Reaction to the Holmes Defection
The reviews are in, and they’re not good.
Constituents in her district, her colleagues in the legislature, and activists who have volunteered time and money are disgusted with the post-election bait-and-switch by Rep. Lindsey Holmes before she is even sworn in.
No longer reachable at this web address, for she has absconded with your vote and donations.
Droves of Anchorage voters have heaped scorn and shame-on-yous upon Holmes in the past 24 hours, demanded their money back, feeling “punked,” and demanding a recall. To say Holmes, if seated, would begin the new session with very awkward relationships is an understatement – especially since her defection to the red side has now given the Republicans an unearned, but very powerful supermajority in the House.
“Did they give you permission to vote against the majority over 98% of the time?” outgoing Democratic Party Chair Patti Higgins asked of Holmes. “Otherwise I don’t see how you’re going to be able to live with yourself.”
Turns out Holmes enjoys ripping into The Naked Baker aka Rep. Bill Stoltze (R), but will now presumably wish to become his BFF in the majority caucus.
“She came out to the valley to help me with debate prep,” recounts Democratic activist and Stoltze’s former opponent Beverly Serrano. “She said Stoltze was awkward, and very difficult to work with.”
Oops.
The policy implications of Holmes’ maneuver are serious. With a new-found supermajority, Republicans will be able to tap the Constitutional Budget Reserve (CBR), for which they need a three-fourths vote. And you better believe they will need that after giving billions back to the oil companies.
“The real tactical problem with what Lindsey did is that it gave the Republicans a supermajority. Democrats lose seats on Finance and Resources, along with the ability to ask tough questions,” explained one Democratic lawmaker. “Republicans now have enough votes to move from the second to third reading on bills in the same day, which means we may have no time to even offer amendments.”
“Rep. Holmes has deceived the voters of her district. She should have been honest about her intentions. If she intended to serve as a Republican, she should have run as a Republican,” fumed incoming Democratic Party Mike Wenstrup.
“Most legislators from both parties believe in the principles they espouse,” he added. “Lindsey Holmes’ only core belief seems to be the importance of her own ambition.”
The Democratic Party is not pleased.
Here’s what really depresses me about this sorry, disgraceful affair.
Think about how well progressives would do in elections if they were actually contested and administered on the up and up. If they actually and accurately reflected the policy preferences of the voters—which is kind of the point, no? Alas, there are far too many with their thumbs on the scale for that to be the result.
First, a good chunk of our electorate faces overt, organized voter suppression. Those who make it past that cannot then in full confidence assume the Diebold machine will actually count their votes toward the intended candidate.
And should a few of our candidates make it past those hoops and actually get elected, they can apparently be bought off with a plum committee assignment.
Anyone watch Maddow tonight? Velly intellesting stuff about redistricting and how it could all come together to get GOPers elected in districts that are traditionally Dem. The whole redistricting thing is so key. Went on to talk about how it can seriously affect the next presidential election.
Between that, and the nutcases like Holmes switching over, it looks like our whole political system is in very serious jeopardy. (Well, yeah, we all know it’s been in jeopardy for a while now, don’t we?)
But redistricting to manipulate votes, and switching parties after election …….. this stuff, to me, is criminal. It violates every principle our country’s founders envisioned. Somehow the old phrase “taxation without representation” keeps ringing a bell. In Alaska, maybe that’s a more dicey thing (with no state tax), but I still feel like maybe my vote really doesn’t mean much.
WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE??? !!!!!
The more of these comments I read, the more it becomes apparent that BOTH parties have folks who are committing the switcheroo – sad to say.
What’s going on here? Scares me silly.
Looks like they just wanted to get elected, or RE-elected.
Why don’t we talk about TERM LIMITS? Give ’em one term, and that’s it. Forget about re-election — just do your job when you’re there, and DO IT WELL.
So much of our political discourse lately has been about these people defending themselves to get re-elected. They’re so scared they’ll say the wrong thing and lose votes. Bah humbug. They need to commit to their principles. That’s why we vote.
And that’s why this whole Holmes thing is so sad ……….
Does Alaska not have recall? Good Lord!
Not in her district, but I’ll donate to a recall effort or whoever her Dem opponent is next election!
I worker hard on her campaigns will now work hard against her .
I wonder what they promised her, since she will likely have a hard time winning this district again. She is my representative, but will never have my vote again!
I, for one, am still livid!
Look for more and more unethical behavior from the GOP. They can’t and won’t change their platform to appeal to a broader range of voters, so corruption is their answer and has been for a long time….
I’m not in her district, but if I were, I would be checking with the Democratic office in Anchorage about a recall. She misrepresented herself to her constituents.
