Has your opinion of Alaska changed since Sarah Palin entered the race?

[undeterred]

I have a totally different image of Alaska than I did before.

[ingac70]

1. Appears to be alot like Alabama. n/t

[mitchum]

39. Yes, mouth-breathers who can see their breath

[obiwan]

67. Alaska. Arkansas with polar bears.

[rcrush]

2. Everything I knew about Alaska I learned from Northern Exposure.

Alaska must be a magical place.

[LSparkle]

3. It has only reinforced a feeling I've had since dealing with a co-worker

who was raised there. He was very narrow-minded,
mildly racist and yet full of himself (without
any reason to be, imho). Just like Palin ...

[Ferret Annica]

72. No, as I've been there twice and this does not surprise me.

[Beaverhausen]

4. yes and not in a good way

I didn't really think about it all that much before, but if many alaskans are like the Palins...

I know they all aren't!!! So don't flame me.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

5. yes.

They seem to grow crystal meth, morons, and really bad pols there.

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. No... it is beautiful country

but many folks have a leave me alone attitude re FEDS...

It is not unlike mucb of fly-over country or the backwoods of the Northwest

[demokatgurrl]

43. When you say "Northwest", you mean New Hampshire, right? n/t

[nadinbrzezinski]

56. No, Washington and Oregon

[depakid]

81. The difference is endemic corruption

Alaska is nothing like Oregon and Washington is that respect- more like Louisiana.

[AlCzervik]

7. no, i figured it was loaded with libertarian types.

[Bicoastal]

8. Actually, I think BETTER of them...

...I always thought AK was a haven for Republican crazies. But since Palin was selected, I've seen and heard reports of record-breaking protests AGAINST her.

They're not a blue state by any means, but maybe 2008 will turn them a little pinker.

[Blue_In_AK]

9. We are only angry that Wasillans

were so closed-mouthed about their former mayor's "issues" before the 2006 governor's race. We had no idea she was like this, and nothing about her term as governor (at least as was reported in the press) gave us any reason to believe that she was anything other than a personable executive who was willing to work across party lines to accomplish her goals. The firing of Walt Monegan was really the first indication that something was terribly wrong. We have been as shocked as everyone else at the tone she has taken on the national stage.

Please don't assume that all Alaskans are like this. We are not, and everyone I've talked to lately is furious with Sarah for presenting this image of us to the outside world. She will pay when she comes back here.

[undeterred]

15. I saw a news show about the corruption in the Alaska

State government about a year ago and Sarah Palin was presented very positively. Senator Stevens was not. So when her name first came up as VP no alarm bells went off for me except that she was "under investigation".

She's not the first politician to show a different side when she got her 15 minutes of fame.

[Blue_In_AK]

19. That's very true.

And coming after Frank Murkowski, who had the most unfavorable rating of any governor in the country at the time he was ousted, she looked really good. She did have a record of standing up against the "good old boys" of our state Republican establishment - that's not a lie. But it appears now that she was taking that stand for her personal aggrandizement, not for the good of the state as we had been led to believe. We're very, very disappointed in her.

That's not to say that she doesn't still have a lot of supporters here, but the more objective of us have really had our eyes opened. I knew it was all over the night of her convention speech. We had never heard these kinds of partisan attacks from her before, and she's just gotten worse on the campaign trail.

[JetCityLiberal]

35. I have really appreciated your posts Blue_In_AK

about Alaska and Palin. Many thanks. We buy a years worth of Alaskan seafood every November from our pals in Alaska as we have done for the last 15 years. Same family that catches it sails down the left coast selling it. Love them. That is not going to change.

Thanks again for your efforts here, much appreciated. :thumbsup:

Paul

[TomClash]

10. When I thought of Alaska

I thought of big skies, pristine environment, oil and snow.

Now I think of Alabama without the charm or efficiency.

[Liberal_in_LA]

11. Yeah, it has. And I visited there a few years ago. Nice place. Didn't

know they'd let any random nut be governor

[John Q. Citizen]

12. Not at all. We get a lot of back and forth here in Montana.

While I have never been to Alaska, know a lot of people who have lived there.

It's funny, I'd like to see Alaska because I like to travel. But it's not at the top of my list.

I've long realized that there are crazy people everywhere.

I have a hard time buying into regional stereo types as seen on TV.

