Politicians are, above all, creatures of expediency. If an action, a political position, or an attitude helps them to maintain their position, they do it; if it hurts their chances of re-election, they avoid it. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule. Some people, even some politicians, who are human beings if we apply the term in the broadest sense, are guided by principle, not expediency.
Most politicians, however, are not creatures of principle. Let me give you an example of this: Alaska Democratic Representative Mary Peltola. A little over a year ago, she gave a rather enthusiastic speech Supporting confused ancient Joe Biden in the 2024 presidential elections.
Alaska Democratic Representative Mary Peltola endorsed Joe Biden for president in 2024.
Peltola’s endorsement comes after Biden announced his re-election campaign this week. She said in a statement that his Support of the Willow Project – a huge ConocoPhillips oil project on the North Slope – helped support it.
“We don’t always agree, but President Biden has impressed me with his support for Willow and his commitment to civil, constructive discussions,” Peltola said in the statement. “I will support him as long as he continues to include Alaskans in those discussions.”
But now that Kamala Harris is the likely Democratic candidate for the 2024 presidential election, Mary Peltola has withdrawn her support with a downright astonishing statement:
Still, some vulnerable Democrats aren’t taking the plunge yet, shying away from supporting Harris immediately after Biden’s decision to pass the torch.
Representatives Don Davis (DN.C.), Jared Golden (D-Maine), Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas), Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-Wash.), Josh Harder (D-Calif.) and Mary Peltola (D-Alaska) – all frontliners – have not endorsed Harris, according to a report published by The New York TimesOmissions that raise eyebrows.
Peltola told The Hill on Monday that she does not endorse in elections – “I don’t believe in endorsements as a matter of principle” – and declined to say whether she thought Harris was a robust figure for Democrats, citing Alaska’s diversity.
“Alaska is 63 percent independent, nonpartisan and undecided. So I’m not a particularly active person within the Democratic Party,” she said.
When asked if she supported Harris, Peltola replied, “As a human being, I support her, but politically I do not support her,” before hastily moving away from reporters.
So it is about expediency and not about principles.
See also: Report: Leak reveals more about why Obama doesn’t endorse Harris
NEW: Barack Obama supports Kamala Harris as presidential candidate
Granted, Mary Peltola may not be as straightforward to oust as we Republicans in Alaska would like to believe. While a bill to abolish ranked choice voting (RCV) is on the ballot this fall, the 2024 election will still be held under the RCV rules that put Mary Peltola in office in Republican Alaska in the first place. But she is still a Democrat from a Republican state, and the Republican Party has made her, along with several other Democrats from Republican states, a priority for ouster—and in 2022, Mary Peltola was able to hitch her campaign wagon to the nominally Republican Lisa Murkowski, taking advantage of Murkowski’s ragtag coalition of Anchorage and Juneau liberals and pliable Republicans. That’s not an option for her this year.
Regardless, Mary Peltola, who once won election in a Republican state whose population is largely stubbornly independent, has proven that her main concern is her re-election, supporting Joe Biden when it cost her nothing and avoiding an endorsement of Kamala Harris so that Peltola’s re-election campaign will not be associated with the unpopular and aggressive vice president.
Alaska can do better.
