OPINION: Reaching across the aisle

Alaska has a rich history of political coalitions, but one congressional candidate on November’s ballot shows no inclination to reach across the aisle.

Although his campaign statements say he is undecided, I believe Nick Begich III will join the Freedom Caucus, which contains the most extreme conservatives in Washington, D.C., such as Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert, Chip Roy, Jim Jordan and Andy Biggs. This group of MAGA adherents wants to have a government shutdown and throw Congress into full chaos.

The Freedom Caucus is a major supporter of Begich, and he supports the group’s positions. As someone who depends upon Social Security, I am deeply worried about how he calls it a “Ponzi scheme,” suggesting he’d follow schemes that would endanger a lifeline for all older Americans, as suggested by the Project 2025 plan crafted by MAGA zealots to effectively dismantle the government as we know it.

Begich has toned down his rhetoric during the current campaign, but he seems to be inclined to support the privation of Social Security and the Veterans Administration, both of which are plans favored by Project 2025 and the Freedom Caucus.

On the other hand, Rep. Mary Peltola has actively lived up to her moderate label by working with Republicans to approve the massive Willow project and help land billions of federal funds for Alaska projects. She also has supported large mining projects, such as the Donlin gold mine and Ambler Road.

Peltola has broken ranks with Democrats in favor of gun rights, border security and other hot button issues. She is one of the least loyal Democrats, having bucked the party 78 times (12% of the time), twice as often as the average Democrat.

Peltola hired several members of the staff of her predecessor, the late Don Young, who was the longest-serving Republican in the U.S. House, and she has worked very closely with Alaska’s two Republican senators. She is a good friend of Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who has become one of the Senate’s most powerful senators by working across the aisle.

Rep. Peltola is the first Alaska Native and woman to be elected to the U.S. House through ranked choice voting, and she secured about 51 % of the 2022 primary election votes. She also is very supportive of Social Security. I hope she’ll be re-elected for another two years. The future of ranked choice voting will be decided in November.

Rodger Painter can trace his Alaska roots to 1798, when an Alutiiq woman married a Russian trader in Kodiak. He is a former journalist and legislative aide and played a major role in Alaska seafood politics for decades. He now is retired and lives in Douglas.

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