Alaska's Don Young the last of a breed on Capitol Hill

[unhappycamper]

U.S. Rep. Don Young in his office on Capitol Hill last week.


Alaska's Don Young the last of a breed on Capitol Hill
By Erika Bolstad | McClatchy Newspapers
Posted on Sunday, January 30, 2011

WASHINGTON — There he was, sitting in the House of Representatives, grinning ear to ear, attending his first State of the Union speech since 1974.

It almost didn't happen. Laid low by the scandal of a federal criminal investigation and a near-pariah in his own Republican Party, Alaska's Rep. Don Young has in recent years struggled to stay relevant in a political era that's sidelined the kind of earmarking and horse-trading at which he excels.

Now, though, he's cleared of the investigation, and Republicans are back in charge of the House. The 77-year-old congressman who brags of never using a computer but always carrying a knife? He's back, and spoiling for another round.

Settling into his 20th term in office, Young has moved his hunting trophies into the biggest office in the House of Representatives. He's holding sway over a new panel on Indian affairs — and although it's a subcommittee, it returns to him the title "chairman" that he cherished for so much of his time in Congress. He's back as the Western representative on the House GOP policy committee that helps shape Republican initiatives. He's even taking calls from the White House about spending priorities in Indian Country.

The renewed vigor comes following a stretch of challenges that his defense lawyer, John Dowd, said would be insurmountable for most people.

[greenman3610]

1. jesus

how small is this guy's penis, anyway?

[ProgressiveProfessor]

2. Hunting is a way of life for many Alaskans

Bringing up his penis size also says a lot about your and your lack of ability to articulate on an something that seems to offend you.

[Bandit]

3. Hunting for food yes indeed, for trophies not so much..

In fact I don't know a single person that has trophy heads mounted all over their walls.. Not a one and most people I know hunt..