Much has been made of the fact that President Donald Trump was not invited to attend services at the funeral of one of the most prominent members of his own party, the late Arizona Senator John McCain. Another very famous name that was not invited, however, is getting some raised-eyebrow attention on Wednesday.
NBC's @KellyO reports: Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin has not been invited to attend memorial services for John McCain
— Jesse Rodriguez (@JesseRodriguez) August 29, 2018
McCain and Palin were once running mates during the presidential campaign that ended in the election of President Barack Obama. Not only did the two differ greatly in style, but McCain has since written in his book The Restless Wave: Good Times, Just Causes, Great Fights, and Other Appreciations that he regretted having chosen Palin to appear on his ticket. Palin called the statement a “gut punch.”
The former Republican nominee for president notably chose to run an issues-based campaign and avoid negative, partisan, scandal attacks, something Palin embraced with her claims that Obama used to “pal around with terrorists” in a sharp break from McCain’s eschewing of that kind of rhetoric. In fact, the senator was so determined to avoid such talk that he famously stood up to one of his own supporters at a town hall who had been frightened by talk of Obama’s “Arab” roots.
During the 2008 campaign, a woman said she couldn't trust Obama because “he’s an Arab.” John McCain shook his head. “No ma’am. He’s a decent family man and citizen that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues, and that’s what this campaign’s about.” pic.twitter.com/xeuMg3xQ3D
— POLITICO (@politico) August 26, 2018
McCain went on after losing his second bid for the presidency (he first ran against President George W. Bush in 2004) to continue serving his country in the U.S. Senate and worked across the aisle quite often on issues like healthcare and campaign finance reform. His refusal to walk the party line earned him a special place on President Trump’s hate list, although McCain seemed largely unfazed by this.
Palin, on the other hand, fully embraced Trump’s fear-mongering, xenophobia, and racism, standing beside him on campaign stages and being trotted out to help Trump appeal to the same crazed conspiracy theorist crowds who once thought the Alaska governor who could see Russia from her house would be a great choice to stand in the position of being just a heartbeat away from the presidency.
Palin has since gone on to quit her job as Alaska’s governor, blame President Obama when her son held his girlfriend at gunpoint and was arrested for domestic violence, and spend her days sharing “news” stories from a blog called “Chicks on Right” on her Twitter page.
However, it may not have been John McCain himself who made the decision to not invite her to attend the funeral. McCain’s family has made no secret of their distaste for Palin following the election. Meghan McCain, the senator’s daughter, wrote in her own book, Dirty Sexy Politics, about the Alaska governor’s time on the campaign trail, calling her “the time bomb.”
‘She was turning out to be somebody who leaves a wake of confusion and chaos — to the point of dizziness — wherever she went.’
Considering that Palin publicly endorsed the presidential candidate who trashed the former POW who made her a household name by trusting her to be his running mate, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that she’s ended up being persona non grata at the man’s funeral.
Palin, however, is sure to be shocked by the news.
Featured image via Flickr by Ronna Proudfoot under a Creative Commons license
