Rogue Fact: Palin attacks "Democrat lawmaker" who's actually a Republican

http://mediamatters.org/items/200911140005 In her memoir, Going Rogue: An American Life, Sarah Palin mocks the "political buckshot" her "critics fired" at her, pointing to a "Democrat lawmaker" in Alaska who "complained that I wasn't as 'sparky' " after the 2008 election. Palin appeared to be referring to a January 31 Associated Press article that quoted Republican Alaska state Sen. Bert Stedman describing Palin as "[n]ot so sparky." Palin: "[O]ne Democrat lawmaker complained that I wasn't as 'sparky' as before" From Page 344 of Going Rogue: It was almost funny, certainly ridiculous, the political buckshot critics fired our way. Nationally, pundits and reporters would criticize me for focusing on Alaska and not attending the celebrity-packed events we were invited to Outside; locally, the opposition would criticize me for focusing on national issues -- as if I suddenly needed to become parochial and think of Alaska's issues as irrelevant to the nation. In Juneau, one Democrat lawmaker complained that I wasn't as "sparky" as before and that Piper and I no longer brought around bagels like we used to. The few times I hustled out of the state to attend, for instance, a fund-raiser for kids with special needs, my Juneau critics said that they were being abandoned. AP: Senator calling Palin "[n]ot so sparky" is a Republican From a January 31 Associated Press article: Some say she appears more tense than the vice presidential candidate who delivered sly jokes and incendiary speeches to packed rallies across the Lower 48. "Not so sparky," said Sen. Bert Stedman, R-Sitka, who wonders if the distractions of her newfound celebrity will keep Palin from devoting her full attention to Alaska's looming budget shortfall. Others grumble that she didn't seem to reach out to the nearly 60 lawmakers assembled before her. "I think her speech was not directed to us but right over our heads to a national audience," said Rep. David Guttenberg, D-Fairbanks, who remembers a much different Palin from just six months ago. "There were days when she walked around the building with (her daughter) Piper handing out bagels. I think those days are gone," he added with a touch of wistfulness. Stedman's Alaska state legislature profile -- which identifies him as a Republican -- can be viewed here.

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