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Friday, January 28, 2022

Murkowski Decision Coming Friday

It’s starting to feel like the longest primary ever. Friday, according to her campaign, Lisa Murkowski will make a decision about whether to launch a write-in campaign for the Senate seat, or whether she will bow out of the race to lick her wounds and contemplate her next move.

“Everyday Alaskans from all walks of life have approached me urging that I stay in the race. First and foremost I want to thank them for their outpouring of support. Advisors and friends had urged me to find a way to get my name printed on the ballot at all costs. However, after meeting with the Libertarian candidate last week and considering that option, I cannot in good conscience seek the Libertarian nomination. As disappointed as I am in the outcome of the Primary and my belief that the Alaska Republican Party was hijacked by the Tea Party Express, an outside extremist group, I am not going to quit my party. I will not wrap myself in the flag of another political party for the sake of election at any cost.”

(Rubbing my fists in my eyes, and blinking)

Yes, Lisa Murkowski just did what every other moderate Republican out there ought to be doing – calling the astroturf extremist Tea Party Express out for what they are.  But did I ever imagine that she’d do it?  No.

I am reminded when I hear her talk like this, about the senator I used to have before the insanity.  Granted, she wasn’t always my perfect match, but as far as Republicans go, she wasn’t bad.  Then the “outside extremists” started getting money and torches and pitchforks, and evangelical talking points, and Republicans instead of cherry picking the things that the Tea Party claimed to want that were reasonable (audit the Fed anyone?), and dumping the rest, Murkowski and Co. started racing to the right as fast and as far as they could go.  Suddenly Obama was evil and the EPA shouldn’t be dealing with the environment.  Huh?  Who are you and what did you do with Lisa?

2010 will tell if the diabolical scheme of the Koch brothers (Tea Party Express) worked, or if enough Americans will ‘refudiate’ them and the plan will blow up in their face as a new crop of Democrats trounces them in the general election.

At this point, there are three schools of thought on the Murkowski decision.

One school says that if Lisa stays in, she may actually win it, depending on how stringent the Division of Elections is on counting the write-in votes.  The only other major campaign to win a write-in was Strom Thurmond back in 1950-something.  So it’s a long shot.

The other school says that she will split the Republican vote and Democrat Scott McAdams will win.

And the third school says that she will split the rational vote, and Teaparty candidate Joe Miller win.

On Friday, after “Decision 2010” the scenarios may be fewer, and we may end up with a one-on-one, mano a mano, rational v. wingnut political cage match on our hands.  Stay tuned.

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No Responses to “Murkowski Decision Coming Friday”
  1. mudbug says:

    run, lisa run!! I want ALL nutbags like miller, o’donnell, palin, angle and paul OUT of my party, and playing gin at the funnyfarm come Nov.

    You can do it. Do it for AK. Do it for AMERICA.

  2. Madeline says:

    Send Lisa an email, ask her to do the right thing for Alaska and support Scott Mc Adams.
    http://lisamurkowski.com/main/contact/

  3. SAM HALL says:

    McAdams is the one for Alaska to vote for period. He would bring a needed fresh air to
    Alaska politics. It is hard to know if Lisa M..would split the Republican vote or not..she could
    as the number of vote people that brought Miller in..many voters simply did not vote. Alaska
    needs a fresh air type of political person..that like McAdams will see the whole situations of all
    Alaska people.

  4. lysistrata says:

    Come on, now. The Tea Party Express didn’t punch anybody’s ballot. Sorry, Lisa, you’re in politics – learn how to lose gracefully.

  5. Simple Mind says:

    Look, Lisa is a nice, thoughtful, intelligent lady. I liked her alot when she was in the State Legislature. In fact, I liked her until I went to her Health Care Reform town meeting. There she was, babbling that “socialized gummint takeover of health care” nonsense instead of engaging in any kind of rational discussion. Then came the vote against limiting petrochemical company liability for oil spills, then the stupid campaign commercials about how she was fighting Washington to repeal all those nasty socialistic laws like Obamacare. Lisa drank the Kool-aid. She left her center behind, tried to suck up to the right wing, and wound up outside looking in. She’s a nice lady. I’ll welcome her back to Anchorage. She’ll be a good neighbor. As a Senator, well, she picked her play and she blew it. Vote for McAdams.

