piece questioning Senator Obama’s religion. No serious news organization has tried to make this connection, and it is unfortunate that CNN would be the first.
We are trying to arrange to have one of the Governor’s people come on air to respond in the event you do run this piece.”
July 2nd, 2009 at 12:01 PM
“4) Either Steve or one of the three original cc’s on these emails leaked this little exchange to protect themselves by showing what a whackjob they were dealing with.”
I just wanted to point out that lots of email setups will include the original message when someone hits “reply.” So someone who was a later-added cc could still have seen the whole chain of messages. All it would take was one person hitting “reply all” to the original message and then, before sending, manually adding the new cc people.
July 2nd, 2009 at 12:30 PM
128 Candy Knight Says:
July 2nd, 2009 at 6:24 AM
3) Sarah was in the habit of lying to her handlers, sometimes so blatantly that it’s obvious she thought they were gullible idiots.
==============
A close family member is sociopathic. Functional, social and employable, but… When a sociopath tells a lie, they are merely informing you of how the world IS — anything other than what they want to be true is set aside, not as unimportant, but as insubstantial. So its nice to know that the person standing in front of you offering you an obvious load of hooey will only question your intelligence (and allegiance — much more dangerous) if you *don’t* accept the ‘1984′-like reimaging. It is a threat to their very existance to challange their presentation of the world, and a carefully preserved relationship can crash and burn over disputing, say, whether payment was made for drinks in a coffee shop. It’s a control issue linked to the core personality. It’s a heck of a ride, and the track always runs out in midair.
Why are sociopaths such attractive, charismatic people?
July 2nd, 2009 at 1:06 PM
this post is now at HuffPo:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/akmuckraker/the-accidental-secessioni_b_225149.html
July 2nd, 2009 at 1:16 PM
Chinese Proverb … Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
Palin Proverb … Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. Systematically destroy a man’s ability to fish and you force him and his family out of their villages and onto the drilling fields of Alaska.
July 2nd, 2009 at 1:21 PM
Please DO NOT MISS THIS VERY IMPORTANT STATEMENT:
“…She was an AIP member before she got the job as a mayor of a small town…”
Palin has never acknowledged THAT SHE TOO WAS A MEMBER OF THE AIP!
It was not just that Todd was a member– he was a member FOR SEVEN YEARS–BUT THAT PALIN TOO WAS A MEMBER. She left when she became mayor and don’t forget the part of Vogler’s speech where he states that the way to get a seat at the table, a foot in the door is to INFILTRATE A MAJOR POLITICAL PARTY.
Todd being a member for seven years also makes it harder to believe her lie about checking the wrong box by mistake.
July 2nd, 2009 at 1:31 PM
I had never heard that she was a member…interesting. It was so hard to get national coverage of Todd’s membership in the AIP & now it’s all over the news.
July 2nd, 2009 at 1:56 PM
From Huffington Post: this article also discusses Sarah Palin AS A MEMBER OF THE AIP.
Apparently, Todd switched back and forth a few times to voting “undeclared” so this also puts a lie to the cover up that he checked the wrong box by mistake. He would have had to keep on checking the wrong box every time he switched back to AIP.
July 2nd, 2009 at 1:57 PM
Sorry forgot to past what I had cut.
Secessionist Palin Story: McCain Camp Pushes Back
digg Huffpost – stumble reddit del.ico.us ShareThisSeptember 2, 2008 04:19 PM
July 2nd, 2009 at 2:00 PM
Also from Robert F. Kennedy Huffington post article re: AIP :
“Palin’s husband Todd remained an AIP party member from 1995 to 2002. Sarah can be described in McCarthy-era palaver as a “fellow traveler.” While retaining her Republican registration, she attended the AIP’s 1994 convention where the party called for a draft constitution to secede from the United States and create an independent nation of Alaska. The McCain Campaign has reluctantly acknowledged that she also attended AIP’s 2000 Convention. She apparently found the experience so inspiring that she agreed to give a keynote address at the AIP’s 2006 convention and she recorded a video greeting for this year’s 2008 convention. In other words, this is not something that happened when she was eight!”
July 2nd, 2009 at 2:02 PM
Palin trying to explain Todd’s 7 year membership in the AIP:
“That’s not part of their platform and he was only a ‘member’ bc independent alaskans too often check that ‘Alaska Independent’ box on voter registrations thinking it just means non partisan,” Palin wrote. “He caught his error when changing our address and checked the right box. I still want it fixed.”
….AND the following explanation from AKM’s column on Tim Grussendorf, Palin’s selection to fill Elton’s Democratic Senate seat in March:
“Until two weeks ago, he was a registered Republican. According to Grussendorf, he didn’t realize he was registered as a Republican and it was some kind of clerical error in 2006. I’m not entirely clear on how someone could have gone through the 2008 political season and not realize one was a registered Republican, but that’s the story. I guess the “R” on the voter registration card slipped under the radar. Perhaps he thought all those donation requests, and shiny 4-color postcards, and letters from the Republican party were just coincidence. We may never know.”
http://www.themudflats.net/2009/03/30/palin-selects-grussendorf-sends-message-to-dems/
———————————————
They sound oddly similar, eh? Modus operandi for a certain pea-brain politicican to “fix it” and explain things in an alternate reality……alternate to ethics, that is.
