The Great Land
One of the most appealing things about Alaska, at least for Mrs. Animal and me, is the big wide streak of “leave us the hell alone” present among the denizens of the region. In fact, Alaska is one of the fifty states that could, arguably, make a pretty good show of going it alone, although we’d be largely dependent on an extraction economy.
When we moved up here and were going through the voter registration process, I noted the presence of an “Alaska Independence Party.” I was intrigued, so I investigated it – I was, of course, presuming that their primary goal would be securing Alaska’s independence from the United States. Well, that’s not quite what they’re after. In fact, it’s not really clear what they are after.
History
Here’s the history of the party from their web site – as you’ll see, they haven’t been around all that long, and haven’t achieved much of a record of electoral successes – in fact, they’ve never elected anyone to any office, as far as I can find out. Although they did surprisingly well in 1990, for some reason.
According to the Alaska Divisions of Elections they only have the history as below … We have been in existence since the 70s and have run candidates before the state declared the AIP a “political party.”
1984 – Recognized Political Party per emergency regulation 6 AAC 25.150, effective 6/14/84.
1986 – Vogler / Rowe (Governor / Lt. Governor candidates) received 5.5% of votes cast for Governor, retaining Recognized Political Party status.
1990 – Hickel / Coghill (Governor / Lt. Governor candidates) received 38.8% of votes cast for Governor, retaining Recognized Political Party status.
1994 – Coghill / Ward (Governor / Lt. Governor candidates) received 13.0% of votes cast for Governor, retaining Recognized Political Party status.
1998 – Sullivan (Governor candidate with no Lt. Governor running mate) received only 1.92% of the votes for Governor, but there is a sufficient number of voters registered under the party name to retain Recognized Political Party status.
2002 – Wright / Denardo received less then (sic) 1% but there is a sufficient number of voters registered under the party name to retain Recognized Political Party status.
2006 – Wright / Welton received less then (sic) 1% but there is a sufficient number of voters registered under the party name to retain Recognized Political Party status.
So, in recent years, the party has held on to the level of voters registered to retain Recognized Political Party status by the skin of their teeth. Probably not the best recommendation for the beast to which top hitch your wagon. It’s worth noting, though, that the party did elect one Governor – Wally Hickel, who served from 1990 to 1994. Since then, their performance has been underwhelming.
As of the most recent count, the Alaska Independence Party has about 19,000 members, making them the third-largest party in the state. That is, however, out of 383,000 registered voters, giving them not quite five percent of the electorate. That’s a pretty distant third.
But wait – what is it that the Alaska Independence Party wants to do?
The Platform
For the best summary of what these folks actually want, you can go read their proposed Alaska Constitution here (pdf). Following are some key excerpts, with my comments.
Article I: THE NATURAL LAW
The sole purpose of a republican form of government is to protect the Life, Liberty and Property of the people. This Constitution is dedicated to the principles espoused in the Declaration of Independence of these United States of America. The Natural Law, from whom God is the Author, is the basis of all just law, and may never be violated.
Look at the bolded words above – my emphasis. Now this, on the face of it, looks to me like a problem. Sure, I’m a big fan of natural law, don’t get me wrong; our rights derive from our status as moral agents, and are ours by virtue of our humanity. But naming (which one?) God as the author – what if you don’t accept the existence of any God? Are you then ineligible for public office, in their eyes? The rest of the Constitution doesn’t say that, but this seems to be to leave it open, although the U.S. Constitution specifically prohibits any religious test for public office. Maybe it’s me being persnickety, but I just don’t see what they are gaining by adding those six words. The United States, while culturally is broadly Judeo-Christian, has a secular government, and it should remain that way.
Further on, Article I states:
This Constitution recognizes the hierarchy of law, in that within the family of laws there are those that possess authority over others, in such order:
- Natural Law
- Constitutional Law
- Statutory Law
- Common Law
- Case Law
OK, then. I get it. And I even agree, to a point. But if we’re making that statement, that Natural Law precedes and has authority over all other laws, then where are we codifying the individual rights protected by that law? How can Natural Law supersede any other laws when we don’t know what that Natural Law states? Because I suspect that there will be a wide variety of opinions on that topic.
