Tom Begich, Mark Begich effectively endorse Nick Begich with their silence
I’m sure it is uncomfortable for former Sen. Mark Begich and former Sen. Tom Begich to have their nephew, Nick Begich the Third, espousing ideas that contradict the positions taken by Mark and Tom during their days in office.
But with their deliberate silence about Nick III, they are effectively endorsing him.
Tom Begich submitted a column to the Anchorage Daily News saying he’s fed up with Donald Trump and his “enemy within” threats and all that represents.
“This, for me, is the last of many bridges too far. Based on his own definition, I am ‘the enemy within,’ and so are a great many of you or your neighbors. I won’t laugh this off or shunt it aside as some political stunt meant to gin up his base, get a cheer out of folks for demonizing Americans for their values, or simply as a way to suck more funds from those who think vengeance is a political sport worth playing. His rhetoric pits neighbor against neighbor, family against family, friend against friend, and colleague against colleague. It undermines our trust in each other and the foundation of our Republic. Your vote is worth more than that,” Begich wrote.
“I have no illusion about how pundits think our state will vote in this election, but I do have a belief in the underlying strength of all Alaskans when our way of life is threatened. We have always come together for the greater good — a good that transcends petty or selfish acts. So, I ask the question: “Is Trump’s vision of America truly the America we want?” I think the answer to that question is an emphatic “no.” Trump‘s rhetoric tearing down our democracy’s foundations does not deserve our vote. But it is a question worth asking and, when you are in the privacy of the ballot box, one you, and only you, can answer.”
That’s all well and good. I agree with him. Trump, who rules the Republican Party, is a threat to the nation.
In painting this political picture, Tom Begich failed to mention his nephew, who claims Trump’s vision of America is truly the America we want.
“Honored to have President @realDonaldTrump’s complete and total endorsement! Together we will Make Alaska – and all of America – Great Again!” Nick the Third wrote in September on Twitter/X.
Tom Begich and Mark Begich probably think their silence is sufficient to show that they object to their nephew’s pandering and that for purposes of family unity they have to stay silent.
Perhaps Tom Begich believes that the unspoken message in his Anchorage Daily News column is clear.
But it’s not.
If “Trump‘s rhetoric tearing down our democracy’s foundations does not deserve our vote,” as Tom Begich says, then Nick Begich III does not deserve our vote, which is something Tom and Mark can’t bring themselves to mention in public.
Among the reader responses to this column, listed below, Tom Begich and Leslie Ridle both commented that Mark Begich, Tom Begich and other family members have donated to Mary Peltola, not to Nick III, which shows that they oppose his candidacy.
That is a fair point. It should have been included. This information has not been widely disseminated in Alaska, as far as I know.
I was writing here about Nick III’s refusal to challenge any of Trump’s lies, including the lie that the 2020 election was stolen, and the silence from the Begich family about that. The argument by Tom and Mark Begich is that since they donated to Peltola, my blog post was unfair. It would be inappropriate for them to say anything in public about Nick III’s obedience to Trump.
Tom Begich claims that I weakened his argument against Trump. I don’t agree.
That Nick III, competing in one of the relatively few competitive House races in the country, accepts from Trump what Tom Begich calls the normalizing of the abnormal, warrants attention, not silence, from two uncles who have been prominent in Alaska politics for decades.