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Anatomy of a Flip-Flop: How to Know When a Politician Is Losing

(Credit: Unsplash/Riswan Muhamad Iqbal.)

How do you know when a politician is looking at losing an election? Well, there are several ways; one would be, for example, the presidential campaign of the most far-left presidential candidate in the history of the republic, bringing into the campaign the Republican daughter of a GOP vice president who the left derided as Darth Vader incarnate until about fifteen minutes ago. 

Another way to tell is when candidates start "evolving" their positions at the last minute. And by "evolving," I mean "flipping and flopping like a gaffed halibut." This is something we should watch for in every close election. Case in point: Alaska's own at-large Representative Mary Peltola, who has been embroiled in the "transgender athletes" issue - and is now against dudes on women's sports teams, despite having sponsored a bill that would have enforced that very thing.

In this video from her recent debate with challenger Nick Begich III, after some tap-dancing that would have turned Ginger Rogers green with envy, Mary Peltola states, "I don't think we should have men in women's sports."

She says, "This (transgender athletes) is just something that's not #1 for me." That's funny, Mrs. Peltola, because only last year, you sponsored a bill that would do exactly this: Force men into women's sports teams and women's showers and locker rooms. That would seem to imply it's something you feel strongly about.

Since taking office, Mary Peltola has become more and more extreme. Peltola’s latest assault on mainstream Alaskans is her sponsorship of an extreme transgender bill causing “serious safety and privacy implications for girls and women.”

Peltola’s bill would force Alaska schools, gyms and faith-based charities to open their women’s bathrooms, locker rooms and domestic violence shelters to biological males.

The risk is not abstract — Peltola would force a downtown Anchorage women’s shelter to accept biological men if they claim to identify as female.

In September, I wrote about how this stance could cost Mary Peltola and other politicians at the polls, and that now seems to be happening. Thus her sudden disclaimer.


Previously on RedState: Alaska Dem Mary Peltola's Stance on Transgender Athletes May Cost Her - and She May Not Be the Only One

Flippity-Floppity Boo: Oil and Gas Association Trolls Harris Over Her Ever-Changing Fracking Stance


I wrote: 

There can be little doubt that Mary Peltola is under pressure from her fellow Democrats to toe the party line; as a much more, shall we say, collective party, the Democrats are much less tolerant of dissent within their ranks than Republicans. And it may well start costing them elections when issues like this are on the line.

That certainly appears to be the case now. As of Monday, a Cygnal poll taken from October 14-16 has Republican challenger Nick Begich III leading Mrs. Peltola, 49.1 to 44.5. That puts Nick Begich III within striking distance of a first-round victory in Alaska's ranked-choice system, and given that Begich is the only Republican on the ticket, that would seem to put him in a pretty comfortable spot. And it's very likely that Mary Peltola's stance on "transgender athletes" is hurting her at the polls; thus, her prevaricating on an issue she previously not only supported but sponsored legislation to enforce. As for why she took this radical stance, one that doesn't sit well with Alaskans? Well, there's one possible answer.

Peltola has received more than $40,000 from far-left groups’ political arms that support schools socially transitioning kids and giving kids access to sexually explicit library books, like the National Education Association, American Federation of Teachers, and Human Rights Campaign.

Since 2022, Peltola has accepted $20,000 from the PAC of the far-left National Education Association, which also opposed the Parents Bill of Rights. The NEA, America’s largest teachers’ union, recommended that teachers assign “Gender Queer” as summer reading even though the comic book style novel graphically depicts gay sex.

Granted this is an issue that seems to be slowly reversing; once even the most progressive pols start figuring out it's costing them elections, the whole "transgender athletes" issue may start finding itself marginalized. 


See Related: The Transgender Movement Is on Life Support at This Point


There are countless other examples of this flip-flop indicator. One stark example right now, in this election season, is of course Kamala Harris' "evolving" on the issue of fracking; she publicly denounced the practice until she started running for president. Now she claims that she wouldn't "ban fracking," and the problem is, nobody believes her.


See Related: Harris Mistrusted in PA - Keystone State Energy Workers Say 'Nobody Believes' What She Says


And, of course, we all remember John Kerry's infamous statement about Iraq War funding, that he was "for it before he was against it."

We're all keenly aware that there is a major election in only two weeks. This is an election with big stakes; whoever wins will have a portion of charting the course for America going forward, from the president to Congress to local elections. Watch the Harris campaign for more "evolving views," and watch your House and Senate candidates too. When they start the classic political flip-flop, it's often a sign they're losing.

In the case of Kamala, get to the polls and help make sure she does lose. We simply can't afford four years of Kamala Harris. Up here in the Great Land, we'll be doing our part to send Mary Peltola back to Bethel. Together, we can make it happen. Vote!

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