We’ve said this before, but it’s worth repeating. Conservative candidates – especially in local races for school board, city councils, assembly seats and the Alaska Legislature – must get over the fear of unapologetically declaring where they stand when it comes to the hot-button moral and cultural issues of our time.
Voters shouldn’t have to attend candidate forums and hope for a rare moment of unscripted clarity to find out where someone stands on abortion, critical race theory, private school choice options, the LGBTQ agenda, election integrity, the statewide constitutional convention or judicial activism.
The conventional wisdom has been to steer clear of these so-called “divisive” issues because they might alienate middle-of-the-road conservatives who prioritize fiscal issues like lower taxes, a full PFD and oil and gas development.
We’re not saying candidates should ignore these topics. They are vitally important, too, but candidates must be willing to fight for the heart and soul of Alaska. Parents are worried about the dire state of public schools, pro-life advocates want meaningful protections for the pre-born, election integrity is still a major concern, and the fact that nearly every single judge in Alaska must be approved by the leftist Alaska Judicial Council is a major obstacle to addressing any of these issues.
ALASKA WATCHMAN DIRECT TO YOUR INBOX
Democrats made a calculated decision in this recent election to focus on abortion. They spent millions on ads that appealed to their base, and it worked – both in Alaska and across the country – in a year that was supposed to have been a Red Wave.
The future of the conservative movement lies with politicians like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. He’s a knowledgeable and confident conservative who unabashedly fights for life, traditional values and personal liberties. And he wins…big.
The days of generic road signs, vanilla websites and mealy-mouthed candidate forums must end.
The views expressed here are those of the author.
9 Comments
I agree.. I’m not sure how long it will take to prod the bear into action, but it needs to have already happened.
Y’all miffed the easiest midterms in decades and the plan now is to upset and alienate more people to somehow… get more votes? Keep it up and Alaska will be blue sooner than you know 🙂
I concur. Many of the conservative candidates this time around, not just in Alaska but nation-wide, have been simply comically bad. Seemingly because they were hand-picked by a single RINO who based his selections on their willingness to “kiss the ring”.
The extremism and performative politics have driven many moderates from the party. This of course has the unfortunate effect that, when only extremists remain in the GOP, the candidates that win the primary are the most extreme options. Which makes them even more unpalatable to the rest.
Ranked Choice Voting is a great solution here. As shown this time around, you can have an extremist on the ticket and a more moderate with broader appeal. You get to have your cake (Tshibaka) and eat it too (get a Republican in Murkowski) elected.
Having principles is great. But not if those principles infringe on other peoples rights.
Protect the ‘pre-born’? Seriously? You guys should seriously focus on protecting the ‘already born’ people first. Maybe protect the homeless? Maybe protect people addicted to opioids? Protect the lgbt kids being abused by their conservative parents? Theres a whole world of people that very much need help and you are laser focused on controlling every womans uterus.
A pregnant friend of mine was talking with her mother about her pregnancy. At some point her mother, who is inclined to pushing buttons, brought abortion (and her into the discussion. My friend who was certainly planning to carry the baby to term asked if her mother would still oppose an abortion if it was clear that my friend’s life was in danger as a result of the pregnancy. Her mother said that the risk to the mother (her own daughter) didn’t matter, the life of the fetus was more important.
These are the people who are nominating the extreme candidates. Unbelievable.
It’s great when we arbitrarily decide who is a human and who is not. It;’s not like we have ever done that before. With tragic and bloodthirsty results.
Wouldn’t you be more at home in L.A. or San Fran.? Do you need help to buy a ticket? I am sure we could get that done for you.
Lol, it is too bad that the trolls, paid schills and bots have discovered this board. The elections were certainly “easy” for the demorats because they did not have to do anything – a lot of votes were directed to them even though true Conservatives voted Red all the way down the ticket. Conservatives know the the deep state wants to turn Alaska blue. The lack of victories for conservatives in this state is not going to slow conservatives down. Conservatives will work harder to educate people and with God’s grace, there will be solid examples happening in Alaska to show why Human-loving People should vote Red.
Double down on being too heaven bound to do any good in this life. Smart.
Global unsustainable sovereign debt. Fiat currencies. Mass surveillance. Secret police. Managed selections. State sponsored war without end. Empty churches. Fewer marriages. Sky high illegitimate births. Rampant celebrated sexual deviance. State sanctioned child sexual abuse. Widespread deaths of despair. Impending civilizational collapse.
We are Wile. E. Coyote still running on the momentum of those who came before us. We just haven’t looked down yet. A possible way forward. It worked for those who were fighting against Soviet communism in Eastern Europe >
“The parallel society began in spontaneous acts of mutual self-defense in different parts of society. Those who take part are active people who can no longer stand to look passively at the general decay…rigidity, bureaucracy, and suffocation of every living idea or sign of movement in the official sphere. And because these people sooner or later recognized that efforts to bring about the slightest improvements in the official sphere were exercises in futility, it was only a matter of time before they said: Why not invest our talents, abilities, goodwill, and enthusiasm into something that no one will be able to corrupt, that we will be able to decide about ourselves in the end.”
~ Ivan Jirous, Parallel Polis: An Inquiry