Republican senators continue to place ideology before the best interests of Alaskans. First, after over a month of overtime, the Senate has apparently accomplished nothing. While the House was "active" (I'm using this term loosely), the Senate appears to have been twiddling its thumbs in absence of their elected duties. Second, every time the Senate Majority has actually done something, it hasn't been very good for Alaskans.
Now, let me be clear. I completely realize that there are moderate Republican senators. However, you're only as good as the company you keep, and frankly, your company is insufferable. Medicaid expansion, Erin's Law and a bipartisan budget have all become victims to the hyper-partisan Republican Senate.
The debate over Medicaid expansion is well documented. It's no secret that the majority of Alaskans support the expansion. Two separate public polls have found that more than 60 percent of Alaskans support the policy of expanding Medicaid. The House Majority even paid for one of the polls. These public opinion polls along with the 153 municipalities, organizations and businesses that actively support Medicaid expansion should be enough to convince the Senate Republicans to act on the wishes of the Alaska people. Alaskans have held rallies across the state but sadly this wasn't enough to convince the likes of Sen. Pete Kelly of the fact that real Alaskans actually support real Medicaid expansion.
On June 1, the Senate tabled a budget amendment that would have allowed Alaska to accept federal funds for Medicaid. Tabling the amendment was a political maneuver to avoid a vote on the actual expansion of Medicaid. Why don't hyper-partisan Republicans want to hold a vote? Because it might actually pass! Also, those who don't support the legislation are scared of the possible electoral repercussions. They know the public wants Medicaid expansion, and that's the very reason why Senate Republicans won't vote on it.
If refusing to insure about 40,000 Alaskans and create 4,000 new jobs through Medicaid expansion wasn't enough, Senate Republicans even managed to leave our children vulnerable to harm. Sens. Dunleavy, Giessel and Huggins completely gutted the Alaska Safe Children's Act, otherwise known as Erin and Bree's Law. This is the legislation that equips young children and young adults with age-appropriate tools to help defend themselves against abuse.
Why gut and oppose something that protects Alaska's children from sexual abuse and violence? Oh, because it would be mandatory for educators to help our children push back against abuse. Mandatory participation is the crux of Erin's Law, and without it, the law is pointless. Dunleavy, Giessel and Huggins messed it up so much that the law's namesake and abuse survivor, Erin Merryn, personally spoke out against the amended bill.
Last, these same Senate Republicans torched, in a matter of minutes, a bipartisan budget from the House. That compromise contained hard concessions from the House Minority. A deal is a deal, and the Senate Republicans should have honored the work that the other body did. Alaskans don't want a government shutdown, and that's exactly where the Senate Republicans are taking us.
This is one final plea to the moderates. Speak up now. Your silence is empowerment. You're a bystander allowing Alaska to suffer. This is a critical time in Alaska's history. Break the caucus rules. Rebel. Do what you need to do. I said it earlier and I'll say it again: You're only as good as the company you keep, and Alaskans deserve better company.
Kevin D. McGee is first vice president of the Anchorage chapter of the NAACP and chairman of its committee on political action.
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.