  6. barbara says:

    “I am not going to quit my party.” her biggest mistake. why stick with the fricking republicans, they’ve gone insane and they QUIT YOU.

  7. fishingmamma says:

    Wait. Just wait. She lost. What??? She lost. Wait. What??

    I see the race as McAdams vs Miller.

    She has no venue. She lost to Miller. Time to Re-buy her house on Government hill and move back to Alaska. If you bought her couch at the garage sale, she may need it back.

  8. LoveMydogs says:

    I am, frankly, sick and tired of hearing about how Democrats are going to take beating this fall. It may be true but it’s not over until the fat lady sings. some of my republican friends who will “never vote for a democrat” (even though they have no idea what either side’s platform is) hate SP so much that they are planning on writing Leasa in whether she goes for a write in campaign or not. So those are just a lot more people not voting for Miller. I think that write in or not, the Republican vote is going to be split this time. This gives McAdams a better chance than any of the pundits can imagine. People have to vote though (and that means EVERYBODY).

    I know there are mudpups that really like her. She is certainly more sane than the alternative. That is not enough for me though.

    • Women Who Run With The Wolves says:

      I agree, LoveMydogs….I will NOT vote for miller…would never in a million years. I am writing in Lisa’s name…my spouse will most likely be voting for McAdams. At this point…split the Republican party. The more people who are moderate republicans write in Lisa’s name, the less chance miller has and the better chance McAdams has.

  9. Deb says:

    was hoping for an open thread, given the news of headlines about “palin’s tea party candidates” winning in the primaries.

    Am I the only one feeling like I’m living in bizarro world?

    • LoveMydogs says:

      Nope. You are definitely living in bizarro world. I’m right here with you. You can hold my hand.

    • barbara says:

      no. hell, no. but the story is as i see it that the republicans are simply going insane. democrats must VOTE! VOTE! VOTE!

  10. Gramiam says:

    Wonder how Lisa is going to cope with her very own GOP supporting Joe Miller? Mitch McConnell has already told us whose nether cheek the GOP is gonna kiss. Sent him money too! Lisa doing a write-in campaign is like a moth beating it’s wings against a closed window, trying to reach the light. Ain’t gonna happen.

  11. beth says:

    Primary debate is over;time 4unity is now bc time 4choosing is near. Attitudes of unsuccessful campaigns r contagious,make’em worth catching
    less than 20 seconds ago via Twitter for BlackBerry® –SarahPalinUSA

    WTF? ‘Catch’ the attitudes of *Unsuccessful* campaigns? Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaa?
    Is she a friggin’ moran, or what? beth.

    • Martha Unalaska Yard Sign says:

      That’s the Twit sending out a Tweetache – a headache induced by trying to understand a tweet.

    • Valley_Independent says:

      Why should candidates who ran clean campaigns suddenly lower their standards and endorse those who won by being nasty or dishonest? If you get down in the mud and wallow with a pig, all you manage to do is end up with mud on yourself. The pig doesn’t get any cleaner.

  12. Lee323 says:

    It’s hard to muster up much admiration for Murkowski’s recent epiphany that “the Alaska Republican Party was hijacked by the Tea Party Express, an outside extremist group,”

    Yes. Cuckolds usually have bitter epiphanies after the fact.

    To be fair, while an earlier epiphany might have drummed up more admiration from folks like me who value integrity and character above partisan politics, it probably wouldn’t have prevented the wandering affections of her GOP constituents.

  13. beth says:

    No matter what Murkowski decides to do –be a write-in, endorse McAdams, sit this one out– I would hope to HEAVEN that she’ll speak, relentlessly!, about Miller. Right up to the election!

