Pig masks and a political shift in Alaska

For the last 15 summers, Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) has hosted his state’s political heavyweights at a down-home pig roast fundraiser. But this August, pigs of a different kind snorted back at him.

About 75 protesters, crying “Oink! Oink!” and “FBI! FBI!” gave Young, Alaska’s two senators and their supporters a shockingly poor reception at last week’s fundraiser. When Young held a public picnic on Monday, the protesters were back, wearing swine masks and waving angry signs.

{mosads}More than 3,600 miles from the Capitol, one thing is clear: Young and Sen. Ted Stevens (R) are in political as well as legal jeopardy. Whether Alaska’s tide of corruption allegations is enough to sweep its two federal breadwinners out of office is far less certain.

“Never underestimate what a lot of money can do,” said Eddie Burke, host of a popular conservative radio show in Anchorage. “Whoever decides to run against Ted had better be well prepared for a scorched-earth campaign.”

Formerly a senior GOP aide in the Alaska legislature, Burke was in the thick of the rowdy hog-roast picket, whose turnout stunned even protest organizers. The bipartisan crowd, as Burke described it, amounted to “John Kerry and Newt Gingrich holding hands [to express] that corruption is wrong and change might happen.”

Yet the message of change for Democrats may look different against Stevens and Young. The famously prickly duo is under scrutiny for misuse of federal dollars in a state where federal dollars are essential to keeping resources abundant, public lands preserved and taxes low.

“Politicians who have built up seniority and achieve those goals get lauded and rewarded with virtually uncontested reelections, no matter their personal style or peccadilloes,” a congressional scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, Norm Ornstein, said.

The director of the Alaska Public Interest Research Group and another pig-roast protester, Steve Cleary, said he isn’t sure that Alaska voters are frustrated enough with their state’s Wild West reputation to punish Stevens and Young at the ballot box next year.

“A significant amount of the population is waiting and frankly hoping that it blows over,” Cleary said, adding: “A lot of folks who do get government money are very reticent about criticizing them, because of political stuff but also perceived financial repercussions for their nonprofits. They don’t want to be bitten by Don Young.”

Extensive media coverage of the network of contributors, business partners and former aides who have benefited from Stevens’s and Young’s earmarks may be as much a blessing as a curse.

House Democrats translated their “culture of corruption” message into sweeping electoral gains during the midterms, making Young’s race one of the first tests for a Republican counter-offensive. Young appears to have started early this summer, with the unexpected public picnic on Monday and a warning to challengers not to “cast stones” from a “glass house.”

When Jake Metcalfe saw the yellow and blue picnic promotions dotting Alaska roadways, the former state Democratic chairman marveled at Young’s increased presence in the state. Metcalfe, who hopes to unseat Young next year, said the 25-year incumbent is feeling more threatened than ever.

“He doesn’t do these public events,” Metcalfe, a lifelong Alaska resident, said. “This is the first one I can ever remember him doing.”

While introducing himself to voters at a county fair last week, Metcalfe said he was surprised at “the number of people that told me, ‘Oh good, it’s time for that bastard to quit.’”            

“Young is no longer powerful,” Metcalfe added. “Alaska is a small community … people don’t like to be treated with contempt.”

Young did not address the pig roast crowd, although one man — identified by some as Henry Springer, chairman of the bridge and toll authority that hopes to manage Young’s infamous “Bridge to Nowhere” — flipped protesters his middle finger.
Only Alaska political consultant Art Hackney, an ally of the incumbent Republicans, engaged the crowd by going toe to toe with Burke.

“It’s outrageous to see people cast aspersions like this, and the first thing that’s reprinted in public is that [Stevens and Young] are guilty,” Hackney said. “Part of this centers on one guy who got indicted, and he was the head of the biggest Alaska-grown employer in the state. For heaven’s sake, who would you expect these guys to be having meetings with over the years except people who do control the jobs and opportunities?”

The Alaska-grown employer in question is Veco Corp., an oil-services company that has sent hundreds of thousands of dollars in contributions to Young, Stevens and junior Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R), who is struggling to clear her own ethical cloud this summer (see chart). Veco chief executive Bill Allen, a former host of Young’s pig roast, is now facing jail time and cooperating with federal investigators.

Hackney said he is counseling Stevens and Young to be as candid with voters as possible, making themselves available and countering media coverage of the inquiry with positive coverage of their own activities.

“Alaskans deserve to have a congressperson that puts Alaska first and not their own narrow self-interests,” said Fernando Cuevas, spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “The many ethical questions surrounding Don Young have left voters wanting change.”

Polls released this week suggested that Democrats may have a leg up. The Hays Research Group in Anchorage found Stevens with a 44 percent positive rating in the state and showed Republican Gov. Sarah Palin trouncing Stevens by 23 percentage points in a hypothetical Senate primary next year.