The proposed Constitution goes on to advocate a raft of other changes to the existing state government, including re-organizing Alaska’s Boroughs into twenty Counties, each with an elected sheriff – not sure how popular that idea is going to be, as we seem to be doing very well without them at the moment. The proposed Constitution also slams the Federal Government in a few specific areas:
The State of Alaska declares that ownership of property by the United States, in violation of Article I, Section 8, clause 17, of the Constitution of the United States, is unlawful.
Good luck with that.
The State of Alaska declares that the alleged Amendment 14, the alleged Amendment 16 and the alleged Amendment 17 of the Constitution of the United States, were fraudulently ratified, according to the guidelines of Article V of the Constitution of the United States, and are therefore null and void.
Not sure what the deal is with the 14th Amendment, except perhaps doing away with “anchor-baby” citizenship – that goal could probably be done with statute, but it would have to be done at the Federal Level. I’d dearly love to see the 1th and 17th Amendments go away, but states can’t just claim that those amendments were fraudulently ratified and refuse to acknowledge them. No court in the country will agree with that, and the Supreme Court sure as well won’t. The only way those two amendments will be overturned is with another amendment.
Anyway. Read the whole thing. You’ll certainly find a few other problems.
But wait – this party is called the Alaska Independence Party. That’s what caught my attention in the first place. What do they have to say about Alaskan Independence?
But who knows? Alaska is… different.
Alaskan Independence
Well, here are their goals:
The Alaskan Independence Party’s goal is the vote we were entitled to in 1958, one choice from among the following four alternatives:
- Remain a Territory.
- Become a separate and Independent Nation.
- Accept Commonwealth status.
- Become a State.
The call for this vote is in furtherance of the dream of the Alaskan Independence Party’s founding father, Joe Vogler, which was for Alaskans to achieve independence under a minimal government, fully responsive to the people, promoting a peaceful and lawful means of resolving differences.
I really like this part: … under a minimal government, fully responsive to the people, promoting a peaceful and lawful means of resolving differences.
But the vote? We just aren’t going to have that. It’s not on the list of options available to us. Alaska is a state. We have one Representative in the House and two Senators. We have a Governor. We are the 49th State. In this case there are no do-overs.
The folks running the Alaska Independence Party seem to be basing all their hopes for the Great Land on somehow obtaining a mulligan on statehood.
In Conclusion
What the folks behind the Alaska Independence Party don’t seem to get is this: Politics is the art of the possible. Most of the agenda laid out in their goals and the proposed constitution just ain’t gonna happen. They’re just not realistic. In some cases that’s a shame, in others, well, it’s probably just as well. While that’s not uncommon among would-be third parties (hello, Libertarian Party) it’s one of the primary reasons they retain “other party” status. And, for the time being, the Alaska Independence Party will probably remain on the fringe.
They may take our lives, but they will never take…OUR FIRSTS
What came first – the man or the First?
the 1th
Unintentional shout-out to Bro’?
The Firth of Forth isn’t in Alaska.
Firth of Fifth?
Firf ‘o fif
Pretty sure the Firth of Fifth is also in Scotland somewhere, probably near the highlands’ distillation factories.
I think it is near Fife.
Zwak – it does border Fife! Too bad it’s not in Fife, because The Firth of Forth in Fife would be awesome.
Note: Anyone reading this passage and not understanding, should drink Scotch Whiskey immediately. Anyone reading this passage and understanding it, should drink more.
This message brought to you by the Scottish Liquor Advisory Committee.
“Anyone reading this passage and understanding it, should drink more.”
I reluctantly submit to your orders.
Obligatory
Scottish Liquor Advisory Committee
Bob approves this message! More SLAC!
Note: Anyone reading this passage and not understanding, should drink Scotch Whiskey immediately
If it’s Scotch, it’s whisky.
[/pedantic bastardry]
Hey! maybe it’ll become a tourist trap, too!
In this case there are no do-overs.
