With All Due Respect Episode 36

The anti-maskers, anti-Semites and homophobes were clubbing for three nights in Anchorage and Stephan has the details. Mayor Dave Bronson's words demand a closer look for the truth. Governor Mike Dunleavy launches a podcast while the only thing taking off is Covid cases under his watch.

Transcript

Today on With All Due Respect…
 
 Straight politics with
 …a politics chaser

 In  local politics…

Rome was not
 …built in a day
 …but it burned in one
 
 While
 …Covid
 …continues to overwhelm
 …Anchorage hospitals
 
 And the Anchorage Daily News
 …has been compelled
 …to fact check Covid  information
 …including that from Mayor Bronson
 
 A few hours is all it took
 …for a rowdy group
 …to start fires
 …of anti-Semitism
 …homophobia
 …and rage
 …all while Mayor Bronson
 … waved from his veranda
 
 We’ll talk about the crowd
 …and we’ll talk about the
 …response Mayor Bronson
 …received from the community
 …due to his words and actions
 
 In state politics…
 
Last week Governor Mike Dunleavy
 …published a defense
 …of his Covid response
 …on the very day
 …the state of Alaska
 …wait for it….
 …became the global leader
 …of Covid case rates
 
 So we walk through
 …the governor’s claims
 …in his Covid column
 …and we find ourselves
 …tripping over some
 …obvious holes
 
 And in closing comments
…this is not who we are
 
 …the is a small group
 … a coordinated group
 …a group being
 …fed by and led
 …by Mayor Bronson
 …and Assembly Member
 …Jamie Allard
 …because the campaign fight
 …will never
 … ever
 …end for them
 
 But make no mistake
 …what happened
 …is not who we are
 …it’s who they are

 Now
 …button up your peacoats
 …tie your scarf
 …and let’s talk some politics
 
 Van plays politics bit

Last week the Anchorage Assembly
 …began hearings on
 …a proposed mask mandate
 
 Alaska continues to lead
 …the nation in new covid cases
 …20 hospitals are now rationing care
 …while cries for mitigation efforts
 …fall on deaf ears
 
 Now 
…I want
…to break this down into
…two parts
…first I want to
…talk about the circus
…then I want to talk
…about the ringmaster
 
Now
…you might remember two weeks ago
…when Mayor Dave Bronson 
…held a Covid pep rally 
…in the assembly chambers
 
…well that was
…a warm up exercise 
…for the main event
…last week
 
Bronson’s group was 
…well rehearsed
…color coordinated
…and all of them spoiling
…for a fight
 
Then Tuesday night came
…For three nights a collection of some
…of the worst human beings 
…this fair city has to offer
…showcased their anger and ignorance 
  …which became more bizarre 
…as the testimony proceeded.
 
Now 
…I could spend an entire show 
…on the individual characters
…that comprised three nights 
…of an absolute circus 
…but that’s tedious for me
…and boring for you
 
Instead 
…I’m going to channel 
…the only person I know 
…who can accurately describe 
…the three nights
…at the assembly
 
…Stephan
 
Well…
 
If you’re looking for a twisted Tuesday night
…Anchorages hottest club is 
…Delta Dave’s Covidcabana
 
Located in the assembly chambers
this club has everything
…anti maskers
…anti-Semites
…homophobes
…a redneck carrying 
…a concealed weapon
 
…and that’s just in the lobby
 
Inside you’ll find 
…a pineapple headed man
…making anti-semetic gestures
 
…a woman who 
…randomly belts out
…Christina Aguilera
 
…and an 80 year old grandmother 
…who sits in the front row
…making symbols of the Holocaust
 
Seriously that was 
…in my opinion
…an accurate synopsis
 
It was like a bizarre casting call
…where every audition 
…was worse than the next

This cast starred 
 …primarily white baby boomers 
 …who were viscously angry 
 …with some resorting 
 …to anti-Semitic taunts
 …homophobic slurs
 …and a mob mentality
 
 And 
 …I’m going to tell you 
 
 …watching and listening
 …to some of these folks…
 
 …wearing a mask is the 
 …least of their worries
 …many should have been
 …wearing muzzles
 
 Look 
 …I am a big fan of public opinion 
 …and the public process 
 …but this was theatre
 
 Pure unadulterated political theatre.
 
