Permanent Fund at Center of New Attack Ads Aimed at Democrats

Ad uses soundbite from retiring legislator

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By Bill McAllister
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Story Created: Nov 1, 2012 at 6:00 PM AKDT

Story Updated: Nov 1, 2012 at 6:09 PM AKDT

ANCHORAGE - Representative Mike Doogan is retiring as a lawmaker, but he's at the center of an attack ad aimed at members of his own party.

Several Democratic representatives are being targeted in the Republican Party's ad, which uses this sound bite of Doogan from a press conference:

"The reason I want to put more money in the Permanent Fund: when the crash comes, we're going to have more money to spend on government. The other frankly is to force the crash to happen sooner."

Doogan said eventually the Legislature will have to make serious budget cuts or else use Permanent Fund earnings to supplement oil revenue.

But he says that has never been the position of House Democrats as a whole, and that Republicans are trying to distract voters.

"They're getting beat around the head and shoulders because they want to give the oil companies $2 billion a year for basically nothing. Right? And they're sort of trying to get their hands on anything; they're just trying anything here, so that they're not going to have to deal with that. That’s all that is."

Doogan said it's only a matter of time before lawmakers are forced to tap into the Permanent Fund.
He said that was the original intent of the fund, anyway.

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