Everyone will tell you that the first step towards recovery is admitting you have a problem. Rep. Don Young did that in a speech at AFN today, where he said that he “mangled” some statements about suicide recently as a result of personal issues with the issue: namely, the suicide of his own nephew.

“I will tell you how many times I’ve asked myself, ‘Did I do enough? Did I take a nephew away from an abusive father? Did I love him enough? Did I do enough?’ And apparently I did not,” he said.

Young’s even running an ad, kind of sort of admitting to the problem. Listen to that here:

The AFN crowd is generally a forgiving bunch. And it all might have ended there, if not for this video from KTUU. Whether or not it’s fair or legit, is beside the point, it’s out there. And it’s going to hurt.

Here’s the latest ad from the pro-Begich PAC, Put Alaska First, going after Senate candidate Dan Sullivan. The ad has the feel of a closer. (Though trying to tie Sullivan into the National Guard scandal will be tempting, but risky, because it appears there’s no there there.)  In any case, it’s kind of a compilation of the ads that have run before it, all with the same theme: Sullivan’s not one of us, and he’s willing to sell Alaska out to corporate masters. Although it’s nearly completely funded by Senate Majority PAC,  Jim Lottsfeldt, from Anchorage, runs Put Alaska First, and understands what sets Alaskans off: land and fishing rights, to name a few.

Harstad Strategic Research, which is polling for the Senate Majority PAC and Put Alaska First, released yet another poll, showing the race between Sen. Mark Begich and GOP challenger Dan Sullivan in a dead heat: 44 to 44 percent, with 4 percent going to Libertarian Mark Fish and 7 percent undecided. The poll surveyed 700 likely voters October 18–22.

I don’t have the poll’s cross tabs, but the memo accompanying the poll says that Begich is doing better among Democrats than Sullivan is among Republicans: 94 to 82 percent, respectively. It also shows Begich 9 points up with women, and with a wide lead among independents: 47 percent to 29 percent. It has Sullivan up with men by 11 percent.  According to the pollsters, “This race in the Frontier state could not be closer, and the outcome will probably depend upon which side has the better field operation.”

Anchorage based pollster Marc Hellenthal released a poll of 403 like Alaska voters interviewed October 15- 21. The poll asked about the Senate race, the House race, and the governor’s race. It was paid for by lobbyist Sam Kito. The polls show Gov. Sean Parnell with a slim lead over unaffiliated and Alaska Democratic Party-endorsed candidate Bill Walker. Rep. Don Young has an 18 point lead over Democratic challenger Forrest Dunbar. What’s most surprising, however, is that it shows GOP Senate candidate Dan Sullivan down 10 points against Democrat Sen. Mark Begich. That number’s greatly at odds with other polls released. However, Begich has been fighting hard for the seat in the last weeks, particularly in rural Alaska.  That said, the sample size is small and the time in the field is long. Here are screen-grabs of charts from Hellenthal’s poll. The “general percent,” category is Hellenthal’s prediction if the undecideds were divvied up between the candidates.

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• Those who purchased tickets for yesterday’s NRC debate between U.S. Senator Mark Begich and his challenger Dan Sullivan, saw some sparks flying over Begich’s record regarding resource development, particularly on his refusal to answer how he voted on SB 21’s repeal. But much of the debate was centered around U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Don’t take my word for it; Nathaniel Herz and Austin Baird also made the same connection.

• Note to self, if you own a bar that is directly across the street from where a huge annual convention takes place, maybe it’s best not have a Mondo sign advertising beer specials using said convention’s logo, as was the case with McGinley’s, the bar that Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan owns a slice of. AFN, who noted the unpleasant history with the product being sold, complained. McGinley’s took it down. APRN’s Alexandra Gutierrez has the story.

• KTVA has some explaining to do. First, they “accidentally” played U.S. Senator Mark Begich’s original Hortonesque Jerry Active ad earlier than planned over Labor Day weekend, and then yesterday the highly dissed Active commercial “accidently” was played again 12 days before the election. Maybe in a post-Citizens United election year, when they’re raking it in by the barrel-full, they could make sure to try to get these things right.

• Didn’t know anything about First Lady Sandy Parnell? Neither did I. Read about her here.

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Did you know that Sandy Parnell had a job until her husband was appointed governor? Did you know that she has two daughters, one of whom is expecting her first child in 3 weeks? Did you know that she shops at Banana Republic, loves living in Juneau—though it can be a little lonely—that she’s kind, humble, authentically religious, and that she wells up when she talks about her experiences visiting domestic violence shelters?

I, for one, knew none of this, and don’t think I’m alone. That might be because like the rest of the media, I hadn’t thought to ask. After the Palins left office in 2009, the whole state, including the press corps, was burned out on politics intermingled with the personal. We didn’t want a governor’s office distorted by big personalities. We wanted people who put their heads down and got to work. And the new governor complied. You can agree or disagree with the policies that Gov. Sean Parnell has enacted, but you can’t argue that he’s been ineffective in implementing them. He oversaw a mammoth oil tax overhaul. He quietly got us out of the AGIA contract, and a natural gas pipeline is closer than it’s ever been.

And for the first time since I’ve lived in Alaska, there’s the beginnings of a frank and open dialogue about the scourge of sexual abuse in this state. (If Parnell does lose, it will be the height of cruel irony that he did so as a result of a sexual abuse scandal.)

It may be that the governor’s accomplishments will be deemed insufficient. Or it may be that we miss those days of high drama and headlines. At any rate, whatever the verdict, it can’t be said that the governor, a serious man, didn’t give it his best. And the same is true of his wife.

