Legislators sometimes misplace their integrity. It is especially damaging when they also wear their Christian faith prominently at election time.
Rep. Sarah Vance (State Chair of the National Association of Christian Lawmakers), Rep. Kevin McCabe (State Vice Chair of the National Association of Christian Lawmakers) and Rep. Jubilee Underwood (R-Wasilla) went out of their way to gaslight Alaskans last week by declaring “This Anti-PFD Vote Never Happened.” I recommend reading it.
The article is a powerful example of how Juneau’s political establishment responds to conservatives – not by confronting arguments, but by seeking to drown them out using voices and faces already familiar to conservative voters.
Alaskans are receiving $1,200 of this year’s $3,980 dividend as checks go out this week. That’s what is left after legislators diverted a whopping 70% of the PFD to other priorities – like spending $12 million to subsidize seafood and tourism.
To his credit, Gov. Dunleavy vetoed some of the subsidies, and he did include a full PFD in his budget, but the governor cannot restore money to the dividend after legislators have already voted to cut it.
The legislators who advocated diverting money from this year’s dividend owe Alaskans an apology, as do those who voted to go along with it. Both voted to break the law instead of voting to change it.
Underwood, Vance and McCabe first assert that the vote to cut the PFD never happened, and then later that the vote didn’t really matter.
While it is important to hold legislators accountable for breaking the law again this year, it is also important to understand some of the reasons why they did it. When Rep. Jubilee Underwood states that she supports “protecting a meaningful and sustainable PFD…” she is simply echoing the position of most legislators in Juneau.
In the legislature, it is now taken for granted that every House legislator will vote to cut the dividend. The PFD represents billions that can be redirected to special interests. One Democrat legislator said the quiet part out loud. If legislators ever lost the ability to redirect the PFD to special interests each year, they would lose power and, “Our role as legislators would seriously regress (watch video).”
To insist that they follow the law and distribute a full dividend is to betray the interests of your fellow legislators and risk becoming a pariah in Juneau. It also means betraying the interests of the very groups in Juneau that many legislators rely on for campaign donations at election time. For most legislators, that is a non-starter.
The Alaska Permanent Fund is now roughly $40 billion larger than it was when Governor Walker first vetoed the PFD in 2016. For legislators, the PFD is not a math problem. It is a political problem.
Legislators could have voted to follow the law and distribute a full PFD this year, but the thought of doing so terrifies both the special interests and the many legislators beholden to them. If voters receive a full dividend, even once, they might expect it again. That would directly conflict with the other plans that Juneau already has for that money.
Legislators recognize that they cannot vote to reduce the PFD in statute without having to defend their vote in a public referendum. They also recognize that they cannot vote to distribute a full PFD now without significantly undermining their own power and influence as legislators in the future.
The question these legislators should answer is this: If the governor included a full PFD in the budget, when was the full PFD taken out, and who voted for it?
In the halls of the capitol building, the public sector must be prioritized while the private sector bears the costs. Legislators willing to keep the money flowing in Juneau are rewarded. Those who object too strongly are punished. That is political reality in Juneau today, and it directly conflicts with the expectations of folks back home.
In their article (This Anti-PFD Vote Never Happened) Underwood, Vance and McCabe first assert that the vote to cut the PFD never happened, and then later that the vote didn’t really matter. Further on, they say it would have been a waste of time to oppose it. They also argue that, after the vote to pull the full PFD out of the budget, they voted to try to put the full PFD back into the budget (but failed to get enough votes), and the second vote is the only one that should count.
Their final argument is that, since the chances of getting 21 votes for a full PFD are “almost nil,” we should abandon that fight and instead focus our attention on fighting to get 41 legislators (nearly twice as many) to vote to pass a constitutional amendment, because that would be more realistic. Don’t take my word for it, please read this mind-numbing logic in their own words.
Here are The Receipts
On Dec. 11, Dunleavy included a “Full statutory Permanent Fund Dividend” in the budget he sent to the legislature (also referred to as House Bill 263).
The question these legislators should answer is this: If the governor included a full PFD in the budget, when was the full PFD taken out, and who voted for it?
It’s no more complicated than that.
When Democrats sought to replace the governor’s budget this year, they encountered only silence from Republicans. There was no fight left in them.
It’s a fair question, and one that Vance, McCabe and Underwood know the answer to.
On Feb. 11, the House Finance Committee initially recommended diverting 100% of the PFD to state spending. On April 1, they revised their recommendation to include diverting only 60% of the dividend.
