Old Republican Guard Rules On In Alaska

Final night of the Alaska Republican Convention ends in a whimper

By Dennis Zaki

Just like that it was over. The party of "change" changed nothing.

After the fireworks of Friday morning at Alaska's Republican Convention, Saturday was a long drawn-out snoozefest. By two o'clock, a couple of delegates were sleeping in their seats. They were the lucky ones.

Just before the adjournment of the three day convention, delegates voted 167-133 against calling for party chairman Randy Ruedrich to resign.

Ruedrich said he would have ignored any resolution to oust him.

"Based on the fact that you asked me to serve for four years last year, I will reject that resolution and plan to stay and work with all you folks," Ruedrich said to delegates/voters.

Ruedrich was humiliated by Governor Sarah Palin when they both served on the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission in 2004. Palin outed Ruedrich's corruption by using his office for Republican party business and leaking a confidential memo to an energy company lobbyist, among other things, and Ruedrich was forced to fork over $12,000 when he pled guilty to the ethics violation.

Joe Miller, from District 8 in Fairbanks, the leader of the "coup," said to reporters, "It is my perspective, that until this party can clean up its leadership, ... I have to resign as District 8 Chair and Interior Regional Chair and therefore register as a nonpartisan voter as soon as the Division of Elections opens on Monday."

Governor Palin was also hoping for Ruedrich to be ousted, "We can't kid ourselves there has not yet been restoration of the public's confidence in the Republican Party and we have got to do better," Palin said to a rousing applause on Saturday.

Republican Congressional candidate Gabrielle LeDoux added "We're supposed to be the party of values, people are going to jail... and in some cases they are already in jail."

"I am here because we have problems. By we, I mean the Republican Party. By problems, I mean that our party has strayed from our core principles of fiscal conservatism, smaller government and personal responsibility," LeDoux said.

The huge division between Sarah Palin's supporters and the old guard Republicans boiled over a few times during the three day convention.

Don Young launched a fiery speech on Saturday after Sarah Palin spoke about the corruption that has plagued the Republican party in Alaska.

Young, ignoring the corruption inference, said, "We do have a chance in this state and it's not words, it's development of our resources," Young said. "And this is direct criticism of my lieutenant governor and my governor at this time. We have to start investing it's not opening federal lands it's using our state lands."

During the entire Frank Murkowski administration Young never once said anything like that about Murkowki's failure to open ANWR. Nor did he mention his failure after 32 years on office.

There was one noteable absence at the convention - the disgraced son of senator Ted Stevens - Ben Stevens. He's still officially the Republican Party Manager. My guess is he's probably just a "consultant" these days.

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