Miscellaneous

“PFD Rallies Across the State” by Fritz Pettyjohn

Your $3268 dividend, the largest in history, was a close run thing.  Since 2016  the size of the PFD has been an annual battle in the legislature, the most divisive issue it faces.  The key vote this year was in the State Senate, where it squeaked through on a  10-9 vote.  This is no way to run a railroad.  But legislative opponents of the PFD aren’t going away.  They think they can spend  money more wisely, and for the greater good, than the people can.  We simply can’t trust any legislature with this responsibility.  The dividend needs to go in to the Constitution.

The group seeking to do that, by campaigning for Prop  1, ConventionYES, is holding rallies across Alaska on Tuesday, when the distribution begins.  Rallies will be held at 6:00 in Fairbanks, MatSu, Ancbhoargae and Kenai.  For more info go to the ConventionYes website, here.

These rallies are to thank and acknowledge those legislators who fought for the dividend.  They’re also to recognize the legislative candidates who support Prop 1, which would allow the people to vote on preserving the dividend by putting it in the Constitution.  Only then will Alaskans be assured of future dividends.  The legislature has demonstrated, repeatedly, that it can’t be trusted with this job.

Many thanks are also due to Governor Mike Dunleavy, who has fought for the dividend throughout his term.  He’s indicated support for Prop 1, and is expected to attend the rally in Fairbanks.  He understands that the PFD needs to go into the Constitution.  And he knows that can only happen at a Convention.  That’s the political reality.

Based on reporting in MRAK, Dunleavy appears poised for reelection, based largely on his unstinting advocacy on behalf of the PFD.  The people, more than ever, want their share of Alaska’s oil wealth.  Candidates supporting it have an edge all over the state.  If you support the dividend, you should support, and advocate for, Prop 1.  This is especially true for Mike Dunleavy.  The dividend is Jay Hammond’s legacy.  Its protection, and perpetuation, in the Constitution, can be Dunleavy’s.

The opponents of Prop 1, lavishly funded by the outside dark money group the 1630 Fund, claim to be defending the Constitution.  This 1630 Fund is a front for George Soros and his fellow foreign billionaires, who oppose Prop 1 because it’s a mini-version, at the state level, of Article V of the United States Constitution.  Soros wants nothing less than the downfall of the United States, and he doesn’t want the reforms possible under Article V.  He’s afraid they’ll work, and strengthen this country.  He’s afraid of an Alaskan Convention, because it would succeed, and me a model for the whole country.

But Prop 1 is all about Alaska, the PFD, and its future.  What the opposition is really afraid of is the voice of the people  –  expressed in the vote for the Convention, the selection of delegates, and their final verdict on any amendment the Convention proposes.

There are other issues that may be addressed at a Convention, if it is called.  The delegates, prominent and trusted citizens from across the state, will decide.  They will debate, deliberate, and attempt to reach a consensus which can be ratified by a vote of the people.  Those who are afraid of a Convention are afraid they are in a political minority, and don’t want the voice of the people heard.  If the people of this state are afraid of a Convention, they’re afraid of themselves.

For 40 years Alaskans have been receiving annual dividends.  Gov. Jay Hammond started the program when Alaska was in an economic boom.  Money was flowing from Prudhoe Bay, and the entire railbelt was prospering as never before.  But the rural areas, the bush, the people in the villages were largely left out.  These were the people Hammond cared most deeply about, and he was determined that they get some small share of the bounty.  They, and all Alaskans, deserve to continue to receive this benefit.  Right now, it’s needed more than ever. 

This is not a Republican or Democrat issue, or conservative and liberal, or urban and rural.  It’s about Alaskans and their families, struggling to get by in these difficult times.  The $3268 that every man, woman and child will receive transcends all political boundaries.  It’s money that they want, and need.  And it’s money a lot of special interests would rather have for themselves.

Proposition One is a referendum on a constitutional convention.  The framers of Alaska’s Constitution were political progressives, heirs to the great political reformers who transformed American politics in the early 20^th century.  They weren’t afraid of the people.  They believed in empowering the people, because they trusted them.  They wanted the people to have the chance, every ten years, of proposing needed constitutional amendments that the legislature refused to propose.  Amendments which would curtail the power of the legislature, or control its behavior. 

On November 8^th the question for Alaskans is, do they trust themselves?  If they do, Prop 1 will pass, a Convention will be held, and the people of this state will then vote on whether they want the PFD to be there for generations yet unborn.

Fritz Pettyjohn is on the steering committee of ConventionYES, and served in the Alaska legislature in the 1980’s.

[in today’s Alaska Watchman]

In Alaska, elections don’t matter, not when it comes to abortion. All the legislators who will be elected this year are pro-life, or pro-choice, or something in between, but none of that matters. In Alaska, only the opinion of the Alaska Supreme Court matters.

But what about the Governor, who appoints the members of the Supreme Court, surely his opinion on this issue must matter? No, oddly enough, it doesn’t, because in Alaska appointments to the Supreme Court are controlled by the Alaska Bar Association. We’ve had pro-life Governors for 16 of the last 20 years, but no pro-life justice has been appointed, because the Alaska Bar Association won’t allow it.

This is not democracy. It’s oligarchy or aristocracy, the rule by an elite. Only members of the Alaska Bar Association have any say on who gets to be a judge. You, and your vote, don’t count. I’ve been a voting member of the Alaska Bar Association for 48 years. I’ve got a vote. You don’t.

In order to allow the people’s voice to be heard, Alaska’s Constitution needs to be amended. But such an amendment has never had and will never have the 2/3 vote needed in House and Senate. The only way such an amendment can be proposed for a vote of the people is by a constitutional convention.

