AK Must Redraw District Map
Remember the new district map for Alaska? Well, it has had a tumultuous, though brief life span. Some hated it, some disliked it, some said it was fair, and a lot of Democrats clutched their pearls and gasped, “Don’t make a stink, because it could be worse!” Um. Worse than losing the bipartisan coalition in the senate, and maintaining a solid minority in the house? Gee, I’m glad we didn’t go there. Well, the kerfuffle over the map went all the way to the Alaska Supreme Court, and the divided opinion said … (drumroll please) … Back to the drawing…
Going Jersey On ‘Em
One of the most popular parlor games in the state of my birth this year has been the will-he-or-won’t-he surrounding Newark Mayor Cory Booker. A rising Democratic star, Booker has been confronting two different paths to statewide office and it appears he has made his decision, according to the NBC affiliate in New York City. The charismatic young mayor, credited with turning around an ailing Newark by reducing crime and increasing economic development, prefers his odds as Frank Lautenberg’s Senate replacement instead of taking on incumbent Governor Chris Christie. It’s hard to fault his reading of the tea leaves—Christie’s numbers…
Leg Office Space for Hate Group?
It’s not every day that an experienced legislative staffer gets ousted, and banned for life from rehire by the legislature. What could cause such a response from the Committee on Legislative Ethics in the Alaska State House? How about literally giving legislative office space and the keys to the Legislative Offices to some guy from an anti-muslim hate group? Oh, you Mat-Su Republicans can still surprise me after all these years. Before the start of the new legislative session, Rep. Shelley Hughes (R-Palmer) has announced the “resignation” of her Chief of Staff Karen Sawyer after the ruling came down. Hughes…
Begich Arms for 2014
Senator Mark Begich (D) doesn’t toe the line every time Harry Reid whistles. And he’s certainly been a thorn in the side of Yellow Dog Dems, and caused much hair pulling and kicking of trash cans for progressive Alaskans, particularly in the area of resource development. All that said, the Democrats in the Senate are a family, and even the wayward kid gets some TLC. Harry Reid knows, as do we all, that 2014 is going to be an interesting race for the Senate in Alaska. It will be Mark Begich (D) vs. any one of a long string of Republicans…
Alaska Readies for Voter Photo ID Bill
Rep. Bob Lynn, R-Anchorage, the chairman of the House State Affairs Committee, reportedly plans to introduce a voter photo ID requirement in the Alaska Legislature. He says this photo ID law isn’t based on the so-called “model statute” developed by the right-wing American Legislative Exchange Council, a national organization that promotes conservative model legislation. Even though Lynn is a member of ALEC. In state where village residents, who famously vote Democratic, don’t have or need a photo ID, this law will provoke a lawsuit before the ink is dry on Captain Zero’s signature. It’s all about equal protection. If you have a photo…
The Audacity of Failure – She’s Back!
She ran for governor of Georgia in 2010 and lost. Then she took one of the most beloved and successful non-profits on the planet, set it on fire, and shoved it out to sea like a viking funeral pyre, before resigning in disgrace. Then she wrote a book with the painfully prosaic title “Planned Bullyhood,” in which she called members of Planned Parenthood “a bunch of schoolyard thugs.” So, what’s next for Karen Handel, disgraced and ostracized former head of the Susan G. Komen foundation? She’s considering a run for the U.S. Senate, of course. If she ran, she would…
Weed, Serial Killer & Berlusconi!
Egyptian President Muhamed Morsi has decided he likes democratic reform when it brings him to power, but finds dictatorship preferable once there. Speaking of “same as the old boss,” disgraced Italian Casanova Silvio Berlusconi is poised to make the most implausible political comeback since Bibi Netanyahu Richard Nixon. Don’t make us come over there, Syria. Mining companies in Canada are discovering these renewable forms of energy are pretty nifty, especially when they’re the only ones available to you. Oh, the irony. Colorado and Washington went to pot a month ago, and now Uncle Sam has to decide how firmly…
Latinos Roll The (R)s
Off The Cliff And Into The Fire President Obama plans to push for comprehensive immigration reform, including a path to citizenship, early in the new year. The LA Times reports that this will be the President’s legislative priority once we’ve resolved the fiscal [insert metaphor of choice here]. If you think the debate over taxing the top 2% has put the GOP in a bind and on the wrong side of public opinion, just wait until the party has to confront immigration reform. Post-election navel gazing by Republicans has boiled down to content-free variations of “we have to do a…
Alaska the Swing State?
Well, here’s something to sink our collective teeth into. Nate Silver, god of numbers, statistical wizard, and Grand Political Prognisticator has just written a piece on his blog at the New York Times entitled… are you ready for this… Alaska: Future Swing State? I started. I caught my breath audibly. My brain revved furiously. Was this a trick? Nope. All looked well, as I skimmed through at Evelyn Wood Speed Reading pace. Silver has several interesting points. First, he notes that Alaska showed the most improved performance for President Obama since 2008. He also rightly notes that Sarah Palin…
Jenny Sanford for U.S. Senate
News broke today that Sen. Jim DeMint (T–SC) is quitting the US Senate to head up the Heritage Foundation. The reason for DeMint’s abrupt departure is unclear. Assuming there are no skeletons that were about to come to light, or someone having dirt on him—and there’s no indication such is the case—my own guess is he may have realized the future for himself and his Tea Party caucus in the Senate isn’t very bright. DeMint’s is a minority caucus in the minority party. Because he’s been such a thorn in the GOP establishment’s side—recruiting and organizing primary opponents to Republican…