Since her election night loss to conservative Joe Miller, Sen. (Lisa) Murkowski and her political allies have floated the idea of her switching to the Libertarian Party to continue her run for reelection. Apparently, Sen. Murkowski is fairly flexible in her political loyalties and inclinations. (Her past support for libertarian policies has certainly escaped us.)
Yesterday, the 5-member Executive Committee of the Board of the Libertarian State Party meet in an emergency session to consider Sen. Murkowski’s bid for the party’s nod. After a contentious three-hour meeting, the Board voted unanimously to deny Sen. Murkowski the party’s nomination.
Showing posts with label Sen. Lisa Murkowski. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sen. Lisa Murkowski. Show all posts
Monday, August 30, 2010
Thursday, August 26, 2010
How insurgent Joe Miller toppled GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski
In an interview with The Daily Caller earlier this month, Alaskan insurgent candidate Joe Miller suggested poll numbers showing him down 30 points in the GOP Senate primary were just not right.
Fast-forward to today, and it appears he may have been on to something that most pollsters and reporters were not, as he’s poised to pull off a major upset if he’s able to hold onto his lead when all the votes are finally tallied from Tuesday’s election. If that happens, Miller will replace incumbent GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski on the ballot as the Republican Party’s Senate nominee in November — no small feat.
The tabloid antics of another Alaskan, Levi Johnston, may have received more attention in recent weeks from the national media— who largely missed the fact that the Alaska primary was as competitive as it turned out to be — but the Sarah Palin-backed lawyer from Fairbanks has their attention now.
So who is Joe Miller, the bearded lawyer who has never been elected to office, who says he’s an Alaskan by choice and who grew up in a working class family in Kansas, but “headed to the Last Frontier sixteen years ago because of his love for the outdoors”?
“Joe Miller is one of the most capable Tea Party-backed candidates we’ve encountered in the entire country,” said Joe Wierzbicki, who leads the Tea Party Express, a group who spent a considerable amount of money on his behalf attacking “Liberal Lisa.”
Throughout the primary, Miller attacked Murkowski as just that — a Republican who supports government
bailouts, doesn’t oppose President Obama’s health care law and is pro-choice. His pro-life stance may have helped him win over anti-abortion voters Tuesday as a parental notification initiative was also on the ballot. “I think the [Proposition] 2 measure certainly helped us,” a campaign spokesman for Miller said.
“Joe Miller turned Lisa Murkowski into a Democrat, a Tony Knowles Democrat,” Alaskan political writer Michael Carey told The Washington Post. “This was either brilliant or dumb luck. He just rolled her up in the most conservative areas of the state. Those voters always, always, look for the most conservative candidate, and they sure found him.”
Fast-forward to today, and it appears he may have been on to something that most pollsters and reporters were not, as he’s poised to pull off a major upset if he’s able to hold onto his lead when all the votes are finally tallied from Tuesday’s election. If that happens, Miller will replace incumbent GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski on the ballot as the Republican Party’s Senate nominee in November — no small feat.
The tabloid antics of another Alaskan, Levi Johnston, may have received more attention in recent weeks from the national media— who largely missed the fact that the Alaska primary was as competitive as it turned out to be — but the Sarah Palin-backed lawyer from Fairbanks has their attention now.
So who is Joe Miller, the bearded lawyer who has never been elected to office, who says he’s an Alaskan by choice and who grew up in a working class family in Kansas, but “headed to the Last Frontier sixteen years ago because of his love for the outdoors”?
“Joe Miller is one of the most capable Tea Party-backed candidates we’ve encountered in the entire country,” said Joe Wierzbicki, who leads the Tea Party Express, a group who spent a considerable amount of money on his behalf attacking “Liberal Lisa.”
Throughout the primary, Miller attacked Murkowski as just that — a Republican who supports government
bailouts, doesn’t oppose President Obama’s health care law and is pro-choice. His pro-life stance may have helped him win over anti-abortion voters Tuesday as a parental notification initiative was also on the ballot. “I think the [Proposition] 2 measure certainly helped us,” a campaign spokesman for Miller said.
“Joe Miller turned Lisa Murkowski into a Democrat, a Tony Knowles Democrat,” Alaskan political writer Michael Carey told The Washington Post. “This was either brilliant or dumb luck. He just rolled her up in the most conservative areas of the state. Those voters always, always, look for the most conservative candidate, and they sure found him.”
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Murkowski bid to stop EPA power graf fails in 47-53 Senate vote
The Senate on Thursday halted Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s effort to curb the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from factories, power plants and other large polluters.
Her measure failed 47-53, largely on party lines, although the Alaska Republican had the support of six Democrats. Had it passed, the White House said this week that President Barack Obama would have vetoed it anyway.
The Senate spent six hours debating the measure, which came up in a rarely used procedural move known as a disapproval resolution. Because of the unusual nature of the measure, the Senate put aside all of its other business to take up Murkowski’s disapproval resolution.
The vote came the same day as a new Washington Post-ABC News poll showing broad public support for EPA oversight of harmful greenhouse gas emissions. About 71 percent of those surveyed support federal regulation of greenhouse gases from sources such as power plants, automobiles and factories, the poll found.
Calling the Clean Air Act “an awful choice for reducing” emissions that lead to global warming, Murkowski made the case that allowing the EPA to write such regulations would cost jobs, hurt the economy and cede to the Obama administration authority that should be up to Congress. Murkowski’s Alaska colleague, Democrat Mark Begich, voted against her proposal.
