Even Begich’s Family Agrees: He’s a Failure

In a scathing opinion piece, Nick Begich’s own family has come out against his spineless decision last week to rip health care and food assistance away from the most vulnerable Alaskans and called out his ongoing pattern of rolling over to corruption.

Tom Begich, who penned the op-ed, is Begich’s uncle and former minority leader of the Alaska State Senate.

Read it for yourself…

Anchorage Daily News: Opinion: A troubling vote for Alaska — and for the nation

• The House’s passage of the so-called “budget” bill represents a profound failure to lead, and the fact that Alaska’s lone representative cast the deciding vote makes it especially painful, as that member is my nephew, Nick Begich.
• I had hoped — both for Alaska’s sake and our family — that Nick would chart an independent course in Congress…I hoped he would challenge falsehoods and act in Alaska’s best interests, not follow the lead of a president widely viewed as the most corrupt in our lifetime. I was wrong.
• Nick has voted in lockstep with this administration…and has done so despite the consequences to our state…Nick claimed on social media that the bill “marks the single most significant step toward restoring fiscal sanity in a generation.” That statement is demonstrably false.
• This bill does not reduce the deficit. It extends tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans while cutting Medicaid and SNAP benefits, which help Alaskans survive… That’s not fiscal responsibility — it’s deception.
• My nephew may share my father’s name, but he does not share his values. If he did, he would speak up against corruption. He would reject authoritarian tactics and defend the right to dissent. He would stand with the Alaskans who have the least power and the most to lose.
• Instead, he has chosen a darker road — one where dissent is punished, courts are weakened, and the concentration of power is celebrated. That is not the America my father served. It is not the Alaska I know.
• I hope Nick reads this. I hope he remembers that leadership means more than loyalty to a party or a president. It means doing the hard thing when it’s right. It means standing alone if necessary, for the people you represent.