 Each person seemed to get more objectionable
 
 …Speakers began trying 
 …to top the previous speaker
 …like it was a contest
 
 …Speakers began looking 
 …back at the crowd
 …when they were speaking 
 …trying to raise the temperature
 …of the room
 …instead of trying 
 …to make civilized 
 …arguments in a civilized forum.
 
 It was like three solid nights 
 …of the walk off scene 
 …in the movie Zoolander
 …where one speaker 
 …after another 
 …was like
 …I’m going monk man
 …I’m totally going monk
 
 The only thing that put an end 
 …to the insane show was the clock
 
 Now 
 …I know I’m being a little cheeky
 …but how cool would it 
 …have been if all 
 …of the assembly members
 …had score cards
 …and ranked the speaker?

That would be awesome.
 Can you imagine 
 …the ratings
 
 I can see Suzanne LaFrance 
 …leaning into the mic
 …while she holds up a big four
 
 Hi…yeah
 …I thought it had a good beat
 …and was easy to dance to 
 …but thought the shark teeth 
 …and eating babies
 …was over the top
 …however… good energy

That would have made for some
 …good television

Btw
…the podcast thought Suzanne LaFrance
 …did an amazing job
 …chairing those meetings
 
 I could never do that
 …after twenty minutes
 …of listening to that nonsense
 …I’d be going all Al Pacino
 …like in
 …Scent of a women
 
 …If you people don’t
 …sit the hell down
 …I’ll take a flamethrower
 …to this place
 
 Thankfully…
 Suzanne LaFrance really held it together
 …her patience was amazing
 
 
 
 Okay 
 …so that’s the audience at the circus
 …how about the ringleader
 …Mayor Dave Bronson

 Well
 …Mayor Bronson’s handling
 …of the three nights of testimony
 …made national news
 
 Washington Post
 New York Times
 …all the biggies
 
 National media attention covered
 …how at a time when
 …Alaska leads the nation in covid cases
 …the mayor of Alaska’s largest city
 …was defending the use of a holocaust symbol
 …to protest a proposed mask mandate.
 
 So
 …this is the NEW DIRECTION
 …Bronson promised Anchorage during the campaign.
 
 Mayor Bronson
 …sat through two nights
 …of angry, abusive testimony
 …from his supporters
 
 …who were co-opting a symbol from
 …arguably the worst human
 …tragedy in modern history
 …to make a political point
 
 And he said nothing
 He never once tried to intervene
 …as the crowd got out of hand
 
 In fact he doubled down
 …on the second night
 
 On Wednesday night
 …Bronson publicly defended
 …the use of star of David
 …by his supporters
 
 Ladies and Gentlemen
 …this was not an off the cuff defense
 …This was a clear thought out and reasoned defense
 
 He not only defended his supporters
 …for using the Star of David
 …but he also explained their motivation
 …and then
 …wove in a twisted interpretation
 …to justify their actions.
 
 If you think about his words
 …they were clearly
 …and thoughtfully composed
 …this was not an
 …off the cuff defense.
 
 Here is his exact quote
 …when defending his supporters
 
“We’ve referenced the Star of David
 …quite a bit here tonight
 …but there was a formal message
 …that came out within Jewish culture
 
 …and the message was, ‘never again.’
 …That’s an ethos.
 
 …And that’s what that star really means is,
 …We will not forget, this will never happen again.’
 
 …And I think us borrowing
 …that from them
 …is actually a credit to them
 …Bronson said.
 
 Now
…I am one of those 
 …recovering politicians
 …who believes
 …words mean everything
 
 So let’s look at Bronson’s words
 …and critique them
 …as a critical thinker would
 
 His defense begins…
 
 

“We’ve referenced the Star of David
 …quite a bit here tonight
 …but there was a formal message
 …that came out within Jewish culture
 
 Okay we open with a minimalization
 …the Star of David hasn’t been referenced
 …it’s been used as an actual prop
 …that you are defending

 He continues:
 …but there was a formal message
 …that came out within Jewish culture
 
 Okay here we mix in some patronization
 …the Anglo Saxon
 …who attends a Baptist church
 …is going to educate us about
 …Jewish culture
 …and the meaning of the star of David

 
He continued:
 …And that’s what that star really means is,
 …We will not forget, this will never happen again.’

