By CRAIG CAMPBELL
Watching the politically out-of-control Anchorage Assembly continue to denigrate the esteemed role of local government with their quest for power makes this former assembly member wonder if we will ever again have a forum for intellectual civil discourse, or have we reached the point of no return.
The nanny state knows best and they will make sure you know it, no questions, no debate, no resistance.
Continuing their fashion of demonstrating superior elitist governance, on Tuesday night The Cabal decided it was time to take on the State role, directing Gov. Mike Dunleavy on his authorities to manage the coronavirus.
Yup, these highbrow jerks passed a resolution asking the governor to implement a statewide mask mandate in Alaska. At what moment did The Cabal decide Gov. Dunleavy needed their advice?
Poly Sci 101 teaches the relationship between government bodies. It is well understood that a local governmental body may enact ordinances and implement programs that are more restrictive than state law, just not less restrictive. If the Anchorage Cabal believes wearing masks should be mandatory, they can implement a mask mandate in Anchorage. They don’t need the governor to make a statewide mandate to accomplish this and I don’t think the residents of other Alaska communities need the Anchorage Cabal to represent their interests.
I have some advice for The Cabal: Take care of Anchorage. Our economy is failing, vagrancy is rising, you have grossly mismanaged the CARES Act funding, you have an open seat on the Assembly that needs to be filled, and you are derelict in your sworn duties by not scheduling a special election for mayor.
Many of The Cabal are lawyers; they already know about the division of power. So why did they pass that resolution? It’s as obvious as the nose on one’s face; they did it for the sole reason of trying to make the governor look weak, like he is not doing his job. This was solely a political stunt with no intended value for the Municipality of Anchorage.
I submit their plan backfired. It actually exposed them for the hypocrites they are. Unless I missed something, have they passed a mandatory mask ordinance in Anchorage? Nope, they deferred to Acting Mayor Quinn-Davidson to do the dirty work for them. They know they would be on thin legal ice for a constitutional challenge and would be providing more reasons to initiate recalls against more of them. So, to get the spotlight off their incompetence, they try to move the focus to Gov. Dunleavy. It won’t work.
In fairness, there was a lone voice against this political attack on our governor. Assembly member Jamie Allard stood tall, recognizing the games being played by her peers. Over the past few months, as the cabal has demonstrated more and more intolerance to opposing viewpoints, violated the Alaska Open Meetings Act and municipal charter, and created a hostile political environment in Anchorage, Jamie Allard has been the consistent voice for conservative government.
Allard has been publically ridiculed by Cabal Chair Felix Rivera and slammed for her “lack of decorum,” threatened by Cabal member Forrest Dunbar, accused by Suzanne LaFrance of inciting violence, while Meg Zaletel claimed Allard (who is Hispanic) is a racist, and Chris Constant criticized her “wealthy, white privilege.”
What a great cast of characters to have to work with when Assembly member Allard is simply doing her job of representing Assembly District 2. Have I already mentioned the absolute collapse of civil discourse in local government?
Assembly member Allard may have some rough edges, she may come off a little tense at times, she may even seem a wee bit harsh in some of her presentations, but Allard has demonstrated a commitment to conservative values and has busted her butt trying to moderate this Leftist Cabal from implementing uber-liberal policies and laws. To me, she represents the resistance to tyranny.
It must be pretty hard to show up at each Assembly meeting knowing you are outgunned and that the rest of the body isn’t interested in what you have to say or what you want to accomplish for Anchorage.
Thank you, Assembly member Allard, for standing up to this wacko left-wing Assembly and for staying true to your conservative base. We appreciate your hard work and, in return, we will work extra hard to elect a conservative mayor in April and replace your liberal colleagues in 2022 and 2023.
We will not forget the destruction dumped on Anchorage and the infringement on civil liberties pursued by this Cabal and by both former Mayor Ethan Berkowitz and Acting Mayor Quinn-Davidson.
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).
I see jail time in the future of each of these seditious traitors. They may think they are getting away with their crimes but soon the truth will come out and we will all learn that these cabalists are guilty and complicit in heinous and nefarious crimes and treason. I can hardly wait for the hammer to fall on these criminals. The sooner, the better.
In the meantime, there is no way I am participating in this charade any longer. I am about to start suing every dang one of these so called elitists who are ruling over the rest of us like they’re kings and we are their subservient peasants. Screw that crap!
Have you heard of the World Freedom Alliance?
It is apparent that Mr. Campbell forgets that the coronavirus doesn’t respect political boundaries, geographical or philosophical. Anchorage, being the largest city in the state and the center of most of the economic activity is drawing people from all over, and Anchorage residents are traveling outside of the city to outlying areas. This permits the virus to spread indiscriminately, both locally and statewide, if not controlled. It follows, therefore, that the city assembly would attempt to have reasonable measures put in place throughout the state to control the virus. Mr. Dunleavy has done next to nothing. Pleas for personal responsibility haven’t been working. If they did, we wouldn’t need traffic laws, or, logically, any others. His attempts have been as feckless as those of the do nothing President.