On April 8, Rep. Chuck Kopp stood up and asked every member of the Alaska House of Representatives to consent to adopting those recommendations and replacing the governor’s budget with the budget put forward by the Democrat-led House Finance Committee. Every legislator (including Vance, McCabe and Underwood) consented, and the governor’s budget with a full PFD was thrown out and replaced with the budget recommended by the finance committee, cutting 60% of the dividend.
In the legislature, the entire body is required to make that decision together. If even one of the 40 members of the House had stood up to object, unanimous consent would have failed. Those seeking to throw out the governor’s budget would then have had to call for a roll call vote and find at least 21 legislators willing to put themselves on record voting to do so. No one objected, so Dunleavy’s budget was tossed without anyone needing to individually vote for it. The roll call that day showed all 40 legislators present and 40 legislators were given credit for voting in favor of adopting the new budget.
In their article, Vance, McCabe and Underwood claim that their vote to replace the governor’s budget wasn’t a vote – only a “procedural motion.” Objecting would have been a waste of time, they say. Your dividend, however, went from $3,980 in the governor’s bill to the $1,200 that Alaskans receive this month. That’s a 70% cut. That counts.
Instead of apologizing, they equivocate.
What’s worse is that they know better. Underwood has been a legislator for two years, McCabe for six, and Vance for eight.
McCabe has stood with me in the past to object to this very same vote (watch video).
Before they lost their way, Vance and McCabe voted with us repeatedly to defend the governor’s budget with the full PFD and reject the Democrats’ replacement budget. They were on camera when they voted the right way (see video). They are now on camera voting the wrong way (see video).
I have taken the time to catalogue video after video of Republican legislators (including Vance and McCabe) voting with us, year after year, to fight for the governor’s budget and the dividend. In 2019, the vote was 24-13. By 2021, the number of Republicans objecting had risen to 23-16. In 2022, the vote was 22-14. In 2023, the vote had dropped to 39-1. I was the only legislator to stand up and object in 2023 and again in 2024. This year, I was no longer in the legislature, and the vote became 40-0.
In years past, most Republicans could be expected to stand together and passionately defend the governor’s budget and the full PFD from attempts by Democrats to replace it with their own budget (see video). When Democrats sought to replace the governor’s budget this year, they encountered only silence from Republicans. There was no fight left in them.
In years past, most Republicans came together and oppose items like the seafood and tourism subsidies that Dunleavy vetoed this year (Vance being one of the few exceptions who sided with Democrats). By 2024, both McCabe and Vance joined Democrats in voting for the subsidies, but most Republicans still remained opposed. This year, House Republicans didn’t even try to oppose the subsidies. The governor had to step out on his own to trim them.
In their article, Vance, McCabe and Underwood claim that, after the vote to pull the full PFD from the budget, they later voted to try to put it back in, and that the second vote is the one that should count. Here is why that claim doesn’t hold water.
ALASKA WATCHMAN DIRECT TO YOUR INBOX
In the House, it requires 21 votes (or a majority of legislators present) to override the governor and remove an item from his proposed budget. If you are going to fight for a full PFD that is where you make your stand.
In contrast, it only requires 20 votes to support the governor and keep the full PFD in the budget. If you can’t get those 20 votes and Democrats succeed in cutting the full PFD out of the budget, it is exponentially more difficult to then try to get 21 votes to put it back in later on.
Voting to remove the full PFD and then voting to put it back in (when putting it back in requires a higher vote threshold) is nothing more than a sleight of hand. Yes, sadly, these are the gymnastics that legislators go through every year to cut the dividend, spend most of it, and then point fingers at each other at election time. Alaskans deserve far better than this.
As a legislator, you may believe that following the law and keeping legislators’ hands off the PFD isn’t worth fighting for. If so, I deeply respect your right to be wrong. But don’t tell me you fought for the PFD this year if you remained in your seat when the time came to stand and object. Don’t tell me that you voted for it after you voted against it and the second vote is the one I should care about.
The views expressed here are those of the author.
28 Comments
Alaskans are receiving $1,200 of this year’s $3,980 dividend. Alternatively, Alaskans are missing $2,780 from their dividend this year that the State spent on the budget and special interests. No one will hold the legislators accountable that voted to take your $2,780, so it is spend, spend, spend without worrying about being voted out of office.
Why would they worry? We have VOTING MACHINES and RANK CHOICE VOTING that we can’t verify the results of !!!! Fart Smuckers aren’t we!
