We're back!

One important thing GPAK has been doing is working with the Republican Moderates to ensure fair election laws in this state. Ballot access has been getting jimmied around by the legislature, and so we've had to challenge certain laws in court--but Superior Court Judge Stephanie Joannides can tell folderol from common sense, and this month granted the Green Party a preliminary injunction that will prevent the State of Alaska from denying us ballot access in 2006.

The law requires that to retain ballot access, a party has to get 3% in the governor's race. If there isn't a governor's race, then 3% in the U.S. Senate race; if no senate race, then 3% in the U.S. House race. Stupid, no? in 1998 the governor's race had the fewest number voting of three statewide races, so it's not necessarily the most representative race.

Since we've gotten better than 3% in at least one statewide race every general election since we started up in 1990 (one year we beat the Democrats by a considerable margin), this ruling makes good sense. It's pretty clear that our PrevoRepublican legislative majority passed this law in order to keep the Libertarians and the Republican Moderates from making any headway, but it benefitted the Democrats too, thereby providing them motivation to ignore democratic principles in favor of moving toward the two-headed monster that has become the Republocratic Party of the Lower 48.

Fortunately Alaska Democrats aren't quite that bad yet...but for how long? At least now the minor parties in this state can keep the major parties honest. Or closer to it, anyway.

Anybody out there recall that one of the tyrannical features of the old Soviet Union was that there was only one political party? Effectively, that's what we're getting on the national scene...