    She, obviously, does NOT agree with him on *many* points (otherwise she would have endorsed him loooong ago) and now would the Perfect opportunity for her to be of continuing service to the State…telling citizens *what* Miller’s positions are [on a whole range of things – SocSec, Dept of Ed, Fed Money, Fed land/state land, etc.] and how *his* positions are utter bs.

    Of course, being a dignified Lady, she would never use that word, but, she could perform an invaluable service FOR Alaskans if she were to educate them about the Law-reality-sanity vs Miller’s-flights-of-memed-TBaggery-fancy. Educated them on *how* Miller is blowing hot air up their nether ends, *why* what he is blowing is nothing but hot air, and what the *real* deal is.

    I get the impression there are many, many Alaskans who [greatly!, still] admire and respect her — many, many who would listen to her and take under serious consideration, any information *about* Joe’s “plans” she cared to educate/enlighted them about. Ds, Is, Rs, Us, [did I leave any group out?] in Alaska ALL need to know about the candidates who’re running AND the platform(s) they are running on…since Joe is Pie-in-the-Skying/BSing, he *needs* to be politely called out. No attacks; just facts. Lisa is the one to do it!

    Newspaper interviews, radio and TV interviews, anywhere — she sure would do AK (and the NATION!) a HUGE favor if she would address the insanity and T-Baggery that is Joe Miller. I just hope she does. beth.

    • Blooper says:

      I couldn’t have said it better, Beth. Excellent post.

    • Women Who Run With The Wolves says:

      I agree Beth….She’s an Alaskan, she’s a, born in Alaska, Alaskan. Don’t take this laying down Lisa…get up and call this spade a spade. Dig your heels in and if you are going down…go down swinging! You have my vote!

  14. Blooper says:

    After what Lisa said about the Tea Party Express (Joe Miller) taking over the Republican party of Alaska, I think there may be a sliver of a chance that she will endorse McAdams. But then again if an Alaskan Republican endorsed a Democrat I think pigs everywhere would start spontaneously sprouting fluffy wings. But then again my pondering may be rendered entirely mute if she decides to run a write-in campaign, which is what I personally think she’ll do.

    I think she’s been dropping clues in her released statements such as ‘not giving up’ and ‘doing the right thing for Alaska and her kids’ that are hinting at her running. We’ll see, I guess!

  15. Really? says:

    MM are you seriously confused and voting for high school prom king? Who the heck cares if McAdams needs to hit the gym more? He sounds like he understands the issues facing Alaskans as well as anyone and he has experience on a local level. This is in sharp contrast to the crazy guy who wants to revoke social secuity. McAdams can win and I think the fact he’s a regular Alaskan will go over well with those of us voting for a senator and not a prom king.

  16. MM says:

    This guy McAdams is not equipped to be Alaska’s next US Senator. Representative from Sitka to the state House, OK but not US Senator. He’s not bright enough. And he is morbidly obese; he needs to put his nose into a few appropriate books and spend several times a week at the gym. He is not at the present time a good role model for Alaska’s youth or voting adults. But he could get to that point if he is less defensive and works at honing his skills.

    • A Fan in CA says:

      Do we have a real live Troll?

      Not bright enough? Do you want to shine him up with spit and polish?

      I know, I know don’t feed these guys. But toying with all the little legs is so much fun.

      • benlomond2 says:

        interesting that some people view a person’s qualifications by appearance, and not ability. If that were the case, then Hollywood stars would be the ONLY ones in Congress… Lincoln would have never made it…he was gawdawful ugly…and FDR wouldn’t have either…

        • Ben in SF says:

          Um, yeah, we tried that in Cahlifonia.

