Joe Miller – the Junior DeMint
At the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce’s Senate Candidate Forum last week, each candidate was asked which sitting senator they most admired.
Lisa Murkowski started talking about Ted Stevens, and then acknowledged that he was no longer a sitting senator. Then she mentioned Carper from Delaware and Bingaman from New Mexico. They’re both Democrats. Murkowski spent a great deal of time talking about how she worked across the aisle and how she respected and admired these Democrats and that they worked well together.
Scott McAdams mentioned that he admired John Tester and felt a connection with him because both he and Tester had hard-scrabble upbringings, and that Tester had risen as a common sense Democrat in a rural Western State. But then he said the senator he would go to for advice, and as a mentor would be Senator Daniel Inouye from Hawaii. Inouye and Ted Stevens, though from opposite sides of the aisle called each other “brother.” They were very close friends, and had worked together for decades using teamwork and shared challenges to bring the two youngest states in the country through statehood and into the 21st century. McAdams went on to mention that Inouye had contributed to his campaign through his leadership PAC.
A point of information McAdams didn’t mention is that Murkowski’s buddies, and the senators she says she admires the most, Carper and Bingaman, also donated from their PACs to the McAdams campaign. Zing.
But then came Joe Miller. He acknowledged that there would be people who didn’t like his answer, but laid it out there anyway. Someone at my table muttered, “He’s gonna say Jim DeMint…. just wait.”
“Jim DeMint,” said Miller with an air of conviction. The audience at the Chamber audibly groaned. Yes, the same Jim DeMint who seems to relish living his political life on the “Republican fringe”, and who received not only groans but bipartisan BOOs from his fellow senators for single-handedly holding up a popular bill to expand global anti-AIDS efforts. Yes, the same Jim DeMint who thinks that unmarried pregnant women and gays shouldn’t be allowed to teach. The same Jim DeMint who thinks that a girl should be forced by the government to carry and deliver her rapists baby, or her father’s baby. Great hero.
So, Miller the Junior DeMint supports, and admires him as someone to look up to, to aspire to be like. And now, apparently touched by the fringey-love from the North, Jim DeMint is about to descend on Alaska.
South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint is debuting an Alaska ad aiding the embattled Senate nominee he has endorsed, Joe Miller, by highlighting his anti-abortion rights position.
DeMint’s Senate Conservatives Fund is funding an advertisement that begins airing this week that hits both of Miller’s opponents for supporting abortion rights, in an effort to set the GOP nominee apart from Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Democrat Scott McAdams in what has become a competitive three-way race.
Considering the fact that in Alaska, abortion rights are a state’s right, this should be interesting. Abortion was legal in Alaska three full years BEFORE Roe vs. Wade, and Alaska’s constitution is the ONLY state constitution that has a privacy clause. Alaskans acknowledged way back in 1970 that abortion is a privacy right, and that the government has no place getting between a woman and her doctor. How libertarian of us. How small government.
But now we’re going to have to hear about how Miller, who is all about small government and personal liberties and state’s rights is the only candidate of the three that unequivocably thinks that women shouldn’t have the right to make decisions about their own health. He’s the only one who believes that his version of morality should be legislated by the government. He’s the only one who thinks that if, God forbid, one of his daughters were raped, that she should be forced by law to bring that pregnancy to term. He’s the only one who thinks that in Alaska, the state with the highest rates of rape and incest of any state in the union, that if a 12-year old girl becomes pregnant from her uncle, or brother, or father, that she should be required to bear that child.
So, brace yourself for a new crop of commercials and remember that a person’s hero says a lot about who they are.
According to the Harry Potter Glossary Dementors are creatures who live on the happy emotions of people, leaving them wretched and dismal. The kiss of a Dementor sucks the very soul from its victim.
I wish this chap and his followers well on their quest to relocate to Russia and construct and live behind a replica of the Berlin wall.
I feel physically ill thinking about this.
Curiously, the right to an abortion came during the Nixon administration. And, most Republicans were pretty OK with this as many were pro-choice and had arranged backstreet abortions for their daughters. But there was a bit of a backside to Roe v. Wade. Remember this happened after major civil rights issues were resolved. (Or appeared to be.) Many Repubs thought the women who would avail themselves to abortion would be Black, disadvantaged or struggling. Guess what! A great deal of the women who were aborting were white women between the ages of 17-25. This is when the right to life movement became vocal! There were so few white babies to adopt anymore! I truly believe the people who oppose a woman’s right to choose and the tenants of Roe v. Wade are hearing that whistle that tells them white people aren’t in charge anymore … and it scares the hell out of them.
