Four years ago, a man named Bill Fulton -- Drop Zone Bill to many -- became a hero to Alaska's ultraconservative right after he manhandled and handcuffed Alaska Dispatch editor Tony Hopfinger at a rally for Republican Senate candidate Joe Miller.
The move put the media and media behavior smack in the middle of the 2010 state Senate race.
Flash forward four years to the next statewide Alaska election and guess what? The media is smack in the middle of a statewide election debate once again, though the circumstances are decidedly dissimilar this time.
Not to mention that it is the more Libertarian element of the left, not the ultraright, that has a hero in 2014. Her name is Charlene Egbe or Charlo Greene, depending on whether she's going by her real name or her one-time television alias.
She gained attention by dropping the F-bomb on air while working as a news reporter for local television station KTVA, and then announcing she was leaving to devote all of her energy to her passion, the Alaska Cannabis Club.
Judging by the crowd reaction to her at a Tuesday hearing on Alaska Ballot Measure 2 in Anchorage, these two actions endeared her to some number of Alaska stoners and anti-establishment types.
Ballot Measure 2, of course, seeks to make marijuana like alcohol in the 49th state -- legal for adults within a certain regulatory framework. And Charlene-Charlo says she's all in with that.
Though the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol in Alaska -- the Yes on 2 group -- has officially shied away from the woman who intentionally misled her employer as to what she was up to and then used her television platform to launch the F-bomb, what appears to be a sizable number of people in the pro-marijuana crowd have embraced Charlene-Charlo as some sort of hero.
One of her new supporters yelled, "I love you girl!'' at the Tuesday hearing.
It is all eerily similar to the response from the ultraright to Fulton's five minutes of fame. Charlo fans might want to take note of how that all worked out. The art of politics isn't about one's success in meaningless publicity skirmishes, but in the gruntwork of building coalitions that can shape the outcome of elections.
Some of the most successful players in this game are unknown to most Alaskans. That is because they are the puppet masters who pull strings from behind the curtain. They tend to shy away from the explosive and unpredictable sorts of publicity stunts in which the Bills and Charlos engage.
Fulton's foray into the 2010 election might have played well to those who wanted to strike back at what is perceived as the left-wing media even when it isn't. But the lasting impact of his assault on Hopfinger was to stop a right-wing juggernaut that had Miller already shopping for furniture for an expected move to Washington, D.C.
Granted, the Miller campaign was showing hints of imploding before Fulton, but Fulton's media play turned the campaign on its head. Even as Miller supporters celebrated Fulton as a hero, the Miller campaign was going down.
Suddenly the media was smack dab in the middle of the political debate with reporters defending their right, if not their responsibility, to pursue candidates and ask tough questions. And a large segment of the public was joining the media's side.
As much as the public might diss the media, it clearly grasps the idea that the only thing worse than the lowlifes in this business would be a lack of media lowlifes at least trying to hold the feet of politicians to the fire.
Miller embraced Fulton when he should have thrown the guy in a ditch. Miller went on to suffer an unprecedented loss in the general election to write-in candidate Sen. Lisa Murkowski, the very same Republican incumbent Miller defeated in the Republican primary.
Fulton, meanwhile, eventually came to reveal he was in Alaska as an FBI mole stalking the militia movement, and secretly a lefty all along.
Now there's a new Fulton -- this one a discredited, turncoat, former lowlife member of the media -- and some are embracing her. History might indicate this is not a great idea. Be careful what you wish for, people.
Liars, cheats and con men make lousy heroes.
Contact Craig Medred at craig(at)alaskadispatch.com.
The views expressed here are the writer's own and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary(at)alaskadispatch.com.