By REP. JUBILEE UNDERWOOD
The conservative movement prides itself on being the standard-bearer of life, liberty, and traditional values. We rally under the banner of “pro-life,” championing the sanctity of the unborn and the preservation of moral foundations.
Yet, when it comes to our political battles, we often turn our fiercest weapons not on our ideological opponents but on each other. The left may throw punches, but it’s conservatives who deliver the knockout blows; to ourselves.
The infighting within the conservative ranks is more than just a distraction; it’s a self-inflicted wound that cripples our ability to advance our principles. While the left maintains a disciplined front, coalescing around shared goals despite internal disagreements, conservatives splinter into factions; each claiming to be the “true” champion of the movement. From primary purges to social media slandering, we’ve become experts at devouring our own.
I will admit, it’s quite disheartening watching the onslaught of accusations from fellow Republicans shouting out “RINOS” any time a vote isn’t taken in a lockstep binding caucus fashion (because a binding caucus isn’t an ideal Republicans hold to). There is an old Ronald Reagan quote that “The person who agrees with you 80% of the time is a friend and an ally, not a 20% traitor.” Do we believe that?
Contrast this with the left’s approach. Progressives, even with their own flaws, know how to close ranks. When one of their own strays; like a senator or representative voting against a party-line bill; they don’t unleash a public execution. Instead, they negotiate, regroup, and redirect their energy toward their common political enemy; us. Their ability to maintain unity, even when fractured, gives them a strategic edge we squander through our relentless infighting over ideological purity.
Oh the irony. We call ourselves pro-life, yet we’re quick to politically abort anyone who doesn’t perfectly align with our ever-shifting litmus tests. This isn’t principle; it’s cannibalism. Every time we ostracize a conservative for a single disagreement, we shrink our coalition and hand the left a gift-wrapped victory.
The pro-life conviction should transcend legislation, promoting unity and collaboration with partners instead of constant discord.
If we want to win, we need to stop eating our own. That means embracing spirited debate without resorting to excommunication; recognizing that a conservative who disagrees on tactics or tone isn’t a traitor but a potential ally; directing our criticism toward the left’s policies we deeply oppose, rather than fixating on our own small differences; and sometimes picking up the phone and calling to ask questions instead of reading clickbait and becoming a Facebook ninja warrior.
The left doesn’t beat us because they’re stronger; they beat us because we’re too busy beating ourselves. If we truly believe in the principles we so proudly stand upon, we’ll stop the fratricide and start fighting as one. Only then can we live up to the pro-life label we claim; and turn our values into victories.
Before my dad passed, his last corporate message he gave to a group of leaders was charging them to lay down differences and unify for the sake of one cause (which was to be a light in this dark world and to leave people better than they were when you met them).
It is a message I will continue to build my own life upon and I charge others to do the same; especially in the realm of politics.
Jubilee Underwood is a representative for House District 27, Wasilla.
The “conservative movement”, that is, the Republican Party has not always been like you describe. But, they have been since around the 1980s or so. Ever since the bible-thumpers took over and trained conservatives to be that way.
Also, you say about the liberals, that is, leftists or democrats, “When one of their own strays; like a senator or representative voting against a party-line bill; they don’t unleash a public execution.” This is not generally true. They go after anyone who doesn’t follow the communist party line.
“………The “conservative movement”, that is, the Republican Party has not always been like you describe. But, they have been since around the 1980s or so. Ever since the bible-thumpers took over and trained conservatives to be that way……….”
And there you go, in the very first comment, doing exactly what the author is trying to discourage. Remember the Eleventh Commandment, brought down the mountain in 1966 by Ronald Reagan in his campaign for Governor of California?: “Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican”?
Yeah, obviously not…………..
Thank you for writing this!
Says the politician who criticized the incumbent Republican legislator because he was too conservative and then took him out at the election so Wasilla could be represented by a squish. But now, oh no, don’t criticize her! It’s election season again, folks. Rules for thee but not for me.
Eastman didn’t lose because he was “too conservative”; he lost because he was constantly backbiting his fellow Republicans. I happen to like him, but he was totally ineffective as a representative.
