By CRAIG E. CAMPBELL

Alaska and America face an unprecedented period of conflict between ideologies, which is polarizing our national politics.  

Challenges to our Second Amendment rights; excessive limitations on our freedom of speech by both social media and government; concerns about election integrity; the rapid push to pass the Equality Act which will nullify a generations long fight for women’s rights; the voracious thirst for more and more tax dollars to fund a bloated and inefficient government; and an unbridled drive to expand the control of government over our personal lives are leaving conservatives rightfully concerned that we are fast becoming a nation without a moral compass, one dependent on a big federal government to manage our very existence.

With a Democrat executive branch, a Democrat House of Representatives, and a Democrat-controlled Senate, conservatives have a right to be alarmed.  

It’s not much better in Alaska where a state House, with a numerical Republican majority, is now under the control of the minority Democrats, thanks to a few Republicans who would rather achieve personal gain than represent the constituents who elected them to office.  

All is not lost. The political pendulum swings both ways and a resurgence in conservatism is bound to occur. Just give these liberals a little more rope to hang themselves by destroying America with taxes, the Green New Deal, wild social programs, and a foreign policy of appeasement, and we will see a swing back to reality.  America is not the socialist, teetering toward communist, nation that the liberal elites are attempting to create.

As the pendulum swings back to the right, we are very fortunate to have Dan Sullivan representing Alaska in the United States Senate. I have known and worked with Dan for over fifteen years. 

As Alaska’s Attorney General, he worked to protect individual rights. He resolved a long-standing voters rights dispute concerning disenfranchisement of voters due to language barriers.  

As the Alaska Department of Natural Resources commissioner, he was instrumental in pursuing natural resource development in our state, which is financially highly dependent on productive natural resource development.  

Elected to the United States Senate in 2014, Sullivan has been a workaholic for Alaska.  Really, his staff will tell you that Sen. Sullivan is like the energizer bunny, always actively working on behalf of our great state.  

Sen. Sullivan faced a highly charged re-election in 2020. Liberal outside interests flooded our state with money against Dan, in a focused effort to oust our conservative senator and create a solid Democrat-controlled US Senate.  

The re-election of Dan Sullivan was the single most important vote to block Democrat domination of the federal bureaucracy and for that, Alaskans and all Americans, should be thankful he was victorious.

This past year has been challenging. Violent riots in cities across our great nation; an Antifa-driven hyper-charged occupation of the U.S. Capitol; two politically driven “impeachment charges” against President Donald J. Trump; and mainstream media blatantly distorting news coverage toward a liberal perspective on a daily basis — all this has made America frustrated with the constant drumbeat of the progressive Left and tone-deaf politicians. 

 Alaska is lucky we have a US senator who has not been sucked into this vortex of political destruction and has not lost touch with his constituents.

Dan Sullivan’s actions as senator reflect the values he brings to Washington, the values that most of us in Alaska share. He has a strong moral compass. While he can effectively work both sides of the political isle in DC, he does not compromise his principles simply to gain votes or leverage his reputation for political gain. He is a conservative Republican who respects the party platform and stays focused on advancing traditional constitutional governance.  

His unwavering votes for Supreme Court nominees Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett demonstrates his fundamental understanding and commitment to a conventional rule of law.  

Tirelessly working to improve our state’s economy by opening ANWR, increasing oil and gas production, securing a strong national defense with additional military capabilities in Alaska, protecting our oceans and bolstering our fisheries, and opening the Tongass to more logging opportunities are just a few examples of his determination to provide for our state’s prosperity.

As we look to the future, it is reassuring to know Alaska has Sen. Sullivan defending our state interests in DC. From the politically motivated impeachment proceedings against President Trump, for which Senator Sullivan saw through the political shenanigans being orchestrated by the Democrats and voted to acquit, to the current assault on Alaska by both a Democrat-controlled congress and executive branch, Sen. Sullivan is a stalwart against partisan and toxic federalism and he is a resilient defender of our personal liberties.

I, for one, want to thank Sen. Sullivan for his hard work on behalf of our state and for his dedication to preserving the foundation of our Constitutional Republic. Keep holding the torch of liberty high as you continue representing the freedom loving citizens of the Last Frontier.   

Craig E. Campbell served on the Anchorage Assembly between 1986 and 1995 and later as Alaska’s Tenth Lieutenant Governor.  He was the previous Chief Executive Officer and President for Alaska Aerospace Corporation.  He retired from the Alaska National Guard as Lieutenant General (AKNG) and holds the concurrent retired Federal rank of Major General (USAF).