The nation’s capital is frequently, and justly, referred to as the Swamp. It’s not a comical appellation, unlike the famous name of the primary characters’ lodgings in Richard Hooker’s novel, “M*A*S*H” – it’s a pejorative–and a well-deserved one. Representatives from the various states run on one agenda, go to the Capitol, then amazingly and mysteriously get drawn into what is no longer really a swamp so much as an eastern version of the LaBrea tar pits.
Case in point: Alaska’s Mary Peltola.
Rep. Peltola, in the 2022 election, campaigned in conjunction with Alaska’s senior Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) in what was not exactly a union ticket but was at least an attempt to cast both as moderates. But since taking office, Peltola has voted with the Biden administration’s agenda in 95 percent of her votes as Alaska’s at-large Representative.
What’s more concerning is her talking a good game about Alaskan energy development, and then working against it.
It’s a massive understatement to say that the Biden administration has been unfriendly towards Alaska’s energy sector, having shut down tract after tract of land to development with a series of executive orders and rules. Alaska’s Governor Mike Dunleavy and our junior Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK) have the details:
Alaska may have had more sanctions imposed on our great state than Iran. The Biden Administration is waging an economic war on the 49th state. Graphic supplied by @SenDanSullivan pic.twitter.com/dwhmLE9wJQ
— Governor Mike Dunleavy (@GovDunleavy) March 7, 2024
Rep. Peltola also pulled her support for H.R. 6285, the “Alaska’s Right to Produce Act,” a bill she had initially co-sponsored and urged her colleagues to vote against restoring Trump-era drilling rights in the Arctic. These drilling projects had the potential to bring hundreds, if not thousands, of good-paying jobs to the North Slope.
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Mary Peltola is an Alaskan, true. But she’s not voting in Alaska’s best interests. She has been absorbed into the tar pit, voting with the Biden administration in almost every piece of legislation, and talks a big game about being in favor of Alaskan energy development while working quietly alongside other Congressional Democrats to stymie development. Like so many small-state politicians, the bright lights seem to be blinding her; perhaps she needs to get out of Washington and spend more time in Bethel.
This is only one example. There are many more, from every state in the country. There is an apocryphal, Clinton-era story in which a wag familiar with the goings-on of the Clinton administration quipped “Power corrupts – and absolute power is actually pretty cool.” That is, of course, unless one is on the receiving end.
Unlike the animals trapped in the LaBrea tar pits, Congressmen and Senators are still active after getting caught. This is no longer a swamp to be drained; this pit needs to be excavated, everything within it exposed to the light of day and shown far and wide, to every citizen, every voter. Every state has its members of Congress who fall into the pit and never emerge except when it’s time to run for reelection. It’s not just an Alaska problem – it’s an American problem. The only solution is more involvement from their constituents. Go to their town halls. Question them when they are back in their home districts. And, when necessary, vote them out.
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