July 2nd, 2009 at 2:22 PM
Oregonbird said, “A close family member is sociopathic. Functional, social and employable, but… When a sociopath tells a lie, they are merely informing you of how the world IS — anything other than what they want to be true is set aside, not as unimportant, but as insubstantial. So its nice to know that the person standing in front of you offering you an obvious load of hooey will only question your intelligence (and allegiance — much more dangerous) if you *don’t* accept the ‘1984′-like reimaging. It is a threat to their very existance to challange their presentation of the world, and a carefully preserved relationship can crash and burn over disputing, say, whether payment was made for drinks in a coffee shop. It’s a control issue linked to the core personality. It’s a heck of a ride, and the track always runs out in midair.”
Thanks for this information. I flat out don’t “get” Sarah or the people who follow her. It’s one of the reasons I keep following her career. I just flat out don’t understand, although I am really trying.
July 2nd, 2009 at 2:34 PM
Thanks for this information. I flat out don’t “get” Sarah or the people who follow her. It’s one of the reasons I keep following her career. I just flat out don’t understand, although I am really trying. by Candy Knight
_________________________________________________________________
It’s not that hard to understand. A certain percentage of the population still believes that Elvis is alive; that we never landed on the moon; that 9/11 was an inside job….. the list goes on and on.
July 2nd, 2009 at 2:39 PM
From Post 157 – “So today, after CNN picked up the story, they were in fact able to elicit the following response:
CNN is furthering a smear with this report, no different than if your network ran a piece questioning Senator Obama’s religion. No serious news organization has tried to make this connection, and it is unfortunate that CNN would be the first.”
Well, well, well…this looks to me like the Palin faction of the McCain campaign DID respond – against Steve S.’s order.
This response sounds so much like the Gov. Icon – in language and tone – as we’ve seen in the subsequent months. There is more to the story, oh yes.
July 2nd, 2009 at 3:25 PM
I don’t know how Alaskan’s put up with her. She’s too sensitive and prickly for national politics.
July 2nd, 2009 at 3:42 PM
It must be really hard being Sarah. How would you be able to sleep at night. How could you keep all your stories straight. How could you face the newspapers & tv news daily never knowing what’s next. The article in Vanity Fair about Palin is such an incredible gift. It came at a perfect time. McCain staffers are disgruntled & the writer is a Washington insider. I’ll bet Sarah never thought this info would come out now. Karma!
July 2nd, 2009 at 3:52 PM
Very interesting story on Joe Vogler and Sarah Palin–darleenmb.com/wordpress/?tag=joevogler I used to live in Fairbanks and , Joe Vogler was a nut–always on talk radio shows spewing his hatred for the United States gov, he called them the feds (sound like someone else we know?) He and his wife are buried in Canada, because he hated the US so much, hated cottonwood trees too!!(long story)
July 2nd, 2009 at 4:20 PM
Oh oh, MSNBC Countdown is reporting this story. Guess she’s getting all kinds of media attention now
July 2nd, 2009 at 4:45 PM
There *is* a Hawaii secessionist “movement”.
http://www.hawaii-nation.org/
In fact, there are dozens of secessionist “movements”. Here’s a fairly comprehensive list:
http://www.secessionist.us/
Note: I put ‘movement’ in scare quotes because most of these “movements” aren’t really moving all that much.
July 2nd, 2009 at 5:33 PM
I buzzed it up on Huff Post, I said she was sharp as a marble, and my post is pending. =(
July 2nd, 2009 at 5:38 PM
Here it is on Countdown………..
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/#31716580
July 2nd, 2009 at 6:30 PM
Riiight…
Todd just skipped right by that box on the voter registration application that said “Nonpartisan (no party affiliation)” and instead went to “Political Parties” and checked “Alaskan Independence Party” because he thought THAT mean nonpartisan.
http://www.elections.alaska.gov/forms/c03.pdf
Riiiight.
July 2nd, 2009 at 6:40 PM
re 151 and 173 – these two contradict each other. Seems the “legend” did a disservice to himself by not being buried in Alaska. From my perspective, being so close to Gettysburg and all, anyone who advocates for secession deserves all the negative attention he gets no matter how much of a “legend” he is in his own mind. And anyone who advocates for secession from the US is a radical. An anti-American radical along the lines of Jeff Davis and John Wilkes Booth.
July 2nd, 2009 at 7:15 PM
Lots of good coverage on this one. Dovetails nicely into the VF article. Some interesting comments in defense of SP. They can’t dispute the facts, so all they can say is “the election is over, why are you still covering her, it is not news”. Well I guess they have not noticed that she has not stopped campaigning. As long as she is staying in the game, she is fair game. I love Steve’s second response, to praphrase, your lying, your wrong, your stupid, shut up and do what you are told.
July 2nd, 2009 at 7:21 PM
She KNOWS the AIP is an anti-American political party, according to the leaked emails. She KNOWS her husband Todd was a member for 7 years, and she herself was a member for who knows how long. She KNOWS she told the AIP to keep up the good work in the video.
Yet she wants to be in the White House to do what exactly? Overthrow the federal government?
Hello? Is the FBI watching this crazy lady? Please?
July 2nd, 2009 at 7:28 PM
And another thing… If Todd and Sarah are secretly in agreement with AIP goals, it explains why Sarah is so willing to be photographed desecrating the American flag.
July 2nd, 2009 at 8:52 PM
When I was 18 I checked the Alaska Independent box because I thought it was non-partisan. It’s definitely possible to do.
July 2nd, 2009 at 9:12 PM
@ Alaskan #182: Did your spouse also film a video telling the AIP to keep up the good work?
July 4th, 2009 at 1:58 PM
[...] items in the news recently, include an unflattering 5000-word article in Vanity Fair, and a CBS News release of an email exchange between Palin and McCain strategist Steve Smith which gave a glimpse at “the real Sarah [...]