Posts

Alaska’s Special Election Is a Template for How the Left Wants to Rig the Vote; Why Didn’t Gov. Dunleavy and his Commissioner Kelly Tshibaka Work for Vote Integrity?

/0 Comments/in , , /by

Editor’s Note: As many Restoring Liberty readers already know, Alaska’s 2010 U.S. Senate race was plagued by unprecedented fraud. Governor Dunleavy falsely promised to clean up Alaska’s elections. One of his commissioners, Kelly Tshibaka, actually met with Joe Miller for the purported purpose of addressing vote integrity issues but, like Governor Dunleavy, she refused to seriously engage on this critical issue. Restoring Liberty believes this inaction raises very troubling questions about both Dunleavy and Tshibaka.

Next month, Alaskans will vote in a special primary election for the state’s single congressional seat, left vacant by the death of Republican Rep. Don Young in March. Young, the longest-serving Republican in the history of the U.S. House, was Alaska’s sole congressman for 49 years, so the election to replace him is in some ways an historic event for the state.

But it’s also historic in another way: it will be Alaska’s first ever statewide mail-in primary election. That is, there will be no in-person voting at all. Every single voter on the state’s bloated and error-riddled voter rolls was automatically mailed a blank ballot.

What’s more, there will be no verification requirements for these mail-in ballots. Voters will simply need to fill out their ballot and have a witness observe them sign the envelope. The state’s Division of Election has explicitly said it will not verify the authenticity of the signatures on the ballots. . .

By any measure, Alaska’s special election is a mess. But why should the rest of the country care? Because Alaska’s insane statewide mail-in election is a template for how the left wants to run elections nationwide. Democrats and left-wing activists would love nothing more than to hold elections entirely by mail with as few safeguards in place to prevent ballot fraud.

Indeed, Alaska presents a unique and in some ways ideal test case for the left. For one thing, Alaska’s voter rolls are a mess. As of 2020, voter registration was 118 percent of the estimated vote age population, meaning there were more registered voters than actual people who could vote (this problem is getting worse in Alaska; in 2018 it was only 103 percent). Making matters worse is a 2016 Alaska law that automatically registers residents to vote when they submit an application for the state’s permanent fund dividend. (Read more from “Alaska’s Special Election Is a Template for How the Left Wants to Rig the Vote” HERE)

Delete Facebook, Delete Twitter, Follow Restoring Liberty and Joe Miller at gab HERE.

Trump Endorses Sarah Palin for Congress

/0 Comments/in , /by

Former President Donald Trump enthusiastically endorsed former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin in her run to fill Rep. Don Young’s (R-AK) congressional seat.

Hailing the former Alaska governor as a “wonderful patriot,” Donald Trump praised Palin for her persistence in the face of the Democrats’ attacks on her.

“Wonderful patriot Sarah Palin of Alaska just announced that she is running for Congress, and that means there will be a true America First fighter on the ballot to replace the late and legendary Congressman Don Young,” said Trump.

Sarah Palin notably endorsed Trump very early in the 2016 primaries. “We are ready for a change. We are ready and our troops deserve the best, a new Commander-in-Chief whose track record of success has proven he is the master at ‘The Art of the Deal,’” she said.

In his endorsement, Trump recalled how Palin elevated the 2008 McCain campaign as the media and establishment Republicans sabotaged her. (Read more from “Trump Endorses Sarah Palin for Congress” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

Delete Facebook, Delete Twitter, Follow Restoring Liberty and Joe Miller at gab HERE.

‘That Face!’ Rep. Don Young Allegedly Strong-Arms House Staffer

/6 Comments/in , /by

Read more from this story HERE.

Top Republican Praises Alaska’s Senator Mark Begich

/12 Comments/in , /by

Photo credit: aflcio

Photo credit: aflcio

Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska) is drawing praise from across the aisle from one of Alaska’s top Republicans.

Rep. Don Young (R), the state’s lone congressman, praised the work Begich has done as senator.

“Mark’s done a great job of, very frankly, representing people. He’s not always on my page, that’s for sure, but he’s done a good job,” Young told The Hill on Wednesday.

