By Kate Troll
It’s now official. Sen. Dan Sullivan is President Donald Trump’s Senator.
On Aug. 4, Trump tweeted his “complete and total” endorsement of Sullivan, saying, “He fights hard every day to support our Veterans and the Military” If this is the case, where was Senator Dan Sullivan when President Trump raided military spending to pay for border barriers in defiance of Congress’s wishes? If he supports the military so much, where was Sullivan when Trump circumvented the Senate confirmation process to install far right ideologues at top posts in the Pentagon? What about suddenly removing 10,000 troops from Germany to the delight of Russia? Republican Sen. Mitt Romney described the decision to remove troops from Germany as a “grave error” and a “a slap in the face of a friend and ally.”
Sullivan said nothing.
[Alaska’s congressional delegation responds to Trump criticisms]
Worst of all, where is Sullivan now when we know from our own intelligence that Russia is paying a bounty for dead American soldiers? Instead of registering concern for active duty servicemen, he issues a statement disparaging the report, “The New York Times, let’s just say, doesn’t always get the story right.” That report came out six weeks ago. Since then there has been a congressional hearing that only raised the legitimacy of the public reporting. Also, since the bounty story broke, Trump refuses to discuss this matter with Russian President Vladmir Putin. As one who knows what it’s like to serve in Afghanistan, why isn’t Sullivan outraged with Trump’s willingness to look the other way on this most disturbing matter?
I was raised on military bases. As the daughter of a respected military judge, I have a high regard for protecting our democratic institutions and those who serve in the military to protect our country. My father taught me to judge politicians not just by what they say but also by what they do. If you go to Sullivan’s Twitter page you’ll see lots of pictures of him standing with military officers, but there is not one-word imploring Trump to act on Russia’s bounty for American soldiers.
Why? To get an answer, I looked at Sullivan’s voting record and statements and them compared his record and response to Sen. Lisa Murkowski. In the last two congressional sessions, Sullivan voted in alignment with President Trump 91.5% of the time. By contrast, Murkowski voted 74.6% of the time in alignment with Trump.
When former Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis issued a public statement noting that Trump “is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people — does not even pretend to try. Instead he tries to divides us. We are witnessing the consequence of three years of this deliberate effort.” Murkowski called Mattis’ comments “true, and honest and necessary and overdue.” What did Sullivan say? In a written statement to the Juneau Empire Sullivan said “While I would urge the president to try to strike a unifying tone and message during these challenging times, the blame game and finger pointing on issues of race in America are not constructive, particularly now.”
In my book, this is a milquetoast response to Mattis’ bold critique of Trump’s sustained campaign of divisiveness. Perhaps he declined to say more because he did not want to jeopardize Trump’s endorsement which came two months later.
A July 9 poll done by Public Policy Polling shows more Alaskans disapprove (49%) than approve (46%) of the job Trump is doing. If you’re one of those disapproving of Trump’s performance then you do not want to vote for Sullivan because all the evidence points to Sullivan being Dan, Dan the Trump Man.
If he can’t stand up to him for the issue he most identifies with – veterans and the Military — then he won’t break rank with Trump on matters like health care, Social Security and Medicare.
We need an independent, strong voice that will stand up for what’s right. If you disapprove of the job Trump is doing, make your vote matter more. Vote for independent Dr. Al Gross for U.S. Senate.
• Kate Troll, a longtime Alaskan, has over 22 years experience in coastal management, fisheries and energy policy and is a former executive director for United Fishermen of Alaska and the Alaska Conservation Voters. She’s been elected to local office twice, written two books and resides in Douglas. Columns, My Turns and Letters to the Editor represent the view of the author, not the view of the Juneau Empire. Have something to say? Here’s how to submit a My Turn or letter.
