So now people are beginning to fill in some of the blanks regarding the little known Governor of Alaska. Well this is pretty big. Apparently, Palin was a backer of Pat Buchanan in his various quixotic far-right presidential campaigns. So not only is she out of step with the American mainstream, she sought to identify herself with one of the most polarizing figures in American politics - a racist anti-free markets isolationist.
This is the text:
From an AP report in 1999:
"Pat Buchanan brought his conservative message of a smaller government and an America First foreign policy to Fairbanks and Wasilla on Friday as he continued a campaign swing through Alaska. Buchanan's strong message championing states rights resonated with the roughly 85 people gathered for an Interior Republican luncheon in Fairbanks. ... Among those sporting Buchanan buttons were Wasilla Mayor Sarah Palin and state Sen. Jerry Ward, R-Anchorage."
Keep in mind, Buchanan ran a third-party campaign attack the Republican party (mostly) from the right:
Buchanan proposed U.S. withdrawal from the United Nations and expelling the U.N. out of New York, abolishing the Internal Revenue Service, Department of Education, Department of Energy, Department of Housing and Urban Development, taxes on inheritance and capital gains, and affirmative action programs.And all that in just one speech!
And here's the closer:
Plus, Buchanan had and has an extreme aversion to the sort of imperial adventures McCain is so fond of. It's starting to seem like Palin wasn't vetted all that carefully.
McCain took a big risk here, and it's starting to look pretty damn reckless. It'll be interesting what other little tidbits start to emerge over the next few days.