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…
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…
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:…
GOP Senate Lightning Round!
Someone has smoked pot. Someone has committed a crime. Someone got a speeding ticket on the way to a 2nd Amendment rally. It was quite an evening. Alaska’s Keystone Kops of conservatism took to the stage again for the GOP Senate primary debate. Falling all over each other to see who can get more conservative has become almost a sport. Like professional wrestling is a sport. “I’ve been a conservative all my life!” “I’ve been pro-life all my life!” “I’ve been pro-second amendment all my life!” “I challenge you to sign this pledge to keep out illegal immigrants!” Yes, those…
Krazy Kampaign Lit Alert!
Joe Miller is running for U.S. Senate again. And in Alaska, it’s a 3-way scramble to the right to woo the hard-core conservative primary voter. Miller, Mead Treadwell, and Dan Sullivan have all been trying to outdo each other in their attempt to unseat incumbent Democratic Senator Mark Begich. Above is Miller’s latest piece of campaign literature, mailed to voters. Xenophobic fear mongering and downright silliness aside, (and that’s a BIG aside) let’s follow the message, shall we? You may need a pith helmet, and a machete to get through the jungle of “logic.” Warning: there’s a cliff at…
Sullivan Waffles on Eggs – One of Them May Be Yours.
Back in April, Alaska Republican Senate primary voters got to listen to their three candidates try to figure out who the lifey-est candidate of all actually was. It’s been a gigantic run to the right on pro-life issues by the three men running for the office, each trying to be more hard core than the others. They were asked whether they would support a so-called “personhood bill” called the Life at Conception Act introduced by Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) that defines life as beginning the moment that little swimmer cracks the eggshell. The bottom line of this bill is that it…
Dan Sullivan’s Website of Lies Continues
Ok, maybe that’s a bit of a dramatic title for this piece, as we’re not talking about something criminal, just criminally stupid. Over the past couple months I’ve written about many of DC Dan’s awkward photographic adventures into Alaska, eventually causing him enough shame to switch his photos to ones actually taken in Alaska. I thought DC Dan’s adventures were finally done – his campaign long out of the early stages, and running at full speed, raising hundred of thousands of dollars. I would have guessed that he might actually have gotten some researchers to join his staff, maybe even some locals…
Oh, Snap! (VIDEO)
Alaska Senate candidate Dan Sullivan just got an awesome smack down from the Democratic Party. Born and raised in Ohio, and recently claiming Maryland as his primary residence, it’s not a question of if he’s a carpetbagger, just where from. Dems crush Sullivan 1-0. Wait… 2-0.