 Okay context is everything:
 …Important to point out that never forget
 …means never forget about horrific loss of Jewish life
 …the attempt to extinguish an entire race of human beings
 …and the generations of loss and pain that will never end
 

 But finally
 …the most telling line was the very last
 
 …And I think us borrowing
 …that from them
 …is actually a credit to them
 
 
 He uses the word us
 …us borrowing that from them
 …not they
 …not they’re
 …but us

 
 His use 
 …of the word us means 
 …he clearly counts himself among those
 …he was defending for disgracefully 
 …using the star of David as a prop
 
 

Now 
 …the only opinions that matters
 …on this issue to me are
 …members of the Jewish Community
 …so what did they say
 
 Rabbi Yosef Greenberg 
 …of the Alaska Jewish Campus.
 …said
 …“This is a direct disrespect to victims, 
 …survivors, the Jewish community 
 …and the community as a whole,” 

 So facing significant blow back
 …for his defense of using the symbol
 …the next day, Bronson released a statement
 …saying he should have “chosen his words more carefully.”
 
 He said his words were poorly chosen
 
 Ladies and Gentlemen
 …in fact his words were completely
 …and carefully choosen
 
 Bronson offered a clearly spoken
 …endorsement of his supporters
 …and then offered a clearly
 …spoken defense of the tactic
 …while including himself
 …by saying us
 
 I’ve been in politics a long time
 …and you can’t walk back
 …from the edge of the cliff
 …if you’ve already jumped
 
 Now
 …politicians sometimes
 …make off the cuff comments

 sometimes said out
 …of the heat of the moment
 …or when they think
 …they’re in confidence
 
 Here are a few recent examples…
 
 In Boston a state legislator
 …said at a fundraiser
 …that he didn’t want
 …his car left outside too long
 …for fear it would be stolen
 
 In Maryland a city councilmen
 …said police officers who work
 …in Baltimore but dare
 …to live outside it,
 …are “raping the city.”
 
 And finally
 …in Australia a local mayor
 …said when talking about evacuation plans
…You wouldn’t want to put a Chinese
…next to someone who’s got a cat,
…you know. She might be breakfast.

As you can hear
…all of these are off the cuff
…or extemporaneous comments

It certainly doesn’t make
…them any less objectionable

However Bronson’s comments
…were not off the cuff remarks

His comments were not
…something extemporaneous
…like it’s a free country
…or some other cry of liberty

Bronson offered a clear explanation
…of his understanding of why
…his supporters were wearing the star
…and then proceeded with a full throated defense

And then
 …and then
 …he sat there for hours
 …and watched his supporters
 …disrespect a symbol
 …that was disrespectful for them
 …to use in the first place.

 …Never once did Bronson appeal for calm
 …in fact here was his own explanation 
 …of failing to contain his supporters

 …Monday I asked people to be calm 
 …and they did for a while 
 …and then they didn’t

He sat through…
 …Two nights of abusive behavior
 …Two nights of no attempts to control or correct behavior
 …Two nights of no attempt to lead by example
 …Two nights of ugly abusive mob rule
 
 And
 …it was only
…Only after the Jewish community expressed outrage
 …Only after the public expressed outrage
 …including U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski
 …who took to the senate floor
 …to call the actions of
 …Bronson’s supporters
 …“shocking”
 
 Only after all that
…did Bronson apologize
 …and then he apologized
 …for any perception
…of wrong doing.
 
 Now
 …where would this
 …perception come from?
 
 It came from the Bronson’s own words
 …which intentionally created
 …the perception
 
 …that was the entire point
 
 By borrowing existing symbolism
 …he and his supporters
 …were making a direct comparison between
 …plight of his supporters
 …and the proposed mask mandate
 …and the plight of the Jewish people
 …during the holocaust era
 
 
 The fact is Mayor Bronson
…aided and abetted his angry
…and ignorant supporters
…in co-opting a symbol
…that represents
…arguably the worst
…human tragedy in
…modern history
…which has resulted in
…generations of loss and pain

…and then he defended it.

But then
…proving he had the power
…all along
…to tame his rabid supporters
…it stopped as fast as it started.

