Joseph got a promotion and a badly sprained ankle. They have to roll him onto an airplane in a wheel chair, but he’s still at it. There’s a warrior for you. He told me titles don’t mean much, and I said he was wrong. They mean a lot. My title is Chairman, Reagan for President, Alaska. It’s the best one I ever had, and I’m keeping it. Joseph said he’ll probably be in California in a few weeks. I hope to be able to meet him.
I am not part of the Cruz campaign and I intend to keep it that way. Right now, I’m a Co-founder of the Reagan Project with sons Darren and Brendan, and I’m a Co-founder of the BBA Task Force. We’re a little loose with the term “co-founder”, since it implies you were present at the creation. Joseph is the newest Co-founder of the Task Force. So I’ve got all the titles I need.
And I don’t need any money or the responsibility that goes with it. Too much stress. A younger man, like Joseph, can handle it. If I don’t slow down I’m going to have a stroke. So I’m not looking for a job, a title, or any other damn thing. I’ve got everything I need.
I have to admit I’ve been getting a little teary every once in a while lately. I guess that’s what old men do, and I’m feeling old right now. After the Nevada caucuses, where I saw with my own eyes Ted Cruz go to Elko, the birthplace of the Sagebrush Rebellion, and campaign on the return of the land to the people, I knew I had to do something. This is what Alaska has been waiting for since Statehood, and even though I’m physically in California I still consider myself an Alaskan.
I looked up at the campaign calendar on the wall of my office, and, sure as hell Alaska’s caucuses were less than a week away, on Super Tuesday. I had to get the word out. To make a long story short, in the most stressful five days of my life, I did. My buddy Frank Bickford was texting me the results as they came in. At 11:30, with 21% in, it was Trump 35, Cruz 33.6. Twenty minutes later, with 31 % in, it was Cruz 35% Trump 33%. I went to bed. I slept for five hours and got up to see the final count. We won by 627 votes.
Sometimes I wonder, how could my moment have come at a more perfect time? It was, like, providential. I am one of the very few men, if not the only man, who could have pulled this off. I did it with Sen. John Coghill, Speaker Tom Fink, Rep. Dick Randolph, Frank Bickford, David Cuddy, Michael Chambers and Mike Porcaro.
I’ve been out of Alaska politics since I left fifteen years ago. I was pissed. Babbie and I went up there with the intention of getting me elected a United States Senator, and my archenemy Ted Stevens had beaten me. It wasn’t going to happen.
It took me a while, but I cooled off. I talked to David Cuddy about it. I’m getting back in. There’s work to do.
