In every generation civilization is the laborious product and precarious privilege of an engulfed minority.
Alaska legislators need to support Article V
When the Framers drafted the Constitution in 1787 they knew their work would be imperfect, and would require amendment. So Congress was empowered to propose amendments with a 2/3 vote, with ratification of ¾ of the states also required. All of the 27 amendments to the Constitution have been the result of this process.
But what if the needed amendment involved a reform of Congress itself? What if the vast powers vested in Congress needed to be somehow curtailed? Congress might well refuse to propose an amendment to reform itself. Then what?
An alternative method was included in Article V of the Constitution. If 2/3 of the state legislatures passed resolutions calling for a Amendment Convention, where the proposed amendment would be drafted, Congress would be obligated to call such an Convention. Any proposed amendment drafted by the delegates would need ratification by ¾ of the states.
In response to reckless deficit spending by Congress, a movement began among the state legislatures to pass resolutions calling for an Amendment Convention to propose an amendment calling for fiscal reform of the Congress. There are varying estimates of the number of valid Article V resolutions which have passed, are valid, and can be aggregated to achieve the needed 2/3. Some legal scholars believe that there are currently in effect the 34 resolutions needed. Others disagree, and believe the number is less than 34. It’s up to Congress to make this decision, but Congress refuses to make the count, so no one knows for sure.
Congressmen of both political parties are hostile to the power of state legislatures to propose amendments to the Constitution. It’s a power they would prefer to reserve for themselves. So they refuse to even count the number of state resolutions which are valid. As a result no one knows, for sure, where the movement for a fiscal reform amendment stands. Has the 2/3 requirement been met? If not, how many more resolutions are needed?
In order to determine this question it is necessary for the federal courts to issue an order requiring Congress to conduct a count of the valid Article V resolutions. The Alaska legislature passed an Article V Resolution calling for a fiscal reform Amendment Convention 40 years ago. Thus the state has standing to file such a lawsuit, seeking a writ of mandamus from the court ordering Congress to do its duty under Article V, and to conduct a count of the fiscal reform Amendment resolutions.
In order to enhance the claim to standing by Alaska’s Attorney General it would be helpful if one or both Houses of the Alaska Legislature were to pass a resolution calling upon the Attorney General to file the lawsuit seeking the writ of mandamus. An effort has begun to try to pass such a resolution in the current session in Juneau.
Reckless spending by Congress has saddled future generations with a $31 trillion national debt. It has also caused rampant inflation. Congressional spending needs to be restrained. This can only be accomplished by an amendment to the Constitution. That can only be achieved by using the procedures set out in Article V which allow the state legislatures to initiate such an amendment.
Congress must be compelled by the federal courts to count the number of valid Article V resolutions it has in its possession. If that number is 34 or more, Congress must be ordered to call an Amendment Convention.
Most state legislators are unaware of the power Article V of the Constitution vests in them. Because they have been given this power, they have a constitutional responsibility to exercise it when the situation warrants. Runaway spending by Congress has resulted in an existential threat to the financial well being of this country. Fiscal reform is desperately needed. It will only come if state legislators recognize their obligations under Article V.
The House and Senate of the Alaska legislature should pass resolutions calling upon our Attorney General to file for an Article V writ of mandamus.
Thursday, January 19, 2023
Home Columns Fritz Pettyjohn: Josiah Patkotak is just right for Speaker Pro Tem
Fritz Pettyjohn: Josiah Patkotak is just right for Speaker Pro Tem
By
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January 17, 2023
By FRITZ PETTYJOHN
After Governor Bill Sheffield and Justice Jay Rabinowitz combined to gerrymander me out of my State Senate seat, I ran for the State House in 1984, hoping to figure out a way to get revenge.
I got elected, but the House Republican minority of the 14th Alaska Legislature had around 14 members, and we were completely ineffective.
Sitka’s Rep. Ben Grussendorf was the Democratic Speaker, but he was only a figurehead. The power in the House was Finance Chair Al Adams of Kotzebue.
In the 13th Legislature, Al had been Finance Committee chair in a Republican organization. R’s and D’s didn’t mean anything to Al. He was in Juneau for his people, the Alaska Natives. He led the six members of the Bush Caucus, and they called the shots.
I was from South Anchorage, originally from California, and I didn’t have any experience with Alaska Natives. I quickly learned that they didn’t allow personal ambition or vanity to interfere with what was good for the group. They were communal, and Al was a prime example.
He was a brilliant guy, and he worked his butt off. He never showed any ego, and was as mild mannered and kind as a guy could be. Everybody loved and respected Al. When I left the Legislature I was proud to call him a friend.
Right now the Alaska House is adrift, with no one able to form a majority organization. But there apparently is one legislator who has the potential to bring people together – Josiah Patkotak from the North Slope.
Al Adams didn’t just serve the Native people of Alaska. He served the whole state. In his spirit, perhaps Josiah should step forward and take a leadership role. At least for the next two years.
I never got my revenge on Jay Rabinowitz, but I played a significant role in taking Bill Sheffield down. Day after day I raised hell on the House floor, demanding the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate his corruption. His Attorney General, Norm Gorsuch, was an honorable guy, and he knew I was right under the law. When he did as I was demanding, and appointed Dan Hickey, the die was cast. We almost impeached Sheffield, and he was resoundingly defeated in the 1986 Democratic primary.
