OPINION: Nothing short of expulsion for Eastman will make a difference

More than a year ago, 70 other West Point alumni and I wrote an open letter to Rep. David Eastman of Wasilla, calling on him to resign from public office due to his membership in the violent and seditious Oath Keepers organization. Since that time, Eastman’s conduct has continued to discredit himself, our alma mater, the state Legislature and all of Alaska. Because Eastman is shameless and will never resign, the Legislature must now act.

Eastman’s latest outrage made national and international news when he wondered aloud if fatal child abuse was actually a net financial gain for society. Faced with explosive pushback, Eastman now claims he was trying to make a rhetorical point about abortion, and he pretends to take offense that anyone would dare accuse him of supporting child abuse. He now claims he was making a critique about the “commodification” of children and wanted to make the point that children’s lives are infinitely precious.

If in fact he was trying to communicate this point, he did so spectacularly ineptly. Nobody in the hearing got his supposed point; none of his peers in the Legislature got it; and none of the tens of thousands of people who have now heard his words did, either. His words clearly deeply hurt many Alaskans. My friend Jamiann S’eiltin Hasselquist, a Tlingit leader in Juneau and survivor of child abuse, stated, “His words are abusive. Not only to me, but to all of us. To our children. To those in the foster care system.”

If in fact he miscommunicated, he would have apologized. Instead, when Jamiann and other members of Juneau’s Alaska Native Sisterhood camp tried to confront him over his harmful words, he cowered in his office and refused to even meet with them. Either he is a sociopath with utter disregard for others’ feelings or he meant what he said the first time (or both). I believe he meant what he said.

Eastman remains a “proud” life member of the Oath Keepers. Stewart Rhodes, the Oath Keeper’s leader (who testified in support of Eastman during his eligibility trial), is a convicted felon with a terrifying and well-documented record of spousal and child abuse. Yet Eastman has repeatedly refused to denounce Rhodes, saying that he “doesn’t generally denounce individuals.”

Additionally, Eastman’s voting record reflects his support for child marriage. Child marriage is inherently abusive, which is why former Rep. Sara Rasmussen successfully introduced legislation last year that finally ended the legality of marriage to 14- and 15-year-old children in Alaska. In the past, this loophole has allowed a 55-year-old man to marry a 14-year-old girl. Yet Eastman voted to keep this law in place.

In contradiction to Eastman’s stated belief that all children are infinitely precious, in 2021, he voted against protecting a cemetery in Funter Bay for Unangax people — mostly elders and children — who died while unwillingly interned during World War II. Eastman opposed this bill because the area might contain exploitable mineral resources. He said, “We are going in the wrong direction for a mere 30 interned individuals in the cemetery. We don’t know what technologies and future mineral discoveries might happen involving this area.” No one who really values the lives of children would ever cast the question in such ghoulish terms. In opposing the Funter Bay cemetery bill, Eastman’s actual worldview — valuing dollars over children — was on stark display.

None of this is intended to shame Eastman into changing his views or expressing remorse — he’s obviously incapable. Rather, it is intended to show that Eastman is an extremist whose latest remarks are entirely consistent with the sociopathic worldview he has repeatedly displayed. And the only reason Eastman is able to shame Alaska and the world with his abusive words is because the rest of the House enables him.

The Alaska Constitution empowers each chamber of the Legislature to judge the qualifications of its members. Eastman has shown that he is unfit for public office — repeatedly and in dozens of different ways. Censure is clearly inadequate. He has been censured before (for suggesting that women in rural Alaska seek abortions for free trips to Anchorage); he has been removed from committees before; he has been found in violation of the Ethics Act before. It is well past time for the House to affirm that Eastman is unfit for office and expel him.

Ivan Hodes is a 2005 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, where he earned the Combat Infantryman Badge. His views are his own and do not reflect those of the Department of Defense.

The views expressed here are the writer’s and are not necessarily endorsed by the Anchorage Daily News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary(at)adn.com. Send submissions shorter than 200 words to letters@adn.com or click here to submit via any web browser. Read our full guidelines for letters and commentaries here.