You forget that the “unity” of the left is often achieved by coercion, threats, etc. If a person on the left does not toe the line they get ostracized, ignored and marginalized by their peers. I have seen it happen at the assembly and other places. While I understand where you are coming from I don’t want a forced unity like I see on the left.
The other comment I have is that there is a fine line between tearing somebody apart and holding them accountable. And all elected officials are accountable to the people who elected them and whom they work for. So I will continue to hold my elected officials accountable with bluntness and respect, but without smear campaigns and threats and name calling. I will criticize but I will also praise.
“…….You forget that the “unity” of the left is often achieved by coercion, threats, etc………”
Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner!
So guess what’s coming (already come?) to the Republican Party?………….
Please learn the difference between a colon and a semicolon.
The “conservative movement” doesn’t exist in any coherent form—mostly because most people who imagine they are conservatives are illiterate. Their utter inability to deal with the “pro-life” issue in a meaning way is a great example.
Their consistent inability to recognize Reagan as perhaps the greatest enemy of conservatism and the Republican Party—less because of the things he said, which were occasionally good, but because of the things he actually did, which were mostly evil—may be the litmus test of competency in this arena.
In short, people who fail to recognize how bad Reagan was do not deserve a seat at the adult table in these conversations.
The same goes for people who use semicolons where em-dashes should be used.
Read a book or ten. Then, perhaps, you may be capable of sharing an opinion that doesn’t appear vapid in every paragraph.
Uh.
Didn’t Reagan defeat communism by crushing the Soviet Union – through non-violent means?
Please read a book.
That is a fact-free Boomer delusion.
Reagan joined w/ Evangelicals to end a 50 year liberal run that started w/ FDR.
He created a good economy (except in AK) w/ tax reforms.
He defeated the Soviet Block through strength instead of war.
He tried to get Central America onboard w/ us as opposed to kissing their asses.
He was hoodwinked buy the political mafia on Capitol Hill concerning immigration & a secure border.
He handed Bill Clinton a country that was in very good shape at the time (except for the border)
Most importantly he preached an Excellent conservative message to people young & old, and I was one of them.
I am a union member & a Reagan Democrat.
False. Reagan:
– Perpetuated the fascist (literally fascist, as in copied from the original Italian, not the bizarre caricature most illiterates imagine that word means) agenda of FDR.
– Created the illusion of a good economy through debt, much to the delight of central bankers and fascist FDR-lovers everywhere.
– Did not “defeat” the USSR in any meaningful way. People who keep saying this don’t know the basics of the USSR and the Cold War, nor do they have any idea what has transpired since, and basically have a child’s view of history full of unicorns and leprechauns.
– Perpetuated, rather than undo the decades of terror wrought in Central and South America by the United States and European nations.
– Was, perhaps, “hoodwinked” by the DC political mafia, but that is probably an oversimplification. More likely, he was controlled before ever reaching DC, and probably the governorship of California. Look more closely to the evil he did in California and that becomes clearer. The people “hoodwinked” are the boomertards who believed his speeches and ignored his actions.
– Handed Bill Clinton exactly what he was expected to, according to the plan going back at least to the 19th century. This has been spelled out in numerous books boomers have never read. Maybe start with Quigley’s Tragedy & Hope.
– Continually preached an illusion designed to fool gullible people.
If only we were all as smart as you.
He’s possessed, not “smart’
Gross… what a manipulative and passive-aggressive attack on people of faith and conservatism. Time will continue to show these establishment republicans are never what the people think they are voting for… better luck next time, District 27.
RINO Whines after returning back to her district, film at 11.
Bingo.
I agree with to a point, the state legislators that joined the democrats to create a majority are not rino’s, they have thrown the conservative principles out the door. They’re actually democrats that ran as Republicans. This is happening in many states. The problem is the republican party leadership allowed this to happen.
