Monday, April 27, 2026
Home Blog Page 1129

Republicans, the game is being played on your dollar

SENIOR CONTRIBUTOR
-
13
Republicans, the game is being played on your dollar

By MICHAEL TAVOLIERO

In mid-March, the Alaska Republican Party State Central Committee voted, by a 77% majority, to find that its U.S. Senate incumbent, Lisa Murkowski, had engaged in actions detrimental to the Alaska Republicans or to Republican values and goals.  This vote resulted in the ARP:

1) withholding Republican Party support, including financial, from Senator Murkowski; and,

2) the Alaska Republican Party will recruit a Republican Primary Challenger to oppose Senator Murkowski; and, 

3) prohibit Senator Murkowski from being a candidate in any Republican primary or participating in any ARP meeting, conventions, or activities.

This action is allowed under Article 1(4)(f)(4) of the Alaska Republican Party rules (see below).

Rule No. 11 (see below) of the Republican National Party (RNP) Rules states the Republican National Committee will not, without local state party approval, contribute any support except the nominee of the local state party.

Yet, with the typical snake oil chicanery of DC politics, the Senate Leadership Fund Super PAC, Senator Mitch McConnell’s political action committee, has endorsed Senator Murkowski.

Does anyone in the ARP and NRP leadership see the problem with this?

Should the ARP leadership and its constituency send a clear message to DC condemning McConnell’s PAC and the snake oil vendors in the Republican swamp that Sen. Murkowski is not supported by her state party and therefore must not be supported nationally? 

Consider the March 13 ARP conviction of Senator Murkowski, should all National Republican Party associates, including Senator Mitch McConnell’s Senate Leadership Fund Super PAC and, most importantly, the National Republican Senatorial Committee, consider going against our ARP’s decision in a midterm election which is “do or die” for the Republican Party?

The U.S. Senate is the single most exclusive club in the world.  It only allows 100 members, yet for the most part, its membership longevity is for life with as many perks as Saudi royalty.

They can argue the semantics of election process, but the point is clear and clean, Lisa Murkowski is not supported by the Alaska Republican Party.

Shouldn’t this be honored by all Republican party leadership? 

Article 1(4)(f)(4) If the SCC finds that a Republican incumbent had engaged in actions detrimental to the Alaska Republicans or to Republican values and goals, such as forming a coalition in which Democrats hold the majority when a Republican majority has been elected, the SCC by 60% vote may: (i) withhold Republican Party support, including financial, from that incumbent. (ii) recruit a Republican Primary Challenger to oppose that Republican incumbent and (iii) prohibit the incumbent from being a candidate in any Republican primary or participating in any ARP meetings, conventions or activities.

RULE NO. 11 Candidate Support (a) The Republican National Committee shall not, without the prior written and filed approval of all members of the Republican National Committee from the state involved, contribute money or in-kind aid to any candidate for any public or party office of that state, except the nominee of the Republican Party or a candidate who is unopposed in the Republican primary after the filing deadline for that office. In those states where state law establishes a non-partisan primary in which Republican candidates could participate, but in which the general election may not include a Republican candidate, the candidate endorsed by a convention held under the authority of the state Republican Party shall be recognized by the Republican National Committee as the Republican nominee. 

Michael Tavoliero is a realtor at Core Real Estate Group in Eagle River, is active in the Alaska Republican Party and chairs Eaglexit.

Senate Super PAC backs Murkowski

ADN reporter has cameo role in White House Press conference, gets dissed by Press Secretary Jen Psaki

Suzanne Downing
-
12

The White House daily press briefing has a new feature, including “regional reporters” tuning in via video. The first reporter to be featured was James Brooks, a political writer for the Anchorage Daily News, who appeared on a large screen behind Press Secretary Jen Psaki this week. He was attended from Juneau, wearing a red-and-black Filson brand vest, and he was the only regional reporter included in the Friday White House press briefing.

As Psaki tried to explain the initiative to bring in regional reporters, she threw shade on all of the non-Beltway reporters by praising the elite White House Press Corp, “You know, many of you started your career that way.”

