Lisa Murkowski: Republican Establishment Senators Who Back Sore Loser
Senate GOP backed the Status Quo over We the People. We the People will remember.
Who are the Senate Republicans who voted to give the sour grapes write-in candidacy of loser Lisa Murkowski a campaign issue over Republican winner, Joe Miller? Many of these Establishment pols are up for reelection soon. Remember them. Note: John Thune, you are dead to me.
REPUBLICAN SENATORS ENABLE THE MURKOWSKI MAFIA
As far as 2012 Presidential considerations go: John Thune is dead to me.
Thune won’t say–and therefore is highly suspected of allowing Lisa Murkowski to retain her Senate Energy seat AFTER she lost the Republican primary in Alaska. She is now using that position in her rogue write-in campaign against the winner of the Republican primary, Tea Party favorite, Joe Miller.
Let’s break it down in three part-harmony.
First, THE HEADLINES
The first one sums up the issue: Miller says Murkowski will lose seniority if she wins write-in
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Sen. Lisa Murkowski will be stripped of her seniority and key committee assignments if she runs as a write-in candidate against Republican nominee Joe Miller, Miller said Thursday.
The loss of those positions could negate one of Murkowski’s key arguments for returning her to office, that her powerful Senate positions, including ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and a coveted seat on the Appropriations Committee, which can be used to benefit Alaska.
But, as we know, REPUBLICANS DIDN’T strip Murkowski of her seniority or her committee seat.
Senate GOP to strip Murkowski of seniority on Energy committee
Murkowski not stripped of committee leadership position
Another head-banging-against-the-wall moment: Senate GOP protects Evita Murkowski
Sen. Murkowski Keeps Energy Post
Jim DeMint chides GOP senators for protecting Lisa Murkowski
OUTRAGE: Senators Provide Cover for Turncoat Lisa Murkowski
Rich Lowry’s The Murkowski Files. This last piece is invaluable. More on this later.
Second, THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE REPUBLICAN ESTABLISHMENT’s ATTEMPTED TORPEDOING OF JOE MILLER
Murkowski is now running an ad touting her ability to bring taxpayer dollars to Alaska. That ad was made possible by the Republican Senate Establishment.
Murkowski’s ‘Alaska Mafia’ and the public dole
…thanks to Alaska’s unique political culture, there is a small cadre — mostly former staffers for Murkowski and other Alaska lawmakers — supporting her quixotic write-in race for re-election.
Murkowski’s bid has brought attention to a quiet but significant clique on K Street composed of former aides to Murkowksi, her father, Frank, former Sen. Ted Stevens, and Rep. Don Young, who specialize in lobbying for energy interests, Alaskan natives, and Alaska’s towns and cities. The phrase “Alaska mafia” slips off the tongue of many Republican staffers, activists, and lobbyists who have dealt with this clique.
?
The Alaska K Street Mafia: A diagram
Here’s a full-size diagram of Lisa Murkowski’s Mafia, the group of lobbyists, K-Street money men and beneficiaries of Murkowski’s use of taxpayer dollars to further her career.
THE REPUBLICAN SENATORS RESPONSIBLE
As previously stated, Rich Lowry, at National Review, did some yeoman work in exposing the Republican Establishment senators who have made Lisa Murkowski’s job running as a sour grapes write-in easier.
After we editorialized Friday against the decision to retain Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R., Alaska) — who recently lost her GOP primary but continued to campaign as a write-in — as ranking member of the Senate energy committee, many of you wanted to know more about how the vote broke down. We’ve been asking senators whether they support Murkowski’s retaining her ranking status or not, and also getting their position on the Senate race in Alaska. Robert Costa in Washington has been button-holing senators (most of the responses come from his interviews in person), and NRI fellows Matt Shaffer and Brian Bolduc have been contacting their press offices.
If you’re a conservative primary voter, you’ll want to pay particular attention to those senators who are up in 2012. The list so far, which we’ll update as warranted:
Likely to have supported Murkowski’s seniority:
Sen. Bob Bennett (R-UT); already ousted by his state’s Tea Party-influenced Republican Party convention.
Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO); retiring away from the possible wrath of voters.
Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC); up for reelection in 2010.
Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT); up for reelection in 2012. He said backing Murkowski was a “matter of good taste.” Hopefully, Utah Republicans will experience the good taste of backing someone other than Hatch in 2012 after the bad taste of his backing Murkowski in 2010.
Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA); when a senator won’t say, it’s because he’s afraid of riling voters. Isakson won’t say.
Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL); ditto for was said for Isakson.
Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME); Enough said.
Sen. John Thune (R-SD); Thune is now dead to me for 2012–or any year his name gets floated as a “conservative”–as previously stated.
Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS); up for reelection in 2012 in Mississippi. Says pundits should forget about Republican Establishment efforts to thwart the will of the people and “concentrate on issues of importance.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC); up for reelection in 2014. Does South Carolina have a recall mechanism?
These are a few of the Republican Senators who supported giving Lisa Murkowski a campaign issue in Alaska.
One would hope that there are enough Alaskans who value righting the country over Lisa Murkowski’s ability to cut deals with Big Oil at everyone else’s expense.
