Sullivan, Treadwell vs. Women
You’d think a vote for the Violence Against Women Act would be a no-brainer. You’d think this because opposing violence against women should be as controversial a position as supporting the troops or enjoying apple pie. If you live in Alaska, you’d really think this is an easy vote, because all three members of Alaska’s Congressional delegation—including Republicans Lisa Murkowski and Don Young—have supported the bill in the past. Senator Murkowski has gone so far as to lobby House Republicans on reauthorizing the law, and has signed on to a bipartisan letter of support which reads in part as follows:…
Eric Cantor Got “Joe Millered” by Tea Party
Anyone in Alaska watching Tuesday’s primary shocker in Virginia unfold couldn’t help but draw comparisons to the Senate race in 2010. That year, Tea Party candidate Joe Miller set the Republican establishment back on its heels with a victory shocker over incumbent Republican Lisa Murkowski. Democrats scrambled while institutional Republicans, mouths agape, tried to comprehend what had just happened. On Tuesday in Virginia, Dave Brat, an underfunded Tea Party candidate cleaned the clock of the 7-term Republican incumbent House Majority Leader Eric Cantor by double digits. Brat had been predicted to lose by a wide margin. By many accounts Cantor…
Miller Time: My Sunday With Joe
Hey Joe, where you goin’ with that gun in your hand? —Jimi Hendrix FAIRBANKS, AK — All three Republican US Senate candidates—Dan Sullivan, Joe Miller and Mead Treadwell—attended the Tea Party-ish Day of Resistance event in Wasilla last Sunday. But only one, Joe Miller, then braved the cold of the interior to attend the rally in Fairbanks. It appears Sullivan and Treadwell would like to peel off a few of the conservative and libertarian activists who are Miller’s base, as long as it doesn’t inconvenience them into having to head north. It was just as well, as candidates of tony…
Day of Resistance
(This is Part one of our Day of Resistance coverage. You can read Part Two here.) The date 2/23 was originally chosen for “Day of Resistance” rallies across the US because the .223 is the ammunition used in the popular AR-15 semi-automatic rifle. Alaska organized events in both Fairbanks and Wasilla this year, protesting the federal government’s attempts to regulate firearms and showing support for the 2nd Amendment. The Fairbanks rally at Veterans Memorial Park was organized by The Oath Keepers, a pro-second amendment group made up mostly of veterans and headed up by David Luntz and Donny Meeks. Luntz maintained a Facebook page promoting the…
Quotes of the Week – A Sixpack
Oh no they di’int! It’s been quite a week for the gum-flappers, the yammerers, and the makers of opinion – some good, some bad, and some that make you just want to slam you head on the desk until they go away. Let’s dig in. Sarah Palin on Race What better way to start the week in which we celebrate civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. than with a little race baiting from our ex-half governor? Not sure if judging someone by the content of their character is really where she wants to go. Rush Limbaugh on Chris Christie…
Parnell, Murkowski & West Virginia
Pop Moore was born and raised in West Virginia. I’m proud of our family heritage in a state that includes the original Rednecks in the Battle for Blair Mountain. That’s where my grandfather fought to unionize the coal mines after getting buried in a slide. When I was growing up, we’d go visit my grandmother in a tiny town in Boone County. It was humid and friendly. Tomatoes from the garden tasted delicious, and the people talked funny. The center of town was the yellow line that ran through it. I loved sitting on the porch swing listening to stories….
GOP Whines About Consequences
They pushed too far. This week the U.S. Senate changed its rules. After almost 40 years, the majority now rules. This was a change I’d hoped for. We’re told that elections have consequences, and sometimes they do, but in the Senate the need for a supermajority of 60 votes gave all power to the minority (Sen. Ted Cruz & Co.). To put this in context: In the history of the United States, 168 presidential nominations or appointments have been blocked by filibuster in the Senate. Eighty-two of them were directed at a single president. Can you guess which president that…
Murkowski Slammed Over Filibuster Vote
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid finally went nuclear. Using a rare procedural move, Reid and a majority of Senators voted 52-48 to overhaul a filibuster rule which had largely worked for decades, but which Republicans had so abused since the beginning of the Obama administration, that judicial and cabinet appointments that once would have been routine, became dead in the water. The numbers speak for themselves. The vote was largely down party lines, with 3 Democrats breaking ranks. But at least one Republican we know, who had a history of supporting the concept of the up-or-down vote, cast her vote…
Oyster Roundup – Cool Pope, Crazy Cruz & More
Gather round little ones! It’s time for a cool half-dozen slurpable newsy bites on the half shell. We Heart the Pope There goes that Pope again, giving Christians a good name. Sarah Palin noted, with some consternation that this Pope is sounding kind of “liberal” and her verdict is still out. While the former half-term governor of Alaska “does her homework” and figures out that Jesus was a liberal, the Pope turned his ire toward corruption. Take heed governments around the world and the Vatican. AwesomePope is not pleased with you, and says “the corrupt should be tied to a…
Death Threats, Swear Words and Hostage Negotiations… Alaska’s Republicans on Social Media
Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Rep. Don Young are both in an odd position during the government shutdown – both oppose ‘ObamaCare,’ but not enough for the crazies in their party. Nothing outside of strapping c4 to your body with a dead mans trigger is enough for them. But at the same time, they’re staying the Republican course and not speaking out against the extremists with whom they share their representative bodies, and trying to figure out how to shift the blame to the other party. It’s not working well for them, and their social media pages are showing it. I’ve had…