Read more from this story HERE.

Alaska’s Young May Have Met His Match In Backlash Over Slur, Ethics Probe

/0 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: Marc Lester

Rep. Don Young is a survivor. But he may have met his match. He’s beaten back six years worth of federal investigations, 40 years of unsuccessful Republican challengers, and one of the most expensive and highly criticized earmarks.

But now the 21-term Alaska Republican is facing a freshly launched Ethics investigation and perhaps his biggest hurdle of all: his own mouth.

On Friday, Young came under heavy fire from Republicans and Democrats for using a racial slur to refer to hired laborers who were once employed at his father’s ranch. Young used the term “wetbacks” to describe the laborers.

GOP leaders immediately distanced themselves from the veteran lawmaker, who has not always had a pleasant relationship with his own party, saying that he should apologize without delay.

Young did apologize, twice. But the political heat came less than 10 days after the House Ethics Committee announced it was investigating Young on charges that he may have violated the chamber’s rules.

Read more from this story HERE.

Boehner Blasts Alaska’s Don Young For ‘Wetbacks’ Comment

/0 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: Charles Dharapak

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, on Friday condemned the use of the term “wetbacks” by Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, one of the party’s most senior members of Congress.

Young’s statement, his quick apology, and Boehner’s statement that the remark was “beneath the dignity of the office he holds,” come at a particularly sensitive time for the Republican Party in its relationship with Hispanic voters.

Latinos voted overwhelmingly for President Obama in November, and the GOP is attempting to navigate calls for changes in immigration law, with more party leaders now backing a so-called path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, which is opposed by many conservatives.

Young used the term “wetbacks” in describing Hispanic migrant workers who used to pick tomatoes on his father’s family ranch. He made the comments in an interview released Thursday with an Alaska radio station.

“My father had a ranch. We used to hire 50 or 60 wetbacks and — to pick tomatoes,” Young said. “You know, it takes two people to pick the same tomatoes now. It’s all done by machine.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Ethics Committee Investigating Rep. Don Young Of Alaska … Again

/0 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: Marc Lester

The House of Representatives Ethics Committee is investigating Alaska Republican Rep. Don Young over allegations of wrongly taking gifts, using campaign funds for personal purposes and lying to federal officials.

The ethics committee said Tuesday that it was creating an investigative subcommittee to determine whether Young broke the law or House rules. The decision to move forward with an investigation follows an initial probe by the ethics panel in which it reviewed evidence against Young.

Young declined a request for an interview to discuss the allegations. “We have no comment at this time,” Young spokesman Michael Anderson said, adding that Young has cooperated with investigators and will continue to do so.

The allegations are that Young “or persons acting on his behalf improperly obtained, received or accepted gifts, improperly used official resources or campaign funds for personal purposes, failed to report certain gifts on his annual financial disclosure statements and made false statements to federal officials.”

Corruption investigations have dogged Young for years. At one point, the Justice Department drew up a draft indictment that included the synopsis that “Donald Young, in his capacity as congressman of Alaska, accepted and expected things of value (trips, meals, golf, etc.) from lobbyists, and in exchange he would provide them with official actions (meetings, letters, legislation).” The indictment wasn’t used, and Young has not been charged.

Read more from this story HERE.

Alaska’s GOP Rep. Young endorses extreme-liberal Democrat for US Senate (+video)

/8 Comments/in , /by

Today, Alaska’s long-time lone U.S. Representative Don Young endorsed pro-gay marriage, pro-abortion, and pro-Obamacare Democrat Mazie Hirono in the contested U.S. Senate Race in Hawaii.  Young’s shocking support of a liberal Democrat is even more surprising given the fact that this candidate received an “F – –” – that’s right an, F minus minus – from Gun Owners of America.

This fall, Hirono will face one of two Republicans in the general, either pro-life former state legislator John Carroll or former GOP Governor Linda Lingle.

