JUNEAU — Alaska Democrats are seeking to capitalize on an apparent rift in the state GOP.
On Monday, an email was sent out from Kay Brown, the executive director of the Alaska Democratic Party. It was entitled “Why the GOP Meltdown Matters to You.”
In it, Brown refers to the “new” Alaska Republican party, led by Joe Miller and the tea party, and questions what kind of leaders Republicans will be for the state, alluding to the party infighting. Supporters of U.S. Rep. Ron Paul won leadership positions within the GOP and have been at odds with outgoing party chairman Randy Ruedrich.
She also said Alaska Democrats “work with everyone to solve problems and get things done.”
The missive says it was paid for by the state Senate Democratic Campaign Committee, a subdivision of the Democratic party that raises money for state Senate candidates. The Senate currently has a bipartisan majority, comprised of 10 Democrats and six Republicans. There are four Republican minority members. This year’s races will be closely watched to see whether Republicans wrest control of the chamber.
Miller, a tea party favorite in 2010 when he unsuccessfully ran for U.S. Senate, has denied organizing or influencing what happened at the GOP convention in April, when the leadership elections were held.
Ruedrich, who under current rules is to remain chairman until early next year, said members of the GOP’s state central committee overwhelmingly support Mitt Romney for president. He said the party would strive to generate “a clear Alaskan mandate for the first Romney administration as it directs the growth of Alaskan resource development with jobs for Alaskans.”
Paul suspended active campaigning for the Republican presidential nomination last month but encouraged supporters to continue their work in state conventions.
Comments (42)
Add commentIt's time the GOP lost some ground in this state
All they've done is push for unregulated development and subservience to out-of-state corporations.
Alaska needs a sustainable economy that brings people together, not this "you're 'anti-Alaska' if you don't favor turning the Tongass into a parking lot" meme that the far Right has been pushing for decades.
And the Republicans, if nothing else, need to be broken of their arrogance, their sense that they have an absolute right and entitlement to dominate this state. No party, anywhere, should ever have that attitude.
The best chance the Dems have of changing things is to create some platform based on creating an economy that includes us all and brings us together, not that divides us on a false line of "green" vs. "working stiff". The truth is, most "greens" work like anybody else and pretty much all working stiffs want breathable air and drinkable water(and union jobs with dignity and decent working conditions as well).
We do NOT need to bow to the oil gods any longer.
Why do the dems...
...need to capitalize on this?
Napoleon said ‘Never interfere with an enemy while he’s in the process of destroying himself.’
Sit back and watch the demolition derby.
But it's fun adding fuel to the fire
As for Napoleon, look what happened to him!
I love watching the meltdown, and I like throwing gas on the fire!
I applaud the state Democrats for capitalizing on this. More Alaskans need to see how the GOP has been hijacked by neocon tea party sweethearts like Joe Miller, Sarah Palin etc. Alaska deserves better.
And that better can be found right here in Alaska with the Alaska Democratic Party. Democrats paved the way to statehood. Alaska was at its best when Democrats were in control.
I long to see those days again, and with the implosion of the state GOP, those days may be closer than we think. I have confidence in this newer "occupy" generation. Their social consciousness should draw them to the liberal side of the political spectrum soon.
Jo Jo Jo
As any pyro can tell you, throwing gas on a fire is dangerous. You can end up burning yourself.
Tea Party
I have voted for many Republicans and many Democrats in my day... Tony Knowles, Sean Parnell, Don Young, Ted Stevens, (wrote in) Lisa Murkowski, Beth Kerttula, Clinton, Gore (in 2000), Bush (in 2004)...it's an eclectic list based on what I thought was best for the state/country at that time.
But I cannot imagine anything worse for this country than these Tea Party folks, who don't see "the other side" as Americans like they are.
They seem like the Secessionists of the Civil War era...hell bent on breaking this country apart.
What is happening to the ability to be moderate and 'agree to disagree' mentality of old? The last decade has become the decade of "my way or pure evil."