People need to realize that the CBC makes grown men cry (you’ll never hear those stories, but they happen at a 10 to 1 ratio of these public ones). They are ripping people off left AND right.
Picking off an emotionally vulnerable woman and basically ruining her public and private reputation is small time for them.
I am wondering what you are referring to, All I Saw?
wondering too ———-
Just curious, All I Saw, but do you mean to suggest that they blackmailed her into switching to their side by threatening to reveal information damaging to her reputation if she didn’t defect? If so, that’s truly sad (and scary). But in any case by switching she has already permanently damaged her credibility and reputation.
Rep. Holmes had to have been clearly aware that her party switch would change the formula and bump one of Alaska’s finest legislators off House Finance Committee, (D) Rep. Scott Kawasaki of Fairbanks. Instead Ms. Holmes herself steps into that seat.
How about it Anchorage Democrats? Is that what you voted for?
I am somewhat optimistic that the remaining Democrats in the Alaska legislature have enough integrity and principle to set themselves apart from the the rest of the legislature when push comes to shove this year.
Grand bargains for pork in one’s district don’t serve Alaskans well.
She will have to do a McCain/Romney and totally change how she has voted in the past to wi the republican primary in two years. And even then she woll probably lose. Hope she has a way to earn money after this.
According to Tagg Rmoney,dear old dad spent a billion dollars but he didn’t want the job afterall. He viciously,verbally assaulted any and all opponents for a job his son claims he didn’t want.
I sure never understood Tagg’s remark, Mike. His dad did nothing for six years (and probably all during his term as governor) but try to run for president. I think Mitt Romney was simply dying to be president. He just didn’t want to have to work for it. And, God forbid, he sure did not want to meet any ordinary people along the way.
On another note, have you had any snow this season in your part of the country, Mike. Here in Traverse City MI (northwest Lower Michigan) we’ve had a grand total of 13.7 inches so far. Not much. People are worried that there will be another bad year for crops and orchards. Virtually no cherries from this area last year.
Out on the playground we call that two faced.
I’m even more irritated today than yesterday over her crapola about being a fiscal conservative and liberal social issues person- that is the very definition of the Alaska Democratic party, you twit!
Take it from me, me who has been slapped down soundly , multiple times by various in the party apparatus for not being moderate enough, the ADP is no raving liberal bastion in the way the AK R’s like to pretend it is.
Take that line of reasoning and shove it Ms Holmes.
Yeah, Pi — No one else in lower 48 would understand, but you’re right. Up here we’ve got a lot of socially liberal types who are fiscally conservative. I’m one. People just can’t wrap their minds around that. But that’s Alaska!
All I ask is that if someone puts themself on the ballot, they tell me who they are and what they stand for. If they misrepresent, I’ll be p*ssed.
it is so good to see you here yukonbushgrma! Have missed you… a lot.
Yes- it is Alaska and it is the ADP.
Ms Holmes’ time to do this switcheroo was before or when she filed to run again. Taking advantage of her constituents on multiple levels and switching on the eve of session with some crap about this being the best for those constituents ? Paternalistic claptrap. From a gal no less. Pffft!
Truly a classless move.
I’m so sorry about this disgraceful woman’s bait & switch! We here in WA State are shell shocked by two (2) Dem state senators doing the same sort of bait & switch, just weeks ago, in exchange for plumb positions and committee assignments. Even though we’re a blue state they have now changed it to a Repub senate majority.
Thank heavens though we DID vote in our new Dem governor who has veto power if need be!! I wasn’t sure he was going to make it with the Repub candidate seemingly having more name recognition and all the money thrown in the race thanks to Citizens United.
Leave it to the Republicans – if they can’t win power via elections, they will simply STEAL it.
Kath, the same thing is happening in NY state, with the so-called Independent Democratic Coalition (IDC) trading Senate presidency every two weeks (!) with the oh-so-slim Republican majority. I hate traitors.
After the 2010 election there was a Michigan state representative or senator (I don’t know which) who suddenly switched from being elected as a Democrat to being a Republican. He basically took advantage of Democratic party contributions to his campaign and then defected as soon as he could. What a jerk!
It’s one thing if you have a philosophical disagreement with the political party you have been affiliated with but that should happen before running for office, not immediately after. Think former Gov. Crist of Florida. I have no problem with that sort of change but these people who run as Democrats and then jump ship as soon as they are elected are worse than freeloaders, they’re cheaters and thieves of contributions made in good faith to Democratic candidates. It sounds like “dirty tricks” of the Richard Nixon and Karl Rove tradition.