Yes, this! They are wolves in sheep’s clothing! Being a Democrat really isn’t popular right now thus many have changed to Independents. Then some outright lie and yada yada yada at election time tell everyone what they want to hear and run as Republicans. They have no intention of caucusing with the other Republicans, never did, never will. Uninformed voters along with left leaning voters send them to Juneau and there they do what they said they wouldn’t do and don’t do what they said they would. Many are just pawns of their high dollar contributors and shamelessly vote the way they are told rather than as the people desire. We watch it over and over repeating itself and the results of their votes following Democratic liberal leanings. Much respect to Underwood who replaced Mr. Long Floor Speeches/Couldn’t Work Well With Others! So before you chew her up and spit her out consider what Mr. above ever accomplished!
Bingo. These chamber of commerce candidates are not representing their constituents, they represent themselves and the special interests which got them elected. I don’t this one will retain her seat as she will not recieve any help from the Valleys Lady Republicans. Hope she’s proud of taxing children’s dividends and jumping on board with the majority as useful pawn.
We should NEVER stop calling the limp wristed, milquetoast traitors RINO’s when they act like one.
They are THE problem, not Republicans, conservatives, pro-lifers, MAGA people that call them out.
Jubilee stop being a SQUISH – you can be better than that.
I agree.
I frankly think that the only thing that will re unite this country is a bloody war. I can’t see another way around this mess. War or a miracle.
As for our legislature in Alaska it will continue to be a mess until it’s moved to the road system.
Rep. Underwood, with all due respect: The Republican Party of Alaska has posted a platform on their website, a clear set of positions, not just suggestions. Voters who put them into office actually expect Republican legislators to fully support those positions. The legislators who are most often referred to as “RINOs” don’t generally come anywhere near the 80% in Reagan’s axiom (unless, of course, you’re a democrat). David Eastman is a conservative who often disagreed with the status quo on “tactics or tone”, but was treated as a traitor by nearly the entire legislature. If going along to get along is more important to some legislators than supporting the platform they were elected on, maybe they should just go ahead and wear different badges.
What a hypocritical piece. This penned from the establishment republican plant that ousted a true constitutional conservative. More rhetoric from the Alaskan Republican Party that has truly lost their way and the values for the constituents they once served.
Mr Mellon. I know the difference. One is full of trap. The other is a truckload of crap.
Clearly, my observation. Voters, though, need to elect republicans who share principal republican values and Alaska has a Senator who often defies our values in Murkowski. While Collins of Maine might have an excuse Murkowski comes from a deep red state. She can be absolutely frustrating.
We’re Red (for now).
We are no longer “deep red” because of VERY liberal ANC (where half the population lives)
Unfortunately being a big tent pro lifer does not balance the budget or raise test scores or get weiners out of girls locker rooms.
Sounds like a nice lady trying to back-pedal after somehow offending her more MAGA-oriented colleagues. Are the dogs out for you, Ms. Underwood?
And, “We rally under the banner of … the preservation of moral foundations?” Trump and Musk are fine moral examples for all to follow: Polyamory, 14 children with various women, sleeping with porn stars while married and with a newborn nonetheless, multiple wives and divorces, drug use. Give me a break.
What Bill Clinton and the “dress”.
What about Biden molesting his daughter, “allegedly”?
What about Obama in the Chicago “bath houses”.
Hypocrite much?
Done, Whidbey wasn’t defending that behavior in democrats. He was merely pointing out the same behavior in Republicans, thus they are hypocrites.
“……they are hypocrites………”
If they’re human, they’re hypocrites.
If they’re Democrat humans, they support policies that I can’t live with. If they’re Republican humans, they’re SUPPOSED TO support the Republican Party Platform.
Dawg; One name for you: Juanita Broaddrick.
This made me cringe, and not because it was true. Not a great look
For MRAK either – yikes!
Jubilee, you could not be more wrong. AND reprehensibly dishonest.
Simply because some self-serving politician happens to have an “R” in front of their name does NOT make them an actual conservative. I give you Stutes, Merrick and Murkowski as examples — self-serving traitors to everything YOU claim to value, who consistently and dishonorably caucus with and work with the enemy. This is not a matter of demanding and enforcing narrow political ideology, but of holding politicians accountable to what THEY claim is their core values, values which they repeatedly and regularly spurn and disown. And this disgusting political selling-out and ratcheting process only ever works one way; isn’t it funny how there is nobody on the radical leftist (“D”) side who caucuses or sells out to the Republicans, but routinely Republicans who sell out to the Democrats? Why is this the case?
