AndrewHalcro.com - Ethics & Party Politics

Blaming Press Won't Wash in Court

Sun, 06 Nov 2005 23:32:20 -0800

As a huge Al Pacino fan it doesn’t get much better than his role in “Scent of a Woman”. It’s impossible not to shiver when Pacino’s character, Lt. Col. Frank Slade, slams his white tipped cane on the table and shouts “If I were half the man I was five years ago I’d take a flamethrower to this place”.

His Oscar winning performance represented a real life metaphor about a power structure that attempts to rationalize and institutionalize the quid pro quo. And although Channel 2’s News Director John Tracy’s recent editorial wasn’t as dramatic as Pacino, his rare appearance certainly was.

Public Opinion

Wed, 28 Sep 2005 14:13:50 -0700

Abraham Lincoln recognized it while giving a toast in 1856, “Our government rests in public opinion”. Less than a century later, W.C. Fields put his personal twist on Lincoln’s words when he toasted, “I never vote for anybody, I always vote against”.

Ahh, Public opinion, a politician’s worst best friend.

Chief of Staff

Wed, 28 Sep 2005 13:53:08 -0700

It’s hard not to notice that Governor Murkowski’s Chief of Staff has quickly assumed one of the highest public profiles of any chief of staff in recent Alaskan political history. He’s been a dominant figure at press conferences and his opinion pieces, defending the Governor’s actions, have been published in newspapers from Fairbanks to Juneau.

It’s almost like Ed McMahon has stepped in front of Johnny Carson.

This is the Winter of Our Discontent

Sun, 25 Sep 2005 22:29:30 -0700

Welcome to the winter of our discontent. Just ask Jim Elkins.

The almost state senator from Ketchikan received a fatal dose of caucus discipline after he stepped too far from the party line. The response was swift, the punishment was extreme and the damage control was deplorable.

Shifting Sands

Sun, 25 Sep 2005 22:20:44 -0700

There’s an old saying in politics, if you want a friend get a dog.

Three months before the 1960 presidential election between Vice President Richard Nixon and Senator John F. Kennedy, outgoing President Eisenhower was asked at a press conference if he could name one initiative proposed by his fellow Republican Nixon that was enacted during the eight-year years of his administration.

Seekins actions say more than words

Sun, 25 Sep 2005 22:14:11 -0700

I believe the word we’re looking for is hubris.

Ancient Greeks coined the phrase and illustrated the affects in Greek tragedies and mythology. It was their way of showcasing how those given the gift of power were often brought down by their own arrogance.

Santa will find naughty boy in Juneau

Sun, 25 Sep 2005 22:10:13 -0700

All is not joyous in Juneau this holiday season. As for the second Christmas in a row one of Gov. Frank Murkowski’s hand picked consiglieres has crashed through the state’s ethical guardrails. Coal this Christmas appears eminent.

Alaska’s Attorney General Gregg Renkes stands accused of violating state ethics laws. Some have called for an investigation into possible insider trading violations as well. The accusations surround a resource development project he pushed for a Denver based coal company.

Political Payback

Sun, 25 Sep 2005 22:01:38 -0700

It’s a buyers market for blame shifting. While some diplomatically refer to the practice as reframing the debate, a more appropriate term would be avoiding the truth. Especially when it comes to being trustworthy.

After three decades, Mark Felt, a former FBI assistant director admitted being the anonymous Watergate source known as “Deep Throat”. Felt’s clandestine tips to a pair of Washington Post reporters fed public awareness of the Nixon Administration’s role in the infamous break-in. Watergate quickly became one of the most far reaching political scandals in history

If Hancock and Franklin could see us now

Sun, 25 Sep 2005 21:23:48 -0700

Just how timely was it for Gov. Walter Hickel to talk about Alaska’s need for independence at a recent Anchorage Chamber of Commerce luncheon? Consider American history 229 years ago today.

On July 3, 1776 Admiral Lord Howe was assembling the largest military force ever gathered on the North American continent. With 25,000 British troops landing on New York’s Staten Island, King George was knocking on the door. Meanwhile, a little more than a hundred miles away in Philadelphia, America’s founding fathers answered.

GOP Senate challengers fall short

Sun, 25 Sep 2005 21:09:30 -0700

Not since Ted Turner fired his son at the dinner table has there been such turmoil in a high profile family

With an embattled party chairman, a public rift between top Republican politicians and the first competitive U.S. Senate race in twenty years, these are challenging times for party of Lincoln. Throw in a long history of fractious political maneuvering and welcome to the Alaska Republican Party’s summer of love.

Far right has others seeing red

Sun, 25 Sep 2005 21:03:25 -0700

In January 1954, President Eisenhower frustrated by far right senators, penned exasperation in his personal diary. Noting that if things should continue, “I shall leave the Republican Party and try to organize an intelligent group of independents, however small”.

Fifty years later, the far right still forces fair-minded Republicans to the ledge.

Ruedrich’s shady moves aren’t those of a real Republican

Sun, 25 Sep 2005 20:58:35 -0700

On January 16, 2002 the Alaska legislature voted to override the veto of a bill that weakened campaign finance reforms. Shortly after the floor vote an email arrived in my inbox inferring that my failure to be a team player meant I wasn’t a real Republican. “Congratulate your Republican legislators for overriding the governor’s veto on an important fundraising bill. Every Republican voted for the override except Andrew Halcro who sided with the Democratic governor”.

Breeze from the Capitol needs freshening

Sun, 25 Sep 2005 20:37:18 -0700

On January 21, 2003 – the first legislative day under newly elected Gov. Frank Murkowski – State Senator Gary Wilken took center stage before the Capitol press corps and announced a “fresh new breeze” was blowing from the governor’s office.

Seventeen months later the breeze was anything but fresh. Wilken again looking into the eyes of the press accused the governor of failing to do his homework. Unfortunately, failing to do their homework has become a common occurrence.

Lisa Murkowski Best Choice for Senate

Sun, 25 Sep 2005 20:34:31 -0700

Kids today.

Lisa Murkowski hates veterans and wants to send all the really good paying jobs overseas. Tony Knowles hates fisherman and is proud that the fast food industry is creating more new jobs than the oil & gas industry. All things considered, I’m afraid to vote.

2004 Legislative Coup

Sun, 25 Sep 2005 20:20:19 -0700

It was Mario Puzo’s epic the Godfather that offered us a timely lesson about loyalty. “It’s never personal, it’s always business”. And even though it only lasted forty-eight hours, the short-lived House of Representatives rebellion gave us a rare glimpse of that philosophy at work.

In the end, the fragile coalition of Republicans who aligned with Democrats couldn’t withstand the threats of political retribution from within the powerful Republican family.