Alaskan Independence Party: The Last Refuge of a Scoundrel

In 2004, America's malleable mainstream media allowed itself to be manipulated by artful Republican operatives into devoting weeks of broadcast attention and drums of ink to unfairly desecrating John Kerry's genuine Vietnam heroics while obligingly muzzling serious discussion of George W. Bush's shameful wartime record of evasion and cowardice.

Last week found the American media once again boarding Republican swift boats against this season's Democratic candidate armed with unfair and hypocritical attacks artfully designed by GOP strategists to distract attention from the cataclysmic outcomes of Republican governance. Vice Presidential hopeful Sarah Palin has taken to faulting Senator Barack Obama for his casual acquaintance with a respected Illinois educator Bill Ayers, who forty years ago was a member of the Weathermen, a movement active when Obama was eight and which he has denounced as "detestable." Palin argues that the relationship proves that Obama sees "America as being so imperfect that he is palling around with terrorists who would target their own country."

The Times dedicated a page one article to Obama's relations with Ayers and CNN's Anderson Cooper obliged Palin by rewarding her reckless accusations about Obama's patriotism with a major investigative report. Fox, meanwhile, is still riveting its audience with wall to wall coverage of this pressing irrelevancy.

But if McCarthy-era guilt-by-association is once again a valid political consideration, Palin, it would seem, has more to lose than Obama. Palin, it could be argued, following her own logic, thinks so little of America's perfection that she continues to "pal around" with a man--her husband, actually--who only recently terminated his seven-year membership in the Alaskan Independence Party. Putting plunder above patriotism, the members of this treasonous cabal aim to break our country into pieces and walk away with Alaska's rich federal oil fields and one-fifth of America's land base--an area three-fourths the size of the Civil War Confederacy.

AIP's charter commits the party "to the ultimate independence of Alaska," from the United States which it refers to as "the colonial bureaucracy in Washington." It proclaims Alaska's 1959 induction as a state "as illegal and in violation of the United Nations charter and international law."

AIP's creation was inspired by the rabidly violent anti-Americanism of its founding father Joe Vogler, "I'm an Alaskan, not an American," reads a favorite Vogler quote on AIP's current website, "I've got no use for America or her damned institutions." According to Vogler AIP's central purpose was to drive Alaska's secession from the United States. Alaska, says current Chairwoman Lynette Clark, "should be an independent nation."

Vogler was murdered in 1993 during an illegal sale of plastic explosives that went bad. The prior year, he had renounced his allegiance to the United States explaining that, "The fires of hell are frozen glaciers compared to my hatred for the American government." He cursed the stars and stripes, promising, "I won't be buried under their damned flag...when Alaska is an independent nation they can bring my bones home." Palin has never denounced Vogler or his detestable anti-Americanism.

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!

So when Palin accuses Barack of "not seeing the same America as you and me," maybe she is referring to an America without Alaska. In any case, isn't it time the media start giving equal time to Palin's buddy list of anti-American bombers and other radical associates?

Comments

[CeeCee]

"America as being so imperfect ..." what does this mean exactly?? that America is "perfect"??. Of course it isn't, especially not with the likes of McCain/Palin and their ilk running around in it. In a perfect American, none of this nasty garbage would be happening.

[karronna]

The abc blog spot is not allowing any reference to Palin's ties to the AIP to get posted...no links to the Salon.com article ,etc.

[Majus]

If I remember correctly, ABC does not allow _any_ links to be posted -- for anything.

[UnknownSoldier]

yeah, but they should be reporting on the story, BUT i'm guessing they are hoping to get her for another interview.


That is a clear BIAS

[Kate4Change]

CNN will let you. I've done it several times on AC 360 and Larry King. Also on Fox News. =) We sometimes have to go the other side to tell the truth.

[Kate4Change]

Write to CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC demanding that they cover this about Palin. Also about her abuse of power. They glossed over it on Friday as if it didn't matter. Abuse of Power is a big deal!!!

[indups]

I just found out that LA TImes did carry a story on Palin's link to the AIP. McCAin apparently slammed ABC for a web story on this!

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-aip3-2008sep03,0,6399468.story

[CCverve]

Seems the fair question is..

Is John McCain aware of his running mates ties to the AIP and if so to what degree? ...If so, would we consider this erractic judgement or worse ?

[realspirited]

Naw...remember, they vetted her! In a pig's eye they did!!!

[VAforObama]

More information about, and attention to, this group, please.

[llozano]

I wonder if Obama's refusal to play tit for tat in this campaign is one of the reasons why the mainstream media refuses to inquire more deeply into Palin's and McCain's ties and history. As the frontrunner Obama is trying to run a smart campaign, I hope. McCain and Palin are not beyond yelling fowl everytime Obama hits back as in the case of Congressman Lewis today. McCain is crying fowl because the Congressman called him on his fear mongering. So far Obama has not laid in too heavy on Palin and it seems to be working. However he should answer any accusations immediately and vigorously.

[girlwild]

Contrary to popular belief, the MSM is not liberal but is instead controlled by the right. Now that that canard is out of the way, the MSM will not report any negatives about McCain/Palin. That is why the negative and vicious campaigning against Obama is allowed to go forward on the MSM. Think about it, if the MSM was liberal, would they allow the negative and vicious attacks on Obama? People should use their common sense.

Also, do you think for one minute that if Jesus was alive he wouldn't condemn these negative, vicious attacks on anyone?

[UnknownSoldier]

Correct the Media is not Liberal, the only people who say that are the Right Wing Nutz. Almost every media news cycle is about something the Right wants to talk about. When they want to talk about Palin the most popular Gov. in the country, The MSM follow along. When the right wants to talk about Rev Wright, the MSM follows right along, when they want to talk about Bill Ayers, the MSM follows right along.

