Palin's Alaskan Secessionist Sympathies Come to Light

The latest surprise from Sarah Palin's past is her membership in the fringe Alaskan Independence Party, ABC News reports. A party leader says the governor and her husband were members in the 1990s. Though not strictly secessionist, the AIP is a "states' right party" that wants a vote on leaving the US. Its motto is "Alaska First, Alaska Always"—a far cry from the McCain slogan "Country First."

Atlantic Monthly blogger Marc Ambinder notes that the AIP is "a marginally accepted part of the political culture there." For its most recent convention, Palin recorded a video message praising the separatist party, and a leader praised Palin's governance and called on members to "infiltrate" the two main parties to push for independence. The McCain campaign has not responded to requests for comment.
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