[sandnsea]

26. Is she swaying voters there?

I never thought about that til this minute. Of course a certain breed of Montanan would like her. I bet she shored up a lot of constitutional party types, and freemen, and all the rest of the nutsos. I wonder how Obama would be doing if she weren't on the ticket. Maybe that's the problem in Colorado too. Hmmmm.

[John Q. Citizen]

36. My long time Repo voting neighbor can't stand Palin. She says she's crazy a n d

I agree.

The fundies love her, but the business and libertarian types can't stand her and they see her selection as both pandering and as a major error.

True the few Constitutional Party/White Christian Identity and that brand of 'conservative' like her. They can't stand McCain.

But there aren't that many wackos and main stream fundies combined.

Obama has a shot here. It's uphill still but with the right ground game it's a possibility.

[undeterred]

13. I had no idea there were secessionists

although it makes sense that there would be libertatian types. The Assembly of God thing just freaks me out... it doesn't seem to match the wilderness setting.

[John Q. Citizen]

25. You are making gross generalizations based on data selected for you

by our mass media.

Everybody is a secessionist at some time or another, to some degree. When I got to Montana people used to joke that MT and Alberta should secede and form a country. We'd have the headwaters of the Columbia and the Missouri, 1/5 of the wheat growing land in the world, vast hydro carbon and wind energy resources, and a few hundred ICBMs with nuclear payloads. All set to join the world community!

Northern California/Southern Or. is experiencing a movement for state secession (To create the 51 state, Jefferson)

Heck, somebody somewhere is always seceding.



I don't hold Palin up as representative of Alaska. Heck, the librarian who wouldn't ban the books, the State Security head who wouldn't fire Palin's ex-BIL, why aren't these examples what you associate with Alaska?

Alaska has been voting Repo for a long time. And there are a lot of independents. There are also the folks who aren't much interested in politics, which is why they move to out of the way places. You don't go through Alaska on your way somewhere else, usually.

[JitterbugPerfume]

14. well, I loved those guys on Northern Exposure

reality sucks!


I don't throw stones however, I live in Indiana.

[undeterred]

16. How about "Men in Trees" ?

I like those guys.

[JitterbugPerfume]

17. I like those guys too!

[cherokeeprogressive]

18. Not a single bit.

Alaska is home to my most memorable fishing trip. Ketchikan.

Fuck Sarah Palin.

[Quixote1818]

20. No, it sounds like they also have a lot of really good people up there

They came through on Troopergate and the guys running against her seemed very smart!

[goclark]

21. Don't think I want to visit now

[polichick]

22. I've always thought it was way too cold for me - Psycho Sarah just confirms it.

[Top Cat]

23. It has changed my view of Alaska

[JBear]

24. Well, I have family up there...

and we always knew that things ticked a bit differently up there. What I did not know what how much of a welfare state it really is. Now it makes sense as to why my Uncle up rooted his entire Virginia family and moved them up there to "homestead." Interestingly enough, I think that as he has grown older and certain "family secrets" have come out, my Uncle has started trending a bit more liberal!

:bounce:

[Balbus]

27. Yep. It surprises me that people call Alaska a state.

[Blue_In_AK]

47. And you wonder why there are secessionists here??

[LynneSin]

28. I don't blame Alaskans, at the time of the primaries she was running against corruption

and in those 2 years she has become just as corrupt. I'd like to think that we, in the lower 48 + Hawaii, are doing Alaska a favor by exposing her corruption and making her totally unemployable in the government by her next election if not beforehand.

[Mother Of Four]

29. A good number of these responses make me sick at heart-

I was born and raised there, I'm a transplant to NC. I grew up 2 miles up Rabbit Creek Road, in a house that doesn't really exist there anymore. I went from there (moms) to dads place in Bayshore (This is for people who know the area)

All of this talk of Alaska on the news makes me homesick as well, I want my mountains dangit.

PLEASE, for those of you with a negative perception of Alaska...Keep in mind that it's diverse in it's own way. It has some of my best, and some of my worst memories up there.


There's a saying- you either love it or hate it, there is no in between.


Oh how my heart weeps for you Alaska.
Your jagged teeth tearing the night sky,
Whilst it bleeds the colors of life.

The cold caress of winters kiss,
Freezing you to your very soul.
Sleep Alaska, so tired ..so old.

Your grizzled beard unkempt,
Holding a world within its follicles.
Moving upon your skin Alaska.

