McAdams Campaign Takes on Aura of Rebel Alliance - Updated

- I. I've lived in the Mat-Su Valley since 1983, moving here after over ten years in the Prince William Sound communities of Cordova and Whittier. We moved here because we felt it would be a good place to start and rise a family. It has been.

We watched the Mat-Su go from being a strangely healthy mix of views to becoming a place where the far right dominates many aspects of politics and public discourse. When we arrived from Whittier in the late summer of 1983, all of the Valley's elected officials were Democrats. Some, like Jay Kerttula, Ron Larson and Katie Hurley were Alaska political icons of the first caliber. The state's leading figure in the Green Party, Jim Sykes resided (and still lives) in the Palmer area.

Between 1983 and 1994 the power of the political center and left diminished as more people moved here from the bible belt to work in the oil industry. The fundamentalist and evangelical communities exploded, and between 1992 and 1996, they all but completely took over political power. My first interest in politics in the Valley involved meeting with people concerned about creationists taking over our school board.

Throughout the 15 years or so of far right political domination, those of us fighting for sanity have won battles here and there, mostly at the town, school board, utility board and borough levels. At times some of us have compared what we are attempting to do here in Star Wars-like terms, as we fight off the storm troopers of Vic Kohring, Bev Masek, Scott Ogan, Bill Allen and Sarah Palin.

II. Today, U.S. Senate candidate Scott McAdams will be meeting with our Mat-Su Democrats in the morning. Then he will be meeting Alaskans in the rain at the State Fair in Palmer. Then he will be off to attend a fundraiser for Harry Crawford (call 376-7457 for directions to this RSVP event). He's already been out here several times on forays into the heart of the Darth Vaderesque Koch Brothers' astroturf evil empire, known as the Tea Party Express.

Come meet Scott at the Fair, from about noon to 2:30. He will be at the Democrats booth (near the red gate) and walking around.

Here's a sample of what we're up against, folks:



Update: Scott McAdams listening to the Mat-Su Democrats Executive Committee this morning in Palmer:

Two hat tips to John Aronno at The Alaska Commons