In the below-advertisement for liberal Hirono, Representative Young explains that his support for Hirono arises out of their bipartisan efforts on native issues.  In other words, they’ve been working aggressively together to continue the cycle of government dependency in Alaska and Hawaii.  And just why is Representative Young so confident that he’ll escape accountability this fall for his endorsement of a Democratic US Senate candidate that supports all the wrong issues?  Because he apparently believes any successful Alaskan candidate needs only the support of the crony capitalists, establishment types, and Alaska native corporations to win.  Looks like Don Young thinks he learned something from Alaska’s 2010 US Senate race.

Here’s the video:

Time for Alaska’s Congressional Delegation to Stop Discriminating Against Alaska Natives

/6 Comments/in /by

For the last four decades, Alaska’s congressional delegation, in concert with so-called Native leaders, has taken actions that discriminate against Alaskan Natives.

In 1976 corporate leaders successfully exempted Native corporations from federal security laws. When seeking the exemption, corporate officials told Congress they would obtain State legislation that would provide their shareholders protections from corporate mismanagement, misrepresentations and omissions. Of course, this false promise was never fulfilled. To this day, Native shareholders receive no protections from federal security laws and the State of Alaska refuses to enforce the Corporate Code against Native corporations.

Fundraisers and corporate perks to politicians paid off in 1986 when Senator Stevens enacted special legislation for the Native corporations to sell net operating losses (NOLs). Sen. Stevens told Congress the legislation would cost the federal government a loss of about $50 million. His payoff to the corporations ended up costing the US government more than $1.25 billion. It was reported that Native corporations sold properties at losses of approximately $3 billion. Native stockholders were never informed of the properties that were sold, selling prices, appraisals, losses, or even the names of the purchasers of the properties. And the shareholders did not get to vote on the sales of their properties at huge losses. For any non-native corporation, this would have violated a host of federal and state disclosure laws.

Native corporations spent large sums of corporate money to lobby for the ANCSA Amendments of 1987. Many of the amendments were harmful to Native shareholders. The amendments extended stock restrictions, extended the exemption of federal security laws, and shareholders lost rights that were included in ANSCA. This was done without the knowledge or consent of Native shareholders. The amendments to ANCSA have placed corporate management in a position where they control and dominate their shareholders.

In 2010, Native corporations directly donated over $1.2 million (and untold millions in indirect donations) to defeat Joe Miller who had consistently argued in favor of Native shareholder rights throughout his campaign. In 2012 CIRI hosted a fund raiser for Senator Begich and rose over $100,000. Native corporations do not disclose the amounts of corporate funds that are donated to politicians and the donations are not brought before the shareholders for a vote.

ANCSA divided Alaska Natives. Natives born before the Act were directly awarded shares but those born after the Act were not. The number of shareholders is increasing in the Native corporations but at the same time, the number of shares held by Native shareholders is decreasing. For example, CIRI’s original shareholders numbered 6,280 and now numbers over 8,100. Approximately 500 shareholders are non-natives and 1,000 shareholders own 10 shares or less. In another generation, our Native children and grandchildren will own fewer shares. With corporate managers selling lands and resources, there simply won’t be much left for our grandchildren.

The main benefactors of ANCSA have been the managers of the corporations. Many of them have become multi-millionaires and politically powerful by using the wealth of the shareholders. For example, in 2000, CIRI’s five senior managers were paid an astounding $16,875,848.

It’s time to end discrimination and misuse of Native corporation monies, land and resources. Alaska Natives need to stand up and demand equal rights, unrestricted stock, constitutional rights, fair elections, accountability and transparency in regards to their moneys, lands and natural resources.

**********************************

Bob Rude is a lifelong Alaskan native who has seen the transformation of Alaska through statehood, ANCSA, and the Ted Stevens legacy.  He was one of the founders of the Cook Inlet Regional Corporation and a Director for close to 30 years, in addition to being founder and past president of Cook Inlet Tribal Council. He’s been a Director of Anchorage Native Assembly, Crime Stoppers, and Alaska Federation of Natives Human Resources Board. He is the co-author of “ANCSA: Sovereignty and a Just Settlement of Land Claims or An Act of Deception” (1999). In 1957, he was chosen Alaska’s Most Valuable High School Basketball Player while attending Anchorage High School.