Alaska’s conservative movement faces a growing threat, not from the left, but from within. The Foundation for Applied Conservative Leadership, or FACL, is a national activist group founded by Mike Rothfeld. It claims to fight for conservative principles like limited government and gun rights. But in practice, in Alaska, its tactics fracture unity and undermine the very legislators who are working to preserve those values.
FACL’s strategy is based on Rothfeld’s philosophy that “unless you are politically feared, you will not be politically respected.” To that end, the group trains activists to confront lawmakers with mass emails, loyalty pledges, and public shaming over single votes. It weaponizes procedural tricks and false narratives to paint even strong conservatives as sellouts. In a state like Alaska, where Undeclared and Nonpartisan voters make up nearly 60 percent of the electorate, this approach fails the conservative movement.
Legislators are accused by FACL activists of being the only ones complaining about FACL. Of course they are. They are the only ones who see what really happens behind the scenes. They are the ones who have intimate knowledge of the lies and mischaracterizations FACL-trained activists spew to constituents in order to pressure legislators. This is a fact. And it is not a system of accountability. FACL is a system of manipulation that leaves voters misinformed and representatives under siege.
Worse, this toxic environment discourages good candidates from stepping forward to serve. Conservatives already face a media landscape tilted against them and an education system that rarely teaches the value of limited government. Now they also face the risk of being attacked by their own side, by people outside their districts, simply for casting a vote that reflects the reality of Alaska governance. Many capable conservatives will decide it is not worth the personal cost to run for office, a huge win for the left.
One example of FACL’s distortion campaign in Alaska is House Bill 61, a 2024 measure sponsored by Speaker Cathy Tilton and backed by the National Rifle Association. The bill ensured that local governments could not target gun stores during emergencies, protecting Second Amendment rights and economic freedom. Despite its clear conservative intent, FACL attacked it as “shutting down gun stores” and launched campaigns against lawmakers who supported it. These attacks misrepresented the bill and treated genuine conservatives as enemies.
FACL’s problem is not its goals. Limited government, personal liberty, and gun rights are all worth defending. The problem is how it pursues those goals. In Alaska’s Legislature, Republicans are in the minority. That means conservatives must work with independents and sometimes even Democrats to pass meaningful policy or limit terrible bills. Attacking legislators for working within that reality is short-sighted and self-defeating.
FACL also consistently pressures lawmakers outside their own districts. But Alaska is not Washington, D.C. Our state has only about 733,000 residents. Each House district represents around 18,000 people. Legislators are directly accountable to their constituents and meet them face to face at the grocery store or in church. When FACL activists from other districts flood a legislator’s inbox, it has no effect (nor should it) on how that legislator will vote. It only reveals that the activists do not understand civics, the constitution, and how Alaska politics works.
Alaska’s voter registration numbers prove why this matters. Currently, only 24 percent of voters are Republicans. Democrats make up just 14 percent. But the remaining 59 percent are either Undeclared or Nonpartisan; these are the voters who decide our elections. They are practical, values-driven Alaskans who care about things like resource development, education, public safety, and economic opportunity. They want results, not drama. When they see conservatives attacking each other over narrow interpretations of purity, they tune out, or worse, vote for the other side.
Ranked-choice voting, which Alaska adopted in 2020, only heightens the need for broad appeal. Candidates must earn second and third place votes from across the spectrum to win. Voters do not reward scorched-earth tactics or ideological infighting. They reward people who focus on solving problems. FACL’s strategy, which is built on fear and confrontation, drives away the very voters we need to grow the conservative coalition.
Even within its own internal communications, FACL admits the stakes. FACL leadership warns of another 2018-style loss if conservatives do not act and calls on activists to “cause political pain.” Rothfeld demands relentless pressure. But none of them seem to realize that their tactics are the problem. By constantly attacking conservative legislators instead of holding Democrats and independents accountable, FACL confuses voters, divides the movement, and helps progressives win.
There is a better way forward. FACL has the tools to be effective, but it must use them with honesty and precision. Instead of misrepresenting bills like HB 61, the group should educate voters about what the bill actually does. Instead of pressuring legislators outside their districts, they should focus on building coalitions at home. Instead of pushing good conservatives out of public service, they should be finding ways to support and defend them.
Three steps would help fix the problem. First, FACL should embrace honest voter education, clearly explaining how legislation works and why compromise is sometimes necessary in a minority government. Second, it should tailor its messaging to fit ranked-choice voting by promoting candidates who appeal to broad swaths of voters, not just narrow activist circles. Third, it should redirect its focus toward Democrats and independents who consistently vote against conservative principles, rather than trying to punish allies over one or two votes.
Mike Rothfeld once wrote that you cannot lead people unless you are feared. That rigid idea may have limited success in Washington, but it doesn’t work in Alaska. Here, we don’t lead by fear. We lead by trust, respect, and accountability to the voters who sent us here. If FACL wants to advance conservative principles in Alaska, it must stop attacking its own and start working with the people who are already in the fight.
Originally published on Substack: https://kevinjmccabe.substack.com/p/fixing-facl