Sullivan, Murkowski & Young cry racism? WHAT?
Hey, Republicans – you’re doing it wrong.
In a time when the most NON-political issues have become political third rails like, I dunno… basic hygiene during a pandemic, the Republican party never ceases to amaze. As the Black Lives Matter movement rolls forward, demanding that Alaskans and all Americans look hard at reforming our law enforcement agencies in the wake of decades of horrific inequities and violence against people of color, toxic seeds of racial division are being sown even by our Republican Congressional Delegation.
Buckle up, it’s going to be a bumpy ride.
IT’S ONLY RACIST IF THERE’S OIL INVOLVED
First, let’s get something straight. Don Young cares nothing about how the Gwitch’in people feel about resource development on their land. Nothing. Remember THIS?
[CLICK HERE TO WATCH VIDEO CLIP]
This is Alaska’s only Congressman at an Energy and Mineral Resources subcommittee meeting on Capitol Hill last year. He’s addressing Sam Alexander who is there representing the Gwich’in people to speak out against oil development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. And Don Young said THIS.
YOUNG: I’ll tell you Mr. Chairman, I want to believe the people. Not the Gwich’in because they’re not the people.
ALEXANDER: I’d like to make something very clear to this audience, and that’s that Mr. Don Young does not represent the Gwich’in people, and our voice.
At this point, Don Young starts yelling over him and at him, “I represent Alaska, I don’t represent YOU!”
When Mr. Alexander was allowed to continue, he gave a passionate reply and responded to Young’s insinuation that he did not represent the Gwich’in, and that he and others were there only because they got to take a trip to DC.
Young gets his hind quarters handed to him by the veteran who did three tours in Iraq and left an infant son at home in Alaska so he could testify at the request of his people, and at his own expense. Some vacation.
Please take a minute and really listen to this video. Especially if you have some doubt who you’re going to be voting for in November. The disrespect to Native wishes, and Native people shown here is shocking.
This happened in April of 2019. Why do I bring it up now? So you remember that the only time Don “we hired a bunch of wetbacks” (watch THAT video too) Young seems to care about brown people is when oil is involved.
None of the three members of our Congressional Delegation had a problem with sucking up to a President who calls Nazis “very fine people,” and Hispanics “rapists and murderers,” who is imprisoning immigrant children in horrendous detention camps at the Mexican border, who turns tear gas and rubber bullets on peaceful protesters demanding racial justice and an end to police brutality against Black and brown people. Nope, crickets from these guys. But boy oh boy, Dan Sullivan, Lisa Murkowski, and Don Young are willing to cry racism on a private industry who’s decided to do what’s right for their bottom line.
OIL sure “woke” them up, didn’t it?
They are perfectly happy to pick and choose which Native voices matter to them, and which don’t; who are ‘the people,’ and who aren’t. And it has nothing to do with racial justice, or stewardship of the land, or respect for the cultures and history of Alaska’s first people. It has everything to do with the almighty dollar, and the oil industry who bankrolls the Republican Party in this state.
And by the way – no, not all Alaska Natives feel the same way about every issue.
They’re not all the same, Congressional Delegation.
Don’t expect these three to apologize to the Native community any time soon. But they should.
OH YES HE DID
While Dan Sullivan is busy signing a letter whining to the Federal Reserve about private banks who won’t invest in Arctic drilling being racist, here’s a fun fact. Last week Dan Sullivan and ONLY Dan Sullivan was responsible for placing a secret hold on the confirmation process of the first Black American to be nominated to the post of U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff. #Awkward
Not sure why Dan Sullivan wasn’t defending Alaska’s bases when Trump wanted his wall money, but now for some reason it’s all ok to hold up a historic nomination.
REPUBLICAN MOUTHPIECE CLUTCHES PEARLS
The blogger who for some reason (COUGH) has been embraced by Gov. Michael Dunleavy as his personal propagandist, who sits in the front row or at the right hand of the governor for all the press availabilities, and who gets the “inside scoop” on all Dunleavy’s plans before anyone else, is at it again with the usual articles sourced with “there are those who say,” and peppered with the obligatory thinly-veiled homophobia.
Apparently, she thought this pic of Assembly Chair Forrest Dunbar would be scandalous and offensive to the Republicans in Anchorage, and that they’d clutch their pearls and fall backwards on to their fainting sofas at a mayoral candidate who… gulp… participated in a Pride Parade! I mean… rainbows and smiling and bubbles, and GOD KNOWS WHAT ELSE!!! It showed up in her email newsletter this week.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!
Are you ready to vote these people into oblivion yet? Can I get a “Hell, yes?”
YOU: Hell, YES!!!
Well there are a few things you can do. First you can encourage our representatives in Washington DC to support Vote by Mail.
To see how adamantly Republicans are fighting this is pretty remarkable. Vote by mail has been used forever for absentee voting, and for the military overseas. In Alaska, you don’t need a reason to exercise your fundamental constitutional right to choose your government via absentee ballot. And this year when COVID is in the mix making the whole world unpredictable, it’s essential.
HERE’S A LINK to send to Sen. Murkowski from Vote 2020 By Mail asking her to support a nationwide vote by mail system for 2020. We know she’s busy weighing her deep concerns to decide if maybe she should think about thinking about potentially giving Trump her support or not in November. But disturb her anyway.
And don’t let Sullivan and Young off the hook. Just because they’re guaranteed to do the wrong thing, doesn’t mean we should make life easy for them. It’s their job to listen to you, so make them earn their paycheck.
The second thing you can do is apply for an absentee ballot yourself from the Alaska Division of Elections! You can do that right HERE.
The third thing you can do is encourage your friends and family to do the same thing.
Alaska Democratic Party HQ!
The FOURTH thing you can do is click HERE and support your Alaska Democratic Party. We’re working really hard right now, training up a batallion of amazing candidates who are getting ready to take the state by storm. I’ll use an Alaskan analogy – imagine Democratic HQ as a beaver dam. There’s just that little pile of mud and sticks on the top and you think it’s not much, but under the surface is where it’s ALLLLL happening. Well, we’re all down there in the lodge being busy beavers and working our magic, and we need your help! Can you toss a few sticks our way?
Thanks for being you, Alaska Democrats. And remember,
Jeanne
This article is posted with permission from the Alaska Democratic Party