Opinions

Alaska Rep. Reinbold defies caucus, and her constituents pay the price

When I was a kid in Florida, my dad let me use his car for the evening. It was an MGA, a wire-wheeled wonder I dreamed of getting upon graduation. He warned me not to take it to Daytona Beach that night -- or else. "You understand?" he asked. No beach. Or else.

Ah, Daytona at night. Heaven. Testosterone and steamy possibilities. Irresistible. It was only a quick 45 miles thataway, and my friends were going, and, hey, how would the old man ever know? Over and back, I says to myself. Who's the wiser? So, I did what any kid would do; I disconnected the odometer cable and headed northeast at warp speed, running lights-out in the moonlight to dodge cops on unopened sections of Interstate 4. There may have been alcohol involved.

The next morning, the old man rousted me out of bed at home and we marched into the garage. The car was parked all cattywampus, its bumpers trailing flowers from the garden near the driveway. The odometer cable drooped beneath the dash, whispering, "j'accuse." As if those clues were insufficient, a liquor bottle jutted from behind the seat -- and sand covered everything. There was a crab, too. I'm not kidding.

There was yelling. I did not hear much of it. My head throbbed. I was deathly ill -- and grounded until after the birth of my second son. The car? Sold a few days later. Pffffttt! Gone. Just like that.

"What did you think would happen?" my father fumed. "There are consequences."

I wish I could have told third-year Rep. Lora Reinbold of Eagle River about my beach trip and consequences before she voted against the House Majority Caucus operating budget. In the aftermath, she lost her co-chairmanships of the Committee on Military and Veterans Affairs and the House Education Committee and her seats on the Rules Committee and the Legislative Council. She remains on Community and Regional Affairs, but will lose most of her staff -- and her office may be up for grabs.

"In any organization, you have rules," House Speaker Mike Chenault, R-Nikiski, said later. "If you don't follow the rules, there's consequences."

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For her part, Reinbold says the budget cuts are not deep enough; that she was representing her constituents; that more is required when Alaska is facing a $3.5 billion budget deficit. She warned she would vote against the budget despite "unnecessary consequences," and, indeed, was the only Republican to do so.

Her vote was wasted. She benched herself, accomplishing nothing. If she believes she can be the Legislative Lone Ranger, she will be disappointed, although she has no shortage of support from the uninformed -- but those people, no matter their political leanings, are nuts. (Don't call me. The sign on my wall says it all, "Life is too short to argue with stupid people.")

Despite all the yammering to the contrary, consequences for rogue budget behavior are, in fact, very necessary.

There are only two rules the House Majority Caucus must follow. First, members -- who, never, ever forget, benefit mightily from their Majority Caucus membership -- are expected to uphold the chair in procedural matters. Second, they must vote for the final version of the budget when it reaches the House floor.

Do just Republicans insist on such rules? Hardly. Rep. Max Gruenberg, D-Anchorage, told KTUU that in the 1980s, when he was House majority leader, Democrats had virtually the same rules. "It was understood," he said. "It's one of the things majorities have traditionally used."

The idea is to ensure the budget, which absolutely must be passed, not be stalled in internecine battles and House floor jockeying, or get tangled in gamesmanship. All the give-and-take, the wrangling and excruciating detail work happens in the myriad subcommittees addressing the budget. If you have something to offer, there are plenty of opportunities.

Did Reinbold participate? Not so much. There were at least 14 subcommittee meetings as budget details were hashed out. She missed 10 -- and offered no amendments. She had reasons, she says, but so what? For somebody reputedly concerned about a fat budget, she voted with Democrats trying to add $4 million to the WWAMI School of Medical Education.

While many of her constituents and other Alaskans who just do not get it are cheering her on, she has hurt them and herself immeasurably, and seriously undermined her ability to affect real conservative change in the Legislature.

Others have rebounded from such gaffes. Hopefully, she will, too.

Me? I'm still waiting for that MGA.

Paul Jenkins is editor of the Anchorage Daily Planet, a division of Porcaro Communications.

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, e-mail commentary(at)alaskadispatch.com

Paul Jenkins

Paul Jenkins is a former Associated Press reporter, managing editor of the Anchorage Times, an editor of the Voice of the Times and former editor of the Anchorage Daily Planet.

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