Walker or Begich? The Moderate’s Dilemma.
Alaska voters, we need to have a conversation. And I know this may hurt a little. It’s about Bill Walker and Mark Begich, the two “moderates” in the 3-way race for Alaska governor – the first, a former Republican and incumbent, the second, a Democrat and former US Senator. The third player in our little melodrama is Mike Dunleavy, a former Republican right-wing conservative state senator from Wasilla who quit in the middle of his term. In the end, your vote is your choice and yours alone, but I can’t let you step behind the red, white, and blue curtain…
Driving To Alaska’s Political Madness
My parents first came to Alaska in the ’60s, driving a red and white Volkswagen bus. They came from Virginia and like so many Alaskans, they came for one year – that was almost 50 years ago and they never left. I’m happy to report I’m making the trip they did, though by a more northerly route. It’s a bit of a shock to my Alaskan mind to drive through four states in a day without going through a foreign country. There is so much to take in on open road and border crossings. You can drive for days on…
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…
Show Me the Troops! Cause I don’t see ’em…
In a story published in The Daily Beast and Propublica, Kim Barker breaks wide open the Tea Party Express-associated group Move America Forward’s financial dealings. Barker writes: “Move America Forward calls itself the nation’s “largest grassroots pro-troop organization,” and has recruited a bevy of Republican luminaries, including former Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush and former Vice President Dick Cheney, to support its efforts.” “The driving force behind Move America Forward is Sal Russo, 67, the longtime political consultant who is listed on the 10-year-old charity’s tax returns as chief strategist. “Russo is better known for helping to form the Our Country…
The Weekend Off – News You Missed
Alaska ADN – BP settles over Prudhoe Bay spills BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. has reached a proposed $450,000 settlement to resolve federal and state pollution violations in the Greater Prudhoe Bay unit. The settlement covers four oil discharges from BP-operated pipelines from 2007 to 2011. Juneau Empire – Authorities investigating whale, ferry collision KODIAK — Authorities were working Friday to determine if a 25-ton humpback whale died as the result of a collision with the state ferry Kennicott near Kodiak. Scientists believe the whale was alive when it was struck by the vessel. And Kate Wynne, a marine mammal specialist…
Parnell, Miller Fear Children… From Central America
Alaskan Governor Sean Parnell and US Senate Candidate Joe Miller are worried. Is it about the melting ice caps? No. Is it about the sexual assaults in the Alaska National Guard? No. (Clearly Sean’s not worried about that.) Is it about the Pebble Mine? Hell No. It’s about the children, but not just any children. ILLEGAL children coming to Alaska. Here’s a photo example of one of them. Parnell’s social media team posted this to his official page Saturday. “I have seen some alarming reports that the Obama administration is giving illegal aliens one-way tickets to Alaska. We are making contact with…
UPDATE! Still NOT Made in Alaska – Phuket, We’re buying from Thailand
Looks like Dan is reading TheMudflats. I checked his site today and all the photos mentioned changed over to new ones. You can see for yourself at the screenshot below, taken Wednesday 4/2/2014 at about 9:50am AK Time. —————————————— We published a story titled “NOT Made in Alaska – DC Dan Buys from New Zealand” about 5 days ago. In the article (which is worth a read) we show that Dan Sullivan bought a photo for his site that was supposed to portray Alaska, but the photo was actually of New Zealand. Not ground breaking investigative research, but if you’re…
Democratic Frontier: Q&A with the State Party Chair
With the governorship, a US senate seat, our lone Congressional seat, and SB 21 repeal all on the statewide ballot, 2014 is a critical election year in Alaska. Given recent gerrymandering and the influx of outside political money, the state represents significant challenges for Democrats. The Mudflats spoke with Democratic Party Chair Mike Wenstrup about the state of the state, his party, and its future. Alaska doesn’t seem to be a very hospitable place for Democrats these days, so what compelled you to want to run the state party? Alaska values are Democratic values: Respect for personal privacy, government restraint, maximizing public benefits…
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…
Strange Bedfellows
Let no one say we don’t have range. It’s not every week one is prominently featured on both Daily Kos and Joe Miller’s Restoring Liberty blog. The former gave us some love for the final installment of a certain seasonally themed literary travesty. The latter, though our politics couldn’t be more different, showed some good sportsmanship and humor about having his retirement mistakenly reported on MSNBC.