This is a concept that would be foreign to the founders.
True – but a political reality nonetheless.
Wouldn’t you say the Constitution is a do-over for the Articles? That certainly seemed to be the Founders view.
What I mean is that they were in favor of do overs, secession being one of them.
Jefferson in particular.
The Natural Law, from whom God is the Author
I think I’m more appalled at the grammar than the content.
inorite
a mulligan on statehood
You might get 36 more requests for that.
A fake holiday for a fake VP.
Good morning.
Today our half-Jamaican, half-Indian Vice President has elected to acknowledge a fake holiday invented by a communist fed, violent pervert, and convicted criminal Ronald McKinley Everett, also known by his adopted LARP moniker Maulana Ndabezitha Karenga.
“When I was growing up, Kwanzaa was a special time in our home.”
I was born a poor, black child…
Someone needs more range time.
Everyone needs more range time.
🙂
Mojeaux on December 27, 2022 at 11:22 am
{Snip}
“Don’t know why I felt the need to say that, but I did.”
I completely agree. We need more differing takes… Which I guess I’m not exactly contributing to here. 😛
Equity demands quotas. Who’s in charge of accounts?
I don’t think anyone is out there demanding equity, at least not here.
“Who’s in charge of accounts?”
Webdom? It’s a gynocracy.
That’s one box checked. How many remain?
I think we’ve got some gays already, so that’s covered.
I’ll add my support for Mojeaux’s comment (and JI’s for that matter).
Has Tulip left for good?
I don’t know.
I’d think so – if she were lurking and saw how often we drop her name you would think she’d check in.
Yes.
Well that’s disappointing.
I haven’t seen Salted Earth around for quite a while either. I think she may have felt similar to Tulip but I haven’t asked her.
Likewise.
I was out running errands all morning and did not get to this morning’s links.
Do I need to go back and read them?
Synopsis: arguments between JI & several others re: Trump, et al.
Mojeaux’s comment is at 11:22 (near the bottom of the thread).
I just like having varying opinions here, even if they happen to be wrong, firsters, or even female.
Against my
bettercontrarian judgement, I’m going to 100% agree with you completely agreeing with Mojeaux.I agree with the need for different takes, but they need to be backed up with more than snark.
It isn’t that snark in and of it self is bad, but if you feel the need to challenge group think, or if you simply need to buck a majority opinion, you need to be thoughtful in your presentation, otherwise you lose people who might of be open to being swayed. I am pretty good at skipping past moronic comments and skimming for pearls of wisdom, but there are some people here who simply came across as too snide, and in turn they get classified as moronic in toto. Juris is not one of the morons, but, in my opinion at least, he does fall back on a simplistic set of answers when challenged.
Alsotoo, I miss Tulip. She was mythical, and awesome. But, hope springs eternal and maybe she will be back.
Dammit… moronic snark is all I have! Sniff.
It’s a problem with democracy/majority rule. Alaska has the expanse that one can find a place far enough a way from Juneau that there is little government involvement, other than the free stuff.
Even in a remote village(Galena) there is still a game warden type that registers the subsistence bull moose after taking. In MN I suspect there are folks taking does in Bucks Only areas, in and out of hunting season.
Sounds like anarchy.
I know there are in Tennessee. Well, they only take the backstraps…
The use of God doesn’t bother me much, (shocker) though I agree that speaking to natural law, is more useful as a rhetorical device rather than a legal maneuver as everyone will disagree, and the agreed upon points are what will make up the rights outlined in constitutions and law.
“That is, however, out of 383,000 registered voters, giving them not quite five percent of the electorate. That’s a pretty distant third.”
Is not having a party affiliation an option? Just wondering what the actual party numbers are like.
https://www.elections.alaska.gov/statistics/2021/DEC/VOTERS%20BY%20PARTY%20AND%20PRECINCT.htm#STATEWIDE
They have “nonpartisan” and “undeclared” categories.
Thanks for doing my googling.
I think their numbers are pretty good, considering that Democrats only have 4x more registrants.
FREEDOMREFORM PARTY!
