Lie. Exaggerate. Lie some more. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. This is the strategy those who don't care one iota about Alaska are deploying here, and in every state because, simply, they want to control the halls of Congress to fatten their ever-exploding outrageous profits.
The onslaught of ads and the push poll surveys have reached epidemic proportion in Alaska's tiny media market. The millions upon millions of Outside dollars flooding in to the state trying to tell Alaskans what is best for them is unprecedented. The formula from Super PACs like American Crossroads (Karl Rove) and Americans for Prosperity (Koch Brothers) is to beat Alaskans into submission and deliver another corporate rubber stamp to the Senate. Because, let me reiterate this point: They don't give a flying rip about Alaskans.
OpenCongress pegs Senator Mark Begich at number 45 when it comes to voting the party line, putting him just about dead center. This means one thing. He does not vote with Obama 97, 95, or 91 percent of the time. I'm still not sure why the anti-Begich super PACs can't get their numbers to match. Fuzzy fibber's math, I guess.
The actual truth is that Sen. Begich votes with working families nearly all of the time, amassing a career 98 percent worker-friendly rating from the AFL-CIO in his first term. He's also an oil industry advocate and has an "A" rating with the NRA. He's a nuanced independent that doesn't fit into the Rove/Koch's narrative but works for Alaskans. So instead of dealing with the realities of his record, all they can do is say "Obama, Obama, Obama."
In the meantime Dan Sullivan is obviously and flagrantly trying to insult the intelligence of Alaska's working families. Here's another number you can take to the bank. It is 100 percent assured that Dan Sullivan will fall right in line with the giant corporate interests who've funded his campaign, at the expense of everyday Alaskans' interests, were he to win.
He supports raising the Social Security retirement age, forcing our seniors to work longer, but won't support making his super-rich buddies pay the same tax rate as average Americans, because all of his greedy Super PAC benefactors need to buy another island, a bigger yacht, and a newer Learjet.
Those rewards of being successful are fine, but not when it comes on the backs of our most vulnerable lower- and middle-income families, and makes seniors who have worked their entire lives have to just keep working until they die. Period. No exaggeration.
Alaska has a proud labor union history. Despite the "redness" of our state, we remain the second most union-dense state in America. Only the liberal bastion of New York has more union members per capita than Alaska. One in four workers in Alaska are members of a union. Our density benefits those who aren't in a union as well, and is directly correlated to Alaska having among the highest per capita incomes in the country.
Our high union density in Alaska means our members are a wide cross section when it comes to political views. But whether our members are right, left, or center, they usually understand why their unions support particular issues and candidates: for the betterment of their own working lives. The old axiom that resonates with our members is "vote your pocketbook and lobby your hobby."
Over the years the 55 affiliated unions of the Alaska AFL-CIO have endorsed many Republicans. Despite the GOP's gradual but certain abandonment of the working class, there are still some good ones. We've supported giant Republicans like Stevens, Young, Murkowski, and others.
But Dan Sullivan is no Stevens, or Young, or Murkowski. He would be the first ever elected federal representative for Alaska who would support anti-worker, anti-union policies. He's nothing more than a puppet whose strings would be controlled by giant corporate interests at the expense of average working Alaskans.
His Outside status is now well-established. His multimillionaire Ohio parents have funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars to Super PACs who support their son. If Sullivan is elected, Alaskans will lose clout, seniority, and effectiveness. Working families can't afford Dan Sullivan.
Vince Beltrami is president of the Alaska AFL-CIO.
The views expressed here are the writer's own and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary(at)alaskadispatch.com.