GOP's lockstep caucus politics puts party before Alaska

One of the advantages of getting older, and believe me there aren't that many, is that I can be grumpy and it's dismissed as being colorful instead of what it really is: unreasonable and obnoxious.

Case in point: the primary defeat of District 9 House candidate, Rep. Jim Colver. The voters of that (my) district, all 15 percent of us, decided Colver was just a little too liberal for our taste so we "threw the bum out." Actually I'm not a registered Republican, so I didn't get a chance to exercise my grumpiness in his direction. But that's what the party did and I think it deserves a closer look.

[GOP leaders say Mat-Su Republican is guilty of bipartisanship]

Just who is this left-wing firebrand and what did he do to the Grand Old Party? Colver was a one-term representative from the Hatcher Pass area. As his Ballotpedia page points out, he is and always has been 100 percent pro-life. He's against raiding the Permanent Fund dividend. He's against raising property taxes. He's for protecting the rights of property owners and he's for school choice. And as his signs point out, he was endorsed by the NRA. Sooo … he's a liberal apologist?

With those credentials what did this guy do to earn the wrath of his fellow Republicans? It seems he's guilty of the single-most unforgivable sin in modern politics. No, he didn't manhandle a House staffer or funnel road money to a land developer in Florida. That would be Don Young and that's perfectly acceptable. And no, he didn't cut sweetheart deals for oil companies that he represented before he was in office. That would be the previous Gov. Sean Parnell and apparently that's kosher too. What Colver did was far worse. He spoke to the opposition.

Not only did he speak to them, he actually voted with them on several occasions. Doesn't the man realize that's not how we do things? Where has he been for the last 10 years? It should be painfully obvious to anyone who has been paying attention to the tone of our politics that officeholders don't represent all their constituents, just the ones who vote for them. "Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you no sense of decency?" (Joseph Welch to Sen. Joe McCarthy, 1954)

So now that we know his crime, let's delve into the particulars. A May 17 Alaska Dispatch News article by Zaz Hollander and Nathaniel Herz states that Colver voted with the Democrats on two education bills. One of them, House Bill 298, would have made it easier to lay off tenured teachers. He, along with those Democrats, voted against the bill. Just who does he think he is? A past member of the school board? Well actually he is, but let's not dwell on the past.

[This musk ox stands his ground]

The article also states that he voted with the opposition against a bill that would have allowed legislators to become non-voting members of the Alaska Gasline Development Corp. His reasoning was the gas line development corporation was supposed to steer clear of politics.

What!? Shielding private industry from governmental meddling?

But wait, there's more. This one's my personal favorite. Colver opposed the channeling of the Permanent Fund dividend earnings reserve to fund state government. That's right. He didn't want the government to take part of your PFD to bolster the budget. The problem was that the only other source of funds was the Constitutional Budget Reserve, and in order to access that you need a supermajority vote in the Legislature. That means the Democrats would have to be included in the proceedings and that's just unacceptable. On the other hand, going to the PFD earnings reserve only takes a simple majority — in other words, no Democrats.

This little bit of collusion with the minority party really got the attention of Republican power brokers.

[Colver isn't just a RINO, he's a Democrat]

Rumors started to circulate that Colver was in some sort of clandestine compact with the, ugh, Democrats and was working with them to form a bipartisan alliance. They probably had T-shirts and a secret handshake and everything. Colver and the Democrats denied any such goings on, but isn't that what you would do if you were in a secret conspiracy? Case closed.

Republican party chair Tuckerman Babcock decided it was time for a change and pulled the party endorsement of Colver. Enter Sutton's own George Rauscher. Babcock shifted the party's endorsement and Rauscher pulled off a primary victory. He's 100 percent pro-life. He's against raising taxes. He's for resource development. He's for parental choice in schools, and he loves the Second Amendment. Does any of this sound familiar?

He also says he's tired of government overreach and will be an independent voice in Juneau. Independent meaning he will vote the way the party tells him to concerning tapping into your PFD. If not he too will run the risk of being primaried by the honorable Mr. Babcock.

So here's the deal, folks. This is what makes this grumpy old man stick his blotchy old nose into this bit of political business. If you are truly tired of business as usual on the local, state and national levels, then stop this nonsense now. Understand that politics is largely the art of compromise. Understand that in order for government to function, all voices should be heard and all parties should participate. Understand that people elected to office represent all their constituents, not just the ones who voted for them. Understand that the only politicians who get their way all the time are called dictators.

OK, I've had may say. Now all of you go out and vote and get off my lawn!

Chuck Legge is a cartoonist and commentator, formerly of the Frontiersman in Mat-Su. He lives in Sutton.

The views expressed here are the writer's and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary@alaskadispatch.com. Send submissions shorter than 200 words to letters@alaskadispatch.com or click here to submit via any web browser.

Editor's note: An earlier version of this commentary mistakenly referred to Don Young  roughing up a House page; in the incident, Young forcefully grabbed the arm of a House staffer.