From Sean Cockerham in Anchorage --

Sarah Palin endorsed Fairbanks lawyer Joe Miller for U.S. Senate this morning, saying Lisa Murkowski is part of the problem in D.C.

"Unfortunately, Lisa Murkowski and much of the political establishment have recently evolved into being a bigger part of the big government problem in Washington, and they’ve strayed from the principles upon which they had espoused," Palin wrote in a message posted on her Facebook page.

"They ushered in the largest increase in federal domestic spending since Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society; it’s an increase in government that political machines may embrace, but “we the people” reject because we know it’s unsustainable and immorally burdensome to future generations."

Miller is running against Murkowski in the Aug. 24 Republican primary. Todd Palin has already attended a fundraiser for Miiller.

Sarah Palin's political action committee donated $5,000 to Murkowski's re-election campaign last June. But Murkowski subsequently criticized the use of the term "death panels" popularized by Palin during the health care debate, saying it wasn't accurate. Murkowski also was highly critical of Palin's decision to resign from the governor's office last July, saying that she was "deeply disappointed that the governor has decided to abandon the state and her constituents before her term has concluded."

Palin wrote on her Facebook page today that "though the media has tried to portray some sort of feud or bad blood between Lisa and myself," such is not the case. But she also said the SarahPAC contribution wasn't really about backing Murkowski.

"Over a year ago, upon kicking off our Political Action Committee to assist candidates and promote competition in the nation’s electoral system, with no one willing to challenge the political machine at the time, and amid rumors that I would challenge Lisa Murkowski for the U.S. Senate, SarahPAC contributed to Lisa’s campaign. As she and I discussed, this was an attempt to reassure the Senator that I, as Alaska’s governor, had no intention of jumping into the race," Palin wrote.

Palin wrote that Miller is a "true Commonsense Constitutional Conservative" and bold reformer who more closely shares Alaskans' values than Murkowski. Miller and Palin joined forces before, waging an unsuccessful coup attempt two years ago against Alaska Republican Party Chairman Randy Ruedrich.

She writes much more about Miller on her Facebook page. Click here to read it all.