Failed coup leaves Republican revolutionaries in tight spot

Frontiersman editorial board

Aside from a few days of interesting speculation, what are Alaskans likely to get from the failed coup attempt in Juneau? It's very possible we're on the brink of a venomous legislative session. This coup was mostly a power play enacted by former House speaker Pete Kott, who wasn't ready to let loose the reigns and by the body of Democrat representatives, who haven't even seen the tail of the trail horse in years. Caught in the middle was a group of Republicans who signed on as loyal Kott supporters. Those Republican insurgents stood to gain some committee chairmanships.

After a coup fails, things tend to go badly for the revolutionaries. In this case, the Democrats had the least to lose. They were already marginalized, and they had only seized an opportunity to finally have some control. Kott had the most to gain, and he'd already said he wouldn't be happy with anything short of the speaker's job. He made his bid, and failed. It was the other Republicans who signed up for the coup that stood to lose the most. They made a dreadful political miscalculation, and time will tell just how dreadful.

There were always lines between different groups of Republican representatives. Until now those lines were mostly painted on the floor. Now they are raised, and during the next session the majority will have to decide whether to knock them back down, or to use them as foundations for new walls in Juneau.

On Kott's side, the promise was to bring the legislative process more out in the open and to be more inclusive -- less partisan. Kott was apparently willing to give some Democrats committee chairmanships, creating a coalition majority. Now what we have is a divided House with a fragmented Republican majority. There will no doubt be some lingering hard feelings between the Republican core and those who abandoned them. The choice left to the defectors is whether to repent and hope to regain the favor of their party or to stay the course and continue to work as a coalition with the Democrats. If they choose the latter, we're likely to see a slow-moving, contentious session. Either way, many defectors will likely face new Republican challengers in the next election.

The good news for the Mat-Su is that a successful coup would have weakened the Mat-Su delegation. None of the Mat-Su representatives joined the coup effort. That loyalty will hopefully be rewarded by the party.