Sarah Palin Cover-Up E-Mails Why She Resigned?

E-Mails Show Sarah Palin Attempted to Lie About First Dude's AIP Affiliation

Saul Relative, Yahoo! Contributor Network
Jul 4, 2009 "Share your voice on Yahoo! websites. Start Here."

Just one day after David Shuster, sitting in for Keith Olbermann on MSNBC's "Countdown," aired leaked e-mails from Senator John McCain's former staffer Steve Schmidt telling Sarah Palin that the campaign would not address the issue of Todd Palin's membership in the Alaska Independence Party, Sarah Palin suddenly resigns as Governor of Alaska, to be effective July 26. Is it a coincidence or is there something there that just might cause the soon-to-be former Governor of Alaska enough political problems to simply call it quits?

The Daily Kos' Democrats Ramshield posits that it is more than just coincidence. Although Alaska Governor Sarah Palin wasted little time in flagellating the press during her press conference Friday, she did not offer any specifics as to why she was resigning, only admitting that it was best of Alaska and for her constituents to trust her in her decision. Democrats Ramshield believes that the straw that broke Sarah Palin's political back was the release of a series of e-mails between Sarah Palin and Steve Schmidt where the Governor asked Schmidt to help suppress the information that Todd Palin was in the Alaska Independence Party, which has as a its central mission statement the facilitation of the secession of Alaska from the United States.

Palin asked Schmidt to issue a statement that Todd Palin had never belonged to the Alaska Independence Party and that he had checked a box by mistake when registering to vote thinking it meant he was an independent voter. She was afraid it was going to become an issue when reporters began asking about it. She said that the AIP was an "anti-American" party and that secession was not part of their platform. She said she didn't want to address it continuously and ordered it "fixed." Schmidt refused, telling her that they knew that Todd Palin had been a member of the AIP for seven years and that she was simply to say that her husband joined because of Alaskans' tradition of independence. Steve Schmidt wrote: "We will not put out a statement and inflame this and create a situation where John [McCain] has to address this."

Was Sarah Palin involved in an attempted cover-up? It would appear so. Was this why she suddenly resigned? Perhaps. But it seems that someone who has taken as much political heat as has Sarah Palin could weather even these e-mail disclosures.

Besides, being part of the political party that advocates secession from the union isn't anti-American. It's actually the opposite. Governor Rick Perry has advocated Texas secede. Vermont has been trying to secede for years. Half the United States seceded once upon a time. So what's wrong with the First Dude being a member of a secessionist political party?

But Democrats Ramsfield and the Daily Kos might be on to something. There are probably thousands of existing e-mails that were sent between Sarah Palin and John McCain's staffers during the 2008 campaign for the presidency. There are more likely as not e-mails that are far more condemning.

Perhaps it was the potential fallout from more e-mails being released that caused the Alaska Governor to not only announce she would not seek a second term but that she would also not become a "lame duck" governor, either. Palin said in the press conference that she would attempt to help Alaska effect change from outside politics.

In the end, it seems that Sarah Palin was a secessionist as well, seceding from politics...

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