Redistricting
As long as Repulicans continue to control the redistricting process, they will be in the majority in the legislature.
middle....
well said. Clearly the art of being a statesman has dissapeared lately in this 'my way or the highway' attitude of farther and farther right Republicans. I'm surprised more people aren't outraged by the clearly spoken intent of congressional Republicans to do nothing, no legislation, until after the election. They are literally willing to put all of us at great risk in order to "win".
Boorba is right too - and in many states, the process of fixing the game so that Republicans will ALWAYS be able to win, by redistricting or making voter ID laws more challenging for the poor, is going on right now.
While I equally dislike
While I equally dislike politicians for what they ALL have become, my truth has become more and more clear. The republican side is being controlled more by the extreme right. No extreme is ever good for anybody.
So, if miller is anyway apart of the main party that will be the final straw and for the first time ever I will vote against a party not based on the issues, but to do everything I can to help stop a party that's main focus is winning over anything else. I think all politicians are like that. But the GOP Isnt even pretending, they are going to do everything they can to gain power and stop any form of good legislation. Oh, and pushing views on others? Can't ignore it any more. Stay out of my life. Stop preaching your ideals on me. I'm down for a debate but I will not be lectured by people that live their lives differently and by a different standard. We should all live by the American standard, which is freedom to do what you choose as long as it doesn't harm others.
@Alaskastu: while that's nice
@Alaskastu: while that's nice in theory, it's really hard to do. You have to define "harm." A Massachusetts town recently banned swearing in public. To me, swearing doesn't constitute harm, so I disagree with that law and would be pretty [filtered word] off if one like it were to pass here. But to stodgy, prudish old people? They think it causes harm to their delicate sensibilities.
The GOP, similarly, thinks that living your life in a non-Christian, non-capitalist, non-status-quo-upholding way is harmful to them. It's just that their definition of harm includes mental anguish over other people having different views.
And while it would be nice to define harm as purely physical, we then get into issues with non-physical bullying (is driving someone to mental illness/suicide okay in America?), potentially harmful behaviors (is driving drunk or shooting guns in the middle of cities okay if it doesn't hurt anyone?), and indirect harm (can a millionaire buy out and immediately close down a town's only two grocery stores? Should I be allowed to buy all the property surrounding someone's house and disallow them from moving through it?). It's not a cut and dry issue. If the issue of harm were in the Constitution, we likely wouldn't be having this debate, but unfortunately, it's not, because it's not actually an American value (slavery, denying voting rights to most people, manifest destiny, and so many other original American values directly CAUSED harm to others).
the Tea Party is filled with
the Tea Party is filled with Profoundly ignorant and un-American individuals that have a mean spirit.
Our country was built on helping our neighbors in need and our children deserve the same kind of future.
The email message sent out by
The email message sent out by the Alaska Democratic Party is extremely misleading. The "new" Alaska Republican Party it refers to is not led by Joe Miller and the Tea Party, it is led by people who are sick of the corruption and crony capitalism that defines today's GOP (and the Democratic Party, for that matter). They are people who are sick of government officials working for themselves and their buddies instead of the people of Alaska and the US as a whole.
Many of them are young, smart, and care deeply about their country and ALL of its citizens. They want government actually based on the Constitution. They want freedom, liberty, and equal treatment under the law for everyone. They want foreign policy based on friendship and trade, not war-mongering and the forcing of our unsustainable monetary policy and corrupt central banking system down others' throats.
Speaking of monetary policy, they want sound monetary policy, not one based printing money and manipulating interest rates to fund out of control government spending and war, among other things. Not one based on the continued issuance of debt in order to create "wealth" while enslaving middle class citizens to a corrupt and self feeding (until it collapses) system.
The rift within the GOP was caused by the GOP establishment itself. When they saw Ron Paul supporters and other regular citizens showing up to participate in the election process, they freaked out. They saw a threat to their ability to simply anoint Mitt Romney the GOP nominee, and reacted accordingly. They lied, stalled, changed or ignored their own rules, and generally behaved like the corrupt politicians that they are. That is the truth and it is that simple.
