Bob Bird (politician)
| Bob Bird | |
|---|---|
| Alaskan Independence Party nominee for U.S. Senator from Alaska | |
|
Election date November 4, 2008 | |
| Opponent(s) | Mark Begich (D) |
| Incumbent | Ted Stevens |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
August 1, 1951 Evanston, Illinois |
| Political party | Alaskan Independence |
| Residence | Kenai, Alaska |
| Occupation | teacher, activist |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Robert Mario "Bob" Bird (born August 1, 1951, in Evanston, Illinois)[1] is a pro-life activist, retired high school teacher,[2] home-school tutor and Alaskan Independence Party candidate for the United States Senate seat formerly occupied by Senator Ted Stevens.[3]
Bird has been teaching for over 40 years on the secondary and collegiate levels, at high schools in Alaska and Minnesota and at Kenai Peninsula College. He has been a radio broadcaster for KSRM radio in Kenai for Alaska Baseball League and high school hockey games.
Education
Bird earned his B.S. degree from Bemidji State University in Minnesota, where he majored in Social Studies. He earned his Master's degree in history from Minnesota State University, Mankato in 1992.
Political career
Bob Bird ran as a Republican in the 1990 Alaska primary against incumbent Ted Stevens, earning 34,000 votes to Stevens' 81,000. Bird's notoriety stemmed from organizing and leading the first two events of the Alaska Rescue Project in 1989, the largest civil-disobedience event in the state's history. He served as president of Alaska Right to Life from 1995-97, was a delegate to the 1996 Republican National Convention in San Diego as a Pat Buchanan supporter and the Reform Party in Long Beach, California in 2000, also as a Buchanan delegate.
Bird joined the Alaskan Independence Party in 2004 and was a delegate to the Constitution Party's national convention as a supporter of Michael Peroutka.
In 2008, the Alaskan Independence Party nominated Bird as their candidate for the United States Senate. Bird's opponents included Ted Stevens—the six-term Republican incumbent who was convicted October 27, 2008 on seven (7) felony counts for failing to report $250,000 in gifts which he had received from a private company—and Mark Begich, the Democratic mayor of Anchorage, Alaska's largest city.
On October 29, 2008, Bird was endorsed by former Republican U.S. presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul of Texas.[4]
The November 4, 2008, general election featured five candidates for the U.S. Senate for Alaska: Mark Begich (Democrat), Bob Bird (Alaskan Independence), Ted Gianoutsos (Unaffiliated), Dave Haase (Libertarian), and Ted Stevens (Republican). The outcome was not resolved for two weeks until absentee, questioned and early voting results were tabulated. Begich defeated Stevens by 3,724 votes (150,728 to 147,004). Because Bird took 13,197 votes (4.15%), an article in the Washington Post by Chris Cillizza and Paul Kane suggested that Bird "may end up being the most important third-party candidate in the 2008 race"[5]--an opinion shared by the Independent Political Report in an August article, long before Bird gained significant media attention.
Since the election Bird has been promoting nullification. Bird's argument can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEwLHe5LLIw and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZXqzovSBzw where he references the Citizens Rule Book,
Bird was instrumental in garnering statewide support in 2013 for HB 69, a nullification bill aimed at striking down any future federal gun control laws. Bird appeared on television, radio, and print columns throughout the state, as well as organizing large rallies that included a live presentation from Dr. Thomas Woods, explaining nullification's history. The bill passed, after watered-down modifications, and was signed into law by Governor Sean Parnell.
Bird retired after forty-one years of secondary school instruction in 2015, and immediately signed a contract with Kenai Peninsula College as an adjunct faculty member.
He debated Dr. Forrest Nabors of the University of Alaska/Anchorage on November 20, 2015, at the Loussac Library in Anchorage on the topic of "Lincoln's Legacy: Hero or Tyrant?", taking the libertarian position of Lincoln being a usurper of the Constitution. As Nabors was a protégé of Henry Jaffa, the debate was seen as a reprise of the Jaffa/DiLorenzo debate of 2003.
References
- ↑ Bird for US Senate - Bob's Bio Archived June 20, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ Bird for US Senate - About Bob Bird Archived June 20, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ Teacher will run for US Senate: Alaska News
- ↑ "Bob Bird hopes for Senate race boost after Stevens conviction". Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. 2008-11-02.
- ↑ Clinton, Hutchison and Feinstein Could Set Off Scrambles