After Bronson’s forced apology
…on Thursday afternoon
…there wasn’t one single yellow star
…in the assembly chambers
…on Thursday evening
…Which shows 
…that Mayor Dave Bronson could have
…turned down the temperature
…of his supporters at any time.
 
 
Ladies and Gentlemen 
…There are moments of opportunity for every elected official
…Moments of opportunity to do the right thing
…Moments of opportunity to be the adult in the room
 
Mayor Bronson had several
…moments of opportunity 
…to do the right thing
…and yet
…he seized none of them
 
A year ago Dave Bronson 
…was the head cheerleader 
…outside of the building
…stoking angry and ignorance
 
Today Mayor Dave Bronson
…is the head cheerleader 
…inside of the building
…stoking anger and ignorance
 
Ladies and Gentlemen
…We’ve simply relocated the brawlers 
…from outside the assembly chambers
…to inside the assembly chambers
 
Ninety days into his term 
…and we are all exhausted

Exhausted
 …from the drama
 …from the dereliction
 …from the cronyism
 …from the shady deals
 …from the self-inflicted wounds
 …and from the deep divisions
 …he’s already brought to Anchorage
 …with 90% of his term
 …still to play out
 
 Dave Bronson’s campaign slogan
 …promised
 …a new direction
 
 I guess this is it.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
(Van plays politics break music)
 
 Last Friday Governor Mike Dunleavy
 …published an op/ed 
 …defending his handling 
 …of the covid pandemic
 
 The piece entitled 
 …“Facts matter on Alaska’s covid response”
 …Dunleavy argued 
 …the state was doing 
 …an excellent job with response
 …and his critics
 …were playing politics 
 …with the pandemic.
 
 Now
 …On state same day
 …On that same day 
 …Governor Dunleavy claimed all was fine
 …and concerns about Covid 
 …were just the 
 …nattering nabobs of negativity
 
 Alaska’s Covid surge 
 …became the worst 
 …in the entire world
 
 If Alaska were a country
 …it would be the nation 
 …with the world’s 
 …highest per capita rate
 …of infections
 
 Today with
 …20 different hospitals
 …and care facilities in Alaska
 …rationing care due to
 …the overwhelming surge
 …off Covid patients 
 
 Dunleavy 
 …writing in his own defense
 …says he’s done a lot
 …and proceeds to list them
 …none of them worthy
 …to claim credit for
 
 Listen to some of these gems:

Dunleavy touts Alaska
 …has the third lowest death rate
…among U.S. states
…for COVID-19 associated cases

 Well
 …just the past week 
 …Alaska had the highest death rate in the nation 
 …with 11.4 deaths per 100,000 people.
 
 In addition 
 …this ignores other data points 
 …like hospital intensive care unit capacity 
 …and current case rates 
 …which are at all-time highs

Dunleavy touts:
 …Alaska early on led the nation
 …in COVID-19 vaccination rates.

 Well
 …my beloved Red Sox early on led
 …the division in wins
 …but not today
 …While we started strong
 …Alaska now ranks 35th in vaccination rates
 
 And finally Dunleavy claims
 …Our state protected
 …its most vulnerable populations
 …while others did not.

 Well
 …with all due respect to whoever
 …wrote this for the governor
 …this is just a throw away line
 …that’s incredibly vague
 …with no real basis
 …in which to validate their claim

The bottom line is
 …Dunleavy is feeling the heat
 …Alaska has become 
 …America’s Covid central
 …and like Bronson 
 …he’s blaming his political opponent

 Here’s the governor:
 
 Quote…

…we have all
 …heard the words
 …from the naysayers
 …and detractors:
 …It’s not enough.
 
 “Enough”
 …is a code word for
 …vaccine and mask mandates.
 
No Governor…it’s not!
 
Why is there is no middle ground
…with this guy?
 