My Goodness! Haven’t you people suffered enough with Palin?!! Hasn’t the rest of the world suffered also? The last thing we need is a Junior deMintted.
Quite apparent that Joe is now playing the anti-abortion card to whip the base into a frenzy to get out the vote…. same tactic from the primary.. added to the “I’m the Victim” slant on the arrested reporter and Money issues stories… Why are American Voters so gol-dern blind to a candidate… they focus on ONE issue only, and don’t see the whole candidate…..????
anti-abortion = tax cuts for the rich.
;)!!!
These politicians who are against abortion are all against healthcare(Obamacare). So it is “we want to command you to have babies of your rapists and relatives but we won’t help you pay for it.” Very sad and sick.
Outlawing abortion will bring on a lot of horrendous laws affecting women. In Colorado they are voting on an amendment to grant “personhood” to fetuses from the moment of conception. Abortions will be illegal in all cases, even to save the life of the mother. This could also cause all sorts of legal problems with respect to wills, adoptions, etc.
I don’t know what has happened to our country, but it is very scary. They want to reduce women to incubators and send our young people to fight in unwarranted wars. The teabaggers shouting their freedoms are being taken away (but no one knows which ones) are the same ones trying to take freedoms away from the rest of us..
Joe Miller sounds like he would be more at home with the AIP.
I think this one (Amendment 62) will go down in flames like the last several. We voters are getting very tired of these out-of-staters using our very easy to amend process to make a statement. I’d like to see them charged with the total election cost if they lose.
My sister had to have an abortion back in the 80’s when she was diagnosed with leukemia and going through harsh chemo.(People actually go through chemo now while pregnant but drugs back then harmed the fetus.) It broke her heart but she wanted to live for the daughter she had. She did live 4 more years after that but these personhood people would have imposed, a death panel.
You left out “…And we will not help you pay for raising it”
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Lisa Murkowski coming up very shortly on CNN on John King, USA…
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Latest polls on Hardball – Lisa and Joe tied at 37%, Scott in twenties. Hoping for a miracle – maybe Jim DeMint will inspire the voters to change their mind from Joe or Miller (or both). Off topic, but did anybody see that woman on The Ed Show yesterday that was advertised as being a witness to the reporter arrest? She g started talking about how much she supported Joe Miller and how wrong the report was. I think “ED” was surprised. I saw a blurb about her on Andrew Halcro too, where she said something totally different. Who is she?
It was first reported at the Dispatch:
http://alaskadispatch.com/dispatches/politics/7195-witness-reporter-was-rude-but-not-a-threat
Sure not what she said on The Ed Show…… or i was having a brain drain at the time. I thought that is what Ed was expecting her to say, because he looked very put out.
Yeah, sounds to me like she had her own agenda in saying one thing to get on the air and then changing her story. Or did someone convince her to change her original story. She did say that the reporter/editor shouldn’t have been handcuffed, but the rest seemed totally off.
Just read the link. Wow, she really changed her attitude, didn’t she? If a candidate pushed and “bowled over” my 8 year old child, I would not be very forgiving, especially if said candidate did not apologize or seem to care. Miller really is a jerk – and it’s even worse considering that he has so many kids. He should be very aware or and protective of children.
And then at the end of the article she says she was a Miller supporter, but not anymore? On The Ed Show didn’t she say she was still a Miller supporter? That’s quite a change of heart on her part.
Halcro’s letter to Joe re: the incident (note there were some tidbits in there)
http://www.andrewhalcro.com/dear_joe_what_are_you_thinking
Did I hear Ed say that she’d received a call from Joe that night? I too thought her comments didn’t match what I’d read earlier. Gets more interesting as time goes by!
Her name, according to Andrew Halcro under the article GOP Herd mentality, was Lolly Symbol. She never mentioned the things in that article or the one in Alaska Dispatch, but instead said the reporter was rude and she still intended to support and vote for Joe Miller. Thanks, Nats. At least i wasn’t imagining it.
Immoral Minority also saw her change her whole story. And apparently she has a facebook page, is a gun supporter, and a joe miller supporter
Typical damage control technique: have “a citizen” put out a local story on an embarrassing issue that appears to support the other side’s claims and when the story goes larger (state or nationwide), have them claim something else entirely. Republicans have been doing this stuff forever, see: “rat f**king.”
Doodlebug, that poll is full of moose pucky. No way is McAdams going to take less than 40% of the vote in Alaska.
Doodlebug – the polls mean nothing until you know the questions, how many sampled, the methodology, etc.