UPDATE: We’re informed in the comments that both Johnny Issakson (R-GA) and Richard Shelby (R-AL) voted AGAINST maintaining Murkowski’s hold on power. This is very good news. Both men are to be congratulated for standing on principle over power.
by Mondo Frazier
images: AP, dbkp file; Examiner
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This article literally makes me want to vomit. I LOVE how people who aren’t from Alaska write these absurd articles pretending to know anything about what’s going on up here. Here’s a newsflash for you, we have a closed primary. Over half of registered voters were UNABLE to vote for Lisa and countless more just didn’t show up that day because according to many polls she had a double digit lead over Joke Miller. I was one of thousands who begged Lisa to launch a write in campaign and I had never personally met her in my life. I just love my state enough to know we would be in huge trouble if either one of the other candidates were elected. Please, go read about what an upstanding man of integrity Mr. Miller is. That man has been caught in more lies in the last month than any politician I have ever seen in my life. He’s disgraced the good name of West Point and oath he took as a lawyer in Alaska.
Reply
admin Reply:
October 11th, 2010 at 16:20
Kati,
Hope the vomiting isn’t projectile; that’s no fun!
The article says nothing about Murkowski’s “right” to run: she has the right to run into the Bering Strait for all I care.
The article is about her right to enjoy seniority granted by the Republicans while conducting a campaign against the Republican nominee.
But then you knew that.
Say “Hi” to Lisa for me!
Reply
ED Reply:
October 11th, 2010 at 16:54
Kati,
Are you seriously going to run with that? As an Alaskan voter who bothered to show up August 24th to vote in the closed primary, it has been a closed primary for many election cycles, so if people wanted to vote for Sen. Murkowski, all they had to do was change their affliation to “undecided” or “independent” to vote in the Republican primary. Second, if she couldn’t get her supporters to get off their butts to vote, then what does that say about her abilities to lead?
The fact is in the August 22nd edition of the Peninsula Clarion, she made it clear she would support the outcome of the primary and respect the will of the voters, knowing those voters would be voting in said “closed primary”. She has not done that and should be stripped of any seniority she has in the Senate for waging this campaign against the will of the Alaskan voters….yeah, those people, like me, who took their duty of voting seriously and made it to the polls to vote. I’m tired of hearing how poor Lisa supporters could not vote for her AFTER she lost. Truly pathetic.
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I’m not a republican, and I’m not an Alaskan. I feel she has the right to run again if she wants. If it’s write in, that’s fine. It amazes me how Tea Party folks rant and rave about their rights to do and say this and that, but they don’t like it if someone actually uses their rights. All of a sudden, it’s “no you can’t”, well, President Obama’s right, “Yes you can!” It’s Murkowski’s right, it’s not illegal to run if she wants. Let her be. People will vote. End of story.
I think Murkowski has lots of guts! You go girl! Good luck, I hope you win!!!
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admin Reply:
October 11th, 2010 at 16:28
concerned,
Again, no one is questioning Murkowski’s “right” to do anything; least of all, her right to run a write-in campaign.
Of course, it would be all right with you: hahaha…
It’s all about the Republican leadership talking out of one side of their mouths about “supporting” Joe Miller–all the while empowering the woman who is conducting a write-in campaign against their party’s nominee.
But like the previous comment, you know that.
Your disingenuous comment is not a good enough attempt to distract from the discussion. They need to replace you with someone a little smoother.
Reply
Concerned,
Would you be this way if Joe Miller had decided to run a write-in campaign? I highly doubt it. The issue here is that she lost in the primaries and is not respecting the will of the Alaskan voters. Joe Miller is the Republican nominee in Alaska and the Senate GOP should be behind him 100%, meaning they take away the one thing Sen. Murkowski has left to run on, which is her seniority. They did not do that after letting Mr. Miller know they would. This shows a lack of leadership on the part of the Senate GOP and gives Sen. Murkowski the platform she needs to run her write-in campaign against the legitimate winner of the Alaskan Republican primary.
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Mondo: Both Isakson and Chambliss, if you call their offices, will tell you they voted to remove Murkowski from the GOP leadership and also voted for Richard Burr for the Energy Committee post.
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admin Reply:
October 12th, 2010 at 02:45
Will Mahan,
Thank you much for the updated info. I will call tomorrow and update the article.
Again, many thanks!
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what if another liberal democrat had entered the race?
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admin Reply:
October 28th, 2010 at 20:43
ruben,
what if another liberal democrat had entered the race?
Well, IF another Democrat had entered the race and
1- the Democratic voters of Alaska had already voted for someone else; and,
2- the Democratic party in DC supported other liberal Democrat–i.e., the loser; and,
3- I was a liberal Democrat,
I’d be calling out the punk-ass DC Democratic leadership!
thanks for your comment.
Reply
[...] Thune backed Lisa McWhozit over Joe Miller by voting to allow Murkowski to keep her seniority after she was ousted by the GOP voters in Alaska. Lisa Murkowski: Republican Establishment Senators Who Back Sore Loser. [...]
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