It was an insult that may have made all non-White House reporters grimace, as many do not aspire to join the White House Press corp, but see value in local reporting. For many reporters, local and state beats are a passion.

After accidentally dissing him, Psaki then greeted Brooks, but didn’t seem to have his name.

Brooks, good natured as is typical with him, described to Psaki the problem Alaska has with its cruise ship season because, not only are there CDC rules, but there is the Canadian ban on ships.

Due to a U.S. law, “ships must stop in Canada on the way to Alaska and Canada isn’t allowing cruise ships right now,” Brooks explained. Just as he was explaining that a bipartisan request from Alaska legislators to have the Biden Administration lift the Canada stop requirement, the sound went dead, and Brooks could be seen talking, but could not be heard.

“Uh oh,” said Psaki. “Oh no, you didn’t hit your mute button, did you? That may be on our end.” After a few moments, the glitch was fixed and Brooks was able to ask the Biden Administration what it thinks of the request to grant a waiver to Alaska-bound cruise ships.

Psaki said that Biden has been working with Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Alaska officials on the problem, and engaging with Canada.

The segment comes at the end of the press conference, as seen on CSPAN.

Bronson pulls ahead by 416 votes

Suzanne Downing
-
25
Bronson pulls ahead by 416 votes

Mayoral candidate Dave Bronson has pulled ahead of Forrest Dunbar, who was leading earlier in the race. With more than 10,000 votes yet to be counted, Bronson’s lead may grow further, because the last three days of voting appear to favor conservatives.

Bronson is currently up by 416 votes; that’s 18,716 for Bronson, and 18,300 for Dunbar as of Friday evening.

“What it tells you is that people don’t love Dunbar the way he thinks they do,” said one political analyst.

After a slow trek to the polls during the first days of the election, conservative voters made up for lost time in the latter days. The runoff is May 11.

The Municipal Clerk’s Office said that election officials will be working at the election center on Saturday, April 10, from approximately 10 am to 3 pm. Election Officials will be processing ballot envelopes through the sorter and signature verification process, opening ballot envelopes, scanning ballots, and tabulating results. There will be additional results will be released on Saturday.

Senate Super PAC backs Murkowski

Suzanne Downing
-
22
Senate Super PAC backs Murkowski

The Senate Leadership Fund Super PAC, Sen. Mitch McConnell’s political action committee, endorsed Sen. Lisa Murkowski for reelection, it announced today. Murkowski has been challenged by Republican Kelly Tshibaka.

“Senator Murkowski embodies the long Alaska tradition of effective Republican leadership that gets results for the state and its citizens. Murkowski fights for the state’s resource development economy, fisheries and unparalleled parks and wildlife. She cares deeply about the special heritage and priorities of the Alaska Native people,” the organization said.

“Senator Murkowski has also been a champion for conservative values in Washington.  She voted to confirm President Trump’s nominations of Justice Gorsuch and Justice Barrett to the U.S. Supreme Court, helping to cement a constitutional conservative majority on the nation’s highest court for years to come.  She voted in support of the landmark Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and policies to free businesses from excessive, burdensome regulations,” it said in an announcement.

” Many politicians put themselves first, but Lisa Murkowski always puts Alaska first,” said the super PAC’s President Steven Law.

The Senate Leadership Fund and its affiliates have played a decisive role in Alaska’s Senate races, helping to elect Senator Dan Sullivan in 2014 and supporting his reelection in 2020.  In 2020, SLF invested $6.9 million in support of Sen. Sullivan, to counter an onslaught of liberal special interest spending for Sullivan’s opponent.

Senate Leadership Fund was established in January 2015 by supporters of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) in order to maintain a Republican majority in the United States Senate.

Eastman calls for ‘sense of the House’ on release of beer party video

Suzanne Downing
-
37
Eastman calls for ‘sense of the House’ on release of beer party video

Rep. David Eastman called for a “sense of the House” to have all members vote Friday on whether the video of last week’s legislative beer-and-ping-pong party in the Terry Miller Building should be released to the public.

Speaker Louise Stutes immediately pounded her gavel and called an at-ease.