One amendment almost certain to be proposed by such a convention would be to return the authority over abortion to the state legislature. Once such an amendment was adopted, legislative candidates in Alaska would have to explain their position on the abortion issue, and people can vote accordingly. The legislature will then legislate, just as it’s supposed to do. The legislation which passes will be the result of a compromise. Neither the pro-life absolutists nor the pro-choice extremists will be satisfied. That’s democracy. It’s messy, and imperfect, but it beats all the alternatives.

Much of the sound and fury of those opposing a convention is but a thin disguise for the panic felt by the abortion-til-birth extremists, fearful that their monopoly of power may be broken. An example of this shrill rhetoric can be found in a recent ADN column by Libby Bakalar. This is a woman who knows she’s in a political minority, and frightened that this will soon be exposed.

Vote yes on the Convention.

Sensible men, who value domestic tranquility, defer to their wives on abortion. Men like Ronald Reagan and Ron DeSantis look to the mother of their children for guidance, and Nancy Davis and Casey DeSantis had and have knowledge and insight on pregnancy, babies and motherhood that their husbands lack. So it is that both California Governor Reagan and Florida Governor DeSantis adopted reasonable positions on this vexing issue.

In 1967 Reagan signed the California Therapeutic Abortion Act, which allowed abortions when there was a grave threat to the mother’s health, or in cases of rape or incest. Earlier this year DeSantis signed legislation which allows abortion until the 16th week of pregnancy, or when there is a credible threat to the mother’s health. The law of Florida satisfies neither the pro-abortion zealots on the one hand, nor the pro-life absolutists on the other. It represents the middle ground, where most American women, particularly married women, are found.

The Democrats say they want abortion front and center in our politics, but they will rue the day that happens. The Democratic Party is in thrall to the rabid progressive left, which accepts no limits, however reasonable, on “a woman’s right to choose.”. The Florida law, a compromise which takes effect next week, doesn’t satisfy them.

It will soon dawn on Democrats that they need not look to the Supreme Court for the abortion protections they demand. All they need to do is pass a law. They control Congress and the Presidency. Nancy Pelosi probably has the votes right now to pass a law legalizing abortion in all 50 states. It’s doubtful the Senate would go along, but this only sets the stage to make the election of 2022 a referendum on abortion.

Democrats will lose that election, and they will lose on the issue of abortion. After the Dobbs decision, as Americans are finally allowed to vote on this question, most voters are conflicted. They don’t like abortion, but they also understand it’s necessary under certain circumstances. The new Florida law is as close to a consensus position as is possible.

In practice, Florida will soon become a sanctuary state for women in the deep South who live in states with draconian restrictions on abortion. From Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana and Texas, women who want an abortion in the first 15 weeks of pregnancy will be able to drive to Florida for the procedure. This will horrify some in the pro-life community, who will criticize DeSantis for signing a law allowing it. He will be criticized by both extremes, which is precisely where a smart politician wants to be as he contemplates a run for the White House.

Most Republicans believe in tolerance, diversity, and the federalism which promotes it. Once they again control Congress and the Presidency, they will not pass a federal law taking the issue away from the states, and the people. That’s where the issue should be decided, in conformity with the wishes of a majority of each state. That’s how democracy works. Republicans are comfortable with that. Democrats aren’t.

Fritz Pettyjohn has been married for 50 years to the mother of his three children.

[from today’s American Thinker]

I’m @fritz_pettyjohn

I don’t tweet. I’d wager few MRAK readers do. Twitter is for the politically correct, and if you stray off the leftist reservation, you’re censored.

I’d like to tweet. I have the occasional random thought that I’d like to share. Such as:

I have very serious doubt that Trump runs again for President. He’ll turn 76 next month. He’d be 82 at the end of another term. That’s too old. And no one, not even Trump, can run for office without the support of their spouse. Melania’s first priority is her son Barron, who just turned 16. Does she want him back in the fishbowl of the White House as he makes the transition to adulthood?

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has three little kids, the youngest only two years old. His wife is recovering from breast cancer. He’s only 43. Is this his time, or should he put off a Presidential run? He seems like a guy who would put his family first.

Trump is getting a lot of attention with his primary endorsements. But when the primaries are over his endorsement doesn’t help any more. As Glenn Youngkin demonstrated in Virginia, Republican candidates in a general election need to distance themselves from Trump. The people who will be talking about Trump will be the Democrats, trying to fire up their base.

The Democrats are in serious trouble in 2024. They don’t have a candidate, and they don’t have a message. Actually, they had awful candidates, with no message, in 2016 and 2020. They only lost by a whisker in 2016, and squeaked through in 2020, because half the country can’t stand Donald Trump. Their only hope in 2024 is Trump as their opponent. Personally, I think Republicans will realize this, and nominate a mainstream conservative, like Mike Pence.

This is a Republican year. It’s not a good time to run if you’re a Democrat. especially in Alaska. So I think Republicans will control both houses of the legislature next year. One thing they’ll want to do is repeal the part of Prop 2 that abolished political primaries. They could also repeal ranked choice voting, but should they?

I’d counsel against it. Alaska is a red state, and Republicans have a natural advantage. Actually, I’ve been in favor of ranked choice voting since 1982, when I first ran for the State Senate. That’s when Democrat Bill Sheffield was elected Governor with 46% of the vote. Conservatives were divided between Republican Tom Fink and Libertarian Dick Randolph. With ranked choice voting, almost all of Randolph’s votes would have gone to Fink, who could have won.

In the last forty years I’ve seen the same thing happen time after time in Alaska elections. So I’d say keep ranked choice voting. It keeps political minorities, like Alaska Democrats, from winning elections.

So those are my tweets. If Elon Musk wins control of Twitter I’ll start tweeting for real, and I hope many of you do as well. It would be a convenient forum