Country First? But Which Country?

How ironic that the GOP spent its first whipping post party reinforcing "Country First," when their presumptive VP nominee, Sarah Palin has some checkered affinities with an Alaskan separatist organization trying to gain independence for "The Land of the Midnight Sun":

Whether or not Sarah Palin was ever a member of [Alaskan Independence Party], her easy acceptance of this fringe group is significant. In the odd, neo-colonial poltical culture of Alaska, AKIP is not that far out of the mainstream. But make no mistake: in the politics of the South 48, and particularly Republican politics, the AIP is, well, anti-American. Whatever she represented in Alaska, she is now the putative vice presidential candidate of a super-patrotic GOP and the handpicked running-mate of a presidential candidate whose message is "country first." "Alaska First" or "Canada First" are not acceptable points of view for John McCain's GOP, not matter how happy conservative activists may be about Palin's reactionary views on cultural issues.

In this respect, Palin's reminiscent of Trent Lott, who casually expressed a time-honored southern regional point of view about the Dixiecrat heritage in 2002 ... and got nailed for it.