The at-ease went into a recess that ended up lasting hours, and when the House reconvened, Rep. Sara Rasmussen was gone, while the other two partying legislators, Rep. Zack Fields and Rep. Kelly Merrick remained to continue conducting business. A vote was taken to lay the sense of the House “on the table,” and a majority of members present agreed with that motion, including the two members — Fields and Merrick — who have starring roles in the video.

It’s fair to expect some legislator will pick it back up off the table on Monday.

The kerfuffle in the House arose after the beer-drinking, ping pong players brought in special members of the public to the gymnasium at the adjacent building for an evening of recreation that included leg wrestling. Must Read Alaska has a public records request filed to get a copy of that video.

No members of the public are allowed in the Capitol complex due to the Legislature’s own Covid precautionary rules. The public has been shut out of the seat of government for over a year.

Additionally, it’s now known that someone in the group gave a member of the public a key card to leave the party and return with more beer. It is against the Legislature’s rules to give a Capitol key card to anyone else.

Stutes has been trying to tamp down the scandal. The party itself is not noteworthy, as legislators are known to party, but allowing some people into the building to party, while excluding all other Alaskans from their Capitol, is the issue that has Fields, Rasmussen, and Merrick on the hot seat over their judgment.

Rasmussen and Merrick have apologized, but Fields has not and was heard loudly cursing Rep. Eastman’s name in the halls of the Capitol on Friday.

Beer-gate: Capitol ping pong update

Supreme Court packing, under Biden, will have long-lasting effects on the nation

SENIOR CONTRIBUTOR
-
7

By LANCE PRUITT

With everything happening on Friday, one thing thing that went under the radar that should be front and center: President Joe Biden’s executive order to create a commission to study expanding the U.S. Supreme Court, and setting term limits for Justices. 

The long-term effects of this action could alter the United States, our culture, and society in such a dramatic way, that everyone should be concerned. 

Recently liberal Justice Stephen Breyer, the eldest member of the court, warned against expanding the court for political reasons, indicating that it could undermine the trust in the the court and its decisions. 

That independence, as much as we may disagree depending on their ruling, is a foundational factor in everything from crime and punishment to trust in our currency. 

In fact, it is the independence of our judiciary that is one of the reasons that the U.S. dollar will remain the global reserve currency, even as China’s economy eclipses ours in size and moves their currency digital in an attempt to push the dollar out.  

Court packing, as it is referred to, is a dream of the progressive left. During his campaign for president, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg made a case for adding six seats to the courts and packing them with liberal judges.  The argument does hold precedent: At our nation’s founding there were only six justices compared to the nine we have now.  In 1937, a frustrated President Franklin D. Roosevelt proposed to expand the court to 15, when his New Deal policies kept getting struck down.

FDR’s attempt to pack the court also, in a way touched on term limits. Those additional judges that could be appointed were to be appointed for justices that had not resigned six months after they reached their 70th birthday. It was a way to circumvent the elder justices of the time by offsetting their impact on rulings, a Depression-era version of ageism. It was clearly seen as a power grab, because he could not get his New Deal policies to stick.  It was such a disaster that the Democrats lost eight Senate Seats and 81 House seats in the following election, even though it failed by a 70-20 vote in the Senate.

We don’t have to go back to FDR to see the consequences of court packing.  In 1978, Congress doubled the size of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and subsequently President Jimmy Carter had the ability to appoint all 10 of those new judges.  He did not just appoint left leaning judges, he appointed extremely passionate progressives to the court.  In all, President Carter appointed 15 people to the court, three of which still serve as senior members.  He completely transformed not just the court, but the decisions that have come out of the court as evidenced by so many rulings impacting Alaska and Alaskan jobs.

Some will say President Biden is just following through on a campaign promise, or that the new commission is bipartisan and is not set to give specific recommendations, so don’t worry. But President Biden is doing this because of pressure from activists, and a commission and study alone will not satisfy their desires. 

Keep an eye on this, because its consequences will last for generations.

Lance Pruitt is a former House of Representatives lawmaker from District 27.

Dunleavy: Big initiative will market Alaska tourism (and he may sue the CDC)

Suzanne Downing
-
17

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy announced an initiative to aid the state’s tourism, hospitality, and ancillary businesses in the face of another devastating year without tourism.

