Sarah Palin Who's "Palling Around" With Whom?

All you need to know about Palin is that she's been hanging around, might I say "palling around," with the Alaska secessionist movement. She keeps going to their annual conventions and addressing them. She even sent a friendly video message one year she couldn't be there in person. And this is very recent and ongoing, not something that happened many years ago, say when she was eight years old. And this is the person that Senator John McCain unleashed on the country that he says (again and again... and again) he's always "put first."

Palin's secessionist friends are in a group founded by a man who said that he hated the United States, the American government and the American flag in that order. (See several excellent instigative reports on Sarah Palin and her political ties by Max Blumenthal at http://maxblumenthal.com/)

These are people with strong ties to dozens of other bizarre little organizations in the southern states full of folks driving around and pickup trucks festooned with Confederate flags and vowing they'd be better off outside of the Union. These are the people who sometimes claim that the UN is sending helicopters to spy on them. These are the men and women who don't trust mainstream anything, and have developed a whole alternative world (schools, home schools, publishing, radio, TV, newsletters, organizations, churches...) where they never have to confront facts let alone identify themselves as Americans first.

On top of this, Palin comes from a 20-year plus Association with the radical fringe of the lunatic fringe of American religion: the Assemblies of God denomination. Even in most Evangelical circles, where, up until the mid 1980s I spent my whole life as an evangelical leader and life-long Republican (see my book CRAZY FOR GOD-How I Grew Up As One Of The Elect, Helped Found The Religious Right, And Lived To Take All (Or Almost All) Of It Back ) Palin's denomination is regarded as "out there." Palin's church saw fit to bring a "professional" exorcist in to cast out demons and "witches" and "uphold" Palin that she might vanquish all those witches who stood in her way (I'm not kidding!). She received his blessing, her arms upheld in prayer.

Once in a while the mask slips as to just how far right and how fringe the McCain machine has tilted post-Palin. A minister who gave the invocation at a McCain rally in Iowa prayed this: God's reputation is at stake in this election, he said, because Hindus, Muslims and Buddhists around the world are praying for an Obama victory. "If Obama wins, they'll think their god is bigger than the Christian God."

What you have to understand about Palin and the subculture she represents -- all those people yelling and screaming hate-filled messages at her rallies and claiming that they think Obama is "a Arab" etc., -- is that many of them have already seceded from the United States of America, at least in their minds. They see themselves as a "faithful remnant" of God's Kingdom forced to live here in sinful America with the unwashed mob od sinners for a little while longer until Jesus raptures them all back to heaven where they really belong.

In their minds not only United States government but the pluralistic tolerant United States itself, is God's enemy. In their version of a perfect world there would be no gays, no art, no literature... in fact, no anything that raised questions or doubts about the only game in town: forcing the narrowest, most ugly and intolerant and version of religion an anyone desperate enough to join their groups.

McCain has given us a vice presidential candidate who, in the best of all her imagined world's, would be presiding over a new country called Alaska that had seceded from the United States, with libraries in which books she didn't like were banned, where state employees had to get (and stay!) in good with her family or get fired, where exorcists were imported to sniff out witches and where a good time can be had by all when "drill baby drill" is temporarily interrupted for cross continental snowmobile races, further fouling the atmosphere.

Palin wants to be a heartbeat from the American presidency, running a country that her friends openly want to leave, freinds she's never rebuked, rather that she spoke to at their meetings. Palin makes a big point off wrapping herself in the flag. If her friends have their way there will be one less star on it.

Frank Schaeffer is the author of CRAZY FOR GOD-How I Grew Up As One Of The Elect, Helped Found The Religious Right, And Lived To Take All (Or Almost All) Of It Back. Now in paperback.

Follow Frank Schaeffer on Twitter: www.twitter.com/frank_schaeffer

Comments

[CIgarCityGirl]

Thank you, Mr. Schaeffer, for helping me to understand what goes on in the minds of members of the Religious Right. I have been wondering what is going on in there for sometime now...and I have been seeking proof of the teachings of Christ in their words and works. Sadly, I have not yet seen such evidence. I look forward to reading your book and your future blogs on this site!

[Levittown]

Without the aid of a desperate John McCain and party hopefuls Sarah Palin would never have had the celebrity of national renown. Although if she was outed by the legislature in Alaska and her former job as Mayor previously with a bent to censor library books she would never been known. Also, just her association with a group who wish to secede from the United States would disqualify her as a rebel.

[ThanksMatt]

Dear Frank Schaeffer, thank you so much for your articles. I am really glad that I found them (they are too hidden on Huffington Post!!!!)

Especially important to me is your highlighting of the connection between Palin's lying and her assuming that this is the will of God. This issue made me so mad all the time but now that I come to understand more and more -through your work- I see how all of this is coming about. It gives me more understanding and therefore it gives me a tool to deal with people like this on blogs.

[whit4brains]

Their version of a perfect world with no gays, no art and no literature sounds like HELL to me!

[kavan]

Frank, you are one of my favorites here.

[SaskiaStars]

and yet still we have righties say they will not vote for O because his wife once said that for the first time in her adult life she is REALLY proud of her Country...­..........­..........­....unfrea­kingbeliev­able......­....

[RhiannonMR]

I disagree with the first comment. Sarah Palin is dangerous. She is extremism wrapped in one pretty pkg that too many are listening to. And she scares the sense out of me here in TX where so many see her as a 'good ole girl'. She isn't. She's quite frightening to me because the crap that comes out of her mouth is deliberately designed to inflame the worst in her audience. And I WILL hold her responsible for any post or pre electoral violence aimed at Barack Obama and Joe Biden. Because her hate speech will have instigated it.

[BarackMarley]

Here's CNN's Show on Palin and the AKIP
http://newsone.blackplanet.com/elections/cnn-covers-palins-akip-connection/

Here's an interview with the Chairman of the AKIP on Palin
http://newsone.blackplanet.com/elections/akip-interview-on-palin/

[londongal]

A dangerous woman indeed!

[mamadeus]

Frank, you gave an excellent interview with Amy Goodman yesterday. People that attend these Churches
have their own subculture and regard other believers as heretics. They have a blind spot in many areas,
especially condoning everything Israel does.
The Dobsons of the world would rather have a nut job like Palin because she would give them a power base. It is that simple. Power will be their downfall.

[NationalTreasure]

FRANK:

What can I do to talk you down?

Sarah is not that bad, she is simply a meglamaniac. A bit uneducated but arrogant in her ignorance.

Just little malicious but always with a nice smile.

Really Frank, Sarah is harmless. :-)

[LCRover001]

This woman is far from harmless.

The words she spews about Obama are a projection of her own self and thoughts.

She addressed the AIP convention THIS year saying she agreed with what they were doing and to keep up the good work.

The AIP is no joke and neither is the possibility of one of their unofficial members becoming a heartbeat away from the Presidency.

She has deep ties to this group and has worked hand and hand with them at times. This is a group that also has ties to hate groups. I can see where Gov. Palin gets her stance against hiring minorities and the way she has been conducting her self lately on the stump. It shows as plane as day for those not blinded by Politics.

It is bad enough she crawled her way in to the gubernatorial seat of one of our great nations states but NO WAY NO HOW should she be allowed anywhere near the reigns of power in the White House.

[Freesia2]

lol

[HeevenSteven]

Anyone that ignorant, who thinks they're more than qualified for the top job is dangerous.