That’s according to Joe McGinniss, Jr., the son of the guy who’s preparing for his upcoming book on Palin by moving in right next to her. According to Ben Smith, McGinnis, Jr. wrote the following in an e-mail response to a critic of his father’s move:

“No one is stalking anyone. A woman was renting her house and sought out the author because the Palins had crossed her (owed her money for renovations she had done at their request and never paid her for). So she knew McGinniss was writing the book and found him and offered him the house…”

McGinniss, Jr. wrote that Palin is “inspiring a lot of hate in people, appealing to so many of people’s worst instincts. Sad and scary.”

It certainly is sad and scary, for very different reasons than he means.

So this neighbor is the one who got the ball rolling, due to some money she says the Palins owe her. Everybody knows that when you have a business dispute, you take action by reaching out to a bestselling writer and saying, “Let’s you and them fight!”

At the very least, the Palins can take comfort in this: As a journalist moving into a new neighborhood, Joe McGinniss is required to go door-to-door and inform his new neighbors that he’s a registered facts offender.

P.S. Our own Alex Pappas talks to Palin’s brother:

Critics have countered that anyone as famous as Sarah Palin has a reduced expectation of privacy. Her 48-year-old brother, a schoolteacher in Anchorage, doesn’t see it that way. “Sarah hasn’t gone after the publicity, the publicity has gone after her,” he said. “She’s getting out there and she’s doing all she can to help this country.”

That’s the whole point of this kind of stuff, to warn Republicans away from public life. It’s just never been this blatant before.

The next time some celebrity complains about the paparazzi, ask them if that includes what’s happening to Sarah Palin. If not, why not?