The Democrats Need To Start Running Attack Ads Against Palin Right Now (With Updates)

Such attack ads shouldn't be about Palin's lack of experience, or the fact that Palin's teen-aged daughter is pregnant, or that Palin is currently in the middle of an ethics scandal, but should focus exclusively on this:

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."

After refraining from commenting on the charge for a day, the McCain campaign on Tuesday asserted that Palin was never a member of the AIP.

But 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. * * *

And before you respond by saying that this is old news and that Palin shouldn't be criticized for something she did in the 1990s, you should be aware that she continues to maintain ties with this fringe group.

Just last March, Palin "recorded a video welcoming the convention of the secessionist Alaskan Independence Party (AIP), saying 'we have a great promise to be a self-sufficient state, made up of the hardest working, most grateful Americans in our nation.'"

Needless to say, this is a disaster for the McCain Camp. Joe over at Americablog summed it up this way: "Okay, imagine, just imagine, a Democratic candidate being a member of a party where people say they're not Americans. It would be over. Over."

The Democrats shouldn't hesitate on this one. They should immediately start attacking Palin as a member of a fringe group, and should further attack McCain for choosing a running mate who hates America.

UPDATE: Sarah Palin's husband was a registered member of the Alaska Independence Party until 2002.

UPDATE II: Sarah Palin is also into book-banning.