In its never-ending desire to secure the election of Barack Obama, the mainstream media seems willing to commit all manner of journalistic malpractice.

The latest is the attempt to deflect the attention from Senator Obama’s Illinois political allies and supporters, William Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn (founders of the 1970’s terrorist group, the Weather Underground).

To do this, they’ve resorted to the fantasy that Todd Palin associated with terrorists in Alaska. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. posted an article on the Huffington Post attempting to do this. Kennedy’s article is a deceptive, misleading collection of half-truths. It has been accepted as gospel truth and widely circulated by defenders of Obama. It is a despicable piece of shoddy research, which even the author has to know is a falsehood.

In the article Kennedy asserts that Todd Palin joined the Alaska Independence Party and that the AIP was “rabidly and violently anti-American.”

Ironic of course, for any member of the political left to wrap themselves in the flag and profess outrage at “anti-Americanism.”

The facts in the story are simply wrong. Todd Palin didn’t “join” the AIP, and the AIP is hardly a hotbed of anti-American terrorists.

Todd Palin didn’t “join” the Alaska Independence Party – he selected it as his “party preference” when he registered to vote

This may seem like a mere technicality, but anyone who lives in a state where voters record their “party preference” knows what that means. In Alaska, voters have the option of registering their party preference. Todd Palin registered his party preference as Alaska Independence Party in October, 1995. In 2000, he changed his party preference to “undeclared,” and then a few months later changed it back to “Alaska Independence Party.” In July of 2002, he again changed his party preference to “undeclared.” See: http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/09/todd_palin_was_registered_memb.php

Note: the headline on this site is misleading. You don’t have to be a “member” of a political party to register your preference with the state division of elections. You are simply recording your party preference. There are three “third party” political groups in Alaska, the Alaska Independence Party, the Green Party, and the Patriot Party. Third parties in AK can have their nominees automatically placed on the ballot if at least 3% of the registered voters indicate the party as their “party preference” in their voter registration. This is obviously a great advantage to a third party, so they encourage as many voters as possible to select them as their party preference.

But what is the Alaska Independence Party?
I would encourage everyone who has an interest to surf over to the Alaska Independence Party website. (http://www.akip.org). It’s an opportunity for a good homeschooling moment on political science, the election process, and tracking down sources.

The Alaska Independence Party is remarkably mainstream. To characterize them as the “Weather Underground” of the frozen north is laughable. In fact, in 1990, the Alaska Independence Party nominated Walter Hickel for Governor. Hickel had been elected Governor of Alaska as a Republican in 1966, and in 1969 he was appointed US Secretary of the Interior. In 1990, he won the election for Governor of Alaska as the Independence Party Candidate, becoming one of only six third party candidates in US history to win a governor’s race (Jesse Ventura of MN, and Lowell Weicker of CT are two of the others). In 1994, the AIP nominated then Lt. Governor Coghill in the race for Governor. Coghill finished third, behind the Democratic winner Tony Knowles, and the Republican nominee Jim Campbell, but ahead of the Green Party and Patriot Party nominees.

Walter Hickel should be revered by the left.

In 1970 following the shooting of college students at Kent State University by the Ohio National Guard, Hickel wrote a letter critical of Nixon’s Vietnam War policy and urging him to give more respect to the views of young people critical of the war. This dissent garnered worldwide media attention, and on Nov 25, 1970, Hickel was fired over the letter.^[1]

In 2006 Hickel endorsed Sarah Palin in her bid to become governor. In 2008, he called for the resignation of Alaska Senator Ted Stevens.

Somehow, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. managed to leave out of his Palin smear on the Huffington Post the fact that the Walter Hickel, candidate of the Alaska Independence Party, had actually been elected the Governor of Alaska in 1990.

Pretty radical stuff…

– Rob Shearer (aka RedHatRob)