Parnell & Crew “Summit” Mt. Hypocrisy
Two weeks ago I wrote about the upcoming, state-sponsored “Federal Overreach Summit.” Well, Alaska, they dug to the bottom of the barrel and managed to make a meeting of it — trotting out all the usual tea party nonsense about how tapping Alaska resources without having to answer to the feds on environmental issues is the embodiment of democracy. But this summit wasn’t just a pathway to pillaging resources. It was a dog-whistle concert for every wing nut they could get in the door. The governor’s policy director, Randy Ruaro, said there had been a funding request for “proactive science.”…
Walker/Wielechowski – Right for Alaska
We like Sen. Hollis French, and respect him. He’s been an outstanding legislator. We think he’d make a good governor, and have donated to and voted for him in the past. Our issue with the senator’s contemplation of another gubernatorial run is not the candidate, but the fact that the candidate cannot and will not be elected governor. The problem is math. Sen. French retained his own state senate seat in his newly drawn district by the skin of his teeth. The statewide political terrain is far less friendly to him than West Anchorage. The far right made French the…
Sarah Palin Top Choice for Senate?!
Stay calm. Just sit for a minute. If you’re an Alaskan, do not start loading up the motorhome for your political asylum road trip to Canada. If you are from the Lower 48, do not stop reading here and put a big red Sharpied ‘X’ over Alaska on your desktop globe. Let me explain. A few weeks ago, the ex-half-governor unhinged her maw, and some words fell out. Seemingly, she is considering a run for the U.S. Senate against incumbent Democrat Mark Begich. Pollsters tilted their heads to the side like a dog who hears a whistle. Then they got…
WE DID IT, ALASKA! Oil Giveaway on the Ballot.
Moments ago, the Alaska Division of Elections announced that they had received enough valid voter signatures to put the question of repealing SB21, the massive giveaway of state money to oil companies, on the primary ballot in August of 2014. After achieving his stated goal of a Republican majority in the State House and Senate (albeit using redistricting lines later found to be unconstitutional), Governor Sean Parnell got the vote he wanted in the 2013 legislative session. The vote in the Senate was made possible by two legislators who are literally employed by ConocoPhillips. Last month, Parnell signed into…
“Second Battle for Statehood” A Mudflats Video Report
Senator Bill Wielechowski called the effort to repeal Gov. Sean Parnell’s massive giveaway to oil companies “the second battle for statehood.” Alaska navigated its first battle over fish, and now must again rise to assert primacy over the rights to its resources. This time, it’s Alaska’s oil and gas wealth at stake. The Mudflats was there on the historic day that more than 50,000 signatures were submitted to put the repeal on the ballot. Here’s our report.
Mudflats Chats: Paul Begala on Pebble & Democrats
I sat down with Presidential adviser Paul Begala, and asked him his thoughts about the proposed Pebble Mine project, Senator Mark Begich, blue lawmakers in red states, and what it really means to be a Democrat. One of the lead advisers to President Clinton, Begala and James Carville shaped a moderate campaign agenda that focused on balancing the budget and creating 22 million new jobs. I’d been told that Begala is an avid hunter and fisherman, and has been fishing near Bristol Bay. So, I knew where I wanted our conversation to begin – with an issue that is of…
Alaska Patriots Submit Petitions for SB21 Repeal (VIDEO)
An energetic crowd gathered at an the obscure office of the Alaska Division of Elections on Ship Creek Avenue today. The sunny Saturday did not keep the hardcore advocates, and activists away. They gathered to submit 898 petition booklets filled with the signatures of Alaskans who want to see the Parnell oil tax rollback overturned by the people via ballot initiative. The bill would give billions from Alaska’s coffers to oil companies with no strings attached. A total of 30,000 signatures were required from 40 separate districts across the state to get the repeal measure on the August 2014 primary…
Begich on a Palin Senate Run
Remember that line from Brokeback Mountain, “I wish I knew how to quit you?” Well if Sarah Palin were Jake Gyllenhaal and Alaska were Heath Ledger, she’d have been all, “I’m outta here!” And now that she’s considering a run for the Senate in the very state she quit, the Senator whose seat she’s looking to fill had a few things to say about that. “I don’t know if she’s a resident. She’s been away from Alaska a lot and has probably lost touch with what’s going on… “Most Alaskans I see on a pretty regular basis, but I haven’t…
Palin Considers Senate Run
They said it couldn’t happen. They said she was done. But she does not like being done. At the very least Sarah Palin is making headlines with idle threats. At most, she actually is doing what she says, and considering a run for the U.S. Senate. “I’ve considered it because people have requested me [to] consider it,” Palin told conservative radio host Sean Hannity on his show. Ever the reluctant leader. As a matter of fact, she told Sean Hannity once that George Washington was her favorite founding father for just that reason. He wasn’t seeking power and prestige, or…
Chicken & Waffles, & John Boehner?
STRANGE OMEN #1 I should have know something was afoot in the universe when this happened just down the road from my house, begging the question, “Why?” Just to be clear, I have never actually seen a chicken cross the road, nevermind in this visually perfect allegorical fashion. I have never even seen a chicken in my neighborhood at all, though clearly there is now photographic evidence that they exist. About a quarter mile and a few hairpin mountain road turns away from the chicken sighting, is something relatively new to Alaska – a fancy gated community. It is called…