People like me tend to view that type of behavior unfavorably, and as far as I'm concerned, this is all a good thing. For too long the GOP has been the party of corruption, crony capitalism, and religion based discrimination (don't mistake any of this as saying that Democrats are any better). But the GOP establishment's main demographic is getting older, and whether they like it or not, they are being replaced.
Ron Paul has many racist
Ron Paul has many racist views and he would rather see people die than help them.
This is not the future I want to build on for my kids because at the very least they deserve a future that looks as bright as mine did for me when I was a child. When I was a kid we cared about our neighbors, we respected our neighbors.
@SG
Who's in charge? Who's administration is it? When historians reflect, try to make sense of 2008-2012, what is the era going to be called? I guarantee it will NOT be "The Great GOP Whineypants Years" or something to that effect. It will be the Obama Administration and if he can't get something done, it will reflect on HIM.
In a fight no remembers who took point, who called in Air, who yelled "Fix bayonets." They remember who lived thru it.
El Boorba
re-districting is one of the spoils of holding the majority. It's not some backroom GOP drug deal.
Spoils of victory, Grendel?
Spoils of victory, Grendel? Odd, I thought our political system was meant to benefit the country as a whole.
Your mindset is EXACTLY the problem. Seeing an election as a potential "win" for your party or yourself rather than seeing it as a way to put the most capable people in power.
President Obama has many
President Obama has many racist views and would rather prosecute white people who do bad things, not to mention kill or indefinitely detain American citizens without any due process.
Mitt Romney has many racist views and has a nearly identical voting record to that of Mr. Obama.
If you want to ensure the continued red team/blue team mindset that helps keep us in the cycle we are in, then keep voting for the same corrupt politicians. Coke vs. Pepsi.
2P
it's not my mindset. It's the reality of the politics. Here's the zinger: Get over it, that's why it's called real politik.
Ok, now that we've gotten all
Ok, now that we've gotten all the progressive Southeast rock throwing and whining out of the way, let's get on to some serious discussion.
Enlighten all of us TEA Partier-type dunces exactly what you've got planned for this great state.
kenb, how 'bout Hope and Change for the state democrat platform?! It worked really well a few years ago and you know how the left likes to just recycle every idea and agenda.
If anyone wants to talk about a party in freefall and desperation - that would be the democrat party. Has any imcumbant presidential candidate ever had a worse few weeks than Obama?
Romney wasn't my first choice but you've got to admit he's running a pretty smooth and effective campaign.
And yes, the first parts of
And yes, the first parts of the first two paragraphs in my last post were sarcasm.
Funny, Jump, I hear that
Funny, Jump, I hear that every once in a while. It usually is spewed from a Dem version of Rush Limbaugh and they never have anything to back it up. I have read a lot from and about Ron Paul and I have yet to see anything racist come from him. Maybe its how you interpret what he says? If he says we shouldnt be supporting a welfare class, you hear anti black... I dont agree with all his ideas, but at least try to stick to facts.
I dont care what political
I dont care what political party they are from, I just want a politician who is there for the betterment of the state/nation. We have plenty out there lining their own pockets and getting the best deal for THEIR future, lets try looking for the best deat for the nation...Regardless of party.
Grendel, I think it will be
Grendel, I think it will be both the complete failure known as the Obama administration and the GOP snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, again.
Calypso, I don't engage you that often because I'm fairly certain you think I'm some weird progressive/conservative hybrid, but seriously? You say you are Tea Party type, but you (like many in the Tea Party) constantly play right into the hands of the GOP establishment.
What plans do these new folks have? I think I very clearly highlighted some of that in my first post. They are sick of the corruption and the path that the GOP establishment has been leading the Republican party down for years now.
Mitt Romney is running a "smooth" campaign because he hasn't had to do much of anything. The media and GOP establishment have carried him the whole way, in addition to ensuring his nomination via dishonest and corrupt behavior. Sorry, that is pure fact.
