Pull up a chair and grab some popcorn.
Here we go. The last news out of the capital on Friday could mean a showdown between Governor Palin and the Alaska State Legislature. Here are the Cliff Notes to get you up to speed, in case you’re one of those rare people who think there are other things more worthy of your time and attention than Alaska politics:
Senator Kim Elton (D-Juneau) was given a job in the Obama administration and left a vacancy in the State Senate.
The new appointment is supposed to be from Juneau, a Democrat for at least a year, and be qualified to hold office.
Senate Democrats usually give the Governor 3 names to choose from, but this time they only gave one, Juneau Representative Beth Kerttula (D), whom they all thought was the best choice.
Beth Kerttula has been critical of Palin in the past, and the Governor did not want to give her the seat.
The Governor actively solicited other applicants.
She interviewed four applicants, including Kerttula.
She chose Tim Grussendorf, a legislative aid who until the seat became vacant, was a registered Republican, calls himself “a conservative Democrat,” and says he didn’t realize he was a Republican.
The Senate Democrats voted down the Grussendorf appointment. (Alaskans know when things smell fishy)
Palin declares that the procedure allowing only the Democrats to vote on filling the Democratic seat, is “unconstitutional.”
Legal opinion is provided in a press release on the state website from “Attorney General Wayne Anthony Ross” who is actually NOT the attorney general. (He is Palin’s nominee and will be either confirmed, or not on April 10.)
The Legislature in its entirety is sitting in Juneau with their chins on their desks.
It doesn’t matter which side of the aisle you’re on for this one. Allowing the entire Senate to vote on a replacement for a legislator whose district obviously has a particular political leaning (Republican or Democrat) spells bad news all around. In this particular case, the voters of Juneau have spoken for Kim Elton. They like him and he’s been reelected to the seat since 1999. They agree with him, and his philosophy, his leadership style, and how he votes on the issues. So, why would they want a “conservative Democrat” who needed a sudden “extreme makeover” to become Democrat-ified after the seat became available?
A few years ago, Republican Representative Vic Kohring also left office. Granted it was to go to prison, and not to a nice job in Washington D.C., but still. His seat was vacant. Who filled it? Another Republican chosen by the Governor from a list of names, and confirmed by Republicans. Everyone knew that Kohring’s district liked him enough to vote him in. They agreed with his philosophy, his leadership style and how he voted on the issues. If we had found a registered Democrat, and self-described “liberal Republican” and tried to slip him or her in to Kohring’s seat, there would have been outrage, and rightfully so. Presumably our government is interested in representing the will of the constituents, not in a political coup at their expense.
So, what we have here is a case of what might be described as “toddler think”. “I want what I want when I want it and if I don’t get it I’m going to try to get it anyway because it’s what I want right now and I’m not worried about tomorrow because that’s an abstract concept that I can’t wrap my brain around because I’m a toddler!!” Any parent will recognize this. And we put up with it as parents because we know it’s “just a phase” and soon that brain will create all kinds of neural pathways and connections, and the concept of the future, and ramifications tomorrow for actions taken today will kick in eventually. “Consequences.” It’s a word that kids learn to fear, but a concept they hopefully learn to master.
But, when toddler-think comes from the executive branch of state government, we’re in trouble. Because unless the executive branch is made up of actual toddlers (which is against the law for obvious reasons) it means that the basic lesson of actions leading to consequences has not been learned. Fortunately for Alaskans, the Legislative Branch has developed past this stage, and is actually realizing that this decision would spell disaster for both parties. The Democrats might have to pay today, but the Republicans will have to pay tomorrow, especially if they keep going to jail and having to get replaced.
So what did the Legislature do when they got Palin’s letter asking for a public vote of the entire senate (10 Republicans and 9 Democrats) on the appointment of Tim “I didn’t realize I was a Republican” Grussendorf?
Alaska lawmakers have no intention of agreeing to Gov. Sarah Palin’s demand for all senators to vote in public on her appointment of Tim Grussendorf to the state Senate. That’s set up a showdown with no clear resolution, and talk of a potential court battle between the Legislature and the governor.
“The governor could sue us, we could sue the governor. There are all sorts of options,” Senate President Gary Stevens (R-Kodiak) said Friday. “The Democratic Party could sue. We’re not at that point yet; we’re just still trying to figure out what the options are.”
Stevens, who leads a bipartisan majority coalition in the Senate, said it’s up to the Senate Democrats to figure out what happens next. Anchorage Democrat Johnny Ellis, the Senate majority leader, said a full vote of the Senate isn’t in the cards.
<snip>
Republican Senate President Stevens said he doesn’t want to vote on the governor’s appointee to a Democratic seat, out of fear that it would create a precedent that would come back to bite when a Republican seat needs to be filled.
“I would not want the Democrats to help decide who that replacement would be,” Stevens said. “We don’t want to put something into practice that we’re going to be stuck with for years because it could affect me just as badly next time around.”
Exactly.
But, the governor still remains “hopeful” that Tim Grussendorf will somehow be confirmed, even though he’s been rejected. Will she sue the Legislature? Spokeswoman Sharon Leighow says it’s too soon to comment on next steps.
The reason we put up with toddlers and their way of thinking is because they have cute chubby cheeks and they give us unconditional love, sticky kisses, and fingerpaintings. They also give us hope for the future. I have gotten no such thing from my state government, and until I do, that kind of behavior doesn’t fly.
As much as we would like to believe that “toddler think” is an anomaly, a fluke of this particular executive branch, and doesn’t extend beyond its walls, we’d be deluding ourselves if we did. There is little doubt that pressures will be brought to bear on Senators of both parties to acquiesce to the will of the governor. It’s happened before, and we have no reason to believe it won’t happen now.
So, encouragement for your Democratic Senators is always a good idea, but especially when they’ve stood firm on something that benefits the entire body, and thereby, all of us. And if you live in a Republican district, as I do, it might be a good idea to remind your representative too.
<snip - e-mail addresses of senators>
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