GOP Civil War: State Edition
The most fascinating political fight in the land isn’t between Republicans and Democrats, but within the Republican Party. And it’s full-on war. The RINOs are being exposed for what they are: big government, corporate welfare hypocrites who don’t support the party platform and who will compromise any moral code to accomplish their aims. Thus fumed the GOP’s 2010 (and possible 2014) US Senate candidate Joe Miller on his blog recently. You can skip the following section if you’re from Alaska. ********************************************************************************************************* Forthwith, the Lower 48 Cliff’s Notes on Joe Miller’s view of the Republican Party. His wing of the party…
“North to the Future,” Indeed
Young people who aspire to—and make the requisite grades for—being a doctor or attorney tend not to be poorly performing students. To the contrary, these tend to be ambitious, achievement oriented pupils. So what does it say about a state which forces them to leave in order to pursue their goals? The phrase “mother of all brain drains” may cross your mind at this point. And yet, that’s precisely the situation in which Alaska finds itself as one of only six states without a medical school and the only state without a law school. Much lip service is paid to…
Shell: The Reckoning
Like any large corporation these days, Shell is making use of social media to spin its damage control about the Kulluk grounding. Whether the company’s aren’t-we-swell message is getting traction is open to debate. More important than getting an earful on its Facebook page is the legal/legislative reckoning the company is about to face. US Sen. Mark Begich (D-AK), the United States Coast Guard, the Department of the Interior, and the US House of Representatives are all launching investigations into the matter. Phil Munger over at Progressive Alaska has a nice overview of each of these inquiries. Given the PR…
Begich Wins Seat on Appropriations
Score! (I search frantically for a Democratic Alaskan political wonk and fistbump them!) I wrote before about how Harry Reid was busy armoring Mark Begich for his upcoming reelection fight in 2014 with committee positions that would bolster his effectiveness in Washington, and make him indispensable to his home state. What did Ted Stevens fans refer to when touting the special power he held in the senate? “Well, you know…” they’d say as they jammed their hands in theirr pockets and arched an eyebrow, “He was the, uh… head of the Appropriations Committee. Stick that in your pipe and smoke…
Palin Galluping Off the Chart
In these days of political woe and want, when fiscal cliffs, and debt ceilings, and oil rig groundings get us down, there’s really nothing like another little piece of confirmation that Sarah Palin is slipping into oblivion to make us at Mudflats central clonk our coffee mugs together and smile. It doesn’t really mean anything, but it’s still nice. It’s like the empty calories from a butterscotch candy. So, here’s one. Every year since the 1940s, Gallup has done a poll asking Americans two simple questions: What man/woman that you have heard or read about, living today in any part…
OT: Shell Games & Hammertime
[This is an open thread.] The backspin on Shell’s latest Alaskan Coastline Enhancement Initiative has already begun, with “we’ll probably mostly skate this time” apparently the central thrust. You should also send a thank-you note to the burglar who broke into your house because, hey—no arson. Thanks, bro. Here now is some context involving Conoco’s Alaska’s US Senator Lisa Murkowski (R). Our friend Heather Aronno over at Alaska Commons produced a July 2011 NPR interview she describes as “Shell making their sales pitch for the offshore drilling that’s going so spectacularly.” “At the time, Senator Murkowski voiced concerns about the…
Fiscal Cliff: Alaska Roll Call
I’m always fascinated watching the roll calls for bills that pass through the legislature, especially when we have a rare moment of harmony across party lines in Alaska. On Tuesday, an 89-8 vote in the Senate passed the “Job Protection and Recession Prevention Act of 2012,” (aka the Fiscal Cliff Bill) which lobbed the ball to the House of Representatives. Voting yes on the Senate bill were 47 Democrats, 40 Republicans and 2 independents, including both Senator Lisa Murkowski (R) and Mark Begich (D).Voting no were 3 Democrats and 5 Republicans. The 257-167 vote by which the House passed the agreement, hours…
2012 Parting Shots
If you live in the Lower 48, you may be under the illusion that your state knows how to do “trashy” and “no way—that’s not for real!” It doesn’t. Not compared to Alaska. So sit back with some popcorn and check out the pros. Parenting Fail If you’re going to engage your own son in LSD-fueled hand-to-hand combat in the street over a woman (!), at least don’t do it in the nude. In Spenard, that makes you such a cliché. Poor Kids Get Baked Speaking of excessive nudity, House Finance Co-Chair Bill Stoltze refused to allow a vote on…
Don Young Will Break You
Guess what, boys and girls? The Food and Drug Administration just announced that a genetically modified, farmed Atlantic-Pacific salmon-eel hybrid (also known as the Frankenfish) is perfectly safe for human consumption! Mmmmmm. Anyone want some Farmed-genetically-modified-Atlantic-Pacific-salmon-eel-hybrid dip on a cracker? Come on, don’t be shy. It’s perrrrfectly fine. The government says so. Ah, the gubmint. Alaska conservatives’ entity of choice when it comes to a target for hurling bile is the Environmental Protection Agency. But with the FDA, Alaska’s bipartisan congressional delegation comes together in a big bile-hurling kumbaya. “The notion that consuming Frankenfish is safe for the public and…
Parnell Pounds the Table
There’s an old saying, “When the facts are on your side, pound the facts. When the law is on your side, pound the law. When neither is on your side, pound the table.” But in Alaska, when it comes to cutting oil taxes, that strategy really isn’t a winner. With all-time high levels of employment and investment on the North Slope, and the oil companies raking in record profits, the facts are definitely not on the side of the Big Oil Tax Giveaway. With a constitution that requires Alaska to reap the maximum benefit for our natural resources, the law…