Fritz Pettyjohn blogs at ReaganProject.com
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Suzanne Downing had careers in business and journalism before serving as the Director of Faith and Community-based Initiatives for Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and returning to Alaska to serve as speechwriter for Gov. Sean Parnell. Born on the Oregon coast, she moved to Alaska in 1969.
7 COMMENTS
Jimbob Originally from CA says it all.Reply
Robert Schenker Fritz, I agree that the young man from the place formerly called Barrow would be a good choice for SpeakerI have an observation however about your feud with Gov Sheffield, your crippling of him led to the election of “The High Plains Drifter” how did that work out for you? Also, if memory serves, Bill Sheffield is the only Gov in my memory who actually cut State Spending, a conservative thing to do if memory serves.
Your thoughts in reply will be appreciated.ReplyFritz Pettyjohn He did cut state spending and wasn’t a bad Governor. But he was in bed with the thieves who were looting the North Slope Borough. When reform NSB Mayor George Ahmaogak was elected in 1984, Sheffield refused to meet with him when he came to Juneau.
Plus, Sheffield screwed me. I had to get payback. Politics ain’t beanbag.ReplyBill Yankee That High Plains Drifter sure had the oil folks in a panic when that tanker went aground in PWS Robert. Things eventually worked themselves out after some called for enormous amounts of dispersants to be used to sink that oil and even some called for bombing the spill, hoping the fire would remove large amounts.Reply
Trouser Bark There’s one sentence in this article to support the title. The rest of it is all about me Me mE MEMeeeeeee.Same as your prior article. This kind of thing might be interesting to some in a ‘welcome to 1980’ sort of way but the disingenuous titling could be done without.Reply
It occurs to me that knowing the past helps us understand the present and out how we got so screwed up?P.S. Fritz says Sheffield screwed him over, I wonder if Fritz was a Poker Player back in the day. Seems Sheffield had some doozy card games, attended by elected honchos and other power players. I wish Fritz would elaborate.Reply
NoLegs Good piece, Fritz, and accurate. I’m not too sure Airliss Sturgulewski, a RINO, would have given you many kudos if you had remained in the Senate. Jack Coghill extracted a little revenge on her in 1990. The House minority was a safe place for you. As to Al Adams, that’s tricky territory. How did Al end up with all of those beautiful homes and luxury vacations to Maui? I wasn’t aware that the salary of House Finance Chair was so lucrative. Adams was a dictator because the Republican majority allowed it. And the lone Libertarian at the time, Andre Marrou, wasn’t allowed to even speak up in Adam’s committee hearings. In fact, Adams took away funding for the LIO in Marrou’s district. I guess my recollections if Adams aren’t quite the same as yours.Reply
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40 years of politics at the Alaska Supreme Court
Forty years ago I was in my political prime. I was a 37-year-old lawyer with a beautiful wife and three fine looking little boys. For services rendered in his 1978 reelection campaign, Gov. Jay Hammond had designed a seat in the State Senate especially for me, and I was ready to start my legislative career.
I had come back to Alaska in 1974 after law school with the intention of taking out Democratic U. S. Sen. Mike Gravel, a liberal and a whack job. But Frank Murkowski beat me to it, so now I had my sights on liberal Republican Sen. Ted Stevens. I couldn’t run against Congressman Don Young because Don was a good conservative and there would be no point to it.
I made no secret of my intentions, and I had my political game plan all worked out. In 1980, was chairman of Reagan for President, Alaska. In 1990, I would run in the Republican Senate primary hard to Stevens’ right, and attack his liberalism as being out of touch with the majority of Alaska’s Reagan Republicans.
A few months after I was sworn in to the State Senate, Justice Jay Rabinowitz handed down his opinion in Carpenter v. Hammond, 667 P. 2d 1204. It threw out Hammond’s 1980 reapportionment, and gave Democratic Gov. Bill Sheffield a free rein in reapportioning the whole state. Sheffield hated my guts, so my career in the State Senate would end in 1984.
To this day legal scholars have a hard time figuring out Carpenter v. Hammond. Legally, it’s nonsensical. But it wasn’t really a legal opinion. It was purely political.
My political momentum was stopped cold. I was never able to regain it, and I never ran against Ted Stevens.
For 40 years, Alaska’s Supreme Court has been faithfully fulfilling the Rabinowitz legacy of left-wing political activism and judicial imperialism. Republican Governors have attempted to appoint conservatives, but have been stymied by the lawyer-dominated Alaska Judicial Council, which refuses to nominate them.
They’re trying it again right now, giving Gov. Mike Dunleavy a list of exclusively leftist activist nominees, all in the mold of Jay Rabinowitz.
But this year there’s a difference. Dunleavy is the first two-term Republican governor in 44 years, so he doesn’t have to worry about reelection. The leftist lawyers and media can hold their breath, roll on the floor, and turn purple, but he doesn’t have to pay any attention. It’s an historic opportunity, which let’s hope he takes advantage of.
He doesn’t have to appoint any of these people. He can just say no.
The NFL goes mainstream
Watching wild card weekend was not only great entertainment, but it was also encouraging. No one kneeled during the anthem, and players are once again huddling to pray after the game. Best of all, after an interception, as the entire defensive team ran to the end zone to stage a celebratory dance, the cameras cut away.
NFL fans hate these displays. It never happens in baseball, hockey or basketball, and it should be shunned in football as well.
Go 9ers.
reaganproject.com 
