By SUZANNE DOWNING
March 11, 1026 – There are choice moments in politics that reveal more than a thousand campaign speeches ever could. Wednesday’s vote to table a formal reprimand in the Alaska House of Representatives was one of those moments.
To rewind, on Tuesday, during the annual address by Congressman Nick Begich III to a joint session of the Alaska Legislature, Anchorage Democrat Rep. Zack Fields sat in the front row of the House chamber and repeatedly held up a protest sign reading “ICE OUT.”
The sign was directed toward the podium where Begich was speaking.
The act itself was small, a cardboard sign with a political slogan. But the setting was inappropriate for the message. A joint session of the Legislature is one of the most formal proceedings in Alaska government. It is governed by the Uniform Rules of the Legislature, Mason’s Manual, and long-standing traditions of decorum intended to maintain the dignity of the institution.
Those rules are clear: Demonstrations, props, and displays intended to disrupt proceedings are prohibited. And Rep. Fields, a former employee of the AFL-CIO and The Alaska Democratic Party, knew that. Everyone in the chamber knew that. And yet the protest happened anyway and was uninterrupted by the Senate President, House Speaker and Sergeant of Arms.
Republican lawmakers called the behavior what it plainly was: A violation of the rules and an embarrassment to the institution. Minority Leader Rep. DeLena Johnson introduced a motion to formally censure Fields, to simply to formally acknowledge that the conduct was unacceptable. Fields rose to respond but did not exactly apologize.
Instead, he defended his actions by claiming that Immigration and Customs Enforcement is murdering people, shooting them in the back and suggesting that his use of a prop on the House floor was insignificant by comparison.
Members of the minority caucus responded with a point that should not have been controversial: the Legislature has rules, and members are expected to follow them. If a lawmaker deliberately violates those rules during one of the most formal proceedings of the year, the institution has a responsibility to address it.
But the majority coalition had other ideas.
Majority Leader Chuck Kopp moved to table the censure, essentially killing it without consequence.
The vote fell nearly perfectly along caucus lines: 21–19. Because it was a procedural vote, the binding majority caucus had to vote to table the reprimand.
With that vote, the Democrat-led majority, which includes Republicans Chuck Kopp, Louise Stutes, (and strangely, Mike Prax from North Pole joining in this time), made a clear statement:
Rules are optional when one of their own breaks them.
Legislators are free to debate ICE, federal enforcement policy, and immigration law as vigorously as they like. That debate belongs in committee hearings, floor speeches, press conferences, and elections. The House floor is not the place for protest placards or distracting theatrics.
If Republicans had done the same thing during a speech by a Democratic member of Congress, there is little doubt how the Democrat majority would react. The calls for discipline would have been immediate and loud.
Instead, the House majority chose to shrug. And that decision may come back to haunt them.
Let’s remember two recent censures by the House against Republican then-Rep. David Eastman. The first censure was in 2017, when the House voted 25-14 to censure Eastman simply because he said to a reporter that some women in rural Alaska get pregnant to obtain state-funded travel for abortion.
It was the first time in history that an Alaska House member had been censured. And it was for something he had said outside of the chambers.
Eastman was censured again, by a vote of 35-1 in 2023, when he ironically stated in a Judiciary Committee hearing that fatal child abuse was sort of a cost savings to society because the child would not require future government services. Eastman was, at that statement (which was actually a question to the committee), trying to demonstrate the double standard that applies to abortion vs. child abuse. He was, always the contrarian, willfully misunderstood.
How did Rep. Zack Fields vote on that censure of Eastman? He voted Yea.
The day will inevitably come when this same majority attempts to discipline a Republican for violating decorum. And on that day, the record from March 11, 2026 will be sitting there like a neon sign. Perhaps it will be a Republican holding up that neon sign during a formal proceeding.
So remember this day. Remember that when one of their own members knowingly violated the rules during a formal joint session of the Alaska Legislature, the Democrat majority moved not to uphold the standards of the institution, but to bury the issue and move on.
The Legislature functions on a basic handbook of rules that apply equally to everyone. Once that principle is abandoned, the chamber stops being a deliberative body and starts looking like a stage for political stunts. It was already the most toxic high school campus in Alaska. Now, it’s invited a free-for-all.
That one vote tells Alaskans far more about the state of the Legislature than one cardboard sign ever could: If the Democrat majority didn’t have double standards, it would have no standards at all.
