It’s time for Wasilla Representative David Eastman to find a new job.
His commitment to conservative values is admirable but his actions have done very little to advance those values in Juneau. In fact, I would argue that Eastman has done more to damage the pro-family, pro-life cause politically than anything else.
Let’s start with the most important issue – protecting unborn Alaskans.
He believes, as do I, that our State Constitution does not even remotely contain a “right to abortion” within the privacy or equal protection clauses as liberal politicians and the Alaska Supreme Court fraudulently assert. But his strategy to push back on that false assertion is deeply flawed and counterproductive.
Four states (Alabama, Louisiana, Tennessee & West Virginia) have amended their State Constitutions to explicitly state that their founding document does not contain or provide a right to abortion or the right of public funding for abortion. In doing so, those four states have literally saved unborn lives. With those Amendments in place, the Justices have no wiggle room to manufacture meaning out of thin air as they do here.
Eastman, as you can see above in his answer to our Values Voter Guide survey, would vote AGAINST such an effort joining forces with Planned Parenthood, the ACLU and every other leftist, pro-abortion group.
His reasoning? Because the right to abortion doesn’t exist in our State Constitution, we shouldn’t have to amend it to clarify the matter. Here’s the problem with that line of thinking – the Alaska Supreme Court rules in a manner believing it does exist, and David Eastman hasn’t been able to do anything about it. Period.
The high Court used that judicial philosophy to strike down a statewide initiative that was passed by the people of Alaska requiring parental notification before a minor can get an abortion and they used it to overturn a law passed by the legislature stating that Alaskans shouldn’t have to pay for elective abortions through Medicaid.
If language were in place in our State Constitution as it is in those other four states, the Justices would have been stopped in their tracks and unborn babies in Alaska would have been saved.
Full stop.
Eastman and many of his faithful followers believe that holding fast to theory is righteous but we live in reality. His refusal to amend our Constitution to protect the least of these among us has consequences.
In addition to his refusal to protect the unborn through necessary and proven Constitutional amendments, Eastman has been unable to move beyond window dressing in terms of advocating any effective legislation. Through four terms in the State House, he introduced more than 140 measures. Not a single one has advanced to the floor for a vote.
Eastman has also consistently demonstrated that he is unable to work with his own party. His greatest fan, Pat Martin with Alaska Right to Life, someone I vehemently have disagreed with over the years, has made it his mission in life to malign every conservative in the Alaska Legislature. You don’t hear much from Pat about the progressives. He’s too busy trying to throw conservatives under the bus.
In 2020, the minority caucus suspended Eastman from committees after conflicts with fellow Republicans. In 2022, he was removed from the Republican House minority caucus for “disruptive” behavior, stripping him of some of his committee assignments. More recently, in the last legislative session, he was not offered a place in the Republican-dominated House majority, but was given a single committee seat.
Rep Eastman also voted against HB 2, a bill that would have prohibited Alaska public agencies from contracting with any group that boycotts or discriminates against Israel on the basis of nationality, national origin, or religion. The sponsor of the pro-Israel legislation, Representative Sarah Vance out of Homer, a solid Christ-follower and consistent conservative, was appalled when Eastman once again sided with the Democrats in a 20-20 vote to kill her bill.
Eastman’s followers, and there are many, are fond of saying he is the “only true conservative” in the Legislature. But, having a leader that preaches an explicit belief system or ideology and who is followed by unquestioning believers is the defining characteristic of a cult. That may sound intense but for those of you who are ardent supporters of him, ask yourself if you’ve ever opposed him on anything. If not…remember that we all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Believe it or not, I like David Eastman. He is a smart, interesting man with convictions, but he is in the wrong profession. His presence is doing nothing to advance an agenda other than platitudes and disruption. He has a place in the battle for ideas. It’s just not the legislature.
Alaska Family Action strongly endorses his opponent, Jubilee Underwood, who actually has a track record of working with others within and outside of her political persuasions and of getting real policies across the finish line.
It’s time for a change in District 27.
The views expressed here are those of the author.