I guess we found him. 😛
I wonder if you try to join what would happen, fastest growing political party in Alaska?
Our cultural revolution continues apace.
“During the holiday break, we will begin a multi-phased process, in accordance with Department of Defense directives, to remove, rename or modify assets and real property at the United States Military Academy and West Point installation that commemorate or memorialize the Confederacy or those who voluntarily served with the Confederacy,” Superintendent Lieutenant General Steve Gilland said in a message on Monday. “We will conduct these actions with dignity and respect.”
The first to go will be Robert E. Lee, who also served as superintendent of the military college before joining the Confederate army to fight the North during the Civil War.
A portrait of the general clad in his Confederate uniform will be removed from the library and put in storage at the West Point Museum. A stone bust of the southern general will be taken out of Reconciliation Plaza, and his quote about honor will be scrubbed from Honor Plaza by spring 2023.
How ironic.
The time for reconciliation has passed. The government no longer needs support of Southerners for power. It’s time they learned their place.
“All we ask is to be left alone”
By god, they’re libertarians
I thought that after reading the intro:
“Well, that’s not quite what they’re after. In fact, it’s not really clear what they are after.”
That’s… probably true. If we’re talking about the Democrats.
Military enlistment numbers are telling a different story.
And it’s not about Lee or the Confederacy at all. Every single bit of this (statues, base names) is kulturkrieg, aimed at the deplorables.
To believe otherwise is rank idiocy. It’s completely of a piece with every other thing we see from the Cathedral – everything from mail-in-voting to vax lies to the FBI and Twitter, to 24-7 transsexuals,, to open borders. They are actively attempting to destroy everything, and this is part of it. Buying their lies and pretending this is anything but that is foolish.
And the other thing to realize is that (a piece of above) it’s a massive de-reconciliation. See the name of the “plaza” quoted. Coming out of the war, there was a massive national reconciliation effort to make one nation again out of two. The very men who’d fought it did that on purpose with each other. The national battlefields and base/ship naming are parts of it. Undoing that – de-reconciling – is about destroying the military, un-personing the deplorables, and strengthening their rule.
It’s the perfect attack, only racists would be against it.
The very men who’d fought it did that on purpose with each other.
There’s the problem highlighted for you. Damn old white patriarchy again!
On top of all that, it’s about the current power rubbing everyone else’s face in it. Everything they’re doing now is out of spite.
Reconciliation Plaza suggests people made peace with slavers. That’s white supremacy. CANCEL WEST POINT!
Ponder the irony of the modern progressive embracing the soul of the Radical Republicans.
Is it irony?
Republicans were the proto progressives I’m that era, right?
Fair – they were not for conserving the institution of slavery. But I don’t think I’d quite slander them as Progressive in any other regard. The Radical Republicans wanted full citizenship and suffrage for former slaves (hmm, genuinely inclusive), others – dare I say white supremacists – want the expatriation of the former slaves to Liberia. But they were also major supporters of patronage and opposed to civil service reform.
Maybe if we just replaced all the statues with the GIF of the Arby’s girls playing volleyball….
Since they’re scrubbing all that history away, I wonder what they will rename the plaza to.
Diversity celebration corner?
Comanche Commons
BradleyChelsea Manning Plaza.Maulana Karenga Place
The Natural Law, from whom God is the Author, is the basis of all just law, and may never be violated.
From what you’ve posted, I can’t say I’m particularly bothered, per se. I mean, if there was a theocracy whose theology emphasized individual rights, limited government and political decentralization, would that necessarily be a problem? And what you have there doesn’t even exactly seem to reach the level of theocracy. Even the Declaration of Independence references “our Creator” and “nature’s God”. The thinking probably needs a little more development than it sounds like they’ve given it. But, it’s plausibly within the galaxy of what I might consider reasonable.
And the other thing to realize is that (a piece of above) it’s a massive de-reconciliation.
Yeah, that whole “gracious in victory” thing went out the window quite some time ago.
Yeah, the current thing is more “bayonet the wounded”.
This lizard-person cunte seems to want a civil war.