I am not a fan of masks. Evidence that shows they are effective is based on observational or speculative theories. There is no real evidence that masks work very well against the coronavirus, in spite of voluminous writings to the contrary. However, that does not mean the virus cannot be controlled. There is plenty of real world evidence that physical distancing, testing, and contact tracing are effective. They are working in Asian countries and in the South Pacific. Perhaps the governor will consider using these. In the presence of a virus that doesn’t respect physical boundaries, taking reasonable measures that will allow us to dominate the virus rather than being dominated by it seem a small price to pay for sacrificing, in the short term, our god given constitutional rights to run around bare faced or crowd into bars, restaurants, or even churches. .
Maybe you should shut up and color. Never in my 56 years on God’s green earth do I need anyone to tell me a dam thing. We are still living in a Constitutional Republic and the elected offcials are not the parents. If I don’t want to wear a mask than I won’t. If you are worried about the over glorified Flu then keep your little happy butt home. Do not preach to the rest if us what we should do that is the whole reason why we have a Government of the People By the People.
For the People. Not for the fearful and irrational.
Whoo, boy, here we go again!
Mr. Alaska Voter, when you were a child, did you listen to your parents and do as they said?
Do you believe people should be able to vote three times if they want to?
Do you believe that the Constitutional Republic in which we live and which guides our governing principles is merely advisory?
In other words, do you believe that you shouldn’t have to obey laws or legal orders if you don’t want to? Or only that other people should have to?
If a business has a sign on the door that says “No mask, no service” how is that different from one saying “No shoes, no service?” What about “No pants, no service?”
I fail to see the logic in your argument. You are free not to wear a mask if you choose not to, and BTW I choose not to wear a mask unless it is requested, but that doesn’t mean all bets are off up and down the line, and as a matter of common respect for those around you, you might not want to go into those places that request masks. Just sayin’.
And, another BTW, I was never really very good at the coloring thing.
I don’t care what you or anyone else thinks. Keep the Government out of our lives. I’m waiting for the day when some mask Nanny comes up to me and try’s to shame me. The maybe the last time they do anything. No the rank choice voting is about as stupid as this assembly thinking they can mandate anything It would behoove them to keep their mouths shut.
Greg, you miss my point. If the Assembly feels it is so paramount the state issue a mandate, why did they not do so in Anchorage? They have reviewed and passed emergency orders since early this year and the Assembly never included a mask mandate. Left it to the mayor to do. Simple question about Anchorage leadership. The Assembly is the last to demand leadership, since they don’t show any. Craig
Craig, the point I was trying to make, and obviously was not successful at doing, is that the virus respects no boundaries. Anchorage can impose a mask mandate, but that mandate, or any other, would be ineffective unless the municipality could seal its borders from anyone coming in. If the Gov. were to issue a state wide mandate, it would cover everyone, not just those who lived in Anchorage, and people could pass freely from one area to another without defying or evading orders.
Leadership by the assembly would be pretty feckless without a state wide order. I think they may have learned that lesson from the previous orders they have passed, obeyed by some, ignored by others. And where is the governor on this? Still stuck on “personal responsibility,” which has proven ineffective, as has his leadership.
Greg,
Sounds like you maybe should move to California. None of the leftist controllers deserve any constitutional sacrifice from the citizens, short term or long term. I still don’t know anyone or anyone who knows anyone that is in mortal danger from the wuhan v and it alone. What we are in danger of is communist applications to capitalist American values. That is where the left is. Communism. It is easy to give advice, not so easy for most to follow it. The American way. Truth counts. Mr. Campbell is right on the bullseye. I don’t believe you are. (friendly comment)
Of course you’re not a fan of masks.
.
Citizens can make masks temporary.
.
You’re a fan of control.
.
Rulers can make control permanent.
.
Right?
I’m not a big fan of control, but a certain amount is necessary. We still seem to be figuring out how much is right.
As far as rulers taking control, not a big fan of that, at all. That’s why I’m glad Trump is going away. With him, it was his way or the highway.
Hey Greg, did you miss the train out of town? Or are you one of the many receiving the graft the Assembly is raining down on people tolerant or supporting their shredding of the Constitution? If you are scared of the virus, you stay home. YOU don’t get to tell ME what I can and can’t do in my life. It should be apparent to even the most dim of you people that the virus is going to infect the whole population, whether you like it or not. Nothing that has been done so far has been effective at doing anything, other than bankrupt business owners, thrust people into unemployment, ruin the lives of school age kids, and cause some to lose hope and kill themselves. The very premise that you can “dominate” a virus reveals how effective the continuous harping has been at making people completely irrational.
Of course I don’t get to tell you what to do. But what makes you think you have the right to infect others because you don’t take proper precautions? That’s not freedom, that’s more like assault or possibly, homicide.
It certainly seems like nothing we have done has been effective against the virus, but that’s mainly because, when we tamped it down, we opened up again as if we had “won.” Well, that didn’t work out too well, did it? Some places it did. New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, China, but they all had flare-ups that needed to be contained.
I agree totally that we cannot dominate the virus, but we can control the spread. That has been demonstrated. But it also takes everyone being on board and cooperating. It sound from your comment that you do not think cooperating is something we should be doing. That’s a recipe for disaster.
