whittling her own stump

I am rather warming to Ms Palin:

The campaign of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., likes to herald the independence of its new running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

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."

Lynette Clark, the chairman of the AIP, tells ABC News that Palin and her husband Todd were members in 1994, even attending the 1994 statewide convention in Wasilla. Clark was AIP secretary at the time.

"We are a state's rights party," says Clark, a self-employed goldminer. The AIP has "a plank that challenges the legality of the Alaskan statehood vote as illegal and in violation of United Nations charter and international law."

via. I mean I’d no more vote for her than if she was Tharg the Magnificent from Betelgeuse, but I’d quite like her as a neighbour. Obviously, you’d have to give her a call before you popped round, so she could get the snipers to stand down. But I’m sure there’d be a hot fruit pie of some description waiting once you’d negotiated the mines and the pungi sticks.

I also like the various state independence movements. I know there’s a historically ugly background here in white supremacy, but them times ain’t no more. Right now it strikes me as one of the great romantic causes. And let’s not forget that the US would be a lot less trouble to everyone else if it split up into small, eccentric countries, each whittling on its own stump. Interesting wars, too.

Apparently AIP members are split between advocates of confederacy and full throated believers in complete independence north of the 50th parallel. Maybe they should call Putin in. He’s apparently keen to help out with that sort of thing, and I believe it’s been pointed out that Russia is close to Alaska.

Comments

[Chris Brooke]

I saw this link in the comments at Yglesias' place:

Sell Alaska back!

Also.

[jamie]

Quite the gas and water socialists up there in self reliance land, I see. Interesting that Pearlstein mentions Seward's orginal purchase. AFAIR, what he had in mind was to surround Canada prior to American absorbtion and then jettison the South to become part of Latin America.

[Dave Weeden]

She’s not very tolerant of divergent opinions or open to outside ideas or compromise. As Mayor, she fought ideas that weren’t generated by her or her staff. Ideas weren’t evaluated on their merits, but on the basis of who proposed them.
While Sarah was Mayor of Wasilla she tried to fire our highly respected City Librarian because the Librarian refused to consider removing from the library some books that Sarah wanted removed. City residents rallied to the defense of the City Librarian and against Palin's attempt at out-and-out censorship, so Palin backed down and withdrew her termination letter. People who fought her attempt to oust the Librarian are on her enemies list to this day.

From Andrew Sullivan. I think she'd get on rather well with Putin (though I don't think the great tiger-hunter would approve of backing down). If any Alaskan investigative reporters die in a hail of bullets, we'll know Palin and Putin have been calling each other.

I would really like to know what books she wanted removed. "Contraceptives for Dummies" one suspects.

[redpesto]

Dave: "I think she'd get on rather well with Putin (though I don't think the great tiger-hunter would approve of backing down)."

I suspect you're right, and the results might look a little like this
if Hollywood got hold of the movie rights (a remake starring Daniel Craig and Megan Mullally from 'Will and Grace')