        • Valley_Independent says:

          A person’s character, intelligence, and skills are much more important than physical beauty. While I would prefer someone with Lisa’s depth of experience and connections over Scott, I certainly believe he is bright enough, and more importantly, he has the right character for the job. After what we saw from Mr. Miller during the primary and the vote count, I don’t believe he has the right character, nor do I believe he has a better grasp of the issues Alaskans face than does Mr. McAdams. Miller may have the fancier degree, but he is apparently no better versed in what matters to Alaskans than is his famous supporter, and the Tea Party sound bites just aren’t enough.

          • Alaska Pi says:

            Agreed.
            And we got the :

            Sly
            Arrogant
            Racist
            Aphorisitic
            Heresiarch

            Partisan
            Aposiopesistic
            Lubricous
            Ignorant
            Nincompoop

            when too many of our neighbors fell for appearance and glibness.

            Assuming a candidate should never stop to think before answering , that there never be any dead-air-time, is a failure on the part of voters/citizens to distinguish between a sophmore debate class and a job which affects the real time and future lives of millions of people.

            Personally, Mr McAdams is appealing…
            Some of his dead-air-time is obviously spent LISTENING to what OTHERS have to say and THINKING THROUGH an answer …
            what a concept for a potential writer-of-law!!!!!

          • Alaska Pi says:

            oops spello-

            Aphorisitic should have been aphoristic…

            When dealing with someone who is always going on about I,I,I it is a constant battle to keep I in perspective…
            🙂

          • Alaska Pi says:

            hmmm…
            thinking about this some more I am wondering if the real way to refudiate whatzername lies in pointing to her aphrositic grasp of bits and pieces truth
            … like in para-sitic + aphror-istic…?

          • benlomond2 says:

            ben looking for dictionary……..oh ! there it is, holding the table level…..

    • Martha Unalaska Yard Sign says:

      Actually, I’ve been hearing great things about him from his home town, from people who know him and his family.

      I understand why my Republican / conservative friends might support Murkowski in this unexpected three way tussle, but McAdams is as deserving for his guts as anything else, to run for Senate office. Where were our familiar big guns? They didn’t want to run, they are busy with other tasks. So, we need new people coming up through the ranks, that’s just a no-brainer.

      We have a choice between two new comers – one who is a blowhard blame dude, and one who has the respect of many in his community for his integrity and lack of predetermined agendas.

      Judging him on his appearance – that’s so ridiculous as to not even deserve an answer. Accusing him of not being a role model certainly does not fit with his community, parent and youth experience outlined below:

      https://themudflats.net/2010/09/05/so-who-is-scott-mcadams-anyway/

      “My name is Scott McAdams, and I’m the Mayor of the City and Borough of Sitka, and the Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate. I have been Mayor for two years, and a local elected leader for eight. I have served as the President of the Association of Alaska School Boards, have on the Alaska Municipal League Board of Directors. I’m the Chair of the Southeast Alaska Conference of Mayors. I’ve worked as a commercial fisherman, I’ve worked as a High School football coach. I am currently the Director of Community Schools with the Sitka School District. I serve on my local church’s Pastor-Parish Relations Committee. I’ve been married to my wife Romee for 17 years. We have three kids – Kaitlyn, age 16; Chloe, age 8; and Gavin, age 5.”

      • Valley_Independent says:

        Well said.

        I’ve met McAdams and I like him. He’s intelligent, very genuine, and I believe he will be able to work well with others to get things done.

        I didn’t find Miller any more appealing in person than I did on the very first mailer with the tea party catch phrases on it, or while he was dishonestly bashing Murkowski, and I’ve yet to hear him come up with a coherent plan to accomplish any of his goals. To top it off, he’s already walking back his pre-primary stances.

        Why send a dishonest man who is supported by a liar and has no clue about the Alaskan economy and no idea how he will actually accomplish anything of value to represent you, when you could send a decent, hard-working guy who is well-thought of in the town where he is mayor, and actually understands Alaskan issues?

    • Polly says:

      One way I put things in perspective- that has nothing to do with appearance or being bright – is, if you had to leave your children to be raised by someone else, and you ONLY had two choices, Miller or McAdams, who would you pick?

