Contributed by Rod Perry
Breaking like a clap of thunder out of a clear sky, announcement by the Alaskan Libertarian Party that Joe Miller is running on their ticket for U.S Senate really electrifies this campaign. Suddenly, true constitutional conservatives and Republican Party Platform adherents have someone they can rally behind.
Simultaneously, it has stimulated visibility of the long-standing, widening gulf between the left-leaning GOP leadership and the mid-to-right-leaning party base. Mirroring the national Republican Party, Alaska’s Good Ol’ Boys Club has long brushed aside their own official platform and bullied the party toward liberalism. They repeatedly demonstrate to all who pay attention that their primary loyalty and effort is not to the jealous upholding of their party platform principles, but the tenacious maintenance of their iron grip on party control and power, principles be damned.
GOP party bosses’ regard for party politics and power over principle is plainly on exhibit as a matter of open record. The most cursory glance reveals their continued enthusiastic backing of Lisa Murkowski, whose track record is voting counter to the GOP platform and more consistently with the democrats than all but one other US senator identified as Republican. Attempts by some of the true conservatives remaining active within the party to officially censure Murkowski for her consistent anti-party performance have been forcefully put down by GOP powers.
On the other hand, those same powers recently censured and damaged Eagle River Republican Senator, Lora Reinbold, for her very straight-up adherence to GOP platform principles. Then just a few days ago, party bosses openly threatened their own recent mayoral candidate and the most conservative member of the Anchorage Municipal Assembly, radio talk-show host,Amy Demboski, for publicly announcing she will back the Alaskan Libertarian Party’s U.S Senate candidate because he sticks to principles that line up with the Republican platform.
Go figure!
Many loyalists to the conservatively constructed Republican Platform now find more commonality by gathering under outlying tents. One is the growing Alaskan Republican Assembly, “The Republican Republicans”. The poster child of State Republican Assemblies, Ronald Regan, called them “the conscience of the Republican Party”.
Another tent is the surging Constitution Party, this election represented by six running for state office. Their platform is very similar to the Republican’s. When asked to explain the difference between the constitution party and GOP memberships, leading Constitution Party candidate Pam Goode stated, “Essentially, the main difference is this: We mean it!”
Another gathering camp whose core values are close to the GOP’s is the Alaska Libertarian Party, the ones who are presently banded behind Joe Miller.
Note: Something these local libertarians would be quick to point out is this: Alaska’s libertarian platform is much closer to the republican platform than is the national Libertarian Party’s. Most notably, the Alaskans veer from tenants of the national platform which so many conservatives take staunch exception to.
Former republicans have gravitated to several other groups such as non-party-aligned Independents and Can’t-Take-It-Anymore Fed Ups who have thrown up their hands and given up on voting, period.
To make it very simple, every one of these outlying groups believes in and practices platform principles far closer to the Republican Platform than do so-called “Republicans” who run the GOP and their RINO senator.
Now turning from GOP Good ‘Ol Boys grime to focus on something bright and exciting to those on the right: True conservatives of all parties and non-parties now have a U.S Senate candidate in Joe Miller who sticks tighter than bark on a birch as an unbending constitutional, rule-of-law adherent and is as uncompromisingly conservative - both fiscally and socially - as they come.