Bob Bird (born August 1, 1951,
Evanston, Illinois
Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, Wil ...
) is an
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
anti-abortion
Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respons ...
activist, retired high school teacher, home-school tutor and the chairman of the
Alaskan Independence Party
The Alaskan Independence Party (AKIP) is an Alaskan nationalist political party that advocates an in-state referendum which would include the option of Alaska becoming an independent country. The party also advocates positions similar to those ...
(AIP). He was the AIP's candidate for the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
seat formerly occupied by
Ted Stevens
Theodore Fulton Stevens Sr. (November 18, 1923 – August 9, 2010) was an American politician and lawyer who served as a U.S. Senator from Alaska from 1968 to 2009. He was the longest-serving Republican Senator in history at the time he left o ...
in the
2008 senate election.
Bird has been teaching for nearly 50 years on the secondary, collegiate, and home-school levels, at high schools in Alaska and
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
, and at
Kenai Peninsula College
Founded in 1964, Kenai Peninsula College (KPC), is a unit of the University of Alaska Anchorage with four locations on Alaska's Kenai Peninsula and Anchorage.
History
Locations Kenai River Campus (KRC)
Located in Soldotna, Alaska, the Kenai Ri ...
. He has been a radio broadcaster for
KSRM
KSRM (920 AM) is a commercial radio station programming talk in Soldotna, Alaska, broadcasting to the Kenai, Alaska
Kenai (, ) ( Dena'ina: ; russian: Кенай, ''Kenay'') is a city in the Kenai Peninsula Borough in the U.S. state of Ala ...
radio in Kenai for the
Alaska Baseball League
The Alaska Baseball League (ABL) is an amateur collegiate summer baseball league. Players in the league must have attended one year of college and must have one year of NCAA eligibility remaining.
The Midnight Sun Game, held at Growden Memorial ...
, high school hockey games, and radio talk shows.
Education
Bird earned his
B.S.
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...
degree from
Bemidji State University
Bemidji State University (BSU) is a public university in Bemidji, Minnesota. Founded as a preparatory institution for teachers in 1919, it provides higher education to north-central Minnesota. It is part of the Minnesota State Colleges and Univ ...
in Minnesota, where he majored in Social Studies. He earned his
Master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice. in History from
Minnesota State University, Mankato
Minnesota State University, Mankato (MNSU, MSU, or Minnesota State) is a public university in Mankato, Minnesota, United States. It is Minnesota's second-largest university and has over 123,000 living alumni worldwide. Founded in 1868, it is t ...
in 1992.
Political career
Bird ran as a
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
in the 1990 Alaska primary against incumbent
Ted Stevens
Theodore Fulton Stevens Sr. (November 18, 1923 – August 9, 2010) was an American politician and lawyer who served as a U.S. Senator from Alaska from 1968 to 2009. He was the longest-serving Republican Senator in history at the time he left o ...
, 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
The right to life is the belief that a being has the right to live and, in particular, should not be killed by another entity. The concept of a right to life arises in debates on issues including capital punishment, with some people seeing it as ...
from 1995–1997, was a delegate to the
1996 Republican National Convention
The 1996 Republican National Convention convened at the San Diego Convention Center (SDCC) in San Diego, California, from August 12 to August 15, 1996. The convention nominated former Senator Bob Dole from Kansas, for president and former Represe ...
in
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
as a
Pat Buchanan
Patrick Joseph Buchanan (; born November 2, 1938) is an American paleoconservative political commentator, columnist, politician, and broadcaster. Buchanan was an assistant and special consultant to U.S. Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, an ...
supporter from the
Reform Party in
Long Beach
Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California.
Incorporate ...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
in 2000. 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
Michael Anthony Peroutka (born 1952) is an American far-right politician, lawyer, and neo-Confederate activist from Maryland. He was the Republican nominee for Attorney General of Maryland in 2022, and was the Constitution Party candidate for pr ...
.
In 2008, the Alaskan Independence Party nominated Bird as their candidate for the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
. Bird's opponents included Republican Ted Stevens and
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
Mark Begich
Mark Peter Begich ( ; born March 30, 1962) is an American politician who served as a United States senator from Alaska from 2009 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as Mayor of Anchorage from 2003 to 2009.
Born in An ...
. On October 29, 2008, Bird was endorsed by former Republican U.S. presidential candidate Rep.
Ron Paul
Ronald Ernest Paul (born August 20, 1935) is an American author, activist, physician and retired politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1976 to 1977 and again from 1979 to 1985, as well ...
of
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
.
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
Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...
), 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
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
' by
Chris Cillizza
Christopher Michael Cillizza (; born February 20, 1976) is an American political commentator, who worked for the television news channel CNN from 2017-2022. Prior to joining CNN, he wrote for ''The Fix'', the daily political blog of ''The Washing ...
and Paul Kane suggested that Bird "may end up being the most important third-party candidate in the 2008 race"
Since the election, Bird has been promoting
nullification
Nullification may refer to:
* Nullification (U.S. Constitution), a legal theory that a state has the right to nullify any federal law deemed unconstitutional with respect to the United States Constitution
* Nullification Crisis, the 1832 confront ...
. He was instrumental in garnering statewide support in 2013 for HB 69, a nullification bill aimed at striking down any future federal gun control laws. He 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 then-governor
Sean Parnell
Sean Randall Parnell (born November 19, 1962) is an American attorney and politician. He succeeded Sarah Palin in July 2009 to become the tenth governor of Alaska and served until 2014.[libertarian
Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...]
position of
Lincoln
Lincoln most commonly refers to:
* Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States
* Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England
* Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S.
* 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.
Bird continued with another public debate in front of a large audience on Feb. 1, 2022. Accepting the challenge to debate whether or not Alaskans ought to vote for a constitutional convention in November, former Alaska Senate president John Coghill and Bird met in a Lincoln-Douglas format in Wasilla. Bird maintained that the many problems in the current constitution, created before statehood by the 1955 convention, were too overwhelming to ignore. Coghill, the son of one of the original convention delegates, agreed changes were necessary, but maintained that the risks of liberal and socialist influences would overwhelm the selection of delegates.
Broadcasting
Since January 2017, Bird has hosted an afternoon talk show, "The Bird's Eye View" on KSRM Radio 920, online at radiokenai.com. It features politics, religion, the arts, health and nutrition, human interest stories, and the Alaskan outdoors. He has won three Alaskan Broadcaster's Association "Goldie" awards, most notably for interviewing witnesses of the
Iliamna "monster" cryptid.
In October 2020, following the death of long-serving Chairman Lynette Clark of Fairbanks in May, Bird was chosen Chairman of the Alaskan Independence Party at a convention in
Wasilla
Wasilla ( Dena'ina: ''Benteh'') is a city in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, United States and the fourth-largest city in Alaska. It is located on the northern point of Cook Inlet in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley of the southcentral part of the st ...
. The AIP enjoyed a growth spurt in 2020 with enrollment topping 20,000 by December.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bird, Bob
1951 births
Alaska Republicans
Alaskan Independence Party politicians
American anti-abortion activists
American conservative talk radio hosts
American radio sports announcers
Bemidji State University alumni
Living people
Minnesota State University, Mankato alumni
People from Evanston, Illinois
People from Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska
Radio personalities from Alaska
Schoolteachers from Alaska
State political party chairs of Alaska