The @AlaskaDemocrats are just bizarre ...

It has been an interesting week.  Before the start of it I had been asked, accepted and was looking forward to a speaking engagement with the Anchorage Republican Women's Club ("AWRC") to talk about "key budget issues."  On Monday, Amanda Coyne mentioned in the side column of her blog that I might consider running for Governor.  In the wake of that (even though I had responded to Amanda about running for Governor, "I don't want to do it"), on Wednesday I was advised that the ARWC had decided to "go in a different direction" and was disinviting me from speaking at the event.

Then on Thursday, the @AlaskaDemocrats, apparently thinking they should take advantage of the situation (you can tell that because they used the "#akleg" hashmark in their post, which results in putting it on the twitter feed of a large number of the people in this state that follow such things) resorted to Twitter again (apparently no one took the keys away) with the following:

Alaska Democrats ‏@AlaskaDemocrats29 AugHey @bgkeithley we may not always agree about #akleg budgets but definitely welcome the debate. Unlike @akgop. Thanks @KCReynoldsShow

The bizarre thing about that? The @AlaskaDemocrats themselves earlier in the month had ducked a debate with me that they had first suggested in the wake of some previous twitter posts we had exchanged.

That discussion had gone like this:

Alaska Democrats ‏@AlaskaDemocrats8 Aug
@bgkeithley want to do a radio show to talk about this in more depth? Good topic to explore, though we disagree on some points

Brad Keithley ‏@bgkeithley8 Aug
Sure, how about two, one progressive, one conservative @AlaskaDemocrats: want to do a radio show to talk about this in more depth? #akoil

Alaska Democrats ‏@AlaskaDemocrats8 Aug
Exactly. Have a preference on station/time? May be easiest to figure out on the phone 258-3077

Brad Keithley ‏@bgkeithley8 Aug
Am out of town until the 20th, back and flexible after. One is the Casey Reynolds Show (morning KFQD), you pick the progressive.

Brad Keithley ‏@bgkeithley10 Aug
Gave your number to @KCReynoldsShow. Will let him set up if you want to do it. What show from your side.

Brad Keithley ‏@bgkeithley13 Aug
dKCReynoldsShow. Casey asked if we are doing this next week with him. Yes? "Exactly. Have a preference on station/time?"

I never heard from the @AlaskaDemocrats again ... until Thursday, when (to repeat) they said "we may not always agree about #akleg budgets but definitely welcome the debate.  Unlike @akgop."

Uhhhhh, frankly, @AlaskaDemocrats, the "welcoming the debate" part is escaping me. On this issue, at least, it strikes me that there is no difference between you and the GOP.

But in other events, by the end of the week I also had received -- and gladly accepted -- an invitation to be an opening speaker at the Alaska Business Monthly's "Annual Top 49ers Awards Luncheon," had been asked to be, and immediately accepted, an invitation to be a co-host for Rep. Lynn Gattis' (R-Wasilla) reelection campaign kickoff event, and finally had found others who, intentionally or not, ended up debating about state fiscal policy.

Oh yeah, and I had become so concerned about the direction of UAA Athletics that I have decided to become even more deeply involved in attempting to repair that train wreck, albeit from the outside. But that's how things started with state fiscal policy, and we are making progress on that.

The @AlaskaDemocrats, however?  They remain bizarre; no progress there.