ALASKA IS
FLAGGING
skyrocketing oil revenues and a
Washington all too happy to dole
out earmarks, Alaskans focused
on far-fetched ideas and lavish
projects instead.
Alaska’s governing elite sought
federal dollars to build things like
an $8 billion dam that would provide 20 times the state’s electricity needs. There were also failed
attempts to cultivate a thriving
agricultural sector, despite a prohibitively short growing season.
In the 1970s, Sen. Mike Gravel, a
Democrat, vigorously lobbied for
the construction of “Denali City,”
a domed city that would draw
tourists from the world over.
Alaska became defined by egos
and personalities as large as the
state itself. Not a year went by
without stories of corruption, favoritism, nepotism and pie-inthe-sky idealism. Take Bill Allen,
former CEO of energy contractor
VECO Corporation and arguably
Alaska’s most powerful businessman. When Allen wasn’t going on
fishing trips with his good friend
Ted Stevens, or setting up shop
in the Juneau hotel where federal
prosecutors say he bribed state
lawmakers, he was spending time
with one of his closest companions,
a teenage runaway named Bambi.
HUFFINGTON
01.26.14
Or Wally Hickel, a onetime
governor and interior secretary
under Richard Nixon. Hickel ran
for governor again in 1990 as the
nominee of the Alaska Independence Party, which was founded
for the express purpose of seceding from the union. He won.
And, of course, Sarah Palin,
whose rollout as a national poli-
“He’s just a regular guy.
He’s easy to talk to.”
tician was such a disaster that
within weeks of her debut as John
McCain’s running mate, Saturday
Night Live writers were blockquoting her in lieu of an original script.
Alaska’s two most effective legislators, Stevens and Young, could
be notoriously tone-deaf. Stevens
once complained that Alaskans
didn’t fully appreciate the sacrifices he made for them, grousing,
“I could go out and make $1 million a year without any question”
instead of serving in the Senate.
Young, meanwhile, drew condemnations from both sides of the
aisle recently when he referred to
Mexican laborers as “wetbacks.”
Put another way, Alaska has
suffered a string of bad exes. Enter Mark Begich, whose appearance, demeanor and outlook are
those of the sensible rebound. He