Memo to Sarah Palin: if you want to keep your children’s lives private, don’t give People Magazine an exclusive about your son’s wedding//UPDATE: My one brief meeting with Track
May 20, 2011
It’s such a shame–but so predictable–that Sarah had to milk this moment for publicity value. I feel quite sure that neither Track nor Britta wanted their wedding to become a national news story.
The bride’s father is pastor of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Wasilla, a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
He is no relation to Brad Hanson, the Palmer businessman, and Todd’s ex-partner in the Big Lake snowmobile shop, with whom Sarah allegedly had an affair.
I had the pleasure of being introduced to Rev. Hanson when I was in Alaska last summer. He is well liked and highly regarded and distinctly not part of the Christian Dominionist movement in Wasilla centered around Sarah’s Assembly of God church.
No one I spoke to last summer expressed anything other than praise and affection for his daughter, Britta. Many times I was told she was “the best thing” or “the only good thing” that ever happened to Track.
Last September, just after I left Alaska, she starred in the role of Elizabeth Bennet in the Valley Performing Arts production of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.
Track himself has done all he can to distance himself from Sarah Palin Enterprises, Inc. Whatever his problems as an unsupervised adolescent, let’s give him and his new wife a break as they begin their married life together. Unlike Bristol, Track has never tried to cash in. He and Britta have been devoted to one another for years. I’m sure it wasn’t their idea to make a wedding announcement in the pages of People.
Let’s wish them both the best.
UPDATE:
I never spoke to Track during the months I lived next door to him last summer. As I describe in THE ROGUE, a friend of mine had an encounter with him in late summer that started badly but ended well, and I believe it was Track who took the surreptitious photo of me on my deck that Sarah used in the Facebook post in which she implied that I’d moved in primarily so I could peer into Piper’s bedroom, but I don’t begrudge him doing what his mother and father told him to do.
Of course, as even a blind man could see, the picture shows me facing in the opposite direction from the Palin house while talking to my wife on my cell phone. Yet Glenn Beck and others on Fox News–Greta Van Susteren, in particular–used it as “evidence” that I was using binoculars to peer into the bedroom of a child. Absolute insanity.
But that wasn’t Track’s fault. As far as I know, he never said a bad word about me in public, and he never did anything to make me feel unwelcome as a neighbor.
In fact, my only meeting with Track could not have been more pleasant. As I write in THE ROGUE,
When I was in Wasilla in the fall of 2009, I stopped by the Palin house to drop off a copy of Going to Extremes, my book about Alaska in the 1970s. I’d signed it, “To Sarah Palin—from one author who loves Alaska to another.” Track came to the door and we had a brief, pleasant chat as I gave him the book. “You wrote this? Wow! That’s awesome.” I told him I was glad he’d made it back safely from Iraq. He thanked me and said he’d give the book to his mother.
I realize now, of course, that Sarah never “loved” Alaska–that she loves only herself–but that doesn’t alter the fact that Track was a perfect gentleman to a stranger who knocked unexpectedly on his door.
So, again, let’s wish him and his new wife well as they attempt to build a life together on their own.
Maybe they can escape from the circus.
Posted in Joe McGinniss, Palin children, Sarah Palin, The Rogue, Todd Palin, Wasilla | 
Tags: big lake, brad hanson, britta hanson, christian dominionism, duane hanson, evangelical, evangelical lutheran church, good shepherd lutheran church, jane austen, pride and prejudice, sarah palin affair, valley performing arts, wasilla
47 Responses to “Memo to Sarah Palin: if you want to keep your children’s lives private, don’t give People Magazine an exclusive about your son’s wedding//UPDATE: My one brief meeting with Track”
That is very gracious of you and you are absolutely right.
I truly feel empathy for Sarahs children as my mother is a narcissist. Only she can be very knd, so that is a big difference.
I hope the kids get counseling if they need it. When I saw Bristol shoved on the public stage, I felt so badly for her. And reading Dunn’s account of how the kids found out Sarah was the VP candidate? Unbelievable!
Anyhow best wishes to Track and Britta. She is beautiful and I hope they have a happy life.
Congratulations, Track and Britta. Best wishes to you both.
Run, Track, Run. You’re the best thing this family has to offer. Come on down the lower 48.
The corsages and the People Magazine shoot -Sarah’s idea? Maybe a way to create a little nest egg for the couple? I DO wish them the best and I hope they do not allow mama grizzly to further put them in the spotlight.
Britta is lovely. Since she worked for the Palin administration (given a job at the age of 18 no less), I must presume she knows what she is getting into.
All the very best Britta and Track.
Palin’s children deserve a break from her critics, I think.
