Alaskan’s Aren’t Buying Dunleavy theater
This week, on the eve of Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend Day, Mat-Su Sen. Mike Dunleavy, staged a hilariously bizarre news event at an Anchorage Fred Meyer. Not since Sarah Palin was interviewed on TV while turkeys were being butchered in the background has there been a more awkward setup.
Flanked by a beauty shop sign offering waxing, and several store managers wondering why the hell a state senator was holding a press conference on their private property, Dunleavy said he chose the location because it is a “small business” and lots of people shop there.
Fred Meyer, for as lovely and wide as its aisles are, is only a local business in Portland, Oregon. Maybe try the local farmers market next time. Oh, and notify management. This should not be hard.q
That aside, Dunleavy thinks Alaskans, drunk on their cut dividends, will buy into his newest day-late and dollar-short pitch. I’m sure it’s been tough on a few of his bought and sold compadres in the Senate to go door to door during this election season. After a regular session and five not so special ones, the Republican-led majority in both houses failed to protect the Permanent Fund from the governor’s veto pen. Oh, it was brought up. I know, you’d rather have a root canal than watch the drivel on “Gavel to Gavel,” but it happened.
Here’s the play by play: During the special session, Sen. Bill Wielechowski, D-Anchorage, the same guy who is suing the governor’s decision to cut the PFD, introduced a motion to have a joint session to vote to restore the full PFD with a veto override. That was in July. Sen. John Coghill, R-North Pole, was presiding over the Senate that day and called Wielechowski out of order.
Why? He called it tradition. Huh? Wielechowski argued he was within order of the uniform rules. That’s when Coghill decided to just have the body vote on his out of order decision since the rules didn’t support his goal — which was to avoid vetoing the governor’s decision. The Republican majority voted 14 to 3 to shut down that chance to protect the PFD — including Dunleavy.
For the last four years, legislation has sat idle on enshrining the PFD in our Constitution after a vote of the people. Why do you suppose that is? Oh, perhaps it’s because it was introduced by a minority voice in Wielechowski. See, his lawsuit isn’t an election stunt – it’s the result of the majority refusing to allow the system to work.
You are supposed to believe the same people who have blocked this for years are going to vote for Dunleavy’s bill if you just re-elect them. If you’re buying that, you may need an abusive relationship counselor.
There are other problems with Dunleavy’s attempt to give a “we can save you! just send us back to Juneau” for candidates like Coghill and Cathy Giessel. A biggy is that the governor could veto the bill if it ever made it out of the same god-forsaken committees where similar legislation has languished for years.
Dunleavy isn’t running for office this year. He’s trying to create cover for vulnerable majority members who have voted to create the fiscal mess our state is in.
It all reeks of desperation on the part of the Republicans who have been in charge of this state for way too long. They think voters haven’t been paying attention. Their latest grasping advertisement says Vince Beltrami, independent opponent of GOP Sen. Geissel, shouldn’t be voted into office because he has a job. Yeah.
This is the same party in which 10 percent of our senators work for ConocoPhillips, but don’t recuse themselves when it’s time to vote on their employer’s billions in tax cuts. There’s not enough whiskey in the barrel to make that argument straight-faced. Nice try.
Speaking of whiskey, Dunleavy ended his press conference because he “needed a drink.” I’m sure. Even a local filibustering crackpot in bedroom slippers could see through the fresh-out-of-sanity cynical stunt. Honestly, what’s next? Introducing a bill to use the PFD to purchase a herd of unicorns that excrete money? That’s a great idea and would get us out of a financial pinch, but has a better chance with the current ruling clowns than Dunleavy’s bill.
There is some good news in all the Dunleavy theater. Alaskans aren’t buying it. Maybe they can’t afford to with the cut to their PFD. Or, maybe they are starting to figure out who is working on their behalf and who isn’t.