“The act also raises the threshold for members of Congress to object to electoral votes and makes it harder for state legislatures or governors to ignore the popular vote when certifying Electoral College votes.” NBC reported. …
“I think that the Electoral College now, which has given us five popular vote losers as president…twice in this century alone, has become a danger not just to democracy, but to the American people,” Raskin said. …
“We should elect the president the way we elect governors, senators, mayors, representatives, everybody else… whoever gets the most votes wins,” Raskin said.
Whoever gets the most votes does win. The EC ensures that the states elect the president of the states.
‘What the folks behind the Alaska Independence Party don’t seem to get is this: Politics is the art of the possible.’
*Libertarians the world over break into convulsions*
Libertarian political success is well explained by the libertarian disdain for real politicking.
“We should elect the president the way we elect governors, senators, mayors, representatives, everybody else… whoever gets the most votes wins,” Raskin said.
And the winner should then have absolute dictatorial power in order to completely ignore the needs and wishes of 49.99% of his subjects and impose his will and crush the losers into the mire.
Because that’s what DEMOCRACY! means.
Raskin wouldn’t disagree with you at all.
All the more reason for him to have an unfortunate woodchipper accident.
whoever gets the most votes wins
And that’s the way it works now – whoever gets the most electoral votes wins.
Now, if you want to say the electors, who are elected representatives, aren’t legitimate, then you also need to explain why Representatives and Senators, who are also elected representatives, are legitimate.
It’s a little dusty in here.
Good people doing good deeds are out there and should be recognized.
No mention or race, religion, or gender; just two people helping out another.
There are good people in the world.
I’m sure He has.
I was highly amused that when I brought up the main page, this article had 69 comments.
Time to read.
So, in recent years, the party has held on to the level of voters registered to retain Recognized Political Party status by the skin of their teeth. Probably not the best recommendation for the beast to which top hitch your wagon. It’s worth noting, though, that the party did elect one Governor – Wally Hickel, who served from 1990 to 1994. Since then, their performance has been underwhelming.
Better than the LPNH.
Or any LP affiliate for that matter.
I’d like to vote Libertarian to help signal to others that they aren’t alone, but it’s not worth the price of getting a left wing activist elected by not voting for their GOP opponent.
(Disappointed in self…)
The only way the duopoly is ever broken is when we have a binding None of the Above option.
I’d dearly love to see the 1th and 17th Amendments go away, but states can’t just claim that those amendments were fraudulently ratified and refuse to acknowledge them. No court in the country will agree with that, and the Supreme Court sure as well won’t.
If I remember correctly, the 16th being fraudulently ratified has already been adjudicated in Federal court several times. All such claims were rejected.
ILLEGITIMATE COURTZZZ!! CROOKED JUDGES!!!! hurr durr hurrrrrr
If the shoe fits . . . .
A question for Animal, if he’s still around.
Have you read Michener’s “Alaska“? If so, what did you think of it?
FTR I’m a big fan of his writing. Right now I’m about 1/3 of the way into his “The Source”.
Amazingly enough I haven’t read Alaska. I’m a big fan of his Hawaii and somewhat less fond of Centennial, although I enjoyed most of it. A lot of his later work, it seemed like he was letting his graduate students do a lot of the writing.
Still, our oldest is reading Alaska right now and is enthusiastically recommending it, so it’s on my list.
For me his books are interesting until he gets to the modern era. Centennial is a good example of that.
Thanks for the reply.
I went on a Michener binge about 30 years ago. Read “Poland” before I went there and it helped with some cultural understanding. Also enjoyed “Space” but thought “Caravans” was only meh. Seems like I might have read one or two others but I can’t recall titles now.
Been a Michener fan for at least twice that long. I read Hawaii as a teenager and was hooked. I recall enjoying Caravans when I first read it, I’ll have to pick it up again and see if it still holds up.
And in other Alaska news:
Doorbell camera captures astonishing moment moose sheds both antlers
That’s cool.
I would have guessed the moose would rub the antlers on a tree, not just shake ‘em off.
Cool.