The fact is that in at least the last two state legislatures, the Republicans had an absolute majority in both houses, yet they destroyed what would normally have been their working majority by having multiple members selling out and joining the far-left Democrats. Until you can honestly explain that process, which slapped their voters in the face, you have no right to clutch your RINO pearls when you are taken to task by those who voted for you to stand by your party’s platform and your own campaign assertions.
I’m not disagreeing w/ your sentiments, but the “Bush Caucus”, Democrats from villages, caucused w/ the Juno GOP to get more honey for their districts, so it can go both ways
Foster & Olson (Norton Sound area) among others, did this for years.
But I have NO idea why any of our Rinos would do this now, except that they are not conservatives at all;
Including this woman ….. who should be voted out imo.
You missed one, the “Leader”, Costello, ran as A conservative Republucan, , but flipped as soon as she WA returned to Juneau, must be from working for Murkowski she got the RINOvirusinfection
Yeah, republicanism in its current form is failing.
We have US presidency, the US Senate, the US House, the majority of governorships, and the majority of state houses.
If only we could be disciplined like the Democrats…
What a disgusting Juneau Swamp Creature!
So how should we deal with a traitor like Lisa?
The Republican Party has a platform. Stick to the platform. Support the platform and we will support you.
That’s it ….. bottom line.
Stop yapping your jaw girl, vote correctly.
It’s not rocket science.
Says the rep who got into office through an ugly bout of infighting, thus replacing the only true statesman in Alaskan politics, finally taken down by his fellow “conservatives.”
Your words ring hollow, Rep. Underwood.
Pandering, at best.
Frankly so damn tired of this!
The Dem/Socialist have a binding caucus. Thus even if they don’t agree on a major policy or bill, they must vote with the caucus. On not so major bills they get to throw a bone to the middle. Yet, even in a major disagreement, we don’t see the internal fight.
When we had the Republican Majority with Cathy Tilton as Speaker, she was constantly herding cats. That first session with the freshmen that wanted to start a freshman caucus was a major pain. Yet, Cathy didn’t require a binding caucus. Yes, Justin Ruffridge and others didn’t vote on key bills with the majority caucus and yes they did as well. That second session was better than the first.
Part of that time was David Eastman, who not only refused to be in the majority caucus, but attacked solid conservatives, like Kevin McCabe, Cathy Tilton, etc. He in fact physically huddled with the Dem/Socialist and vote with them causing votes to be tied which should have passed! So Jubilee ran against him based on his actions and votes.
I wonder how many here actually talked to Jubilee. Expressed their views on bills, called in and or e-mailed testimony. I may know a small handful. I am so tired of being the loan conservative voice in committee hearings for public input, then people up in arms about those bills passing or failing! Have I agreed with each and every vote by Jubilee? No, but by in large I have talked to her or her staff on my views of a bill. I am one person of many in her district, so if she voted the opposite, I may disagree but I made my views, like my votes on candidates known.
Folks the Dem/Socialist love this open warfare! What with RCVing still in play this coming election, are you willing to give the seat to a Dem/Socialists? Depending on whom is running, I will look at each of them, talk to them and make my decision for the Jungle Primary, then will do the same for the General Election and vote for the best person. Who that may be will be in the privacy of the voting booth.
Mike, very well said. I agree with you re complainers and not activists. Very few call in to testify on specific bills. You are one of the very few. I appreciate your testimony and participation in the legislative process.
Riddle me this any prominent republican?? “how do so many so called republicans who run their campaigns on conservative values when they get to Juneau and promptly side and vote with democrat? How does the republican party still endorse them for reelection?” I am having difficulty staying a registered republican.
The only solution is to ban all political parties. Then voters will need to vote for a person, not just an initial after their name, which most voters do. But, you say, how will legislation get passed? Exactly.
We need the parties. This “Independent” nonsense is Democrat/liberalism.
How many busy people (jobs,homes,kids,etc) have time to understand how “each person” stands?