Suzanne Downing is founder and editor of The Alaska Story and is a longtime Alaskan.
8 thoughts on “Opinion: The Alaska House majority just told Alaskans that rules don’t matter — at least not for their side”
That’s because that’s how Alaskans have been raised and educated to believe that they don’t need to follow order and rules When they don’t even know the order and rules necessary for structure support and organization.
The working generations today (GenX and GebY or Millennials, GenZ, GenAlpha) have not had a lot of practice following rules nor had the discipline when rules are violated, so they don’t know.
It’s one reason our state of Alaska is chaotic , disorganized, confused, and running in circles while a lot of Alaskans (employers and employees) BS most of their time to look like they know what they are doing.
To be blunt both Republican and Democrat leaders need to read and learn the rules while they are sitting in an elected position. They both violate the rules of office.
A mega project as building a 800 mile gas pipeline would bring New singles and New families up here. Within the new group of people relocating up here for Work, it’ll bring New leaders who’ll challenge the leaders we have elected today. Wouldn’t be much of a challenge for leaders from the states coming up here. They’d have skills finally tuned and better communication and organization skills than the weak and lazy leaders we presently have representing the districts.
The Democrats in our Nation’s Capitol sometimes do the same thing, they also get escorted out of the chambers when they do so…see Al Green in the last two State of the Union Addresses. Is it any wonder why Democrats have an all time low approval rating?
The Republicans of the district Jubliee represents They were wrong to turn their back on Rep Eastman. As for Alaska Family Council. They shouldn’t turned their back in a man who was a strong ally with them for Prolife, he was so principled that a bill’s tiny little room to abortion in a prolife bill he’s vote No on it. This is example why the AKGOP Chairman needs to be a person who unifies, he had excellent communication skills, persuasive skills, charming, intelligent so he can unite leaders and members of different lifestyles and background for common goals.
It’ll be better keeping a Radical Republican as in Eastman then a weak Republican in Jubliee whose government dependent and can’t stand up to Alaskans afraid of losing the wealth they accumulated from government. Government dependency will be the death to Alaska.
Eastman brought more to time even though he such an odd ball. He would make a valuable player in the Republican Party future if Alaskans moved across the center line especially when it came to if Alaskans wanting Heart beat bills and anti abortion legislation.
Eastman isn’t a Democrat. He’s HARD right, a radical Republican on the FAR Right edge. Eastman is ahead of the time that Alaskans are not up to speed to embrace Hard right principles and values. Unity just takes a better GOP Republican Chairman who has better communication skills, team building skills to creatively pull their HARD Right members to play better with the group so together the group can move forward.
Rules don’t apply to commies when they are in power. But they whine like little piggies if their feelings are hurt when they’re in the minority.
Hmmm(???) … Rules are optional until “Paul Kersey” comes to town!
Republicans have revealed their weakness: they are desperate to show Alaskans that Democrats appear to flaunt the rules just like they do. Republicans attacked the constitution on January 6 by breaking some pretty significant laws, rules and norms. Lots of despicable floor-pooping and illegal behavior by the Trump-addled MAGA thugs and Republican administrative leaders. And now Republicans are embarrassed and feel ashamed by January 6 lawlessness.* But along comes RADICAL LEFT-WING, COMMUNIST, SOCIALIST, DEI HIRE, NON CHRISTIAN (?), ATTACK MONSTER ZACK FIELDS (note to self, check country origin of name “Zack” and “Fields”) WHO PROBABLY DOESN’T EAT SALMON with this horrible message: “Immigration and Customs Enforcement is murdering people, shooting them in the back and suggest[ed] that his use of a prop on the House floor was insignificant by comparison.” Shakespeare said “Truth’s a bitch”. (Actually, “Truth’s a dog must to kennel; he must be whipped out, when Lady the brach (bitch) may stand by the fire and stink”)
* Of course I’m kidding
Evan,
That was some stream of consciousness stuff there, can you try and reign it in to the topic at hand…a sitting legislator violated basic rules of decorum, the majority dismissed the violation. I get it, you don’t like to follow the rule of law and having Acts of Congress enforced. But holding up a cardboard sign during an address by a US Congressional Representative to the Alaska legislature has absolutely nothing to do with any of your perceived grievances, it’s literal theater and serves no purpose other than self promotion.