Ramblings From the Ragged Crumbling Edge Of The Reality-Based Community

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Popcorn Time In Republican Alaska 

...it's a shame so many other things are sucking up all the media attention right now, because it means we are missing a great Republican congressional fight up yonder in the Great White North. Incumbent Don Young, like Senator Ted Stevens, has been in D.C. longer than about half of the whole country's population has been alive and for years he - like his bud "Hulk" - has been striding the halls of power like some strange hairy behemoth, exerting influence far out of proportion to his proportional representation through raw political power and physical intimidation. Unfortunately, as is frequently the case, one thing led to another and Young has found himself playing defense in a corruption investigation, which seems to have become something of a hobby for Alaskan Republicans recently. This particular bit of unfortunate business has led to a serious challenge to his seeming lifetime appointment to the Congress of the United States in the Republican primary campaign...

The upshot of all the unpleasantness accompanying the crumbling of the long-standing Republican political machine in Alaska is that the usual suspects in right-wing money circles are taking the 'dealing with a wounded bear' approach, hedging their bets, staying away from the action, and keeping their wallets in their pockets so they don't end up getting crossways with Young if he somehow manages to win reelection. This introduces dicey characters like Club For Growth into the funding mix, which highlights some of the fractures that exist in the Republican party, both in Alaska and in the rest of the nation...

It would be safe to assume that Club For Growth and Don Young (or Ted Stevens, for that matter) don't have each other in their "MyFace" 'friends' lists, but the interesting thing to mull over is how anxious Alaskans, even Republicans, would be to losing the earmarks that have provided so much benefit to them over the years, regardless of any high-minded traditionally conservative views those voters may have about smaller government/lower taxes. Parnell is trying to send wink-and-nod signals to the primary voters to ease any concerns about loss of federal earmarks, saying in effect 'I oppose earmarks unless they are for Alaska and aren't politically embarrassing'(indicating just how much The Bridge To Nowhere left a mark). That's probably not the sort of rock-ribbed allegiance to the CFG's neo-libertarian agenda that they would like to see, but he's about the best they are going to come up with, given the comments of the other Republican candidate about his being "hopelessly naïve" on that whole 'bringing home the bacon' thing...

These are actually fascinating times down-ticket. All across the country, incumbent Republicans are in serious trouble, both within their own party and in terms of general election prospects. In some respects, the general situation for the Gratuity Obsessed Party in Alaska isn't unusual, but it is potentially tsunamic, if only because of what the departure of Young and Stevens could mean to both the stature and the bank account of the State of Alaska in the halls of Congress...
Posted by: Jack K. / 5:34 PM

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