If Palin and Parnell wind up in Washington, who'll govern Alaska?
Originally published Friday, August 29, 2008 at 3:39 p.m.
Updated Saturday, August 30, 2008 at 8:57 a.m.
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Stumble It!FAIRBANKS --With both the governor and lieutenant governor now seeking higher office, there are several possibilities of how the line of succession could work out if Gov. Sarah Palin is elected vice president and Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell takes Alaska’s sole seat in the House of Representatives.
If Parnell loses his contentious primary fight with Rep. Don Young in the coming weeks and chooses not to pursue his campaign for the House seat, then he would assume the office of governor if Palin becomes John McCain’s vice president.
Parnell played coy when a reporter asked him Friday if he would rather serve in Congress or as governor.
“Those are the kinds of questions I dare not speculate on,” he said. “I am just so grateful to be in the moment we have now with a governor who is the vice presidential nominee.”
Young leads Parnell by about 150 votes with thousands of absentee and contested ballots to be counted.
If Parnell wins the primary and the general election and Palin also makes it to the White House, then Attorney General Talis Colberg would be acting governor for about two months before a special election to decide the next governor.
“In a certain sequence of events I would have my Alexander Haig-type moment,” Colberg joked Friday, referring to the former secretary of state who famously said he was in control of the government after the 1981 assassination attempt on President Reagan.
The Alaska Constitution states that the governor is allowed to appoint who is third in line for succession, in this case the attorney general.
Parnell, Colberg and the governor’s communications director, Bill McAllister, all expressed their surprise at McCain’s choice of Palin for his running mate. Parnell said the governor had mentioned the rumors swirling around her as the Republican running mate for more than a year, but that they never seriously discussed the possibility. He said he only found out about the decision a little before 7 a.m. Alaska time.
McAllister said he heard about McCain’s choice an hour before that when reporters started calling him at home. The Arizona senator apparently called Palin Sunday at the state fair to discuss energy issues, but there was no indication then that she would be his running mate, McAllister said.
“I didn’t sense the momentum growing,” he said.
Community Discussion
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Palin should appoint me as governer.
No way Opamk. This is Alaska, we have a proud tradition to uphold: nepotism. Palin needs to appoint Piper.
Palin is not Murkowski. No nepotism there. She broke all the traditions.
Maybe Jim Whitiker is wanting the job...
Good grief! McCain must be surprised every time he looks in mirror. This dude was a maverick and now he's acting the exact opposite of what he used to espouse.
We need a governor who has lots of experience in the Interior.
The State Attorney General would be the interim governor until an election is scheduled and completed.
Secretary of State Alexander Haig did not say (as the News-Miner story says) that he was in control of the government. What he said was "I am in control in the White House." At the time, the Vice-President was not in Washington, and Mr. Haig had taken charge of things at the White House, pending the Vice-President's return. The Secretary of State is number three, in the chain of command. This has nothing to do with the order of succession, if the President dies, in which case the Speaker of the House is number three in the order of succession.
See how rumors get started , then pretty soon they become fact especially if they come from Rush Limbaugh or the news miner !!!!!!
Scenario: McCain/Palin win. Parnell wins. Stevens wins. The Republican party nominates Stevens for govenor. Stevens wins and appoints Ben the new US senator from Alaska.
Ugh.
The only way it could get worse is if Stevens then bought a jet off ebay so he could land in style at 'his' airport...
Oh the pain...
DenaliGuy, I'm goin' back to bed on that note...!
I don't understand these sarcastic statements about nepotism.
When Frank appointed Lisa, it was a completely legal move. Are you seriously thinking that Lisa is not doing a wonderful job for Alaska?
All of you had the opportunity to replace Lisa with Knowles. Thank God you had the good sense not to do that. I hope he's finally learned his lesson after being slapped around by two girls in a row!
Lisa has done one thing for all of us. She has shown us that absolutely anyone can do that job. It has to be said, though, that she's way better than Frankie, which isn't saying much.
Palin and Parnell are demonstrating their lack of commitment to Alaska. Voters fell for Palin's promises. When Palin was elected governor we expected her to work and not abandon us for Washington. We've been had, folks. How much will a special election cost Alaskans?? Someone tell Palin that she can't get mooseburgers in the Beltway.
Parnell isn't going to win the House race and if Palin makes it as VP then Parnell will be Gov. If anyone was asked in being promoted we would jump at so stop bagging on Gov Palin.
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