Primary Post Mortem
Alaska’s primary election night is over, but the election itself is not quite done. About 14,000 absentee ballots remain to be counted, and the final results will not be known for days. That said, it will be a tough hill to climb for the passage of Ballot Measure 1, which would reinstate the ACES oil tax system put in place by former Governor Sarah Palin and a bipartisan coalition in the Alaska legislature. Sean Parnell, former ConocoPhillips lawyer and lobbyist, and Palin’s former Lt. Governor dismantled ACES with Senate Bill 21 which would give billions from Alaska’s treasury to the…
Election Central Live Blog
9:15pm Ok, Mudflatters… I’m martinied (is that a word) up, and here at Election Central. There’s a decent crowd and the first returns are coming in. I’ll report on the Republican Senate race and Prop 1, and anything else that is a surprise. Right now, the first numbers have come up on the big board: Sullivan – 39% Miller – 33% Treadwell – 23% Prop 1 Yes 50.01 No 49.9 Miller has a better showing than people expected. But, he did that last time. A 6 point margin can be made up in the remaining precincts. Prop 1 is an…
Joe Miller & 20 Million Mexicans
I’m sure you saw this last week in the ADN, or you might have even seen it in your mailbox. Joe Miller claiming that Mark Begich wants these tattooed Central American ‘gang’ members to not only become citizens… but also vote. “And if 20 Million illegals vote, you can kiss the 2nd Amendment goodbye. I am the only candidate who favors Voter ID.” -Joe Miller Let’s break this down, Joe. First, according to the US government and the Pew Hispanic Trust numbers, there are 11.7 million immigrants living illegally in the country. So I’m not sure where the 20 million…
Mudflats Chats: Sen Candidate Mark Fish (L)
Mark Fish is one of three Libertarian candidates running for the U.S Senate seat currently held by Democrat Mark Begich. We sat down and talked about libertarianism, the Republican field, the Republican field, abortion, mining, and corporate personhood among other things. Grab a cup of coffee, and sit in! Libertarian Philosophy JEANNE DEVON: I guess I’ll start off with a philosophical question because sometimes I think it’s difficult, especially in today’s world where everything and everyone is so interconnected, to make a case for libertarianism. MARK FISH: It is difficult. DEVON: Because we’re interconnected people, and the actions of an individual…
Oil Companies Deceive and Divide Us
I listened to a public radio story this week about Anchorage neighbors and their sign war. They are friends who trade snow plowing for boat storage space, but can’t talk about the most important vote for Alaskans in my lifetime. Instead they keep making their signs taller and bigger. Another woman had her “Yes on One” sign burned in her yard and a “No” one put beside it. I have friends who are on their fifth “Yes” sign because they keep disappearing. That’s what millions of dollars have bought, and brought to our state. Sign wars – millions of dollars…
Begich – “If you’re pro-choice, you’re pro-choice.”
“There is no middle ground,” says Alaska Democratic Senator Mark Begich when asked about his firm pro-choice stance. “I’ve never run from these issues. I can’t speak for other Democrats, I just know where I’m at. These are not issues that I run from. People know where I stand.” That might not be a controversial position for a Democrat in California, or New York, but in a state that’s voted for a Republican president every cycle since the Johnson administration, it sounds like a risk. Alaska carries a mere 3 electoral votes, and with the notable exception of a certain VP nominee…
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:…
Robin Williams on Sarah Palin
So many have eulogized Robin Williams more eloquently that we could. But we thought the best send-off would ultimately be with laughter. Nobody could do it like Williams, with his unique brand of irreverence and lightning wit. Here he pillories Sarah Palin, the Clintons, and more. Definitely not safe for work, and definitely funny. Thanks for the laughs, sir. And rest in peace. “And if you want comedy, there is always Sarah Palin. God bless. She is wonderful. Sarah is a self-opening piñata. She’s a gift.”
Dunbar Beats Young in Straw Poll
Don Young lost. That hasn’t happened since 1972 when he lost to Congressman Nick Begich, who had already been killed in a plane crash. OK, this time it wasn’t an election proper, but it’s good news for those who are no fans of “the Congressman of everyone who voted for me.” Young has been in the halls of power since 1973, and at least for the thousands of attendees at the Tanana State Fair in Fairbanks last week, that’s long enough. In the final results of the fair’s straw poll announced by the League of Women Voters of the Tanana Valley, Democratic challenger Forrest Dunbar…
Purgatory Will Turn You Vegan. Apparently.
And now this, from the Palin Channel, which clearly has not raised enough money for speech writers. Or teleprompters. Or some guy making cue cards with a Sharpie. Luckily, they’ve been able to scrape up enough for a fake tree, and a pile of leather-bound books which were put in front of her so maybe now she has to read them, a lacquered photograph of a flag, and a ring of keys for a house belonging to a race of giants. Gravitas. That’s what that is. The ex-half-governor must have been feeling confident this day, because she decided to take…