I sorry if you think cooperating to solve a pandemic is an assault on your rights, constitutional or otherwise, but condemning 250,000 of our fellow citizens to death is pretty high price to pay for forfeiting those supposed rights for a year or two.
How much is you mother or father worth? Your brothers or sisters? Your grandmother? You?
Have you heard of the World Freedom Alliance?
Is it worth your brother going bankrupt? Sister committing suicide? Grandmother dying alone with no family member by her side? Family members relapsing to alcohol or drugs… etc., etc.
Seems you fixate on the lesser damage, Greg.
Seems you should have understood months ago.
Nothing is worth sacrificing our Constitutional Rights! It is a slippery slope!
The editorial was about our out of control Assembly, not the virus. The virus is just their latest excuse to illegally push their agenda.
Points well taken !!!!
Absolutely! Shredding the Constitution of over this virus is going to have far reaching affects on our rights into the future. Once they take them away, you have to fight to get them back.
Which constitutional rights are you sacrificing? The one that says you can do whatever you want? I’m still looking for, “The right not to wear a mask shall not be infringed.” You certainly must be aware that the virus does not respect the constitution. It’s coming for us. The assembly, or the state, or the nation has the right and probably the obligation to protect its citizens from it. We’re not talking about everyone being required to do something forever, just until the virus is under control. Doing nothing certainly doesn’t seem to be working. Give Don Young a call. He might be able to help you figure this out. Or not.
Wow, such a clever response…
The Rights being violated are in the Constitution, more specifically the first amendment and others. You might like to look at it sometime. The masks you are so fond of do not protect anyone from this or any virus. Lockdowns have not worked. The consequences of this has been increased numbers of people with mental health issues, addiction and suicide. There has also been delays in diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease and cancers, whose mortality numbers dwarf those of this virus. Our children are not being educated properly and our economy is about to go into free fall again.
So tell me how we are being protected?
We are being abused!
Michael, please see my comments below in follow-up to Andrew Brewer.
You are right about the consequences for peripheral mental and physical ailments and the economy, but that’s all the more reason to control the spread of the coronavirus.
Rights only apply to those holding the sword, and that’s the Anchorage Assembly, Gavin Newsom, Nancy Pelosi, etc etc etc. Isn’t that step 2 in the communist manifesto?
Dunleavy isn’t doing his job. And the Assembly know they are overreaching. They don’t care and no one will stop them
The mask mandates … I have to respectfully disagree, because Masks do not work against viruses. They do work against our freedom of speech. There is a constitutional issue at stake here. If the Masks do not work against the virus, but do work to limit social interaction, and spread the fear of a epidemic, I find them to be deplorable and ill advised. Does anyone not know this ? This mask wearing is a ploy of the New World Order to bring down America, and Western Civilization. There is no medical evidence that they work. But there is substantial evidence of their effectiveness in shutting down America. It’s time for the Masks to be exposed for what they are, the implementation of a plan to shut down our way of life.
I pretty much agree that masks don’t work very well against a virus, but I fail to understand how they have anything to do with free speech. There is a danger out there called the coronavirus. Lets do a comparison.
The coronavirus has killed 250,000 Americans. The twin towers attacks killed 2,977. With the World Trade Center attacks we ended up getting an entirely new federal bureaucracy, the Department of Homeland Security(sic), along with our friends at the airport, the TSA. I firmly believe that my civil rights are being violated by TSA inspections, because I am being subjected to a search, which may be invasive, without any reasonable suspicion. Still, if I want to get on a plane, I am going to go through the line, civil rights or not.
To me, the whole mask thing seems a small ask. I simply do not understand how wearing a mask, which we will not have to do once the virus is vanquished, is some sort of international plot to bring down western civilization. What I worry about is the next virus, or the one after that, which may end up killing us by the millions and for which we have no cure. That’s the sort of thing that actually might bring down western civilization.
This virus is just a practice run for the future. We would do well to pay attention.
Very well said!
With respect, General, may we suggest winning the counterinsurgency begins with winning hearts and minds for whom “rough edges… a wee bit of harsh(ness)” are but currencies of everyday life.
.
Lacking popular support, the cabal’s existence seems to depend exclusively on an easily corruptible mail-in vote system which Anchorage’s Assembly forced on voters with the help of former Assemblyman Dick Traini and former Assemblyman, now mayoral Candidate, Forrest Dunbar.
.
Absent an easily corruptible mail-in vote system, absent any other discernible means of support, the cabal seems vulnerable to collapse under continual pressure from organizational dysfunction, Eaglexit, and overt, vigorous indications of public opposition.
.
Anchorage’s easily corruptible mail-in vote system appears to be the cabal’s Achilles heel. By relentlessly expanding and exploiting justifiable public skepticism of the mail-in vote system, counterinsurgents may be able to topple the cabal under its own weight.
.
In simplest terms, we summarize by recommending the prerequisite to restoring public confidence in government is restoring public confidence in the voting system, in turn, by restoring traditional balloting, ballot counting, and transparent ballot accountability processes.
The real virus is communism. Covid-19 is just how it spreads…
Comments are closed.