Finally, we have reached the last weekend before
Tuesday's election and frankly, it's been upsetting and tiring. If this election weren't so
important, I'd let it go, but it is important and perhaps the very fabric of
our nation depends on the outcome. We all know what the Republicans have done
and want to do in Congress, an attack on regular folks, old folks, the poor,
the working poor, students, education, health care, the list goes on and on. At
the same time they want to continue tax cuts for the very wealthy, in essence reversing
Robin Hood to take from the poor and give to the rich.
Here in Alaska we have a candidate for the U.
S. Senate who could be the poster boy for that Republican agenda. In fact most of his comments during the campaign have been more about what he sees as national issues like stopping the president and he has said very little about Alaska or issues specific to the state.
His campaign comes right out of the Republican
book of tricks and the things he stands for, if from the generalities he spouts
you can even figure out exactly what he stands for, follow right along with
that agenda. You only have to see who's helping him: Rand Paul in ads on YouTube and Ted Cruz in Fairbanks. Do we want either of them having some influence over Alaska issues?
For starters, on this last weekend, according
to the Mudflats blog, despite being funded by the Koch brothers and questionable donations from his wealthy family in Ohio, he has sent a
last-minute appeal for funding: “Make an emergency contribution of at least $25
– without it we're not going 2 defeat Mark Begich.” He says the money is needed
to combat his opponent's out-of state money. That is typical Republican mind-screwing,
do what you want and then blame the other guys for doing it.
The other day, being alternately tired and outraged
by his advertisements, and their generalities I dissected one of his ads. To
begin with he has this smarmy condescending way of speaking except when he says
the president's name and then he effects this complicated tone that at once
projects masked outrage and is said in a way that assumes
everyone hates President Obama and his policies, particularly Obamacare.
In one of his ads he says he will protect
Alaskans. Gee, thanks padrone from what?
In this particular one he starts out by saying
he will "stand up to Obama… ." If elected this guy would be the
junior senator from a red state with three electoral votes. He is not going to
stand up to anybody. If he expects to gain anything to "protect us" he
will be kissing ass all over Congress to have any effect at all.
That particular phrase goes on: "… and his
failed policies." What failed policies? By most measures the president has
been very effective despite the hatred and opposition aimed at him by the party
this guy hopes to join in Congress. He particularly says he will get rid of
Obamacare. Now, Congress has voted as many as 51 times to repeal that act and
failed every time. By any measure it has been deemed a success, with more than
10 million people who now have health insurance who didn't have it before. That
should be a dead issue, but he is going to protect us from it anyway. He points
to some Alaskans who have seen costs increase but fails to mention that Alaska,
governed by his party and the administration he was part of, is one of the few
states that did not go along with the law and expand Medicaid to take advantage
of it.
 |
| Chart detailing the president's "failed policies" provided by the Democratic party. All of the numbers are easily verified. |
The next point he makes is that he will attack
the president's wasteful spending. That is just an outright lie. By every
measure this administration has made gains in that area and reduced the federal
deficit by a considerable amount.
He might look at wasteful spending in the form of subsidies given to the
largest corporations operating in this country, including a few that have moved
their headquarters offshore to avoid taxes the rest of us pay.
In another stated objective he says he will promote Alaska energy. Does that mean putting vitamins in the water supply? Mostly he has said in the past he wants to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to petroleum drilling. He blames his opponent for not getting that done. Well, that's been an issue for years and every Alaska member of Congress since the 1970s has not managed to get it done. A lot of people who this guy hopes to represent don't want it to happen anyway. "Wildlife refuge" means just that.
The last point the ad makes is that this
candidate will strengthen national security. What is he going to do along that
front that already hasn't been done? President Obama got Osama bin Laden,
something his GOP predecessor couldn't do despite starting two very expensive
wars and not achieving that goal. Is he going to vote like this last Congress
did to spend money on tanks the Defense Department says it doesn't even want? Is he going to put anyone who has even heard the word "ebola" in quarantine? Is he going to back a ground war against ISIS? Another empty statement.
Those four points were the main ones in this ad
and they generally followed what's been put forward in all of his campaign
materials. Empty statements that don't stand up under scrutiny, pure hatred for
America’s president and his policies and projections of himself as a superman
who is going to change everything while he stands up to the Goliath, Barack Obama.
In short, he stands against a whole lot of
things, but hasn't named one specific positive goal he hopes to accomplish. He
simply wants to join the rest of the Republistructionists and stop Obama.
No thanks, Dan Sullivan, Alaska wants to move
forward, not backward and Alaskans definitely don't need his protection. What
would be better is if we did with him what was done with unwanted, dangerous
people in past years: tie an airline ticket around his neck and leave him at
the airport.
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