After all, no one gets to choose their parents. Of all of Palin’s kids dragged into her reality TV series, Track seemed the most reluctant to be there. Palin also made him seem like a rather dolt.
I am happy to hear he is a better person than his mother, apparently, who shoved him on the national stage and used his army stint for her own military cred.
So best of luck, Track and Britta- stay away from the cameras, okay?
I wish them the best. But if those young newly weds are smart I’d run as fast as I could away from the Palin family. She will try to run his life. If they have babies watch out. Palin will take that baby from that girl. Sweety watch yourself. You seem to come from a good family. Stay away from the Palins and don’t get mixed up in their drama and you will do fine. Track at least tries to stay away from his sick mommie dearest.
I really DO wish them the very best. They are young and they will need all the help they can get.
Best wishes and much happiness to the newlyweds. I too hope you can have your own life together, away from the SP circus.
If they are very lucky, they will move away, see her parents often and avoid his. Palin is incapable of leaving anything alone. With her, everything is about the money and her.
He never appears to be part of that family though. Track has always seemed distant. Perhaps he has seen the aberrations in Palin’s behavior. I hope he can manage to have a happy and successful marriage. His role models leave much to be desired.
The People spread is another explicit example of Sarah using her children for her own purposes.
The photos were provided by the Palin ” family.”
That being said, it isn’t the couples fault. I hope they choose a life away from this circus of peddling for dollars. They are a beautiful couple with a right to privacy.
O/T Uncut: Palin: ‘I Do Have the Fire in My Belly’ (Sarah definitely sounds like she plans on running!!)
Sarah Palin addresses the decision-making process in whether to run for president, media attacks on candidates and the state of the GOP
http://video.foxnews.com/v/950954833001/uncut-palin-i-do-have-the-fire-in-my-belly/?playlist_id=86925
The fact that they chose a small simple wedding speaks volumes about them. They could have easily sold rights to wedding coverage and earned enough to cover both her undergrad degree and a MSN, or for a down payment on a home. Instead they steered as clear of the limelight as a child of Palin can.
Good luck to them both.
Her rhetoric (in Greta interview tonight) indicates she IS running (the delusional loon):
“I have to get my family ready for the intensity of the campaign.”
“We all have our strengths and our weaknesses and I think what
you’re going to see is a field of candidates that are pretty much all on
par. It’s going to be a level playing field and our records and our
intentions for what it is that we want to see this country become will
be what the voters will have to judge us on.”
Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
–Joe
Thanks for the positive coverage of this marriage, Joe.
Agree with Phil. Thank you for this fair coverage. Track has never sought the limelight and I am troubled the photos were sold by his mother (though not surprised). Hopefully, Track will feel embraced by his new family and in-laws who seem by the picture loving, affectionate and will be able to distance himself from the dysfunction he has been subjected to. I applaud Phil and Joe in honoring this young couple and not exploiting them as his mother has (repeatedly) done. On another note, his bride is absolutely lovely.
Britta also attended the TIME 100 last year, as well as Bristol’s candies events. The two seem to be close.
My one and only wish for them is they get and stay as far away from the Wicked Witch of Wasilla, as is humanly possible.
I wish nothing but the best for Track & Britta. May their lives be happy & drama free. Thanks Joe!
But, why is she allowed to continue with this air time on Fox? She all but said she IS a candidate. Are there different rules for her than for the others that got kicked off Fox?
Hi Joe –
Often I’ll post a comment at HP or IM, then I’ll read your blog and you say what I was trying to say, but much more succinctly. Dang, I should just come here first and post a link! The entire last paragraph (plus “Let’s wish them all the best”) sums up what took me about four paragraphs to say over at IM. I’m not going to beat myself up over it, though, because you make a living from writing so well.
I’m from Mass also. I hope some of your first book signings will be around here. Keep me posted, K?
What I see is a well developed homey loving family ready to present her son’s baby to the world during her campaign. Vote for me, look at the family I’ve raised . They’ve all been bought and they’ll all be on stage. Seems we have now have a preacher in the family. I don’t mean to be crude but the devil just bit the man of the cloth and he accepted the bite. Big $$$ coming into the newlyweds. One thing has me, ARNOLD goes down but sarah’s still standing. We can get them all but we can’t get her WHY?
Of course everyone wishes this young couple runs away from Quitler, Inc. ASAP. Just how much did she make on that People spread? She steals, even from her own kids. Seems to me the young couple should have gotten paid–it was their day, and they probably need the dough. I must admit, though, I’ve never seen anyone get married in blue jeans. With a pastor in the family, was it a civil ceremony? That’s rather odd.
And if Track actually gets accepted by the Univ of AK, it will not be because he inherited Twitler or Toad’s brains.