Just because Dunleavy doesn’t support
…a mask mandate doesn’t mean
…he can’t support mask wearing
 
Just because Dunleavy doesn’t support
…a vaccine mandate doesn’t mean
…he can’t support vaccines
 
Without mandates 
he could
…publicly wear a mask 
…and lead by example
 
he could
…encourage others to wear a mask
…when they’re around him
 
he could
…be publicly visible
…talking about the efficacy
…of the vaccine
…and how 88% of those
…hospitalized are unvaccinated
 
he could
…highlight the plight
…of overcrowded hospitals
…and the fact that
…almost every hospital
…in Alaska is rationing care
 
he could 
…leverage federal 
…Covid resources
…and the state’s
…broad statewide reach
…to promote and provide
…financial incentives to encourage
…vaccinations beyond 
…what’s being offered today
 
 
He could do a lot personally
…without mandates
…but he’s not interested
 
With his Covid response
…Governor Dunleavy 
…has done the bare minimum
 
The fact that 
…his claim to fame
…is six months ago
…Alaska led the nation 
…in vaccination rates
…for a brief period of time
…shows how little
…he has to claim
…for his pandemic handling

But that’s 
 …pretty much the story 
 …of Governor Mike Dunleavy’s
 …entire three years in office
 
 

It’s always
 …the bare minimum
 …with this guy
 
 …the minimum amount of honesty
 …the minimum amount of accountability
 …and the minimum amount of effort
 …even when it comes
 …to protecting Alaskans
 
 
 If Alaska was a nation
 
 …the scoreboard would show
 …our current Covid cases
 …would lead the world
 
 …the scoreboard would show
 …that 20 health care facilities
 …in Alaska are now operating
 …under crisis standards of care.
 
 …the scoreboard would show
 …that Alaska is the global epicenter
 …of an unchecked Covid surge
 
 Meanwhile
 
 …Governor Dunleavy
 …is telling Alaskans he’s on top of it
 …and that he’s always been on top of it
 
 The Covid scoreboard doesn’t lie
 …and the deadly virus
 …doesn’t give up.
 
 Unfortunately
 …that’s not something you can
 …say about Governor Mike Dunleavy
 …who holds public health in his hands
 
 

(Closing comments)

Last week’s assembly circus
 …showed what some
 …of Mayor Bronson’s
 …supporters are made of
 …anger, ignorance
 …and intolerance
 
 But that’s them
 …that’s not Anchorage
 
 …This entire debacle was coordinated
 …The actors were prepped
 …The stage was set
 …It was a Bronson – Allard production
 …with Jamie Allard as the host
 
 …Allard appeared to know 
 …most testifiers
 
 …She milked every last 
 …ounce of anger out of them
 …with leading questions
 …to fire up the crowd
 
 …Hey Mike
 …so do you hate masks
 …or do you violently hate masks?
 
 …This was all well rehearsed
 …and most of these people
 …were acquainted with
 …one another
 
 For example…
 
 Two of the most memorable
 …characters were Skip Meyers
 …a local business owner 
 …and Christine West 
 …a self-described business doctor
 
 Meyers was widely photographed
 …waving a yellow Star of David 
 …while he was taunting
 …assembly member Forrest Dunbar
 
 While
 
 …West 
 …when explaining
 …why she was wearing
 …the Star of David
 …a symbol of arguably 
 …the greatest human tragedy 
 …in modern history said
 …and I quote
 …It’s a pretty star, it’s yellow. We’re shining.
 
 Well
 …as it turns out Meyers
 …the bully
 …not only knows West personally
 …but according to his testimonial 
 …on her website
 …the business doctor cured
 …him from living 
 …a life doomed of
 …quote
 …drama, chaos and resentment
 
 (Sidenote…I think the guy needs a second opinion)
 
 But Ladies and Gentlemen
 …the point is this was all coordinated
 …this wasn’t a random collection of residents
 …who gelled into an angry, anti-Semitic mob
 …these were well chosen actors
 …recruited and cultivated through
 …that dark space in the interwebs
 …called the Save Anchorage Facebook page
 
 A year ago Dave Bronson 
 …was the head cheerleader 
 …outside of the building
 …stoking anger and ignorance
 
 Today Mayor Dave Bronson
 …is the head cheerleader 
 …inside of the building
 …stoking anger and ignorance
 
 Ladies and Gentlemen
 …We’ve simply relocated the brutishness  
 …from outside the assembly chambers
 …to inside the assembly chambers
 
 

But make no mistake
 …this is a coordinated group of
 …individuals who have
 …been fed and led
 …by Mayor Bronson
 …and Assembly member Jamie Allard
 …and then given
 …a large public stage
 …to showcase their hostilities
 
 It will always be a zero
 …sum game with Allard
 …and Bronson
 
 This is their mess.
 They own this.
 
 This is not Anchorage.