Alaskan reformers refused
to rollover at their
State GOP Convention
to rollover at their
State GOP Convention
By Doug Ibendahl
Maybe it's the frontier heritage or maybe it's the state's rugged landscape, but whatever the reason, Alaskan women seem to have more cajones than most of the men in Illinois politics.
Republican Sarah Palin was elected Alaska's first woman Governor in 2006. Now 43, she's also the youngest in state history.
Palin is something of a Renaissance Woman. She once competed in the Miss Alaska contest and she played on her high school's state championship girls basketball team. She's been a television sports reporter, a city council member and mayor. She's helped run the family's commercial fishing business and she remains married to her high school sweetheart. Earlier this month she announced she was seven months pregnant with the couple's fifth child.
Palin has one of the highest approval ratings of any Governor in America and she continues to build a reputation as one of the greatest crusaders for ethical government anywhere. She also believes in reducing the size of government. Last year she introduced a budget that cut state spending by $124 million.
While once favored by the old guard of Alaska's GOP, Palin split with the good old boys over corruption issues. Palin was elected Governor in 2006 as a maverick reformer, without the help of the entrenched party players.
Two weeks ago the Alaska Republican Party held their State Convention in Juneau and Palin rose to the occasion yet again. Under Palin's leadership, their convention was all about reforming and cleaning-up the State GOP.
Around 400 delegates registered for the 3-day event, reportedly a record. (By comparison, that's about the same size crowd that attended the Illinois GOP's State Convention in 2004, and Alaska's population is barely 5% of ours, 670 thousand vs. 12.8 million.)
Alaska is a very Red State with vastly fewer people, but on some other levels there are startling similarities to Illinois. For one thing, there seem to be a lot of ongoing federal investigations involving bigwig politicos. And just like the Illinois GOP, the Alaska GOP has been devastated by corruption.
The state's Republican National Committeeman has been under an ethical cloud, just like ours. Alaska's is Ben Stevens, the son of the longest serving Republican in the U.S. Senate, Ted Stevens.
While Ben has not been charged with any crime, it's been reported that he's under federal scrutiny. Two former executives (now convicted) of the oilfield service firm VECO Corp. have already testified they made certain payments to Stevens and others.
Last fall Palin called on Ben Stevens to resign as Republican National Committeeman. Stevens ignored those calls for early resignation, but a new National Committeeman was just selected at their State Convention. Stevens reportedly hadn't been to an RNC meeting since 2005, and he didn't show up to the State Convention.
Ben's father Ted (the GOP U.S. Senator) is also the subject of a federal probe, and in July of 2007 federal agents raided his home. Palin has called on the Senator to explain why to Alaskans. He's refused.
Then there is Republican Don Young who has been Alaska's lone U.S. Representative for 35 years. Young is probably best known outside of Alaska for securing $223 million in federal earmarks for the "Bridge to Nowhere" - a bridge nearly as long as the Golden Gate which connects Gravina Island (population less than 50) with Ketchikan (population 8,000). Last year Young's campaign spent nearly $850,000 on legal fees, but he also won't explain why.
At the start of the Convention, Palin's Lieutenant Governor Sean Parnell stunned delegates by announcing he would be making an August GOP Primary challenge against Young for the Congressional seat. Parnell, with Governor Palin at his side, then left the Convention floor to file the official paperwork. That move was reportedly very well received by the delegation.
But the Alaska State Convention probably saw the most excitement when Palin and her allies fought to remove State Party Chairman Randy Ruedrich (like our Chairman Andy McKenna, Ruedrich's regular term isn't up until 2010).
Palin parted ways with Ruedrich back in 2003 when both served on the state's Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. Palin exposed Ruedrich for ethical violations and he ended up paying a $12,000 penalty, the state's largest civil fine for an ethics case.
From media coverage it's clear Alaska's GOP Convention provided a lot of positive energy and exciting political theatre. It's also clear Alaska has some real leaders who get it.
Here are just some of the great quotes from the convention podium and floor:
"I think we need to call on all of you assembled delegates to rise and literally even stand with me if you desire change in our party's leadership. If you believe in that change please be bold." --Governor Sarah Palin.
"We're doing this so we can tell the public look we're behind the public and its motivation to clean up government. That's what this is all about, and to make sure the public understands that the Republican Party is a party of ethics and not corruption." -- Joe Miller, Regional Chairman from Fairbanks who supported the effort to oust State Chair Ruedrich.
"If you find something that's rotten in your fridge that you should have thrown out last week, you don't say, 'Well, we'll just leave it there for a few more weeks.' You throw it out now. And I think...that's what's happening today. People are just... this is the opportunity to do it." -- Caroline McMullin, Delegate from Meadow Lakes.
"It's not divisive and you're not starting trouble when you're doing something right. That's all that's happening here. Let's get the right thing done, get the right leadership." -- Nick Stepovich, Delegate from Fairbanks.
"We can't kid ourselves, there has not yet been restoration of the public's confidence in the Republican Party and we have got to do better." - Governor Sarah Palin.
"We're supposed to be the party of values, people are going to jail . . . and in some cases they are already in jail. I am here because we have problems. By ‘we' I mean the Republican Party. By ‘problems' I mean that our party has strayed from our core principles of fiscal conservatism, smaller government and personal responsibility." - Gabrielle LeDoux, GOP Congressional candidate.
Right before the Convention's adjournment, the delegates voted 167 to 133 to table the resolution calling for State Chairman Ruedrich's early resignation. Ruedrich told the assembled just prior to that vote that he would ignore such a resolution anyway (that also sounds familiar).
Still, the Alaska GOP had a very successful convention. They had real leaders standing-up for positive change. They elected a new and better National Committeeman. And they found out their popular Lieutenant Governor would be challenging their stayed-to-long King of Pork, GOP Congressman Don Young.
Reform minded Republicans maybe didn't get everything they wanted, but they seriously advanced the ball. The Alaska GOP is truly rebuilding. Our State GOP can't say that yet.
The only question left is why in a state with nearly 20 times the population of Alaska can't we seem to find a Republican for statewide office like Sarah Palin?
Doug Ibendahl is a Chicago Attorney and a former General Counsel of the Illinois Republican Party. He is Co-Founder of Republican Young Professionals (RYP).
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