By ANCHORAGE DAILY PLANET
Here we are, into December, and months since the Recall Dunleavy charade began collecting signatures to undo last year’s election, and Alaskans still have no idea who – or what – is picking up the tab for the effort.
Its Alaska Public Office Commission report is replete with zeros when it come to listing income or expenditures for the recall effort.
The recall’s financial backers, whoever they may be, are determined to run Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy from office largely for his audacious rip-off-the-Band-Aid approach to curbing Alaska’s budget woes. Cutting the budget to the bone means a lot of those feeding at the government trough are getting short rations – and they are displeased.
They are so very displeased, in fact, they could barely wait to get started. Dunleavy had been in office only 241 days when the first recall signatures were gathered.
What mayhem had he visited on Alaska to spark the fervor? Recall backers say he refused to appoint a judge to the Palmer Superior Court within the required 45 days, even though the position was filled before the retiring judge had vacated the bench. They claimed he used state funds to buy ads containing partisan statements about political opponents; that he erroneously vetoed $18 million from state Medicaid funding; and, that he vetoed funds appropriated for the judiciary in retaliation for a court decision on abortion.
Is any of that grounds for a recall in a state that requires a lack of fitness, incompetence, neglect of duties, or corruption as grounds to remove officials? Hardly.
Face it, Dunleavy is in their sights because he committed the biggest sin anybody can when dealing with the Left: He did not bend to its will.
The fact that recall backers can do what they are doing in secret should bother all Alaskans. Recall Dunleavy can take in and spend unlimited, unspecified amounts of money from anybody, except foreign interests – until the question hits the ballot. Then, if they roll over any left-over signature-gathering money into the ensuing election campaign, backers would have to report every penny collected and spent since signature-gathering started Aug. 1.
If the group were to choose not to carry forward any leftover signature-gathering funding, Alaskans might never know who financed the effort to place the question on the ballot.
That seems wrong. Obviously, Alaska’s laws concerning disclosure for ballot initiative campaigns need to be fixed, but, in the meantime, Recall Dunleavy is attempting to remove a sitting governor without telling Alaskans who or what is funding the effort. It is, as we have pointed out, a ghost ship fueled by dark money.
You might think the group would, as a matter of course, want to get it out in the open, no matter the law, but you would be wrong.
Alaskans deserve better than a secretly financed effort to remove their governor. Much better, indeed.
I don’t normally like the line, “There oughta be a law.” But in this case, perhaps that is exactly what is needed for transparency in funding sources.
I like the statement: “You might think the group would, as a matter of course, want to get it out in the open, no matter the law, but you would be wrong.”
Well stated.
There sure are a lot of similarities between what is happening to President Trump and Governor Dunleavy. The Democrats seem to only have a “do it dirty” playbook.
Someone very much needs to look very deep in Law to reverse what is happening in Alaska and America in general today. There has to be a solution, because doing anything in secret is not the American way. People need to understand we were founded a “constitutional republic”. As Benjamin Franklin said, “We have given you a republic, if you can keep it.” And James Madison, known as the father of the our Constitution said, “A democracy is as short in its life as it is violent in its end.” Look at all the violence going on everywhere. A “constitutional republic” stands for individual rights and liberty, which protects everyone individually, and a democracy stands for majority (50.1%) mob rule, regardless of who it harms. Seymour Marvin Mills Jr. sui juris
Seymour,
I think the remedy/solution to what’s going on in the “political” arena is voting by conservatives. That is the most straight forward and effective means of dealing with out of control leftists/socialists in America and Alaska. Otherwise, conservatives quietly face a never ending battle against the tyranny of the left. Every conservative needs to have their views and opinions supported by their vote, first and foremost. We need to tell the left that Americans/Alaskans won’t put up with their charades, untruths, disrespect, and violent behavior. That’s what the leftists do and we must fight fire with fire. Come together and vote, Americans/Alaskans.
Ben, you think Alaska is under the control of leftists/socialists? AK government has been virtually locked up by conservatives for decades. The economic failures in Alaska are completely 100% the responsibility of Republicans. Make a case for why and when they shifted so radically far left/socialist. And explain why anyone should vote Republican when they are so far left. Thanks
We all know who and what is behind this recall. It is the ” establishment” or those who profit from entitlement spending. The prospect of any change or alteration of government spending is horrific to them. They do not have a legitimate argument for recall but will use Bolshevik tactics and attempt to destroy Dunleavy through invective.
Much gnashing of teeth on here about a recall that is part of our Constitution. Delay it, call it something illegitimate, anything to slow down what appears to be the will of the people. What’s wrong with actually seeing the “will of the people” in an election to determine if Dunleavy is to be retained?
The signatures seem to be there and valid so it’s just political posturing-not surprising the administration would want to avoid such a vote since the number of signatures were gathered in record time.
As for legitimacy, it appears that the only real test here is whether/not enough voters are willing to sign on relative to the arguments put forward.
Paul Jenkins needs some nice cheese to pair with his whine
The money? Here’s a place to look:. Union retirement accounts. Union leadership rips off their union members by stealing from the retirement funds. Of course, the Democrats and the State Democratic Party are the benefactors of these criminal dealings. That’s where the money came from. Just ask Scott Kendall and his old, cowardly boss, Bill Walker.
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