Ancient man, woman and child.
Pure and innocent Alaska...
Yet evil, murderous and black.

Jealous Alaska, of a hearts touch.
So you smother it alive in the dark,
Then burn it through summer with your light.

Your tears feed us, water us Alaska.
Teeming with plentiful nourishment,
Yet you would drown us with your sorrow.

Cradle me, comfort me in your womb.
Raise me up to the Northern Sky,
To touch the stars that touch you Alaska.

Yes, my heart weeps for you Alaska.
You are my bones, my blood, my tears.
I am you, Alaska. I am Home.



(C) Lorelei Xxxxxxx February 1, 2004

[11 Bravo]

30. Nope, still big, still cold, still has the same percentage of whack jobs as the lower 48.

They just happened to elect one as their Governor.

[scarletwoman]

31. Not at all. But I lived there for six years, and it's very apparent that most non-Alaskans haven't

the faintest clue about what Alaska is really like. Truth is, when I first moved there I felt like I had travelled to another planet -- it was that different from any place I had ever lived before, and I'd lived in rural areas of five different states before I moved to Alaska.

I hope people won't judge Alaska by Palin alone; there are really many, many wonderful and amazing people there, and I'll always be grateful for having the experience of living there.

sw

[uppityperson]

62. Thank you for posting that. It hasn't changed for me either, lived there 6+yrs too.

And I agree very much with what you wrote, second the thoughts. Thank you.

[scarletwoman]

71. Thanks! Interesting that we both did about 6 years up there.

I really loved Alaska in a lot of ways, and had some great adventures -- but I came to realize that it just wasn't where I wanted to spend the rest of my life.

sw

[uppityperson]

83. Yes, back on the road system, able to see family faster is nice.

It was a very interesting place to be and I'd recommend a stay for most people, esp outside of Anchorage or other citified area. Small town or bush can be quite an enlightenment. It is nice to have not only a tap with cold water running out of it but one with hot also. Even in the winter when pipes freeze. Lots of interesting individuals, along with some assholes too of course.

I went up for what I knew would be a short stay, and am very glad I did. Having Palin put on the ticket may perhaps give people some other ideas about AK, but some of those are the negative parts since of course there are problems (like the Church Bloc). Hoping people with open minds will listen to the good stuff also.

Best to you.

[stillcool]

32. I like what I've read about..

the people in Alaska. After reading Mudflats, Andrew Halcro, and the Anchorage Daily News..it seems like a great place!

[nomaco-10]

33. Not really...

I already knew from people I have known that have lived there, that Alaska is full of military bases, anti government survivalists and greedy, lonely pipeline and oil workers and commercial fishermen that have an extreme higher than average rates of alcoholism.

It's hard to think straight when you are isolated and drunk all the time.

[AndyTiedye]

34. The Only Alaskan I Know is COMPLETELY UNLIKE Sarah Palin

He is intelligent, creative, articulate, and loves animals. He is everything that Sarah Palin is NOT.

[Critters2]

37. I've only known one Alaskan, and he was exactly like Palin,

a raving fundamentalist with racist tendencies. I had hoped he was the exception. Doesn't look like it now.

[mitchum]

38. Worse than the south; filled with incurious and violent rednecks AND cold

also, the frozen land of the moose has never produced a William Faulkner or Tennessee Williams

[Honeycombe8]

40. You betcha. nt

[Doctor_J]

41. I think one problem with the "get government off my back" folks is that

they can put someone completely incompetent, corrupt, and lazy inoffice, then not care, or even notice. Maybe AK will pay more attention next time.

[Chloroplast]

42. Sarah Palin actually helped show me an admirable side of Alaska.

If it weren't for her hatchet job as Governor and representative of Alaska, the citizens of her State wouldn't need to stand up and protest; that independent spirit is what I see as the Alaskan way.

[SoxFan]

44. It's Louisiana with snow

Crooked politicians. Oil fetish. Weird wildlife that can kill you in a hurry. Lunatic governor.

[Ino]

45. Yes, and not in a good way.

I keep telling myself that not all Alaskans exploit their environment and the animals entrusted to them, that they're not all uneducated ignorant rednecks...

But then I read Palin has an 80% approval rating. So maybe 80% of them are.

