Claim: Palin links to Alaskan Independence party

It's all kicking off. Barely an hour passes without another revelation or rumour about Sarah Palin.

Dexter Clark, Vice Chairman of the Alaskan Independence Party says of Palin:

She was an AIP member before she got the job as mayor.

If this proves to be true then I believe it out-ranks all the previous Palinalia. She became a Mayor in 1996 when she was 32 - so this allegation can hardly be dismissed as a youthful indiscretion.

Georgia10 on Daily Kos adds:

As Liz Arnett's diary sets forth, Sarah Palin recorded a nice message to the AIP Convention this year, saying that the party "plays an important role in our state's politics" and that "we have a great promise to be a self-sufficient state."

In the video below, Sarah Palin says "I am delighted to welcome you to the 2008 Alaskan Independence Party convention". Isn't that strange? She talks a lot about Alaska and the Alaskan Constitution, and says "Keep up the good work" and doesn't even mention the United States of America, although she briefly mentions "our nation" and "Americans".

We're talking about an organisation which wants to take one of the stars off the flag of the United States of America. What else do the words "Alaskan Independence Party" mean? Their website says:

The Alaskan Independence Party's goal is the vote we were entitled to in 1958, one choice from among the following four alternatives:
1) Remain a Territory.
2) Become a separate and Independent Nation.
3) Accept Commonwealth status.
4) Become a State.
The call for this vote is in furtherance of the dream of the Alaskan Independence Party's founding father, Joe Vogler, which was for Alaskans to achieve independence under a minimal government, fully responsive to the people, promoting a peaceful and lawful means of resolving differences.

The FAQs section on their website says:

Q: What is the Alaskan Independence Party?
A: An Alaskan political party whose members advocate a range of solutions to the conflicts between federal and local authority; from advocacy for state's rights, through a return to territorial status, all the way to complete independence and nationhood status for Alaska.

"Keep up the good work"

....And the McCain campaign has been trying to paint Obama as unpatriotic.