Two bedrock American values — equality under the law and fair elections — are under assault by vast private fortunes. Amplifying the talking points of the super-rich and ignoring actual problems is Alaska’s U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan.
Sullivan’s fresh bombast on Alaska’s “liberal judges” both demeans the intelligence of Alaskans (we elect our judges) and signals Elon Musk that Alaska’s junior senator is on board with Trumpian/Fox “News” talking points. He seems to be posturing: ready and willing to accept mega-Musk donations.
Sullivan’s diatribe against Alaska’s judiciary reflects a fundamental cowardice. His plutocratic blabber is a striking contrast to Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a public servant with courage.
Because real people get hurt, it’s not “blabber” at all. Hitler’s Nazi Party comes to mind. Whether it’s Joseph Goebbels, Sean Hannity, or the POTUS, when oligarchs loudly demonize and denigrate “the other”, the fearful, dispossessed, stressed-out, unhealthy, and disillusioned do gratefully blame their day-to-day problems on the fresh scapegoats. In our time, the root of the tyranny is heartless political manipulation caused by the ever-expanding wealth gap. The overly rich vs. everyone else.
And the lies keep coming. From a bully pulpit, diminishing or ignoring climate science — settled since about 1990 — is lying. Suggesting that poor (minority) communities are not disproportionately sickened by pollution and, therefore, don’t need what some call environmental justice is a lie. Today, the Trump administration requires federal grant applicants to strike the phrases “climate change” and “environmental justice” from their submission. Sen. Sullivan doesn’t have a problem putting both on the back burner, endorsing the lies.
Here in Alaska, “we the people” elect the judges and you and I generally do an alright job. Senator Sullivan’s bellicose rhetoric, elevating suspicion about the integrity of our judges — freely elected by Alaska’s own system and without his billionaire influence — is a lie.
The super-rich who trumpet chaos narratives and elevate extreme rightist blabber are a direct result of the 2010 Citizens United vs. Federal Elections Commission SCOTUS decision, which allowed unlimited private money to influence public elections. The World’s Richest Man (net worth, $342-billion) just dropped over $20 million in a failed attempt to defeat a Wisconsin State Supreme Court candidate. As if the most sacred aspect of democracy was a Powerball lottery, Musk actually handed out two checks for $1 million each to two Wisconsin voters. We the People are just beginning to feel the impacts of Musk’s $288 million payout to the 2024 Trump campaign. These examples illustrate the dangerous influence of Citizens United.
Dictatorial and vane sycophants will always be part of the human mix. Making “liberal” an incendiary boogeyman is a taste of what lies ahead. The root of the problem: too much private money in politics. One might think, Sen. Sullivan, a serving colonel in the Marine Corps Reserve, might have something to say about the nurses and medical professionals fired from the understaffed Veterans Administration. No, he’s too busy blabbering about “liberal judges.”
Who benefits most from Trump’s current “budget reconciliation” attempt? The Billionaire Boys amongst whom Sen. Sullivan passes the hat.
• Burl Sheldon is a retired Haines resident.
