You want to know why some Wasillans asked for the same anonymity in “The Rogue” as Colin Powell gets from Bob Woodward? Maybe ask an Alaskan:
McGinniss addresses the climate of fear the Palin camp has created in the Wasilla area since the mid-1990s, better than anyone else has. Far better. He lived through it. Here’s one example. My longtime friend (since 1974, in Seattle, before he moved to Alaska), Dewey Taylor, used his truck to bring some chairs over to McGinniss’ new rental next to the Palins. Apparently, some of Palin’s advocates took note:
Then I hear that at about four o’clock this morning somebody shot out the driver’s side window of Dewey Taylor’s truck, which was parked in his driveway.
I call him and offer to pay for a new window. “Don’t be ridiculous,” he says, “it was probably just a coincidence.”
“How long have you lived there?”
“About twenty years.”
“Ever had a problem with a vehicle parked in your driveway before?”
“Nope.”
“I don’t think it’s a coincidence.”
A couple of interesting things should be noted here. I see Dewey a lot. He’s never discussed this incident with me. Strange, eh? Maybe not, as three months earlier, Palin-loving vandals (a week after this incident) had drained the oil from my Subaru (probably using a Jabsco pump), cut the oil warning light wire, and cost us $3,500.00. And I’ve never shared that with Dewey. We’re both “I’ll move on” kinds of people. Dewey more than I. But did fear of even dwelling on the vandalism help us keep our mouths shut?
How many other stories like that are there out here in the Mad Zoo? The climate of festering fear or immediate retribution here – not just from the Palins, but from the nutty right-wing and Christianist zealots – should not be underestimated.
Who do you trust – the MSM in DC or Alaskans who know the truth? Here’s the bottom line:
The Rogue may be the best close look at how a small town in America related over a period of 20 years to a politician who had an uncanny ability to draw upon hatred, superstition, gang organizing and media incuriosity since Sinclair Lewis’ novel of 1935, inspired by Huey Long, It Can’t Happen Here.
The Dish 