Alaska’s at-large member in the U.S. House of Representatives Don Young had some choice words for Mark Begich taking credit for things that he may not have done. Young’s comments about Begich’s propensity to embellish and self-promote warrants closer scrutiny of what Begich says to the public.
Case in point, here’s Begich’s letter printed today in the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner in which he claimed that he tried to “save” the Flint Hills refinery. Like a good politician, Begich made sure to steer clear of any responsibility and unloaded any blame of the pending plant closure on state government. Then, Begich proclaimed that he took critical action to keep the refinery open by doing what he always does when there’s a problem – he wrote a letter about it.
Begich omitted some important details, including his own double talk. Begich didn’t mention that on February 4, three days before his so-called “actions” cited in his letter, he told KTUU it was a “private sector decision” to close the refinery. Begich also left out how he blame-tweeted the refinery’s closure on its owners.
Bottom line, Begich claimed credit for taking action, dumped responsibility on state government, and politicized the closure for his own personal gain. Begich will say whatever suits him at the most opportune moment, just like a true Washington, D.C politician.