By ALEX GIMARC
If you play sports long enough, you eventually play against (or with) someone who is viewed as a dirty player.
In basketball, this is generally seen as throwing elbows or undercutting you when you drive, shoot or rebound. Sometimes the foul is called. Usually, it isn’t. Your first job is to make sure you don’t get hurt. Your second is to make sure the miscreant suffers sufficient painful return fire that he (or she) chooses to apply their dirty skills elsewhere.
President Donald Trump, true to his word, signed an executive order this week restoring the name of Mount McKinley.
This was return fire to Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s loud promise to install herself as the “resident opposition” to Trump during his second term.
Lisa’s problem is that in this case, Trump is correct, as McKinley was renamed by President Barack Obama by fiat in 2015. Obama himself announced the name change during a visit summer to Alaska that year. This was part of his governing via pen and phone initiative as he was pandering to every Native American entity at the expense of the interests of anyone who was not Native.
The problem with the renaming by Obama is that the name McKinley was set into stone during ANILCA (Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act) in 1980. It was a compromise when the smallish park surrounding the mountain was expanded to the current Denali National Park and Preserve.
Congress, including Senators Ted Stevens, Frank Murkowski, and Congressman Don Young hammered out a compromise that retained the name of the mountain as McKinley. President Jimmy Carter signed the legislation Dec 1980, one month before Ronald Reagan took office.
If Congress sets the name for this particular rock, it is up to Congress to change it. If the delegation offers a simple piece of legislation to rename it once again and gets it through Congress either as stand-alone legislation or as an amendment, I expect Trump will sign it.
This is not the first time Trump brought up renaming McKinley, as he reportedly asked the delegation (Lisa Murkowski, Dan Sullivan and Don Young) in 2016 if he should rename it. They said no, and he dropped it for that term in office.
This is where returning fire against dirty players comes in.
Lisa has been out there throwing rhetorical (and other) elbows at Trump ever since the release of the Billy Bush tape intended to take him out of the presidential race Oct 2016. Her latest foray after the election was to demand FBI background checks for all Trump nominees, while ignoring the FBI’s devolution into a partisan secret police force. Her comments in December about leaving the Republican party didn’t help either.
It is not a surprise that Lisa was not prominently mentioned in relation to Trump’s EO reversing Biden’s closure of Alaska to mining, oil and natural gas. It is unknown at this time how much she participated, leaving one to wonder that if she is allowing personal animus against Trump to get in the way of her job of furthering the interests of Alaska in Congress. If so, why pray tell is she in DC?
Renaming McKinley was a sharp elbow in the chest, return fire from someone Lisa has been tossing elbows at for the last 8 years.
Keep this up, Lisa, and the next one will be in the chops.
Alex Gimarc lives in Anchorage since retiring from the military in 1997. His interests include science and technology, environment, energy, economics, military affairs, fishing and disabilities policies. His weekly column “Interesting Items” is a summary of news stories with substantive Alaska-themed topics. He was a small business owner and Information Technology professional.
I would say it’s more about Obama, then again Lisa and Obama are just different brands of the same product.
I’m indifferent to the name change, but all for Trump going full NYC on her.
I thought she was leaving the GOP. How can we miss her if she won’t go away?
“…….I thought she was leaving the GOP……..
She won’t leave until the party cuts her off from party funds, and she has nowhere to go but the retirement home.
Alaska’s congressional representation for years fought to change the name to Denali. In the House Don Young would fight for it, and it was blocked by Ohio representatives.
During his first term, Trump wanted to change the name. Dan Sulivan and Lisa Murkowski said not to. Both. Alaskans support the name Denai 2 to 1. So because Trump is mad at Lisa he is making the change? didn’t this state vote for him 3 times now? Why is he not listening to the representatives of the state? Dan, Lisa, and Nick have not supported changing it back. If this is him getting back after a “hard foul” then why is he doing it against his own team.
Bet none of them got grabbed.
And, yeah, Lisa’s an opportunistic contrarian, only being a crank when she thinks she can get away with it. You’ll see much more of a Republican Lisa during this admin.
Her training is complete. She has honed her ability to be a political succubus to both the Democrat and Republican parties with equal enthusiasm.
Good analysis, Mr. Gimarc. Alaska’s nepo-senator was treated very well by president No. 45 in his administration of Alaska’s federal lands. But could Murky be reasonably grateful, and at least vote to confirm a great justice to the U.S. Supreme Court? Noooo. And we know the rest of that story, which includes her vote to confirm the court’s DEI justice, the lightweight jurist Katanji Brown Jackson.
Anyhow, I prefer the name ‘Denali,’ as do the majority of us Alaskans. I plan to just keep on referring to that great big ol’ hill as ‘Denali.’ It’s so simple that any Neanderthal senator could do it.
Alex,
Thanks for the history lesson on ANILCA.
It’s always been Mt. McKinley for me. Probably cause I’m old.
Trump merely reinstalled the LEGAL name for the mountain as it was agreed to with the 1980 ANILCA agreement. Oddly, it is Donald Trump that knows the law here – this requires a movement from congress.
Did someone just pull a salmon from the net?
She has “the look” again.
“…….The problem with the renaming by Obama is that the name McKinley was set into stone during ANILCA (Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act) in 1980……..”
Great catch. So let’s continue the “Rename the Mountain” game until the fools get tired.
I’m game………….
Let’s put it on the next Ballot, let Alaskans decide … Yes or No. Given Trump swept Alaskans with 55% of the vote, I’m betting we’ll see Mt. McKinley restored! However, I’m quite positive Daddy’s Little Princess doesn’t want to see that outcome!
I thought he campaigned with inflation as his main focus. I haven’t seen grocery prices drop yet nor the Ukraine war ending as promised. There is no time to waste on petty issues such as this mountains name. We’re not in the 3rd grade anymore!
Lisa asked me if she should float a proposal in the US Senate to rename Mt. Edgcumbe to Mt. Murkowski. Sure, why not, was my reply. But not after me, after Lisa. An extinct old volcano crater seems like a nice fit for her. Mt. Murkowski. A low IQ mound that looks as old as the hills.
Very good article, Alex.
Good She needs it