| August 18, 2006 Editor’s Desk by Aaron Selbig, insurgent49 It’s been a strategic week here at Insurgent Headquarters. Six years ago, during the run-up to the 2000 presidential election, I confided with a friend my intention to vote for Ralph Nader. He was outraged. “How could you throw your vote away like that?” he asked, “Can’t you see that voting for Nader is EXACTLY what the Republicans want you to do?” I went ahead and did it anyway, and, although the outcome of that election quickly became infamous, I took solace in the fact that Nader did better in Alaska than any other state. Fast forward four years (four disastrous years of an inept George Bush presidency), and I found myself in a similar quandary. Unimpressed by the candidacy of John Kerry, I felt like casting my vote for Ralph Nader once again. But, again … wasn’t that what the Bush henchmen wanted, for people like me to split the vote? It was true, as many Kerry supporters were saying at the time, that the most important thing was to get rid of George Bush. In the end, I reasoned that, since Alaska was not a swing state like Ohio, it didn’t really matter, and I was free to vote my conscience. I voted for Ralph Nader again. And, of course, we all know how that turned out. This year, Alaska is facing an interesting and heated gubernatorial race, complete with a Bush-like lightning rod of an incumbent whose numbers are in the toilet, Frank Murkowski. In the latest polls, Murkowski is a distant third in the Republican primary race behind Sarah Palin and John Binkley. On the Democratic side, we’ve got a choice between Anchorage legislator Eric Croft and former governor Tony Knowles. And like the general elections of 2000 and 2004, there’s a whole lot of strategizing going on. I’ve talked to some folks, self-described progressive Alaskans, who are registered non-partisans and plan to choose the Republican ballot (you can do so only if you are registered non-partisan or undeclared, by the way … the Alaska GOP runs a closed primary). These people say they’re doing this for two reasons: Eric Croft, in their estimation, doesn’t stand much of a chance against Knowles, and the most important thing in this election is to get rid of Frank Murkowski. From there, however, it gets tricky. If you choose to jump ship and vote for a Republican, should you vote for Palin or Binkley to make sure that Murkowski doesn’t make it to the general election OR should you vote for Murkowski (gulp) to set up a weak candidate to face off against Tony Knowles? Liberals voting for Frank Murkowski … kooky, ain’t it? A group of us proud Lefties were sitting around debating this subject at Insurgent Headquarters recently, when someone piped up with a truly novel idea: In any election, no matter the circumstances, you should always vote your conscience. And you know what? They were right. I probably shouldn’t be doing this, and this is NOT an official Insurgent49 endorsement, but I intend to go to the polls on Tuesday and cast my vote for Eric Croft. Nothing against Tony Knowles. He’s a nice guy and, I think, overall, a good public servant. He is, however, a little too close to the oil companies (remember the BP/ARCO merger?) for my taste. Also, Knowles has had his day in the sun and I just feel that it’s time for some new blood. So why Croft? Last winter, Eric Croft stood in the parking lot of the North Pole Safeway, gathering signatures for his Gasline Now reserves tax ballot initiative, giving new meaning to the word ‘initiative’. He is intelligent, hard working, well versed in oil and gas issues and experienced. I admire the guy’s fortitude, and I think he’s simply the best person for the job. And so, tantalizing as all of the strategies may be, I will once again be voting my conscience, no matter what the outcome, and I think you should do the same. Why should you listen to me, you ask? Well, maybe you shouldn’t. After all, I voted for Ralph Nader. Aaron Selbig is an activist and media junkie who resides in an undisclosed location in downtown Anchorage. He is the winner of a 2006 Alaska Press Club award for Best Editorial Writing, host of KUDO 1080 AM's 'The Aaron Selbig Show' and a co-founder of Insurgent49. Aaron may be contacted at editor@insurgent49.com |
-
Columnists -
- column archive -
August 11, 2006 August 4, 2006 July 28, 2006 July 21, 2006 July 14, 2006 June 30, 2006 June 23, 2006 June 16, 2006 June 9, 2006 June 2, 2006 May 26, 2006 May 12, 2006 May 5, 2006 April 28, 2006 April 21, 2006 April 14, 2006 April 7, 2006 March 31, 2006 March 24, 2006 March 17, 2006 March 3, 2006 February 24, 2006 February 17, 2006 February 10, 2006 February 3, 2006 January 27, 2006 January 20, 2006 January 13, 2006 January 6, 2006 December 30, 2005 December 23, 2005 December 16, 2005 December 10, 2005 December 2, 2005 November 25, 2005 November 18, 2005 November 11, 2005 November 4, 2005 October 28, 2005 October 21, 2005 October 14, 2005 October 7, 2005 September 30, 2005 September 23, 2005 September 16, 2005 September 9, 2005 September 2, 2005 August 26, 2005 August 19, 2005 August 12, 2005 August 5, 2005 July 29, 2005 July 22, 2005 July 15, 2005 July 8, 2005 July 1, 2005 June 24, 2005 June 17, 2005 June 10, 2005 June 3, 2005 May 27, 2005 May 20, 2005 May 13, 2005 May 6, 2005 April 28, 2005 April 21, 2005 April 14, 2005 April 7, 2005 April 1, 2005 |
|||||||
| Copyright 2005
Insurgent Media.
All rights reserved. in-sur-gent (in sur'jent), n. 1. a member of a group which revolts against the policies of its leadership. |
||||||||
