October, 15, 2006
By Michael Rovito/Frontiersman
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Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, spoke Wednesday in front of the Wasilla chapter of Rotary Club International. The 17-term lawmaker, who spent much of his life in Fort Yukon, was in Alaska during a congressional break before Congress reconvenes for a lame-duck session this fall.
Young attended a fund-raiser for Alaska gubernatorial candidate Sarah Palin before
arriving in
Wasilla.
After a short introduction from Rotary member Bert Hall, Young — who said he would not talk politics during an election year unless he was asked — voiced concern over the recently alleged nuclear weapons test by North Korea.
“I am somewhat nervous,” Young said. “Now we have someone who’s totally insane with nuclear power.”
The 34-year congressman touted Alaska’s possible role in national missile defense, naming Fort Greely as a key area
for state-of-the-art defense systems.
Alaska has been identified as the closest American target a North Korean missile could reach, and Young said residents of the state should know the risks.
“Alaska had better be aware that this is a potential real threat,” he said.
Citing recent criticism of President Bush and his administration’s dealing with Kim Jong Il, Young said neither Bush nor former president Bill Clinton is to blame for the threat North Korea poses. Young chalked it up to the Communist leader’s lunacy.
Turning his attention to national events, Young said the recent congressional page sex scandal involving Florida Republican Mark Foley is “a very bad thing.”
Young questioned the timing of allegations against Foley — who resigned amid a media frenzy exposing Internet conversations between the congressman and a 16-year-old male page — surfacing just weeks before mid-term elections, and said the matter should have been exposed
earlier.
“The gentleman has a problem,” Young said. “What he did as a congressman was wrong.”
Fallout from the scandal has some political analysts predicting a possible House and Senate takeover by Democrats, which Young said he is confident will not happen.
But if it does, he said he is prepared to serve as part of the minority.
“I have always been very, very bipartisan,” Young said.
Before returning to Congress in any capacity, Young first must defeat Democratic challenger Diane Benson, a Juneau activist and antiwar candidate.
Benson, speaking from Juneau on Saturday, countered Young’s confidence in the Republican ticket by predicting a dire outcome for her opposing party in the upcoming election because of the Foley scandal and plummeting approval ratings for both the president and Congress.
“I think the Republicans have practiced denial quite a bit,” Benson said.
She added that evidence from her own office points toward a loss of power in the House by Republicans. Benson said after news of the Foley scandal broke, her office was flooded with calls from what she called disgruntled Republicans and fence-sitters who are unhappy with the country’s leadership and direction.
While the former Green Party candidate admits Young’s time in office hasn’t been a complete waste, she said the Fort Yukon man hasn’t been as productive as he could have been for Alaskans.
“If I thought so, I wouldn’t be running,” Benson said.
The news media didn’t escape criticism from Young, who said Wednesday the destruction of those in public office by newspapers and television is a disgrace. He added that most media these days will stop at nothing to find fault with an individual in public office or running in an
election.
“A person can be the cleanest individual, but has a brother who likes to run with sheep,” Young said, adding that those who haven’t grown up on a farm might not know what that means.
After Young’s speech, he clarified his statement by saying television media deserves most of the blame for scaring people out of running for public office. The constant barrage of news is something Young said distorts peoples’ view of what is going on in the world.
At the close of the event, newly elected Mat-Su Borough Mayor Curt Menard said he agreed with Young’s assertion that no matter what the United States does to prevent terrorism, citizens are never 100 percent safe.
Menard went on to praise Young’s longevity in office.
“I’m very impressed for his long years of service with the state,” he said. “That he still has the fire in his belly to do his job.”
The 109th Congress will reconvene in Washington, D.C., after elections are over in November.
Contact Michael Rovito at 352-2252 or michael.rovito@ frontiersman.com.
Comments
25 comment(s)anita wrote on Mar 7, 2009 4:08 PM:
you have the right to judge? u must not have a life, or anyone in your family who have had altercations in their youth that made them grow up, and furthermore, the thing that matters, is, if they turn out to be useful good members of society, right? are u perfect? exactly! "
Gerry Ardo wrote on Nov 15, 2008 1:59 PM:
jill wrote on Nov 5, 2008 6:15 AM:
LMAO wrote on Oct 28, 2008 9:04 PM:
The Truth wrote on Oct 5, 2008 11:48 AM:
Michigan Lady wrote on Oct 5, 2008 8:48 AM:
Michiganvoter wrote on Oct 1, 2008 5:53 PM:
Marci Bereu wrote on Sep 24, 2008 3:25 PM:
The report is true, including going into the army to avoid jail. I'm sure strings can be pulled for kids of VIP parents. "
Steve McAdam wrote on Sep 16, 2008 4:19 PM:
California Gal wrote on Sep 16, 2008 3:23 PM:
Doug Polcin wrote on Sep 14, 2008 9:49 AM:
Will wrote on Sep 13, 2008 6:31 PM:
Log Dog wrote on Sep 11, 2008 2:27 PM:
Fran wrote on Sep 11, 2008 12:32 PM:
DEMSWRONG wrote on Sep 10, 2008 4:15 PM:
Rock Roll wrote on Sep 9, 2008 9:42 AM:
wes wrote on Sep 8, 2008 8:08 AM:
Jay wrote on Sep 6, 2008 4:58 PM:
Sue wrote on Sep 6, 2008 1:14 AM:
Foobar wrote on Sep 5, 2008 2:59 PM:
The entire Palin family is like a well-dressed episode of Jerry Springer. "
MrUniteUs wrote on Sep 5, 2008 5:31 AM:
Was Sarah Palin's son "Track Palin" arrested for vandalism ... Most recently there is discussion that Track Palin, then 16, was one of the 3 boys arrested for vandalizing 44 Mat-Su school buses - an incident that forced ...
answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080904193702AAGlSCL - "
aklocal wrote on Sep 2, 2008 8:07 PM:
Destyne Pope wrote on Feb 12, 2008 4:20 AM:
vacation wrote on Jan 30, 2008 12:39 PM:
Thank you! "
Nyakeh Sam Suale wrote on Nov 14, 2007 10:59 AM: