Whoops!

Seems like every other voting state got the memo. Democrat is the new Red. Except for Alaska.

Sara Palin? Really?

I am still in shock as I write today. I feel like a major force of history has just slammed into the state. A sudden death, suffocation, grief. All of these feelings, and not of a loss of person, because Murkowski wasn't much to savor, but for a loss of patriotism.

I've been saying it for awhile, and maybe because it's true. A revolution is coming. And if this doesn't prove there should be one, I think I will be packing off to live elsewhere.

At first I was really giving Sara Palin a chance. I liked the idea of a woman running The Last Frontier. I liked that our state is in a very politically critical place right now, and leaving it up to a woman might not be a bad idea. But after she won the primary, I began to listen and watch her closer and these are my observations:

1) She's young. Young in age, of course, but also young in politics. You can tell by how honest she is. I actually thought she had committed her own campaign suicide by how honest she was. Of course, honestly, most of this has been proven mere ignorance.

2) I think she never really thought she could win. I think she cowered in second place under the shadow of Governor Tony Knowles and glared sharing the spotlight with Andrew Halcro.

3) I think she ran a horrible campaign because she wasn't truly prepared for the intensity of this game. And started it off wrong with saying "not about politics as usual", then having to go to the mudslinging match anyway. Even if you try to uphold a notion such as this, it truly is setting yourself up as a target to fail. Why not focus on something that means a new action?

4) I was disgusted by her answer in the ADN when she was asked where she would take someone very important in Alaska to eat. She said she wouldn't take them out, she would make them blueberry pie at home instead. I really want to see her as governor baking blueberry pies in her Wasilla home.

Although I am not happy about Sara Palin being governor of Alaska for two years, I am certianly interested to see how she does. Where will our country be in two years? We will have a new president. With the Democrats leading the Senate and House, I hope they can produce someone from the party who can run and win. Our country is sad. And our President is an idiot. I guess all those hippie dippy 70's party-type people shouldn't have experienced so much with "weapons of mass destruction."

A few things to say about politics in Alaska:

I think the election of a female governor shows that Alaska, although very red, will take chances if they feel it will be for the best. I thought it was so interesting to hear who people were voting for. Republicans were voting for Knowles, Activists for Halco, Women and the Valley for Palin. It would be interesting to see how many people voted within their party. I cast my vote in my party, but I wasn't too happy about it. I felt like a victim of the electoral college. Because I have declared myself of a certain party for a certain reason (mostly because they asked me if I was Democrat or Republican at the DMV), I am automatically pressured into voting for that candidate. Parties count on your vote. I think Tony Knowles expected it more than he should have. About 40% of the population in Anchorage was not here when Knowles was the governor. There is hardly any loyality left to him (obviously).

All three candidates ran horrible campaigns. Sara and Tony were lost in a pissing match and a game of "mine is bigger". Niether one of them really gave the other time to feel comfortable enough to answer questions on the issues that Alaskans wanted to know about. Halco just didn't have the money or backing, and came into the game too late. I actually signed a petition to allow him to be on the ballet as an Indepedent. What? I'm a liberal. I think if someone wants to be on the ballet, they should be. When you think about it, the sole initiative is a testament to his character. I was unimpressed by the childish accusations and slander happening between the candidates. I was bored with "politics worse than usual" and wish the only thing each candidate could talk about was the gas pipeline.

Which brings me here to the issue: Alaskans mostly want to know when the hell state representatives are going to pull their heads out of each other's asses enough to build a friggen pipeline so we can all eat happy. Frank Murkowski has not been succcessful in solidifing an agreeable contract for a natural gas pipeline. Why? My personal opinion (and I'm not offended if you don't share) is because someone else wants to do it. The Democrats want to do it. Valdez wants to do it. The gas companies want to do it. Fairbanks wants to do it. But no one can agree to how, because everyone is being greedy, playing the game with tainted glasses and shifty eyes. Well, the time is here, and Alaska will be under the gubernatorial power of a young, local, hot-ass woman. I don't agree with her plan for the LGN project. Taking this route is truly irresponsible and risky. I think her strategy for overcoming this challenge is extreme, for obvious reasons, but also because she began to sing a different tune soon after her primary election.

I think Sara Palin may just be the best answer Alaska had to offer at the time. I think she signifies lots of scary things- not only about her stint as a governor, but also the power the people really do have when they realize their importance to the future of our country. I am excited for her and terrified for her. I do think she is strong, though, and if anyone thought the boys in AK were tough, I'm sure WA will make them look like cold musk ox, cold and harmless. Time will tell. Good luck to her, and Good Luck to Us.