I actually wish them the best in leaving Wasilla behind them, though.
Palin has to be the biggest hypocrite ever. I wish the kids well, but when she decides to announce she is running, they will be caught up in the insanity of it all.
To echo everyone’s sentiments, best of luck to Track and Britta. I found her writings from when she spent time in Spain to be very interesting and she sounds like a nice girl who actually has an interest in the world around her. For those worried about Sarah butting into their lives – how much time does she spend there? How much time does she spend with her other children? I don’t think they need to worry. Track has done well in keeping out of the glare.
ELCA Lutheran is about as far from Assembly of God as you can get. The ELCA voted two years ago to allow congregations to call gay ministers in committed relationships. It’s been a rough road for the ELCA because of it, but it’s a distinctly Lutheran thing to do.
I do with the couple the best. I agree it’s a shame that People magazine had to be involved.
They sold the pic to People magazine. That says it all about them, including the girl and her parents.
I agree.
Love how she says “strike dills.” If they’re good and crunchy, the dills will make that nice crisp sound like on the Claussen commercial when you strike them.
I do assume that Track does not want to be part of the circus, only because if he were willing she would drag him to every speech to any military organization to brag about him.
Yes and no. They did have to sign the release for the photo, but on the other hand, anything with Miss Wasilla involved could get out of hand so by letting ONE photo be printed, they could be done with it all.
But we shall see if FOX and others are invited to the rill Wedding.
Joe, what a gracious and loving update to your post. You definitely cover both sides of this story so well. Thank you. It just scares me that she may be running …. I just don’t think I can bare hearing her day after day for another campaign. I hope some of the truths about her that are coming to light will eventually sink in to the consciousness of FOX News and their viewers. It is beyond my comprehension how this woman can continue to be allowed to be any kind of spokesperson on the national scene; to say the things she does (in the way she does: with sarcasm, and sheer nastiness) about our President and First Lady; how she can blatantly lie about even the smallest of things and no one seems to care that she does. I just do not recognize the “news” any longer in this country, or the nature of our political discourse. Thank you for your attempt to expose the truth about Palin. I feel like I am rambling on this morning, a sure sign that even the fact that yet again she was on FOX this week and on the attack is so scary to me.
HAHAHAHAHAAA there are different rules about everything for Miss Wasilla!”
SHE can fly for days with her amniotic fluid leaking and that is just the tip of the iceberg of differences.
Me too. Positive best wishes are in order for two young people starting out on a big journey. Congratulations, Britta and Track.
Oh boy, here we go. “GAME ON!” Pass the popcorn, please.
Britta always struck me as a leavel headed and intelligent girl with a solid family unit growing up. I read her blog and though well of her.
Track is lucky to have her, and I certainly wish both of them a long and happy marriage.
‘Nuff said.
I’m sure even those who loathe Sarah Palin wish them well.
But be warned by people who have watched Sarah in action.
Things might be peachy kean at this point in time. At some stage in the marriage, Sarah Palin will revert to her true nature, and become the mother in law from Hell.
Perhaps he has seen the aberrations in Palin’s behavior.
…………………………………………………….
Let’s hope so. It’s quite possible…I knew my mom was messed up when I was 12.
It sounds like Track found the ONLY decent, respectable gal in Alaska. Bravo!
What a snarky and disrespectful thing to say about Alaska women!
You should apologize —
We all get enough of those kinds of nasty comments from $arah.
The Palin children (older ones) seem to have had problems with the law. Drugs, and booze also. Lets wish him the best. But remember these young adults aren’t angels.
I agree with you and Joe – there is really no other interpretation of this interview, where she explicitly includes herself as part of the group of candidates…she is running.
It is great to hear that you had a pleasant interaction with Track. He has done a pretty good job of avoiding the limelight, and I hope that continues. I wish Britta and him a happy life together, out of the vortex.
I would also like to offer my best wishes to Track and Britta. They seem like nice young people and they deserve to be happy.
Malia Litman has an interesting take on the flowers for example. Britta gave her mother flowers for mothers day, and her bridal bouquet and the bouteniers where made from part of the mothers day arrangement
Another person says Willow didn’t hear about the marriage till after the event.
Sounds very impromptu and spontaneous. I would guess the kids would have waited longer but something or someone pushed them into this quickie ceremony.
I have to congratulate you, Joe. After the gall of that woman to not only label you a pedofile/peeping tom, and included footage of you on her political show about Sarah Palin, you take the high road to put that aside and wish her son and his soon to be wife all the best. You, sir, are a gentleman in the true sense of the word.
I’ll follow your example and wish Track and his bride to be all the best.
Best wishes Track and Britta for as normal a life as possible!!!!!