[olegramps]

46. I will wait until after the election to make up my mind on the mind of Alaskans

[RagAss]

48. No...it's still a wonderous place.

[mr1956]

49. Nope

I had no opinion and no real information about Alaska before Palin. I don't think you can really know the people by listening to the news, everybody has their slant. I'll reserve my opinion until I ever visit. We've got nut jobs in every state but thank God the good usually out number the bad.

[LynnTheDem]

50. Yes, and not for the better. Which is unfortunate, as I'm sure the majority of

Alaskans are far more intelligent than Palin' and her supporters suggest.

[lucabrasi]

51. Not really

My wife and I were in Alaska for 16 nights in June/July; it was an amazing trip. There are areas that are quite progressive like Juneau, Talkeetna, and Homer where everyone we met, including a lot of locals, were nothing at all like what many people are thinking since Palin was selected.

Now, I will say that Anchorage was an exception. We spent one night there and our consensus was that it felt very right wing. But as a lot of folks say, the good thing about Anchorage is that it is only 30 mins from Alaska.

I'm just glad we went before all this started, and I hope we can return someday when all this is just a bad memory.

[vanderBeth]

52. Yeah, but I don't want to stereotype.

I saw these two kids there before that were so cute and looked like they had such a nice life. And the nature is BEAUTIFUL (and people who know me know how crazy I get about the wilderness)

EDIT: There are also some Alaskans on here that have been showing some cool pictures of some of the rallies of people have been having since Palin was nominated. So of course there's cool people everywhere. People like the Palins ruin it.

[POAS]

53. I don't mind stereotyping sometimes

and this is one of those times.

Seems like a state full of Hatfields and McCoys on snow machines with the occasional Sheriff Taylor thrown into the mix trying to keep them apart!

[Teacher in SC]

54. At first, but once Anne Kilkenny and Mudflats came on the ...

scene I could see it must be as varied in many ways as the rest of us. I do sense that it's harder to "get along" up there if you aren't on the right side of something. I feel enough of that in South Carolina to know what it must be like up there.

[ecstatic]

55. Yes Palin and the gal from America's Next Top Model

have soured my impression but I will try to keep an open mind.

[bluedawg12]

57. Low education, superstitious, hypermacho, fearful,

suspicious, insecure, hostile to outsiders, paranoid of outsiders from lower forty , authorithy, rw extremists, with violent political fringe groups.

[political_Dem]

58. I've learned a great deal about Alaska since Palin entered the race.

However, I have never gotten a straight answer about how they treat people of color up there. I know that all Alaskans aren't alike, but why is there such a negative perception of people of color up there?

Please can anyone just tell the truth about race-relations in that state? I'd like to know how people not only deal with the populations of color, but with Native Americans too.

[uppityperson]

64. Living in Juneau, there are a lot of NA and Filipinos also.

NA from it being where they live, and Filipinos from working canneries and living in the city now. There are, of course, those who look down upon those of another culture, but also many who cross cultures and don't give a damn about it, embracing diversity instead.

Lived in Eagle (small town interior on the Yukon, aka "coming into the country" by John McPhee) and there were 3 groups there, The Church, Athabaskans, and the liberals who associated with whomever they wanted to or needed to.

[political_Dem]

65. Thank you for telling me that. I appreciate it.

I've been curious for a long time about the question of race-relations. Now there is a little more food for thought in that area.

[VoodooGuru]

59. I've been there. It's awesome.

However, my experience is limited to the scenic beauty (unchanged by the dumbfuckery of Sarah Palin and company) and the historic towns along the southeast coast (also, largely, unchanged by said dumbfuckery.)

I have no intention of ever visiting Wasilla, or for that matter Anchorage. Juneau, on the other hand, was pretty cool, and I'd gladly go back. Preferably when I can see the Northern Lights without chemical assistance.

[Bryn]

60. I was surprised to find Alaska being worse than the South! Very Red!

They're NORTH!

[Roxy66]

61. Sadly...yes

[undeterred]

63. I didn't mean to start something negative about Alaska

although I guess the responses show that Palin hasn't been a positive representative.

I guess if anything we found out that a place of spectacular beauty has the same political problems and mix of people that the rest of the country does, just a little different mix.

Edit: I've enjoyed listening to an Alaskan reporter on Jon Elliot's show and hearing more about the reactions in Alaska and the investigation up there plus having Jon Nichols up there. Also, I think its good sometimes to have a focus on a particular state and hear from DUers there. Alaska doesn't get in the spotlight enough- and it is pretty important.