      (Which is what we do, when we give someone the power to influence national governance.)

    • alaskahockey says:

      MM: And you think that the teabagger is bright?!?!?!?

      What does the MM stand for anyway …. “Maniacs for Miller”?

  17. All I Saw says:

    Who doesn’t think Miller is going to bring Sarah all the way to Washington if he wins. That can’t happen.

  18. Martha Unalaska Yard Sign says:

    AKM summed this up nicely on election eve – it’s important to note that the Republican primary ballot is “closed”. This is why N and U voters can use the Republican ballots, but the registered Democrats can’t. Lots of N and U voters are N and U for this reason. The N and U voters can choose any ballot for each election. Think about it!

    https://themudflats.net/2010/08/23/primary-eve-in-alaska-nuts-bolts-and-mudflats-picks/

    “Tomorrow is Primary Day in Alaska!

    Based on political party by-laws submitted to the Division of Elections there are three ballot choices:

    * Alaska Democratic Party, Alaska Libertarian Party and Alaskan Independence Party Candidate with Ballot Measures ballot – Any registered voter may vote this ballot
    * Alaska Republican Party Candidate with Ballot Measures ballot – Only voters registered as Republican, Nonpartisan or Undeclared may vote this ballot
    * The Ballot Measures Only ballot – Any registered voter may vote this ballot.

    The political party affiliation listed on a voter’s registration record 30 days prior to the election determines which primary ballot type a voter is eligible to vote.

    There’s lots of “strategy” going on with ballot choices this time around. There are UNIs (Undeclared, Non-Partisans and Independents) who are voting either for the more palatable Democrat, or the more palatable Republican even though they’ll vote for the other party in the election.

    If you’ll notice, anyone at all can vote the Democratic ballot, so Republicans have the choice to cross over with no muss and no fuss. The Republican ballot, however, is only available to Republicans, Non-Partisans and Undeclared. So for a Democrat to vote on the Republican ballot, they have to renounce their party affiliation and become one of those three to take the Republican ballot. I know Democrats who have done just this.”

  19. mpb says:

    Had Lisa not swung to extremes before the primary, she might have won.

    My bet is she will not run this one; maybe endorse McAdams for Alaska sake; then run against Begich or McAdams.

    • Martha Unalaska Yard Sign says:

      I feel like if she really cares about Alaska, she’ll not do a write-in, she’ll stick this one to Miller and endorse the Democratic candidate. It would be an awesome thing to do, and the far right is going to go after her anyway just like they have been. They won’t un-demonize her if she decides to endorse Miller just to suck up to the party line so who cares? After his trashing of her, she has every right to draw her line in the sand.

      She can run as more of a moderate and have a really good chance of running against Begich. And work at something new, staying in politics, in the meantime. What’s wrong with that? It isn’t like she doesn’t have a lot of opportunities – she does!

      • North of the Range says:

        As you astutely point out, they won�t un-demonize her. Doesn�t suit their purpose, which is all about fear and raw power, not mending fences. Her supporters figured out too late that the only way to fight a party-jacking is to call the Teazers out on what they are doing. Boldly and directly. Nobody wants to see an outside movement expropriate their self-determination. Her campaign didn�t take the opportunity in the primary to get that message out.

        In retrospect, the Republican establishment strategy of leaning farther and farther to the right did nothing to secure their political safety and only served to create an environment where right-wing behavior is expected now of all Repubs, and virtually no rational maneuver room is left to them. This played right into the hands of the party-jackers. They�ve captured some of the nominations outright and in other races have gotten the mainstream Republican candidates cowed by fear.

        Regardless of whether she re-enters the race on Friday, it’s about time that someone in the Republican camp is finally fighting the Tea Party War with some actual verbal weapons and a little bit of backbone. For once. After all, itâ��s their self-determination going down the drain along with everybody elseâ��s if this stuff continues.

