"Party Poopers" Walker/Mallott

Okay: So let me see if I got this right: Alaskan Democrats abandon their principles to endorse a candidate because he's promising to not act on his Republican principles... so they can defeat a governor that doesn't have any principles. Got it.

But seriously, there is a sizable contingent of folks who just saw our votes invalidated by behind-closed-doors tactics. One way to view this is that after the results of the recent primary the will of the electorate was circumvented. Regardless of party affiliation the result of that is to further disenfranchise voters from participating in the electoral process - and at a time when our previous two elections had around 40% turnout. Basically what has happened was the Alaskan Democratic Party panicked over polls that saw a three-way gubernatorial race resulting in a win for Parnell. But rather than tackle the problem of attracting and registering new voters to their original ticket they instead opted to subvert the voting process with back-room negotiations where a “Central Committee” decided everything in the end.    And speaking of the last, most recent election, if Walker’s glamor is running on essentially being Mr. “Yes on One/Repeal the Giveaway” personified, in case people have already forgotten… that ballot measure lost. And they certainly won't get more voters to the polls for essentially a revote on the same referendum after undermining trust and confidence in the process.

   So far there are a handful of other serious concerns with this new "Unity" ticket, not the least of which is a reminder that Walker’s push for Alaskan Firsty-stuff includes the development of Pebble Mine. He is also for continuing the war on drugs (opposing the legalization initiative), has adopted the ol' intrusive-Federal-overreach sovereignty language of Tea Partiers (“Uni-Tea Party?”), and if you think for a single minute his right-wing perspective on woman’s rights, gay rights and other social issues will remain off the legislative table during his tenure, then I have another bridge to nowhere for sale. *Update: ...aaand the salmon has turned around and begun to go with the current.
   Now what I would sincerely question anyone supporting this ticket is: where exactly does one draw the line before compromise turns into selling out? Any of the above issues? All of them? None of the above?
   Lastly, take a long look at who the gubernatorial candidates had running with them as their respective picks for Lieutenant Governor: Walker had selected Craig Fleener, versus the one that Byron chose - Hollis French. The latter was incidentally the candidate I personally had the highest hopes and most enthusiasm for... what motivated me to go to the polls to vote before the ticket was effectively shredded.

   Indeed it would be ironic to see “Democrats” pull the levers for a "Republican" candidate, but the hypocrisy is somewhat stale after the last shenanigans with sacrificing McAdams for Murkowski. Already many who are nominally sympathetic to Democratic, Progressive or Liberal principles + platforms have begun to proselytize for this pair of politicians, all the while avoiding the literal elephant in the room, and - insult to injury - completely ignoring the unethical sleight of hand the Alaska Democratic Party committed, all in the name of winning at any cost. Or put simpler, politics as usual.
   Certainly now neither of these two has earned my vote for this fiasco. On the other hand, this cynic would love to be proven wrong: see here for a succinct perspective on the topic from "What Do I Know" (it sure as hell beats agreeing with Paul Jenkins et al). Update: and an excellent cautionary overview from John Aronno on Alaska Commons re "social issues.".