Who wants to listen, & read about, all these candidates? Who has the time?
They’re politicians! ….. repetitive, boring, full of themselves, often not telling the truth.
Get w/ a party, SUPPORT THE PLATFORM & let us voting peons get on w/ our lives.
“……We need the parties. This “Independent” nonsense is Democrat/liberalism………”
Yes, we need the parties. No, I will not be a member of any of them, because I am “independent”, and I will remain that way. I have my reasons, and no, I don’t have to share them.
Yes, if you’re a party member, and yes, ESPECIALLY if you’re an elected official and party member, SUPPORT THE PLATFORM.
… Right … Pretty convenient.
Says the woman who voted for HB57 before she voted against HB57.
Not buying what you’re selling.
This insistence on party-defined lockstep from a group that represents less than a quarter of registered Alaska voters is precisely why ranked-choice voting is right for this state.
Related, when the party elites who want to control the process are all election-denying devotees of a criminal, talk of “principles” is laughable.
All those words to say what, exactly?
.
Reads more like a school-board president’s lecture, admonishing her adoring public: be quiet, stop arguing, get with the program, or get out.
.
So, we better “lay down differences” with Democrats –and Republicans– who’ve screwed us, our children, our economy, our culture, our elections, while spending us into oblivion, and unite behind the “one cause” which is preventing Alaska’s GOP from going extinct?
.
Very disappointing, Jubilee, but don’t give up. Stop lecturing people about disagreeing with you. Start talking -to- people, not at them, not down to them. Act like you really give a damn about what’s on their minds. Add facts to your ideology, you’ll probably do okay.
Jubilee and Yundt are cut from the same RINO, NeoCon cloth.
Disappointing.
Maybe so.
.
Yundt the Taxer seems like a lost cause; Jubilee might be worth salvaging …depends on her reply, if any.
Why aren’t all conservatives, including the governor, preparing Alaska for the gas line? Have we ever seen a better time or a better rallying moment?
It’s hard to understand why every conservative in Alaska, especially the Governor, isn’t urgently and unapologetically on board with a full-scale reform effort to prepare this state for the gas line. The opportunity has been in front of us for decades, and still, we’re stuck in neutral or is that stupid?
We can talk about “resource development” all we want, but unless Alaska reforms its own government from the inside out, nothing will move. The gas line isn’t just an engineering project. It’s a test of whether Alaska can finally function as a sovereign state, not a federal colony paralyzed by red tape and internal inertia.
And the reform blueprint is sitting right in front of us. It’s time for the Governor to audit and streamline every state agency. Before a single inch of pipe is laid, we must audit and restructure the overlapping, outdated, and bloated bureaucracies, DNR, DEC, ADF&G, and more, that suffocate permitting and investment. If we don’t cut through the process paralysis now, we won’t have the institutional ability to even approve a project, let alone build it.
It’s time for the Governor to aggressively assert Alaska’s sovereignty through the Department of Law. Why are we still allowing the federal government to dictate how and where we can develop our own land? Through the Alaska Department of Law, the Governor must immediately expand litigation capacity to defend RS 2477 rights, submerged land access, and ANILCA enforcement. It’s not symbolic. It’s jurisdictional. Without control of our own land, the gas stays underground.
It’s time for the Governor, which he has started, to more aggressively forge a legislative-executive compact for sovereignty and permitting reform. Alaska desperately needs a sovereignty compact between the Governor and the Legislature to codify streamlined permitting, reinforce state authority, and create a legal environment that attracts, not repels, investment. Every day we delay reform legislation is another day we risk losing our dominance in the gas line to politics, litigation, or apathy.
It’s time to create a private-sector infrastructure model that shrinks bureaucracy. The pipeline will never be built through a government-led infrastructure strategy. It’s time to shrink the bureaucracy and deliberately grow the private sector by developing a State Development Corporation model, similar to North Dakota’s successful Bank of North Dakota and its public-private infrastructure approach, which has helped finance critical energy and logistics projects without growing government overhead. This model has proven effective at attracting private capital, fast-tracking development timelines, and delivering returns to the state. This model has kept government lean and focused on enabling, not controlling, the economy. Alaska cannot be the builder, the lender, and the regulator. That model has failed.
