Palin Endorses Alaska Tea Party Candidate

Sarah Palin has endorsed another tea party challenger, this time in her home state of Alaska:

Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin is fast becoming a headache for the national Republican campaign committees -- endorsing insurgent challengers over establishment candidates and, in the process, turning once-safe districts into heated contests.

The latest and most dramatic endorsement came on Wednesday, when Palin took to her Facebook page to announce her support for Joe Miller -- an Alaska Tea Party candidate who failed to win a state Senate seat -- in his effort to unseat U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) in the Aug. 24 primary.

Placed in a broader context, the endorsement is nothing more than Palin continuing to play the role of ideological warrior (if not party irritant). But the history between the former governor and Murkowski is too animosity-filled to ignore. Palin famously defeated the Senator's father during her gubernatorial bid in 2006 and she did so by pledging to break up the Republican power nexus that included the both Frank and Lisa Murkowksi.

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