BEGICH’S BIG SENATE OPPORTUNITY
By Ted Gianoutsos, December 2008

The 2008 Alaska U.S. Senate race is finally over and Mark won by a whisker. He now has the chance to do something really great for Alaska, America, and wildlife – open ANWR with the N.E.W. National Endowment for Wildlife.

My wife Francoise and I certainly hope that Mark is truer to his word than father-son Stevens, father-daughter Murkowski, and Don Young. The “big 5” told us to our face several times, over the past 9 years since we became Alaskans and their constituents, that they agreed with our N.E.W.-ANWR idea.

They all said, “Yes, yes” to N.E.W.-ANWR and then did nothing to support our efforts. Mark too has agreed with N.E.W.-ANWR when I spoke to him about it a few times during his 6 years as Mayor of Anchorage while we were his constituents. Now that he is our senator we will see if his word is any better than that of the “big 5”.

Opening ANWR with the N.E.W. is by far the most beneficial way to do it. It is good for America, good for Alaska, and extremely good for wildlife and wilderness which are the essence of Alaska - and it is also very good for Mark.

Mark stands in stark contrast to Stevens whose 40 years in the senate were characterized by needless pork-barreling and the failure to open ANWR. Stevens used his Harvard law education to game the senate seniority system during 30 of his 40 years to pork-barrel money to Alaska when Alaska was flush with oil money.

While his needless pork-barreling kept him in power longer than any other Republican in senate history, it also led to corruption and his conviction on 7 felony counts, bringing dishonor to Alaska.

Mark is not a Harvard lawyer. Indeed, as I undiplomatically pointed out during the KTUU-NBC televised Youth Vote Senate Debate at West High School, Mark barely made it through high school. I apologized to Mark in writing for unintentionally offending and embarrassing him by speaking the truth about his glaring educational deficiency to serve in the U.S. Senate.

I also suggested to him in my written apology that he can correct his deficiency by enrolling in Georgetown University in Washington DC. By hitting the books hard, he can earn a Bachelor’s, Master’s and do the course work for a doctorate during his 6-year Senate term.

I recommended Georgetown because after completing my Bachelor’s in Business Administration at Boston University and my Master’s in Public Administration at the University of Southern California in my thirties, I was accepted at Georgetown as a Doctoral candidate in government in 1980. I regret that I could not attend. It would have made me a better-educated man and enhanced my public service. I hope that Mark gets the Georgetown University Doctorate that I did not. At 46, Mark is still a young man.

If Mark follows my heartfelt advice he will become a well-educated man, demonstrate his commitment to education by action instead of mere lip-service, and set a wonderful example for his young Alaska constituents and all American youth.

If Mark also really supports our efforts to open ANWR with N.E.W., he will do what the “big 5” have failed to do; greatly benefit America with much more Alaska oil and gas, ensure Alaska’s financial future for the next 50 years, and fund Alaska’s and America’s wildlife and wilderness conservation for as long as Alaska and America exist.

Mark can do easily do both during his 6-year senate term. Then, if Mark is really smart he will come back home to Alaska, write his doctoral dissertation on effective minimal senate service, run for governor to institutionalize Alaska’s N.E.W.-ANWR benefits, and after serving one 4-year term retire to unprecedented and well-deserved fame.

If Mark is not smart, he will follow in Stevens’ footsteps. Talk ANWR – do pork, and seek to sit in Stevens’ seat for the next 40 years. That scenario is not far-fetched. The Anchorage Daily News pointed out in a front-page story just before the election that both Begich and Stevens received money from the same Alaska developer where they were involved on the same projects benefiting the developer while they were mayor and senator.

So, that’s Mark’s senate opportunity in a nutshell. My hope is that he is smart. I hope Mark supports our N.E.W.-ANWR efforts that the “big 5” have failed to do for 9 years. I hope that Mark does what is necessary to get our 10 million dollar federal justice compensation to the Alaska Veterans Foundation’s Veterans Endowment Trust (V.E.T.) fund that the “big 5” have failed to do for 9 years.

I hope that Mark follows my advice to correct his educational deficiency, serve only one term in the senate, and come home to serve only one term as governor. Those are my hopes, but I will not hold my breath. Who knows? Maybe Mark will prove me less of a cynic than I have become, having been jerked around and lied to by Alaska’s “big 5” for the past 9 years!

Mark has the opportunity to really make a big difference in a short time. With a one 6-year term in the senate followed back-to-back with one 4-year term as governor he can show Alaskans and all Americans how it’s done. He can open ANWR by working closely with his own constituents and by seeing justice done to benefit veterans, serving military, and their families.

Mark can put America and Alaska first instead of putting himself first as father-son Stevens, father-daughter Murkowski, and Young have done. I sincerely hope that Mark Begich is up to the task of making the most of his big senate opportunity!