Our entire state government must rebuild public trust through transparency and tangible local benefits. Alaskans have been promised development for 40 years, and given nothing, but lawsuits and excuses. Public trust is gone. The only way to restore it is to transparently share revenues, guarantee local impact benefits, and let Alaskans see, touch, and benefit from what’s being developed in their backyard.
Our entire state government must use its federal funds to retrain bureaucracy into industry. Alaska receives 44% of its operating budget from the federal government. Why not use that money strategically, for once, to retrain and retool displaced state workers for jobs in the private sector tied to energy, logistics, and infrastructure? This is the smart, pro-labor, pro-growth conservative reform path, if anyone’s willing to lead it.
Jubilee, what are we waiting for?
We should be moving with urgency and unity to prepare for one of the largest economic development opportunities in Alaska’s history. But instead, the conservative movement is fragmented, cautious, and in some cases, complicit in maintaining the very bureaucracy that’s blocked progress for decades.
If our Governor is serious about development, if conservatives are serious about sovereignty, and if we actually want the gas line to happen, then these reforms are not optional. They are foundational.
You are right.
Unfortunately, our politicians like McCabe wants to lecture us about Federal waste, Jubilee wants to lecture us about being more like Democrats, and Yundt wants to tax the biggest player on the Slope – AND THESE ARE THE REPUBLICANS!
Haha yep your right on Done
This isn’t about ideological purity. It’s about protecting influence. The same crowd crying “stop the circular firing squad” are the very ones who cheered when grassroots conservatives were smeared, silenced, and labeled “too extreme” for daring to challenge incumbents. They weren’t asking for unity then. They were asking for loyalty—to themselves.
Now the base is fighting back. And instead of self-reflection, they’re clutching their pearls and quoting Reagan. Spare us.
Trump didn’t win by pretending everything was fine. He won by calling out the swamp, including the Republican one. That’s not cannibalism. That’s called cleaning house. And it’s exactly what’s happening in Alaska and across the country. Voters are demanding accountability…not in-fighting, but in-house truth-telling.
Let’s also cut the sanctimony around “pro-life” being used as some moral high ground to avoid hard political conversations. Being pro-life doesn’t mean enabling career politicians who vote like Democrats and only show up to church during election season. It means fighting for a future where conservative values win, and that means confronting the rot inside our own tent.
If someone disagrees on strategy, fine. But don’t pretend to preach unity after spending an entire primary cycle encouraging attacks on challengers, then playing victim when the mirror turns back.
Unity is not code for “shut up and get in line.” True unity is forged in truth and accountability. The grassroots isn’t fracturing the party, it’s rebuilding it. And if calling out weak Republicans makes some people uncomfortable, good. Comfort is what got us here in the first place.
So NO…we won’t sit down. We won’t shut up. And we’re not falling for the bait-and-switch where Reagan’s name is used to cover for anti-Trump cowardice. The conservative movement isn’t broken, it’s being reclaimed.
Nice one!
.
Forgive us in advance if we accidentally plagiarize.
Bravo!
One step in our political system both sides of the isle forget is to actively talk directly to your elected officials more than once. If the politicians only talk to lobbyists, that’s the voice they are going with.
I can agree with the premise…. Politically, I’m somewhere right of Atilla the Hun…. I volunteer to write and cheerlead on Alaska emergency medical services bills in my freetime and used to staff in Juneau for Republicans. I wrote HB 57 (which passed), for EMS to be able to treat our injured and shot operational K9s, but gave it to a legislator from the House majority to run, as it needed to pass for EMS. But some folks from my side of aisle, spent the session flaming me for a politically-wise decision. It’s about passing good legislation for EMS, not who does it. And those also railed that it was “bad legislation”, not fully understanding the bill and intent, but just throwing shade for ego’s sake. Sad times.
No jubilee a bunch of us supported (Republicans) and as it turned out got stabbed in the back. We were Sure excited when you got elected but that didn’t last long. Unbelievable actually.