“……..Alaskans are receiving $1,200 of this year’s $3,980 dividend as checks go out this week. That’s what is left after legislators diverted a whopping 70% of the PFD to other priorities – like spending $12 million to subsidize seafood and tourism………”
While I oppose a subsidy for the seafood and tourism industries (or anybody else, for that matter……..like the PFD bonanza), if you divide $12 million for each of the 740K Alaska residents, you get $16.22 apiece. That wouldn’t go far toward an even larger “full” dividend of $2980 over the current $1000 (plus an additional $200 “energy relief” subsidy).
A subsidy is a subsidy, and $3980 x 740K residents equals nearly $3 billion dollars. Cutting the state spending should start at the largest obscenity.
They say “that losses comes in threes” and you’ll never know till the numbers have happened. Losses regarding the PFD with Governors have come in threes. Parnell, Walker and Dunleavy. Losses you name in this article is the construct of three people from three districts that should look at the losses within their boundaries. But the losses these three in districts and the three governors have generated losses that households have experienced in family food loss, education, medical and housing and the very ability to get to work or to gain necessities of life. We have also seen recently what the three highest level political figures of Alaska have generated in the last few days with Dunleavy, Sullivan and Begich constructing declarations of lies that would effect the balances in monetary value of your topic of the PFD and its whole structure. Every district has representatives in the legislature and we have a new governor to elect plus congressional persons to gain the best and most for Alaska. Take a very good look at the voting record and responses from your representative . Ask your personal questions on this topic and others before voting. Get analytical and don’t bargain in clubs and organizations for less capable persons. Every vote needs to look at breaking this terrible loss for each person in our state. A vote gives the power of the quality of your life and that of your family to a candidate who has a long record in government or out of government. Dig deep before you head to the ballot box and look analytically and with determination when you give your vote. Its time to break the losses and let go of these persons that follow a pattern in the “threes.”
David Eastman? I thought he moved out of Alaska to Florida and did a podcast or radio show or something like that.
Former Representative Eastman has done his homework!..We would like to point out that although the Republicans are definitely sneaking around trying to walk the tightrope that would keep them in office or not. The leadership in this situation are the RINOS and the Democrats who are Obama’s Marxists who need to be voted out. The Democrats are Obama followers through the Marxist curriculum in schools and universities. These Marxists do not believe in telling the truth and are liars with a smile. Also, this includes the RINOs that we have been stuck with due to rank-choice voting. The legislators are criminals for stealing our royalties repeatedly. The behavior and protocols should be to support the governor, not the ” Obama’s activists” to challenge our Governor at every opportunity.. Governor Hammond warned us that if the PFD isn’t codified by the legislature, we will have these arguments every session since the majority of the legislature either does not know how or does not care to balance the budget and cut back their spending. Having acknowledged that part we are also dealing with a wicked, corrupt judicial system that legislates from the bench and whom if they followed the Constitution would not have approved an election with one-man three votes. This is obviously against the US Constitution. Our judges are operating against the law and the legislature is too messed up and dishonest to impeach the judges. Our idea would be to continue to expose the”spinners” in the legislature and keep the heat on them while voting out the “Marxists” elected by the union leaders. ALaskan Watchman, Alaska Story and MustReadAk report on the roll call votes which have been exposing the legislators who voted against the PFD like Dibert and Carrick, two who are running again….
Good comment. Thank you Jon and Ruth Ewig.
And again We see those who are not afraid to call out the mess in Juneau. For how both McCabe and underwood have been talking about me, I would have never assumed they are Christians. Underwood seems to do as she is told. McCabe man he is the face of legislators we do not need.
Thank you David Easrman for clearly untangling the excuse line they are trying to sell regarding their part in PFD theft. It comes down to lack of integrity and compromising their oath to serve us. I have watched a legislator admit on the house floor they were breaking the law regarding the PFD. We/you have seen how dirty a pack of legislators can become as they attack a member standing firm on their principles based in truth.
I have listened to Mr McCabe trying to justify his reasons for for compromising his own beliefs to support the global W.E.F. CO2 / carbon credit scheme legislation last year. He is unfortunately a beta follower, afraid to leave the pack of consensus.
Excellent article.
The lane is wide open for a candidate or a party to run on full PFD, as this issue exposes the rot in Alaskan politics that has severe real world consequences for people. This can be summed up as, “How much have Alaskan politicians stolen from your family this year and what could you have done with your dividend to improve your family?”
The politician or party that fully embraces this issue will set fire to Alaskan politics.
Get article David, I learned a lot… mostly how dishonest, and manipulative our legislators are.
I like David Eastman and respect his boldness. However, his biggest problem is knowing who the enemy is. Eastman may disagree with Vance, Underwood, and McCabe on this issue, but attacking them is foolish. Eastman would be better off challenging the liberal majority caucus that runs the legislature. David, don’t shoot the people in the same foxhole as you. Aim your fire at the enemy.