[petronius]

66. I thought less of AK when she entered, but then I went there and I think

better of the state than I did before. Alaska is a much more complex state than it's being portrayed as...

[WildEyedLiberal]

68. No because it's fucking stupid to judge a state based on the personality of one random politician

Why the fuck would my opinion of ALASKA change?

I feel sorry for the people who actually responded "yes" to this question. How sad that you are so rigid and intellectually lazy to reduce the entire world to convenient, blinkered stereotypes in which one person can somehow stand in for half a million.

[Forrest Greene]

69. Yes. I've Added It

...to the list of places where I shall try my best to never spend a dime.

British Columbia, Alberta, & Washington state look nice, though.

[Blackhatjack]

70. I for one have been surprised to find so many fine Alaskans protesting Palin...

The more I read about Alaska and its people the more I admire them, political parties aside.

How can you not be impressed with the size of the anti-Palin protests, the attempts to hold Palin accountable in the Troopergate investigation, and the local news media not letting her off the hook.

I think Palin will find it quite a bit colder in Alaska when she returns after the election.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

73. No

There are not a lot of women in Alaska so a MILF would probably be popular up there. FWIW I live in the Puget Sound region so I run into a lot of people from Alaska.

[Essene]

74. yes, it's a silly state living off oil and federal pork

1/3 jobs there depend on federal funds.

75 cents of every dollar worth of oil is taken in taxes.

people actually get paid to live there.

it's like... part wild west and part saudi arabia.

[Awsi Dooger]

75. No, but it will change if Begich wins the senate race

That would be amazing, a Democratic senator from Alaska. I've very skeptical the polling edge will hold up, especially if Stevens is acquitted.

Otherwise, I've been there twice and it's a remarkable state, other than the muddy roads and high prices. For some reason, I really like the old red light district in Ketchikan, strolling the planks. :)

[Democat]

76. Unfortunately, yes.

I'm sure they are losing a lot of tourist dollars because of Palin and what she's doing to damage the state's reputation.

Many Palin's supporters are the kind of people who probably never leave their home state because they are afraid of the world. Didn't Palin herself not even have a passport? I doubt they make up for the lost tourism for the state's tarnished image with right wingers who love her.

[KsStorm]

77. NO.

I have seen SO many people blogging AGAINST Palin, speaking out against her,that I believe them,rather than her. I have a feeling they won't take her back when the election is over,and she crawls back to Alaska w/ her tail between her legs.

[TooRaLoo]

78. Unfortunately it gives me a negative image of AK and I feel bad for the

citizens who aren't like Sarah Palin.

[AZBlue]

79. Of course not, that's absurd.

[krkaufman]

80. Not at all. It's just about what I'd expect ...

... given what we've seen from the other politicians coming out of the state. Though I will say that the extreme fundies were a new perspective.

Palin as governor is plausible in such a state, for a term or so, until her weaknesses are exposed; but I was more shocked by Minnesotans when they elected Jesse Ventura as governor.

[comtec]

82. not one bit.

I was born in Alaska, and recently returned there after 32 years.
It's breathtakingly beautiful, and I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone.
We were in anchorage, which does feel a bit southern, but being white I'm not bothered by it (sad but true fact).
Being from California, I automatically look down on others (JOKING!), actually, after living here in Holland for the batter part of 5 years (and visiting it for another 5) with my wife, I have a much greater appreciation for other cultures, an omfg, is Alaska different.

it's... schizophrenic, that's the only word that comes to mind.
The people range from beautiful to OMFG, spiritually.
To say it's 'different' is to require a complete re-write of the definition of different.
The PEOPLE are conservationists through and through, but they VOTE conservative... totally weird.
I was up during the AK primaries, and was just disgusted by how the vote went down, EVERY SINGLE piece of progressive legislation, and politician went down.

just amazing, it felt at odds with the people I had run into so far.


But no, It's a beautiful place, and I'd live there if I had the job I do now.

Sadly Sarah P is also typical of what I saw. I believe every bit that is coming out about her, and there's probably a lot MORE, and trust me, it didn't come out because no one really thought much about it.

but it's such a fascinating blend of ideas and ideals there... some really bothering , some... my cousin Jack London spent a career writing about Alaska, because it's not possible to sum it up in even a paragraph. You can only explain aspects. You can only look at once faucet at a time, and each one has it's own appearance.