Election 2006, Part 1

We’re still 4 days away from the big mid-term election, and I’m already excited about casting my vote. Most signs are pointing toward a dramatic power shift in Washington, with Democrats expected to pick up seats in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. It seems as though many Americans have had enough of the War on Terror and the Corruption and the General Idiocy displayed by the current administration. However, it seems premature to declare a victory for the Dems this early. I let my guard down twice in the past five years, assuming Democratic victory and being royally shocked when the Republicans pulled through.

Take-home message: Never forget that when you work at a university, you are living in a progressive liberal bubble, whose values may not reflect those of the town, state, or country in which you live.

The only race in Alaska that could potentially influence the national political scene is the race for Alaska’s one and only seat in the House. For 30+ years and 17 terms, Don Young (R) has served as Alaska’s representative, and it appears that it’s going to continue that way for the next few years, according to the New York Times. Rolling Stone magazine ranked Young as the third worst congressman in the country. He has brought home considerable federal funding to Alaska by leveraging his role as chairman of the House Transportation Committee (think “Bridges to Nowhere”):

by Peter Dunlap-Shohl, Anchorage Daily News

But perhaps power has gotten to his head:

He once called environmentalists a "self-centered bunch of waffle-stomping, Harvard-graduating, intellectual idiots" who "are not Americans, never have been Americans, never will be Americans." And during a debate on the right of native Alaskans to sell the sex organs of endangered animals as aphrodisiacs, Young whipped out the eighteen-inch penis bone of a walrus and brandished it like a sword on the House floor.

- Rolling Stone 2006

By all account’s (well, at least by my account), Young’s opponent, Diane Benson, seems great. Here’s a picture of her back during those heady days as a teamster truck driver.

www.bensonforcongress.com

A few things about Diane: She is an Alaska Native, originally from Sitka. She has a B.A. in Theatre and Justice (!) and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing (!!!). Most of her professional experience has involved placing Alaska talent in movies and TV Ads through her personally owned businesses, Northern Stars Talent Agency and Tleix Yeil Drama & Commentary. In 2002, she ran for governor as a Green candidate opposing drilling in ANWR. The platform of her current campaign has focused on better support of our troops, distributing money and resources more evenly across the country, and defending our rights and freedoms as US citizens and Alaskans. Good stuff, right?

At last look, she is still 9 points behind Young in the polls, which seems substantial. But I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Next up...Knowles...Palin...the race for governor!