The governor acknowledged that in mid-April, time is short. The window is closing.

The plan involves a grand marketing campaign across America to convince independent travelers to come to Alaska, grants for tourism and hospitality businesses and relief to communities.

He also said he’s ready to take legal action against the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention if the conditional sail order is not lifted.

“We can no longer wait for the federal government to act and support our communities and businesses that rely on tourism, namely those who come to Alaska by cruise ship. Alaska was anticipated to welcome 1.3 million tourists by cruise ship before the pandemic shut that down. The combined total economic loss from a canceled cruise ship season in 2020 and 2021 amounts to $6 billion, with 2,180 businesses at direct risk – many of which are small family owned businesses,” Dunleavy said.

“My administration is taking necessary steps to help Alaskans, starting with putting forth an aggressive aid package and seriously considering filing legal action against the CDC if the conditional sail order is not lifted. Our communities need our help now more than ever.”

Governor Dunleavy’s proposal to rescue the 2021 Alaska tourism season includes:

  • Aggressive marketing campaign to attract Americans to Alaska
    • Direct federal COVID funds to one of the largest tourism campaigns in state history.
  • Relief to tourism-dependent businesses
    • Direct federal COVID funds to provide grants to tourism businesses and create traveler incentives.
  • Gather feedback from tourism-dependent communities
    • Lt. Governor Meyer and members of the Dunleavy administration will travel through Southeast, Denali, Kenai Peninsula, and the Mat-Su Valley to listen to community groups on their needs and report findings to the legislature.
  • Defend Alaska in court against federal cruise ship restraints
    • Withhold the right to pursue litigation against the CDC’s conditional sail order and the callous disregard of Alaskans’ livelihoods and wellbeing.
  • Demand an end to the Passenger Vessel Services Act (PVSA)
    • Signed SJR 9, urging the United States Congress to exempt cruise ships from the PVSA for the period during which Canadian ports are closed to cruise ships carrying more than 100 people.

Juneau Mayor Beth Weldon said that without tourism, the city takes a $10 million hit to the city’s sales tax, and a total of $26 million hit in revenue.

UAA propaganda takes conservative men head on to get them to take ‘the jab’

Suzanne Downing
-
78

At the State of Alaska’s regularly scheduled Covid community conversation this week, a University of Alaska Anchorage Journalism professor presented some approaches for convincing conservative men to get the Covid-19 vaccine:

Tell men that if they get the virus, they’ll lose their ability to get an erection. That will do it.

Joy Chavez Mapaye, who has a PhD in Journalism and who teaches at UAA, told the group of mainly health professionals that since “conservative men, 35 and younger” were so resistant to getting the vaccine, they need a message that gets them where they live. The propaganda must be targeted to their penises.

Thus, the professor went through some sample messaging that might work on this group, messaging developed with Rep. Liz Snyder of District 27 and a group of primarily women, and which is full of gender stereotypes about younger conservative men. The takeaway: Messages must appeal to this group of men’s masculinity and virility.

:

The State and Anchorage municipal health professionals are working on ways to break down the public’s resistance to the Covid vaccine, and their work is informed by surveys done online, as well as in focus groups. The study took into consideration the images from the popular dating app Tinder as the group tried to understand the young, conservative male mind, which they view as having a greater likelihood in engaging in Covid-19 risk behaviors, such as not wearing a mask and not getting a vaccine.

Banner Health, a health care company, says erectile dysfunction is, indeed, a side effect for some men, as Covid-19 affects the vascular system, or blood flow in the body. The Banner Health report is here.

Mapaye chairs the Department of Journalism at UAA and is a former reporter for mainstream media outlets. Last year she helped with a study that showed 77% of respondents in Anchorage said they either mildly or strongly support the Berkowitz mask mandate, while only 11 percent said they would defy it.

Mapaye has called the COVID-19 issue a “pandemic of misinformation.” 

“Communications in this is really critical,” she said last year to public broadcasting reporters. “You want to get the right messaging out to the right group, in order for folks to understand and know what they need to do.”

This year, the right message is: If you’re a man, you can keep your equipment working by getting a Covid vaccine.