Greg, are there any legislators that are not liberal or rinos? Mat-Su residents are watching a small group of people (the controllers) getting their people in all of the seats, or trying their hardest to do so. This has decision-making by the “contollers” has not worked for Alaskans as we are experiencing this current political mess . We have to start in the foxhole to get the liberals and rinos out.
Agree Janice
Riiiight…because Conservatives have no enemies who are also Republicans in the legislature?
Attacking them is not foolish. They attacked him for speaking the truth and voting the wishes of his constituents. The uniparty would have none of it and put up a RINO challenger against the ONLY rep willing to call balls and strikes on both sides , simply because they were sick of him making them all look terrible and exposing their voting record and FACTS, exactly as he does in this article.
Amen.
PFFTTT!!
Greg. They aren’t sharing any foxhole with you. McCabe, and Company, are actually sharing it with the leftists and the special interests that are stealing your dividend.
No, it doesn’t work that way. First, you stabilize your own lines, so that you have unity on real principles and will hold the line. Then, you can work to advance. In reality, both happen simultaneously, but the priority is the liars that claim they’re on your side and backstab when they get the chance.
Yes we know you fawn all over Sarah Vance without compromise. Greg if you can’t criticize your favorite politician, you’re in a cult. Vance is an accomplished politician after so many years in office and knows how to blow off her constituents when it’s handy for her. She does NOT listen to us and is phony like the rest. I felt sick casting my vote for her. Brent Johnson is far left so it was a tough choice. Left or phony.
Greg, in an election the opposition is who is running against you, trying to unseat you, and trying to keep you out of office. This year, that is Underwood and those she chose to team up with to write her article. During the 2024 election cycle, we did not have a single Democrat or Independent running for partisan elective office in the Mat-Su. Only Republicans. Every Democrat who voted did so by lining up behind a Republican candidate. When Democrats do run in the Mat-Su they aren’t competitive. The Democrats have cracked the code here and in other parts of the state by supporting candidates who run as Republicans. Louise Stutes is one example. Jubilee Underwood is another. Jubilee became my legislator by running against me and winning with Democrat votes. Most of those who voted for Trump in the last election also voted for me, while 73% of Kamala Harris voters who voted in my race (861) voted for Jubilee Underwood. That was more than enough Democratic votes for her to go on to win by 196 votes. She went on to vote with Democrats to advance most of the 38 bills that Mike Dunleavy had to veto over the last two years (from the statewide ban on styrofoam boxes to the tax on Internet purchases to the anti-life HB195 to hauling churches before the misnamed Alaska Commission for Human Rights). Until you recognize who is trying to silence your voice in Juneau you don’t know who the enemy is and you are as likely to be part of the problem as you are to be part of the solution.
“The enemy of my enemy is my friend”. This quote rings true. Hence the reason why I voted for Mr. Eastman.
Thank you for flipping on the lights and showing us that there are thieving cockroaches in the kitchen.
And Greg Sarbers world view is syncretism! The infiltrated enemy is always more dangerous than the other ones!
He’s Vance’s buddy. He’s a cultist.
Typical Republican’s shenanigans. – I don’t vote for it. I voted for it but it did n’t matter. Ignore what I did and use THIS vote. Ridiculous.
David. Eastman also voted against the full PFD when he was in the legislature. There was a clause about abortion and so he said no! Pot calling the kettles black
I like this Eastman line: “Legislators sometimes misplace their integrity”. It suggests integrity can be a commodity to allocate depending on one’s desired outcome. It’s malleable. I don’t agree though. Draw a circle in the sand around your legs. You are either WITHIN the circle of integrity or OUTSIDE of it.
Act accordingly.
David Eastman has done an outstanding job of attacking conservative legislators so much so that Democrats/Independents may get elected. In his stint in the Alaska House, David Eastman has had an extremely difficult time in choosing his battles and his narrative above is a prime example of this. I would expect much more from a West Point graduate. During his term he voted AGAINST increasing penalties for deaths resulting from drugs. He voted AGAINST selling state beetle kill spruce. He voted AGAINST education tax credits for companies to allow for more education opportunities for kids. He voted AGAINST reinstituting CACFA (the citizen advisory committee on federal areas). He voted AGAINST reinforcing the doctor/patient relationship which excludes insurance companies. He voted AGAINST getting telehealth resources from Outside Alaska thus reducing healthcare costs. Remember, he also voted AGAINST honoring the Black Army Regiment that helped build the ALCAN. Like I said, he talks a good story, but does not choose his battles wisely.