When the left wants to talk about how Charles Keating with the help of the Republicans and 5 Senators imparticular, contributed to a banking collapse, we hear silence from the MSM. The Comparisons to current events in the banking sector or too great, but we get silence from the MSM.

If it wasn't for this meltdown we'd still be talking about lipstick on pigs.

[UnknownSoldier]

This is a legitmate story for the MSM to cover because Palin has been bring up Obama's past connections.

This is why we have a first amendment.

[JohnBryansFontaine]

Bravo to Kennedy's article exposing Palin for the secessionist that she is

Be sure to also read ( and email ) Frank Schaeffer's :

Why Is Palin Such a Good Liar For God?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/frank-schaeffer/why-palin-is-such-a-good_b_132043.html

[juniorjedi]

This has always been the problem with the media...and american history in general...
It has always been easier to paint the black person as the "bad' person...

believe it or not...Dr. King was painted as the "bad" person....
..while the segregationist were the good americans who wanted to uphold the law...

so the media has no interest in looking at Sarah Palin AIP connections because ...come on she is a decent "white" american she would never do such a thing or even think such a thought...

[UnknownSoldier]

It is hard to argue with that

[scotnat]

The heading of the article is no more than a variation on a quotation attributed to Samuel Johnson -

'Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.'

Since when was it plunder to put the interests of your country before those of a wider union, and why should it be considered treasonous to aspire to an aim for your country which puts them first? If anything is treasonous it is the behaviour of both the Republican and Democratic Parties who have put their own political self-interest first. The real reason for opposition to the secession of any part of the United States is control freakery and the fear of the possible loss of power. The opening words of the Constitution of the United States are 'We The People'. The following was added to the saying by Samuel Johnston -

'But there is something worse: it is the first, last, and middle range of fools.' - H.L. Mencken

'...the ultimate authority, wherever the derivative may be found, resides in the people alone...'

- James Madison (Federalist 46)

'No man has a right to fix the boundary of the march of a nation, no man has a right to say to his country, "Thus far shalt thou go and no further".'

- Charles Stewart Parnell (Irish Nationalist Leader)

"ask not what your country can do for you, rather ask what you can do for your country."

- President John F. Kennedy (from his inauguration speech January 20, 1961)

[Indie2008]

Still no in-depth reporting on this by the media? How do they rationalize that? Don't we have at least as much right to know the facts about a suggested Palin connection to the AIP, as we do a casual acquaintance of Barack Obama?

[Gimeni]

Thank you for posting this. I can't for the life of me understand why the msm is NOT reporting this AT ALL. I'd rather have a President who had tea with someone who forty years ago rebelled against the Vietnam War, than have a Vice President who was part of an organization that doesn't even want it's state to be part of the US. She can't even deny that. By delivering keynote address (2006) and offering a video greeting (2008!), she's already shown her support for that organization. "Country First" my a$$.

[evekendall]

I came across this post at Daily Kos yesterday, and I'm going to help. Please join this email campaign to protest unbalanced news coverage by the media:

"Email the Media and demand that they expose the Extremist Friends of John McCain and Sarah Palin"
by kerouacforobama at Daily Kos Fri Oct 10, 2008

"There has been a co-ordinated effort by thousands of Republican supporters to mass email the media over the last few weeks. . .we see the results of this campaign everyday. . .The news media permit themselves to be manipulated by the Republicans. . .ENOUGH! We. . .must lead the Fightback and start contacting the media ourselves. The election is only 3 weeks away and we cannot let the GOP to steal another election."

This is an urgent matter. Please join the effort. We need to overwhelm the media with thousands of protests, like the Republicans do every day. Media contacts are provided in this Daily Kos diary. See link below:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/10/10/132416/97

[indups]

I just sent the DNC the dailykos story including the link to salon.com and Robert Kennedy's. I have also sent it to the OHIO DNC local chapter and the women's group.

I cannot understand why this story has not been picked up at all by the msm except by msnbc's Rachel Maddow. God bless her!

I also cannot understand why the sunday news shows did not talk about Palin's abuse of power news! It appears like they want to avoid any recriminating stories on Palin. Why this bias when they talk endlessly about Obama and Bill Ayers?

All of us have to bring this up daily and email the msm daily until they seriously look into this and make it newsworthy.

[PS4OBAMA]

Done! I just emailed it to all those stations indicated on the site; ENOUGH WITH THE OBAMA BASHING: IT'S TIME FOR AN OCTOBER SURPRISE FOR MCCAIN AND PALIN.

[ffny]

Group A.
Rev. Wright Chicago Pastor or Bill Ayers former weatherman Underground and University of Chicago College Professor

Group B.
Jos. Vogler Alaska Independence Party (Dead terrorist, Read his rants.)or Todd Palin Supposed former Alaska Ind. Party Member (husb. Of Sarah (A shout out to you Alaska Indepence Party guys) Palin

Give me an A

[Tannim]

Uh, I hate to burst a bubble here, but weren't the founding fathers secessionists, too???

http://muddythoughts.blogspot.com/2008/10/in-defense-of-alaska-independence-party.html

Mind you, that's not defending anything they stand for, just that secessionism is not as bad as everyone is demonizing it to be.

[CCverve]

And haven't we spent the last couple hundred years or so defending the principles of this great country?

It isn't the secession thats being demonized...it's the expressed reasons for it...

[Majus]

In my mind, secessionism goes against the principle of "United We Stand".

If Alaska were to secede, the very first time some aggressive country attacked them they would be crying to us for help.

We would also end up fighting illegal immigration on two fronts.

[UnknownSoldier]

The sad part about this story, is that more blogger aren't writing about it. The Obama campaign will not push this issue because the MSM will distort it and compare it to Ayers or Wright, neither of whom is seeking elective office.