Also, too – if you are going to live or die by polls, then Nate Silverman’s latest data is always worth checking out. Even for me, a non believer in polls (less than half are legit in my book):
http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/18/alaska-race-may-make-for-long-election-night/
Nate has it right – throw in a three way race, a write-in and an unknown – and who knows what the hell is going to happen!
I do agree, polls are not always accurate. But I think people see them and want to vote for the “winner” and so they affect the elections. A real shame, but it happens. I wish they would also do away with predicting who is going to win by using the exiting polling, because I think that also affects people’s votes who hear it before they get to the polls, and it keeps some people home too.
Plus most polls are based on land line phones, not cell phones. How many have land lines in Alaska?
BREAKING NEWS: In effort to deflect attention from troublesome ethics and First Amendment violations by Alaskan Tea Party favorite candidate Joe Miller and his Drop Zone Security buddies, SC Senator Jim DeMint throws fetuses at citizens.
Not that far off topic–how the nutcases are steering this election season:
http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/10/20/borger.election.campaign/index.html
Shame on you, AKM, for disparaging one of my favorite candies! I’ll never look at a box of Junior Mints again without thinking of RWNJs.
Might just have to eat them with my eyes closed from now on (didja really think I wasn’t gonna eat them at all???)! 😛
Leenie, I agree! I can’t stand DeMint, but I love de JuniorMints. And Miller is as crazy a wack job as they come, and should not be compared to anything sweet and yummy.
Okay–I have been reading this blog for about a year and finally had to say—BRILLIANT–this is so funny. I only wish I could vote in Alaska–but alas here, in Colorado, we have our own nut cases. Thanks for all you do to help educate Alaska, I wish we had someone here who did what you do. But, again, BRILLIANT!!!
Welcome to the mud, Rhonda, you former hushpup, you! 🙂
A bit OT, but important to the issue of ultra-conservative politics: HuffPo has an article about Justices Scalia and Thomas attending seminars hosted by Koch Industries. Not the best thing for Justices to do considering the need to avoid the appearance of impropriety, but it steams me a bit considering Justice Thomas’ wife involvement in the Tea Party, and her recent regurgitation of the Anita Hill allegations during his confirmation hearing. For his wife to try to use it to support her right-wing activities, is unseemly.
Even if a Justice of the Supreme Court has strong leanings towards a political movement, he or she should avoid overt or perceived endorsements of that movement while actively hearing cases. I believe we will see cases come up in the near future that should require that both Scalia and Thomas recuse themselves, but they have refused to do so in the past. Senator DeMint has said he is hopeful ;many social and business issues come up before the court so as to correct the liberal leanings of past courts.
Why did I bring this up – because there have been other articles about these Justices cozying up to business interests such as the Kochs and right-wing organizations. The right-wing-oriented Justices seem to share DeMint’s views on many vital issues. We need to watch things carefully and voice our concerns should Scalia and Thomas continue to intertwine their careers with the right-wing in a way that conveys contempt for fairness and objectivity.
Of course, their involvement with the Kochs and other corporate bigwigs had NOTHING to do with which way they voted on Citizens United…
..and the Exxon-Valdez Oil Spill litigation.
Please note that Scalia and Thomas attended last years Koch Love Fest in Aspen and went back to Washington to vote Aye on Citizens United. Disgusting! Supreme Court Justices, like Caesar’s wife should be held to a higher standard, methinks!
Is there any way to make sure these justices either conduct themselves in a fair manner or is there actually a way they can be removed if they don’t? Of course, by that time, they could have done even more damage than they already have.
And honestly, what was Thomas’s wife thinking? That’s probably the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. And good for Anita Hill for turning it over to the University and letting them do the investigation. I remember when she testified and I was horrified that she had to endure that and then watch him be confirmed anyway.
They are supposed to recuse themselves from any cases where they have an outside interest, as Kagan has done, because she served as Obama’s Attorney General. Thomas and Scalia should have abstained from Citizens United, but didn’t- such arrogance.
Obama’s Solicitor General
How is Jerry Pervo going to roll with this one? Leasa goes to his church and blathers about how great he is and now….DeMented bankrolls ads for Junior DeMint and his anti-abortion stance. It was prop 2 that got Junior his votes (most likely many from Pervo’s “church”). What is a good “X-tian” to do? Hahahahahahaha. Such a pickle. Now the cannibalism begins.
Vote for the guy without all of the drama who just wants to keep this state and country running on the right track.
Vote McAdams! And throw some love to Crawford as well.
