First nasty ad out of the Begich – union hopper following the self-immolation of the Walker – Mallott ticket is a little ditty accusing Republican Mike Dunleavy of failing to support Bree’s Law. This was the effort of Bree Moore’s parents to create a legislative solution to the vermin that murdered their daughter.
The ad ranks right up (or down) there with the 2014 Begich ad accusing then candidate Dan Sullivan of being responsible for the death of two grandparents and the subsequent rape of their 2-year-old granddaughter by a guy named Jerry Active, released from prison on a plea bargain. Sullivan was the Alaska Attorney General at the time of the murder. It was one of the nastiest ads in the entire national 2014 campaign cycle and Begich quickly pulled it. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2014/11/13/the-worst-ad-of-the-2014-campaign/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.f30e80a1504c
Doesn’t look like former Walker-supporting Unite Alaska (unions, Sealaska and Walker sycophant Robin Brena) are going to pull this one any time soon.
Now here’s the funny part: The Moore’s have no part whatsoever in crafting or supporting the ad. Unite Alaska got the photos they used from local TV video. The Moore’s have gone so far as to ask the Begich-supporting Unite Alaska to pull the ad out of respect for them and their loss. Of course, Unite Alaska refused and the ad continues to run.
So let us reprise what really happened along the way to passage of Bree’s Law.
Bree’s Law was named after a 20-year-old woman physically abused by her boyfriend and killed in 2014. She hid the abuse. Her parents decided the solution should be public education about dating abuse and domestic violence and pushed for legislation.
By 2015, two Bills were moving through the legislature, both mandating additional coursework in Alaska public schools. Erin’s Law was a bill mandating sexual assault prevention education. Bree’s Law mandated public education about dating and domestic violence. As they generally addressed the same sorts of things, they were combined.
Senator Mike Dunleavy was supportive but concerned about yet another unfunded legislative mandate on the public schools. As someone with extensive experience inside public education statewide, this reaction not only should be expected, but celebrated, as it is the very definition of responsible legislative concern. He worked to make sure the new mandate was properly funded. https://www.adn.com/politics/article/parents-behind-brees-law-blunt-education-alaska-politics/2015/06/10/
The combined legislation called the Alaska Safe Children’s Act was finally passed on the last day of Bill Walker’s numerous special sessions in 2015. https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/article/governor-signs-alaska-safe-childrens-act-law/2015/07/10/
And for this, the newly renamed Begich-supporting, Sealaska, union and Robin Brena funded Unite Alaska is now claiming that Dunleavy does not care about violence against women. Really? Not a lot uniting going on here, is there?
But the legislative argument was all about technique rather than basic policy. Casting this argument as blatant crass failure of a candidate to care about domestic violence to women is going a bit far, though something we have come to expect from Mark Begich, democrats, Alaska Firsters, and their union supporters to the point where it would be a surprise not to get it that way. And the notion that yet another hour or two long class shoe-horned into the public education year will solve the problem of domestic abuse is laughable on its face.
Will it work? Who knows? My guess is probably not, as it doesn’t approach the underlying cause of societal ugliness, that of removing religion, Christianity, from the public square for over half a century. And nobody, but nobody is calling for that to be reversed. But they should.
Alex Gimarc lives in Anchorage since retiring from the military in 1997. His interests include science and technology, environment, energy, economics, military affairs, fishing and disabilities policies. His weekly column “Interesting Items” is a summary of news stories with substantive Alaska-themed topics. He is a small business owner and Information Technology professional.