  20. Bretta says:

    I hope to high heaven that Murkowski wages a write-in campaign. The way the good ol’ boys are trying to screw her over now is disheartening (but not surprising).

    • Martha Unalaska Yard Sign says:

      I hope she doesn’t. McAdams can win!

    • Simple Mind says:

      I don’t want to be insensitive, and I certainly agree Senator Lisa Murkowski has faced more than her share of gender disparity. However, how exactly is she being treated unfairly now? She flat out blew the campaign by failing to energize her core and trying only to appeal to the fringe right of her party. She had a double-digit lead, a 75+% approval rating and better than a 10-to-1 campaign fund advantage, and she blew it. She called the shots and now has only herself to blame. The Repub National party is siding with the person elected in the primary, not an irrational position given that registered Republicans in Alaska picked him, foolish as that pick might be.

  21. London Bridges says:

    Add that if Lisa’s running causes McAdams to win, Lisa could run in 6 years without having endorsed a Democrat.

    • Martha Unalaska Yard Sign says:

      If you look at the numbers the way I do, her running would be more likely to cause McAdams to lose by the most, then (statistically speaking) herself next, with Miller ahead of both.

      • Valley_Independent says:

        I concur. Moderate to traditionally conservative voters who would vote for McAdams over Miller would likely vote Murkowski over McAdams. We already know the people on the far right voted Miller over Murkowski, and they aren’t going to budge. Just looking at the numbers, if she stays in, she will hand the seat over to Miller, who ran a very dishonest campaign against her.

        She should bow out of the race now, and certainly should not endorse Miller. Lisa has done a good job for Alaskans, and I would like to see her save her credibility so she can run again at a later date.

    • GoI3ig says:

      Actually 4 years. She will go after Begich’s seat in a heartbeat.

  22. London Bridges says:

    The ironic thing about this is that the Republicans cannot publicly discuss the possibility of eVoting Machine fraud. Thus Lisa has to keep her mouth shut even if caused her to lose the primary. Why? It is the Republicans biggest tool for winning elections. I love it!

    On the other hand, Lisa may not want to endorse McAdams, but she would prefer him to win over Miller-Palin.

    Does Miller know that if he wins, he’d be wise not to fly? (Pretty tough not to fly if you are a senator from Alaska.) However, Sarah really would like to have “U.S. Senator” on her resume for her 2012 run. Would she be appointed by her heir/stooge if something happened to Miller?

  23. Simple Mind says:

    A couple months ago, I commented that Murkowski, with a 75+% approval rating and a couple million dollars in the bank, could only lose the primary by being the worst campaigner in recent history, excepting possibly her father. Well, that’s just what happened. Her campaign funds stayed in the bank. She came out with a couple of lame TV ads that looked like a junior high audio/visual club made them, in which she uncomfortably claimed that she really is a good, ol’ batsh&t crazy teabagger fighting to take back our country from that Kenyan in the Whitehouse, yessirree, bob. She just looked stupid. She had no prayer of persuading the average Joe Miller voter and left her moderate core voter uninspired and abandoned. What was she thinking? The Tea Bagger’s world view is entirely negative. Name one positive position or program proposal by Beck / Palin / Miller. Can’t do it. There aren’t any. Their entire platform is one big attack. So here comes Lisa with her insider family history, moderate philosophy, education, good grammar, and polite demeanor. She had about as much chance fitting in with those guys as would a black dude with dreadlocks. Can she possibly be surprised that they turned on her and ran to a wingnut like Miller? Finally, the “real” Lisa appears, calling the TB’ers what they are – extremists. The irony is that if she wages a write-in campaign, she’s likely to assure Miller’s election. McAdams needs every moderate vote he can get. If Murkowski pulls a bunch of them, the world will get alot tougher.

    • slipstream says:

      You’re right. After eight years in the United States Senate, she tried a “run against Washington” campaign. Lisa, listen hard now . . . you ARE Washington. But go ahead and try a write-in campaign. You will take votes away from that guano crazy Miller.