Her measure failed 47-53, largely on party lines, although the Alaska Republican had the support of six Democrats. Had it passed, the White House said this week that President Barack Obama would have vetoed it anyway.
The Senate spent six hours debating the measure, which came up in a rarely used procedural move known as a disapproval resolution. Because of the unusual nature of the measure, the Senate put aside all of its other business to take up Murkowski’s disapproval resolution.
The vote came the same day as a new Washington Post-ABC News poll showing broad public support for EPA oversight of harmful greenhouse gas emissions. About 71 percent of those surveyed support federal regulation of greenhouse gases from sources such as power plants, automobiles and factories, the poll found.
Calling the Clean Air Act “an awful choice for reducing” emissions that lead to global warming, Murkowski made the case that allowing the EPA to write such regulations would cost jobs, hurt the economy and cede to the Obama administration authority that should be up to Congress. Murkowski’s Alaska colleague, Democrat Mark Begich, voted against her proposal.
Democrats looking for escape on issue of EPA power grab
Democratic leaders are scrambling to prevent the Senate from delivering a stinging slap to President Barack Obama on climate change.
They have offered a vote on a bill they dislike in the hopes of avoiding a loss on legislation Obama hates.
The president is threatening to veto a resolution from Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) that would ban the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from regulating carbon emissions.
But if the president were forced to use his veto to prevent legislation emerging from a Congress in which his own party enjoys substantial majorities, it would be a humiliation for him and for Democrats on Capitol Hill.
So Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) and other Democratic leaders are doing what they can to stop it.
They are floating the possibility of voting on an alternative measure from Sen. Jay Rockefeller, a Democrat from the coal state of West Virginia, which they previously refused to grant floor time, Senate sources say.
A spokeswoman for Reid declined to comment on the offer. But Democrats on Wednesday thought it was good enough to win a crucial vote on the Republican resolution.
Murkowski, ranking member on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, is using the Congressional Review Act, an element of the Contract With America, which allows Congress to overturn executive branch regulations with simple majority votes in both chambers. The Review Act expedites a floor vote.
Republicans don’t have the two-thirds majority they would need in both chambers to overturn an Obama veto. But Republicans say passing the resolution through one chamber would be a big win.
“Anything close to half the Senate says this is a congressional responsibility and not the administration’s, that’s a strong message from the country to the president,” said Senate GOP conference Chairman Lamar Alexander (Tenn.), referring to the EPA plan to regulate carbon emissions under the Clean Air Act.
Democrats suffered a serious setback Tuesday when Rockefeller, chairman of the Senate Commerce panel, announced he would vote for Murkowski’s resolution. He joined Democratic Sens. Ben Nelson (Neb.), Blanche Lincoln (Ark.) and Mary Landrieu (La.), who are co-sponsors of the measure.
If Republicans keep their conference unified, that would give them 45 votes for Murkowski’s proposal, with a handful Democrats, such as Sens. Mark Pryor (Ark.), Evan Bayh (Ind.) and Jim Webb (Va.), in play as potential allies.
Rockefeller said EPA regulation of carbon could have a “devastating” impact on West Virginia. He threw his support to Murkowski after his leaders denied him a vote on his alternative bill resolution, which would prevent the EPA curbing carbon emissions for two years from stationary sources, such as power plants and factories.
They have offered a vote on a bill they dislike in the hopes of avoiding a loss on legislation Obama hates.
The president is threatening to veto a resolution from Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) that would ban the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from regulating carbon emissions.
But if the president were forced to use his veto to prevent legislation emerging from a Congress in which his own party enjoys substantial majorities, it would be a humiliation for him and for Democrats on Capitol Hill.
So Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) and other Democratic leaders are doing what they can to stop it.
They are floating the possibility of voting on an alternative measure from Sen. Jay Rockefeller, a Democrat from the coal state of West Virginia, which they previously refused to grant floor time, Senate sources say.
A spokeswoman for Reid declined to comment on the offer. But Democrats on Wednesday thought it was good enough to win a crucial vote on the Republican resolution.
Murkowski, ranking member on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, is using the Congressional Review Act, an element of the Contract With America, which allows Congress to overturn executive branch regulations with simple majority votes in both chambers. The Review Act expedites a floor vote.
Republicans don’t have the two-thirds majority they would need in both chambers to overturn an Obama veto. But Republicans say passing the resolution through one chamber would be a big win.
“Anything close to half the Senate says this is a congressional responsibility and not the administration’s, that’s a strong message from the country to the president,” said Senate GOP conference Chairman Lamar Alexander (Tenn.), referring to the EPA plan to regulate carbon emissions under the Clean Air Act.
Democrats suffered a serious setback Tuesday when Rockefeller, chairman of the Senate Commerce panel, announced he would vote for Murkowski’s resolution. He joined Democratic Sens. Ben Nelson (Neb.), Blanche Lincoln (Ark.) and Mary Landrieu (La.), who are co-sponsors of the measure.
If Republicans keep their conference unified, that would give them 45 votes for Murkowski’s proposal, with a handful Democrats, such as Sens. Mark Pryor (Ark.), Evan Bayh (Ind.) and Jim Webb (Va.), in play as potential allies.
Rockefeller said EPA regulation of carbon could have a “devastating” impact on West Virginia. He threw his support to Murkowski after his leaders denied him a vote on his alternative bill resolution, which would prevent the EPA curbing carbon emissions for two years from stationary sources, such as power plants and factories.
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