Dunleavy recycles his 'yes to everything' approach to Alaska development

Gov. Mike Dunleavy recited the litany of No in his sixth State of the State sermon Tuesday.

“Too many in our great state have gotten very good at saying no,” he said.

”No to opportunities for other Alaskans, based on a false premise that one person’s opportunity is somehow another person’s liability. No to mining. No to oil and gas. No to harvesting timber. No to renewables. No to growing more food. No to trucks on roads. No to roads period.”

“Unless we change this attitude, North to the Future will become No to the Future.”

In his catalog of what the late wordsmith Don Young would have called “negatism,” Dunleavy forgot many no-nos.

No to bad speeches. No to dumb ideas. No to pandering politicians who say every choice is a simple yea or nay. And no to a governor who continues to promise giant dividends, while failing to deliver a fiscal plan to pay for giant dividends.

“I didn’t run for this office and I certainly didn’t win on a platform of no to this opportunity or no to that opportunity,” he said.

No, he ran under the false claim that Alaskans could have big dividends, state services and no new taxes. He has had every chance to deliver a fiscal plan to pay for his giant dividends, but he has said no. He has said yes to financial folly.

Because Dunleavy has said no to a fiscal plan, he is the biggest threat to the survival of the Permanent Fund dividend. He won’t admit that.

Dunleavy claims that “Unlike other states, Alaska can’t afford to say no to any opportunity.”

The truth is that Alaska can’t afford to say yes to everything with no questions asked, a basic lesson Dunleavy has never bothered to learn. Saying yes to everything means giving away the store.

Dunleavy adopted the “I need Alaska to say yes to everything” shtick early in his second term and his employees must be telling him it improves with repetition.

He wasted a good deal of time Tuesday attacking Alaskans who question development proposals, some on the basis of economics and justice and others on environmental and social grounds.

He launched into an extended harangue about the forces of negativity within Alaska. The naysayers used to be all from Outside, according to Dunleavy. But not anymore.

Real Alaskans never say no to any development project, according to him. Only “special interests” dare to raise questions.

He defined real Alaskans as “the lady behind the counter, the guy at the hardware store, the plumber, the electricians, the landscaper.”

Special interests, on the other hand, are evil naysayers. By special interests, he really means anyone who signed the recall petition or dares to disagree with Dunleavy.

Special interests are also those hundreds of thousands of Alaskans who understand that preparing Alaska for a better future is not the difference between saying yes and no.

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