Politics

Why did Palin name a pro-choice judge to the Alaska Supreme Court?

At least one mystery from Sarah Palin's short reign as governor of Alaska appears to have been cleared up by claims made in a manuscript for a book proposed by former Palin aide and confident Frank Bailey. Many have wondered why Palin, who professes to be pro-life, named to the Alaska Supreme Court Morgan Christen, who is pro-choice. The move took both conservatives and liberals by surprise in 2009. Some conservatives attacked Palin for a lack of conviction. Palin backers argued the governor had no choice, given both candidates forwarded to her were pro-choice. According to a draft of Bailey's proposed book, "Blind Allegiance,'' though, abortion had nothing to do with Christen's appointment. There was a far simpler reason. As a state Superior Court judge, Todd Palin believed Christen had sided with Palin's sister Molly in a custody dispute with her husband, an Alaska State Trooper. Todd had been overjoyed at that turn of events and became a big Christen fan. Palin, according to Bailey, refused to listen to his or Van Flein's advice. She went ahead and appointed Christen, and luckily the connection between Palin and Christen never became a big issue at the time.

Craig Medred

Craig Medred is a former writer for the Anchorage Daily News, Alaska Dispatch and Alaska Dispatch News. He left the ADN in 2015.

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