By FRITZ PETTYJOHN
Alaska has always been dependent on the federal government, so we like our congressional delegation to build up seniority, and power. It’s in our own self-interest. We had Rep. Don Young for 49 years as a result.
His enemies had to indict and convict Ted Stevens to end his 40-year run as one of our two senators. It’s true that his replacement, Mark Begich, only served one term, but he was a Democrat in a Republican state.
Democrat Rep. Mary Peltola’s win two years ago was a carefully engineered fluke, enabled by the vanity of former Gov. Sarah Palin, who split the Republican vote.
Our new Congressman, Nick Begich, will have the great advantage of incumbency next time.
Which brings us to Sen. Lisa Murkowski. Any advantage her seniority might give her is canceled by her behavior toward Republican presidents. She hates Trump. It’s mutual, and her representation of the state for the next four years is a liability, not an asset.
She’ll be ripe for the picking in 2028. It’s not as though she has a record of accomplishment to run on. Far from it.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy leaves office in two years, and his plans are unknown. He may take a job in Washington, or he may head up an effort to build a gas line from the North Slope. Or he may go fishing. In my humble opinion, if he ran against Murkowski in 2028, he’d beat her.
Which brings us back to Nick Begich. He should be able to stay in the House as long as wants. Running against Murkowski would be taking on an unnecessary risk. On the other hand, I’m sure Nick will never forget, or forgive, Murkowski’s last-minute endorsement of Mary Peltola.
If Dunleavy chooses not to do it, Nick Begich would be doing not only the State of Alaska, but the entire country, a favor by retiring Lisa Murkowski.
In the meantime, congrats to Nick and his campaign team for running an outstanding campaign.Fritz Pettyjohn’s first venture in politics was working for Barry Goldwater for president in 1964. He served in the Alaska Legislature in the 1980s and writes the blog ReaganProject.com.
Yay… one salmon sister down and one more to go.
Alaska cannot survive the polluted spawning grounds created by sending Democrats to the DC swamp.
Murkowski’s head is on the chopping block.
Lets not let that slimy salmon slip off the table with the help of her slimy lawyer Scott Kendall
Law partner Willy Walker is in on the rigged choice election engineering corruption as well.
Disgraced former Governor Slick Willie Walker is an enabler of his deceased soul brother…..the former Lt. Governor of Alaska. A despicable pair.
There is no room or acceptance in the 49th State for a child sex abuser who holds public office, especially a seated Lt. Governor. And Willie Walker knows this first hand. His subsequent campaign bore this out. All Willie has remaining is his “get even” vendettas against conservatives and his………own conscience, ……if any remains.
Fritz, you are forgetting to tell the entire story. Congratulations to all of those loyal MRAK readers who helped organize a fierce campaign against Nancy Dahlstrom to back out of the race. If not for that, the Republicans would have split the ticket as they did in 2022 when Sarah Palin refused to back down. Palin and Dahlstrom were always the obstacles in a successful pathway for Nick Begich. Both women have proven to be self-centered and greedy. But for MRAK followers, Dahlstrom would not have withdrawn. She finally came to her better senses, but not without a clear and convincing shout down at MRAK. And that’s a fact.
Why should Palin have backed out? She got more votes than Nick in every primary… It’s nick with the ego that didn’t drop out last time.
I’m glad that Nancy dropped out. That will be the way forward now that RCV didn’t go away.
Sarah lovers can’t seem to get over the empty “wow” factor of Sarah. Begich entered the 2022 race right months before Sarah entered. Sarah only entered because she saw a narrow opportunity to get the hell out of Alaska and still be famous. Anyone who was married to Sarah, or thought about it, should seriously see a shrink. It worked wonders for me and I’m totally rehabilitated.
And Nick Begich was my candidate from day one.
Thank God Nick won! Mary is nothing short of an incompetent liar.
Congratulations to Nick Begich! Nick will be a very effective Alaska First representative in Washington. His predecessor was democrat party First and one who claimed ‘Stolen Achievement’ Second. Nick will work with the new administration to help revitalize the Alaskan economy.
Many good people in our bright red hard working circle of conservatives put in a lot of effort to help Nick get elected. The hard work paid off and we are ecstatic. As Alaska and the country emerge from the darkness of the last 4 years we are very fortunate and pleased to have Nick Begich as a bright shining beacon of hope for us in the U.S. House. Go Nick, we are with you!