Horrors: Jake Tapper says Sarah Palin was member of "fringe" party (Alaskan Independence Party)

On the one hand, it seems that the John McCain campaign didn't do their due diligence - in a GOP, mainstream sense - on vice presidential pick Sarah Palin. On the other hand, Jake Tapper's attempt to break news isn't as bad as the "news" recently coming from DailyKos, as he breathlessly lets us know that (link):

Officials of the Alaskan Independence Party say that Palin was once so independent, she was once a member of their party, which, since the 1970s, has been pushing for a legal vote for Alaskans to decide whether or not residents of the 49th state can secede from the United States.

And while McCain's motto -- as seen in a new TV ad -- is "Country First," the AIP's motto is the exact opposite -- "Alaska First -- Alaska Always."

Oh, horrors! Here's their platform, and I'll bet if you lived in Alaska it wouldn't seem so "fringe", unless your point of reference is the Beltway establishment. While I'm sure some of their members are indeed "fringe", their platform isn't all that extreme. It's not like they're running around in robes, supporting race-based irredentism, consorting with foreign countries, supporting illegal activity in order to gain race-based power, or supporting giving the UN their own army or things like that. Those would be, in the eyes of hacks like Tapper, not just acceptable but admirable.

And, it's not like the article has endeavored to find out the extent to which Palin supported their platform, nor does he provide a then-current copy of their platform. And, it's not like their ideas don't deserve serious consideration rather than being smeared as Tapper does, even if someone disagrees with some or all of their ideas.

UPDATE: As it turns out, while her husband might have been and might still be a member, Sarah Palin was never a card-carrying member (link):

In recent press reports, Lynette Clark, the AIP's chairman, has been quoted as saying Palin was at an AIP convention in 1994 and was an official party member at the time. Other sources within the party tell Mother Jones that the only way to become a member of the AIP is to register to vote with the AIP. Yet the state of Alaska released records confirming what the McCain-Palin campaign had maintained: Palin never registered as an AIP member.

Politics · Mon, 09/01/2008 - 15:43 · · Importance: 4