You can view the professor’s slide desk at this link:

Mapaye-UAA-data-and-messagingDownload

Some of the transcript of the meeting is at this link:

SOA-CCC-Transcript-4-8-2021Download

State report: Policy on Covid cost Alaska tourism sector $3 billion last year

Suzanne Downing
-
6
State report: Policy on Covid cost Alaska tourism sector $3 billion last year

Gov. Mike Dunleavy sent the State of Alaska’s Impacts to Alaska from 2020/2021 Cruise Ship Season Cancellation report to the White House, detailing the economic impacts and attributing a $3 billion gross state product loss each year the cruise season does not take place.

“Alaska’s port communities have been severely impacted by the loss of cruise ships in 2020 and 2021 as a result of the pandemic. The recent extension of the conditional sail order through November 2021 by the Centers for Disease Control ensures no cruise ships will bring passengers to Alaskan communities for the 2021 season,” the governor said.

The report was completed by the Departments of Revenue; Commerce, Community, and Economic Development; and Labor and Workforce Development. It outlines the material impact of the CDC action and Canada’s decision to not allow cruise ships in its port, on the State of Alaska, local communities, and businesses.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Cruise Line Industry Association reported 40 cruise ships visited the region, carrying 1.36 million passengers on 577 voyages in 2019, the governor said.

“Alaskans who depend on the summer tourism season to make a living waited anxiously, with hopes, that the COVID-19 vaccines would allow the return to normal, and for cruise ships to enter our ports again. The CDC’s recent decision to extend the 2020 “conditional sail order” effectively eliminates any potential for a 2021 cruise ship sailing season, and places the future of thousands of Alaskan families’ businesses in peril,” said Dunleavy in a letter to Jeff Zients, counselor to the President. 

“The negative impact of this decision to our economy and people of Alaska, specifically Southeast Alaska, is staggering. It is estimated that the cancelled cruise ship season in 2020, in addition to the potential cancellation of the 2021 season, will result in a loss to the State of Alaska’s domestic product of over $3.3 billion.”

“The severe economic losses that are impacting our port and cruise communities has a multiplier impact that trickles throughout our entire economy; resulting in lost revenues, taxes, jobs and small business closures,” said Department of Revenue Commissioner Lucinda Mahoney. “The cruise industry is crucial to the state’s financial well-being.”

Alaska has experienced significant job losses because of the pandemic and will continue to experience losses because of the CDC ruling on cruise travel. Port and Cruise line related communities have seen a collective 22,297 in job losses as compared to the previous year representing over $305.7 million in wages lost in Alaska.

“The Cruise Ship industry is a major artery of the Alaskan economy. When one vital sector hemorrhages, the entire state suffers,” said DOLWD Commissioner Dr. Tamika Ledbetter.

DCCED Commissioner Julie Anderson said, “As indicated, numerous communities and businesses are struggling to survive due to the loss of cruise ships in 2020 and 2021. It is imperative that we resolve these issues and implement programs to provide a path to sustainability.”

The impact of a no-sail order on local communities amounts to $98.6 million in lost revenue each year. Skagway saw a 48% reduction in total wage base and the total losses are estimated to exceed 100% of their annual operating budget. A 2020 survey anticipated only 26% of Ketchikan tourism-related businesses could withstand a delayed restart of the tourism industry. Interior Alaska estimated that over 160,000 cruise passengers would have visited in 2020. 

Click here to read the State of Alaska’s Impacts to Alaska from 2020/2021 Cruise Ship Season Cancellation.

1...1,1281,1291,130...1,777Page 1,129 of 1,777

About us

Must Read Alaska is news of people, politics, policy, culture, and happenings in Alaska.

Contact
4021 West Hill Road,
Homer, AK 99603
[email protected]

The latest

BREAKING NEWS: Assassination Attempt at White House Correspondents’ Dinner

Politics 0
This evening, April 25, 2026, President Trump and other...

New Parking to Improve Access to Hooligan Fishing Spots

The 907 0
The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOT...

815 Mail-In Ballots Rejected in Anchorage General Election

Politics 0
The Anchorage Election Commission reviewed mail-in ballots on Wednesday,...

© Must Read Alaska