Also, I wholeheartedly second Kpawsuh's comments.
@Co-14er
What we have is a dearth in leadership. To be fair, it's on both sides of the aisle. We have a CEO who does not understand that, yes, he is responsible. We have a sniveling GOP that does understand what's at stake but doesn't have the minerals to be decisive and engaging. Then there's the Dems -- lackeys, every last one of them, though scared now because they might've backed the wrong horse.
The fallout will be the next generation that's been raised to think these clownboxers ARE what leadership is about.
Ron Paul is a Republican
So, why the histrionics about whether Paul supporters or Romney supporters "control" the party in Alaska - they all subscribe to most of their party's platform because they chose to belong to the Republican party.
If you are a libertarian, vote for Gary Johnson - your party's candidate. Who cares about Ron Paul? He is not going to be his party's nominee for President.
@Colorado14er
I understand you want to change the direction of the Republican party, but you sound more like a libertarian. I'm curious why you don't just vote that way.
I don't see the corporatists that control the Republican party letting Ron Paul or anyone who holds his views gain much if any traction in the party. It seems Sisyphusian to continue this way. I think the citizenry and most voters would be better served to start expanding on a 3rd and 4th party ...
As far as this article, it's doubtful the Dems will get much traction out of this ...
Because the Lib party will
Because the Lib party will never get any traction. The media picks who they support and who they dont. Anyone outside the traditional role is branded by the media as a whack job. Ron Paul wasnt even given time at most of the debates. The only media coverage he got was weird stuff. If all candidates were given fair and impartial treatment, that would work great. But that just doesnt happen and therefore, we cannot have a third or fourth party.
Grendel I agree, except for
Grendel I agree, except for the idea that the GOP understands what's at stake. If they did, if they really wanted to beat Obama, then why did they choose Romney? The only thing he has going for him is that he's not Gingrich or Santorum.
In the end, I have to conclude that what they care about the most is money and power. Same goes for most Democrats. In comparing their words with their actions, the conclusion is rather easy.
I have had contact with a lot of younger people throughout this process, and I think you would be surprised. A lot of them don't hold any of our current leaders up as an example of anything other than corruption and enablers of the status quo.
@14er - "you think I'm some
@14er - "you think I'm some weird progressive/conservative hybrid". Well, isn't that kind of the definition of a libertarian? Socially liberal, legalize drugs, pull in all our military from around the world and destroy the Federal Reserve - does that cover the platform?
How does the TEA Party play into the hands of the GOP? We have to deal with reality first - and mostly, unfortunately, the old GOP like Boehner, McConnell, McCain and even Murkowski are the leaders. You can be sure that some of the young, fiscally conservative TEA Party backed politicians like Ryan and Rubio are having an influence though. It's not going to be a quick process cleaning out the old guard but the young guns are holding their feet to the fire.
You didn't hear about it from the media but the TEA Party had a huge influence in the Wisconsin election. They were boots on the ground working like crazy.
The TEA Party doesn't need to stand on corners and in front of capital buildings with signs anymore. They're highly organized and working hard from the backroom now.
I try not to be so cynical about all politicians because then it just looks like one is whining and bitching instead of working to change things. I thought the republican presidential candidates did a great job in vetting each other through the first part of this year. The process made them all stronger. Why do you say Romney was the chosen one and got there through "dishonest and corrupt behavior"?
Bingo, Kpawsuh. Spiff, I
Bingo, Kpawsuh.
Spiff, I used to be a "Republican" until I grew up and realized what was going on. So yeah, I would like to see them change and that's why I got involved.
But frankly, I don't spend much time thinking about what political "party" I belong to, because it's a waste of time and you can't fit a square peg in a round hole anyway. I will vote for the candidate who deserves my vote. Right now, that's Ron Paul.
I find the Tea Party funny.
I find the Tea Party funny. I saw an interview with the original tea party organizers, who said they were totally hijacked by right wing nut jobs like Sarah and that the tea party was nothing like they invisioned it when they created it.