Lisa is Catholic, yet softly pro-choice. Scott is solid pro-choice. Prevo would vote for the most unqualified candidate in the world over either of those two, if his guy was anti-choice. Miller is against abortion, even for the victims of another Papa Pilgrim. Jerry’s kind of guy.
Scott WILL win.
And to the ticket that will beat Sean Parnell: Berkowitz-Benson.
I posted yesterday that I am having trouble keeping up with the Joe Miller scandals. Now Palingates is reporting that William Fulton, the owner of the Drop (Drip) Zone, is a militia member, and ties him to Norm Olson, who was too nutty for the Michigan Militia and who moved far Northwest to start his own little branch of white racist terrorists there. Joe really f’d up here, he should have just politely said “No Comment”. The thread keeps on getting pulled and revealing more and more unsavory stuff.
That said, I still expect Miller might well win. Good God our country is in trouble if these racist white terrorists become US Senators.
Time for the CD’s. I normally listen to the local stations for up to the date weather and road conditions, but I can’t handle this.
McAdams is the McMan!
“Senator Daniel Inouye from Hawaii”–now that was a solid answer.
Umm, does he have a few ads he could sponsor?
Yay! Welcome to Alaska, Jim DeMint. Help drive the nails in the Rethug coffin.
Like that little Zing! there also, AKM.
Sadly, Mudflats is only preaching to the choir here. We all know what Miller is, but it is getting the orange Kool-Aid out of the systems of his supporters with which we have an uphill battle.
If these religious freaks get power and implement their stronghold, that is well and good for them for the time being, but when another group takes over that is not religious, then THEY as well as the rest of us will have a problem. What happens if they implement some pregnancy rules that open up women to having to be public about their pregnancies, and then a form of government comes in that wants to limit family size? It could happen. There are too many scenarios that would be good in their eyes that could get flip-flopped back at them and the rest of us.
No, I don’t think it’s preaching to the choir here. It’s a place to gather information, discuss stuff…things happen. There is a lot which we do not see. There are many readers who do not comment.
Take heart, and I’m putting this link in the Open Thread, too. It’s great, from the Juneau Empire this morning. The Murkowski campaign was running big banner ads at the online ADN saying “A vote for McAdams is a Vote for Miller”.
I agree with this dude – we should drop the “wasted vote” idea and work with all the great things there are to say about McAdams with people who don’t know him yet. And, in the meantime, watch Joe Militia slide into obscurifudiation after the roar dies down.
http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/102010/opi_723286373.shtml
“Before the primary, conventional wisdom had Murkowski easily winning reelection. The odds against any Democrat unseating her were enormous. Those odds changed immediately when Miller was declared the winner of the primary. McAdams believed he had a fighting chance to stage another upset. It’s still quite possible even with Murkowski’s re-entrance as a write-in candidate. But to listen to some registered Democrats, McAdams can’t possibly win.
At least, that’s the opinion of Donald Craig Mitchell, an Anchorage attorney, who in a Huffington Post column wondered about the risks of remaining loyal to his chosen party. He writes that if Alaska Democrats “believe that Joe Miller is a dangerous ideologue who must be defeated” then “a vote for Scott McAdams is a wasted vote.”
Alaskan Democrats should be accustomed to watching their chosen candidate for Congress suffer the agony of defeat on Election Day. They’ve had only one winner in 35 years. So let’s stop the fear mongering and scour our conscience before we cast a ballot for a candidate who opposes our most passionately held beliefs. Shouldn’t we model such idealism if we expect our elected representatives to vote that way whenever they’re considering legislation that affects our lives?
To be fair, Mitchell didn’t declare he was voting for Murkowski to stave off a Miller win. But language about wasted votes is self-defeating. It pushes us toward disengagement and apathy, the twin eroding forces of self governance…”
Read the rest of the letter – it’s well written.
A vote for McAdams is a vote for McAdams.
It’s not just preaching to the chior. I have learned a lot here, and have talked about these issues with my coworkers and friends. The information flows out like the concentric circles in a pond….
Oops – forgot to say how much I liked the last part of your last sentence:
” . . . remember that a person’s hero says a lot about who they are.”
That’s so true.
Heard Christine O’Donnell described as “baby Palin,” so I am glad to see junior DeMint attached to Joe Miller. Both are astute descriptives.
DeMint might well be “Senior Palin”. He bears more responsibility for the Delaware O’Donnell debacle than anyone else- assuming she loses (not a witch).
UGH!
Maybe Joe could get him a Demint mask and wear it for Halloween? He already has the act down pat.