Sandy Parnell, Continue reading →

• Both GOP candidate Dan Sullivan and Gov. Sean Parnell have said, including in a statement in response to a question by a KTVA reporter, that Sullivan knew nothing about the National Guard scandal when he was Alaska’s AG. However, that fact didn’t stop KTVA reporter Kate McPherson from reporting that Sullivan won’t answer questions about it. It also kept her from including a statement from Sullivan in her original story. The Daily Kos, to name just one, salivated. “The scandal that threatens Alaska Republicans,” they wrote. For sure.

• In a recent interview Sen. Mark Begich has made a few remarks that have caused a mini uproar. In an interview with both the Alaska Dispatch and the Washington Examiner, Begich said what many other Democratic candidates have been too scared to do, admitted that he had voted for Obama. That’s not the only eyebrow raising remark said on record, oh no. “Obama is not relevant” is beginning to trend amongst Outside media groups. USA Today, the HuffingtonPost, The Week, Fox News, BritBart and many more.

• Is it a coincidence that the day that Sarah Palin endorses the Unity Ticket over her old LG, that Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball changed from Toss-up to Lean I? That endorsement also caught the attention of the National Journal, so there’s that.

• Don Young is making another media cycle stemming from his apology about what he said to a group of school children two days ago. According to the Dispatch, Young is now standing behind his comments to the kids and has added government to his blame game.

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Begich on Obama vote: “It’s a ridiculous question. Did I vote for him? Yes.” #AKsen

— Nat Herz (@Nat_Herz) October 23, 2014

RT @AlaskanMix: Alaska National Guard scandal not worth talking about for Sullivan | KTVA Anchorage CBS 11 http://t.co/yx1esiLZRY #aksen — Alaska Democrats (@AlaskaDemocrats) October 22, 2014

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Bill Walker and Byron Mallott are racking up the endorsements. In the last few days, they’ve been endorsed by the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, and the Alaska Native Brotherhood and Alaska Native Sisterhood Grand Camp. And last night, I’m told, Walker and his wife Donna appeared at a function with Sarah and Todd Palin, who gave them their endorsement. I’ve emailed and called the Walker campaign to confirm, but haven’t heard back. Until I do, here’s the picture that’s floating around the tubes, commemorating the moment. (UPDATE: Just checked my email. Walker’s spokeswoman said she’s working on a release. So I’m taking the question mark down from the headline.)

UPDATE II: Here’s the press release confirming the endorsement: Continue reading →

Here’s the recent ad from the Independent Expenditure group, Alaskans for Walker-Mallott. As of October 14, the group reported raising $350,000. Barney Gottstein and lawyer Robin Brena had each given $50,000, and the Alaska State Employees Association has given the group $10,000. The Alaska AFL-CIO contributed the remaining amount.

Gov. Sean Parnell supporters  will call foul over the heavy union involvement. But in the end, it’s not going to matter much. The ad features Melissa Jones, who was sexually assaulted while serving in the National Guard. It’s brutal for the governor.

UPDATE: The Alaska Dispatch had previously published a story about Melissa Jones, who is featured in the ad. It appears that her assault took place in 2007, before Parnell’s tenure as governor. Jones didn’t know if it was a fellow National Guard member who assaulted her, or someone else. She didn’t go to the police, but told a chaplain about it, who told others. All of this happened during Sarah Palin’s time in office. Still, the message is clear and it’s a powerful ad.

• Rep. Don Young has once again opened his mouth and something less than optimal has come out, this time in front of a captive group of school kids. The media is abuzz. The Dispatch first reported it, and others followed, including The Hill, Politico, MSNBC, the New York Daily News, Huffington Post, the Washington Post, to name a few.

• What does Young’s recent gaffe mean for Democratic challenger Forrest Dunbar? Could he have been a contender? Read my take on that here.

• Sen. Mark Begich is now not the only one to receive direct contributions from the Koch brothers. At long last, candidate Dan Sullivan got him some of that.

• The Fairbanks News-Miner has a nifty online candidates Q&A site that you have to search the site to find. But once you do, it’s worth it, if nothing else to read how Bill Walker answers the abortion question and what Alaska Constitution Party candidate J.R. Myers and Libertarian candidate ‘Care’ Clift think of subsidies for refineries.

• The Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District has joined with the Anchorage School District in suspending military recruiters access to students while on school property. Both school districts have chosen this step as a temporary measure to protect students from further abuse like the alleged cases mentioned in recently leaked Alaska Army National Guard files, per the Dispatch. The Fairbanks News Miner reports that the Fairbanks School District has “no plans to ban recruiters” on their school grounds.

• Who will get AFN’s endorsement? APRN’s Jenny Canfield is on the case.

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According to the Alaska Dispatch, Rep. Don Young “acted in a disrespectful and sometimes offensive manner to some students, used profanity and started talking about bull sex when confronted with a question about same-sex marriage,” during a visit to Wasilla High School on Tuesday. Worse yet, he made insensitive statements about suicide, days after a student who went to the school committed suicide.

Young’s spokesperson subsequently apologized, and said that Young should have taken a “much more sensitive approach” while speaking to the 120 or so students.

It was just that latest in a string of potentially embarrassing incidents involving Young, including, but not limited to, threatening to kill his challenger like he did “the other guy,” making goofy faces on the House floor while another House member was talking about a veteran who was killed in action, twisting the arm of a House aide, and barging through a House security barricade. All this just this year alone.

Democratic candidate Forrest Dunbar, as he should have, pounced. Continue reading →