The Kennedy clan has been anointed as America’s closest thing to a royal family. Handsome, articulate, charismatic, athletic, and sexy, their name is still magic, especially on the East Coast. But the Kennedys were and are a divided family in their political philosophy. It has taken a while, but it has now been recognized after nearly 70 years.
This brings us to Alaska’s own royalty, for indeed we have them. The legacy of the Begich, Murkowski and Hickel Families lives on, as well as to a lesser degree, the Gruenings.
Like the Kennedys, the Begich Family is politically and philosophically divided, and unless you have lived here for decades, it might be thoroughly confusing. You will need a scorecard to keep them straight. It baffled even Donald Trump, who disdained poor Nick III in his first run against Sarah Palin and the buttery smooth, liar and puppet, Mary Peltola.
Here is how to keep the Begich Family understood:
Nick I: an early statehood congressman, a conservative Democrat and practicing pro-life Catholic. Lost in a plane crash along with another pro-life Catholic Democrat, House Majority Leader Wade Boggs of Louisiana, in 1972.
Nick II: a brilliant author and libertarian who thinks outside the box, often a substitute host for Alex Jones, both of whom fully understand the evil of the Deep State. Read his book, Angels Don’t Play This HAARP. He was once a member of the Alaskan Independence Party, and spoke at an AIP convention in 2020.
Nick III: an authentic mainstream Republican conservative, who faithfully served Don Young. Patient, competent and an obvious rising star in his party as Alaska’s lone congressman, Nick will hopefully occupy this seat for some time to come.
Mark: brother to Nick II and uncle to Nick III, is as consistent a “mainstream” Democrat/liberal as you can find. And “mainstream” these days means to quietly endorse all the wacked-out ideas from the extreme left. Like Lisa Murkowski, he is a nominal pro-abortion Catholic. Won his one-term U.S. Senate seat against RINO Ted Stevens because of this author. As mayor of Anchorage, raised property taxes, used the downtown Holy Family Cathedral for a political platform, believes in global warming, supports the LGBTQ agenda, voted for Obamacare, supports free college loans and grants, and was ousted in 2014 by Dan Sullivan. The real one.
Tom: brother to Nick II and uncle to Nick III, is currently the Democrat frontrunner for governor. Positions himself as a “mainstream” Democrat but see above for what that means. He is completely on board with men in women’s sports and locker rooms, abortion-on-demand all nine months of pregnancy, and he is endorsed by Planned Parenthood. Should he win, he will make Alaska a liberal nightmare of perpetual RCV, green lock-ups and cooperation with the communists and RINOs in the Legislature. His running mate for lieutenant governor is Julia Hnilicka, a career bureaucrat and feminist radical.
The Hickel Family is easier to track. Walter’s one and a half terms as governor [1966-68 and 1990-94] began in 1966. He defied federal control by ordering an ice road through the Interior and Arctic to get vitally important drilling equipment to Prudhoe Bay. A true maverick, he said that “I had no choice” but to accept Nixon’s appointment as Interior Secretary in 1969. He did not elaborate what that meant, but it indicates that he was somehow pressured.
At Interior, he proved that he was an independent thinker when he actually listened to native Americans, moved to create more regulations on offshore drilling, and was fired when he suggested that Nixon needed to listen to younger voices regarding the Vietnam War.
Hickel’s fingerprints are all over our history with the statehood fight, Prudhoe Bay, and Commonwealth North, a circumpolar economic forum, which also includes the popular Arctic Winter Games. His second term as governor, starting in 1990, caused liberals to wet their pants, as he outmaneuvered both RINO Arliss Sturgulewski and liberal Democrat Tony Knowles. Running under the Alaskan Independence Party, he brought that party into a short-lived prominence. The disappearance and murder of AIP founder Joe Vogler occurred during his term, and Hickel mysteriously returned to the GOP fold after 3 years as governor.
This alienated his Lt. Governor, Jack Coghill. Because Hickel struggled through controversial losing primary runs in 1978 and 1986, it seems highly unlikely that he would have wanted to retire in 1994. It indicates that he was being pressured to quit, like he was earlier, by the Deep State.
But not before he sued the federal government for $29 billion in lost revenue for its failure to permit resource development. Naturally, greenie Tony Knowles cancelled it.
Like the Begich family, the Hickels also appear to be divided. Unlike the Begiches, they are persistent in a strong Catholic faith. Wally’s nephew Jim Hickel was the brains behind Holy Rosary Academy, founded in the late 80s and for many years now is recognized as the finest K-12 school in our state.
Last month, Wally’s four adult sons penned an open letter asking their cousin Bernadette Wilson (Wally’s great-niece) to stop using their father’s image, name, and legacy in her campaign. They called Bernadette’s implication that Wally would endorse her as misleading and disrespectful.
Bernadette is a firebrand businesswoman and former radio host who previously led the Alaska Policy Forum and Americans for Prosperity-Alaska. While she’s a top contender for governor, she will need to overcome a somewhat messy personal life to win the race.
The Gruening family is legendary, mostly through the efforts of Ernest, the FDR-appointed governor of the Alaska Territory just before World War II. Hooked by Alaska, he remained in the territory to fight for statehood after the war and made the greatest speech in the state’s history at the 1955 convention. With Bob Bartlett, was elected as Alaska’s first U.S. Senator, made the cover of Time Magazine, but lost the primary election to Mike Gravel in 1968.
His grandson Clark was elected to the legislature, reversed history by ousting Mike Gravel in the 1980 Democratic primary but lost to Frank Murkowski in the general election. Another grandson is Win, a conservative-leaning columnist whose influence is still felt today.
The Gruening name is seen in countless ways through schools, buildings, streets, monuments and public parks, keeping the name alive in our collective memory.
The Murkowski family’s dynasty or influence lives through only two: Frank and Lisa, but it has gone on for almost a weary half-century. As a Reagan Republican in 1980, Frank swept to victory and remained prominent through more than three full terms. With Ted Stevens and Don Young, for decades they formed a solid Republican front in Washington.
This triumvirate, however, is usually given a mysterious pass in the way they sold out our statehood compact guarantee that Alaska should receive 90% of all revenues from resource development on federal lands. Reduced to a 50/50 split as an incentive to get the lands opened with Lower 48 congressional members, it completely failed in that regard.
Frank then ran for governor in 2002, won it, and then appointed his daughter Lisa to the seat he vacated. It immediately sullied the Murkowski name, infuriated both conservatives and liberals, and the animosity lives on today with very little abatement.
Her bona fides as a Republican were always suspicious through her time in the State Legislature. She never missed a chance to “reach across the aisle” and has always been a certain proabortion vote, in both her state and federal offices.
Her primary loss to conservative Joe Miller in 2010 was mysteriously reversed by a write-in campaign in the general election. This unlikely and unprecedented “victory” remains one of the finest examples of suspected vote-rigging in American history, one to rival LBJ’s “landslide” in Texas in 1948.
ALASKA WATCHMAN DIRECT TO YOUR INBOX
Naturally, investigative reporting by the liberal press of that election has never materialized. No one needs to wonder why.
Frank’s one term as governor was a mixed bag, and he was clobbered in the primary by Sarah Palin, who promised better, more authentic conservative policies, which never really materialized. Thankfully, there appears to be no apparent political extension to the Murkowski family’s reign after Lisa.
There you have it: Alaska’s Royal families, demonstrating that “name recognition” is indeed a vitally important aspect to winning elections.
Just ask ‘Decoy Dan.’
The views expressed here are those of the author.
