Monthly Archives: November 2013

Washington’s Doc Hastings hunts for big bucks in Alaska

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski recently said that she’s not actively fundraising for her 2016 run in Alaska because there isn’t enough money in the state to go around for others who are running. U. S. Rep. Doc Hastings, who isn’t even from around here, apparently doesn’t view Alaska’s potential campaign contributions as such a limited resource.

On Tuesday, Hastings, representing central Washington’s 4th congressional district, will be in Anchorage to raise funds for his re-election efforts at an event from 12 – 1:30 pm at the Ginger Restaurant. The requested contribution is $500; however, the invitation does point out that individuals can give $2600.

What would be the draw? Hastings is the chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee. As such, he has jurisdiction over most federal land use and water policies, which include wilderness areas, BLM lands and national forests. In other words, he has a huge say over stuff Alaskans are concerned about, namely oil and gas development, water rights and access to federal lands for hunting, fishing and recreation. And the host committee reflects these interests: Portia Babcock (Conoco Phillips); Deantha Crocket (Alaska Miners Association); Jim Jansen (Lynden Transport); Cam Toohey (Shell): Drue Pearce (federal lobbyist); Randy Ruedrich (former chair Alaska Republican Party); and Tara Sweeney (ASRC).

It’s also not surprising that so far in the 2013 – 14 election cycle, the oil and gas industry has topped Hastings’ list of contributors. ExxonMobil, among others, has given Hastings the maximum allowable PAC contribution.

Also, it’s interesting to note, that according to Heritage Action, the conservative arm of the Heritage Foundation, Hastings has a conservative rating of 62 percent. By comparison, that makes him almost twice as conservative as Rep. Don Young.

And if you’re not wired Doc’s way, or if you want to hedge your bets, on Nov. 7th there’s a fundraiser for state Reps. Harriet Drummond and Andy Josephson at Rep. Les Gara’s house on the Parkstrip.

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com

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Gay rights bill set to pass Senate with support of Murkowski and Begich

With the support of a handful of Republican senators, including Sen. Lisa Murkowski, it’s likely that the most significant piece of gay rights legislation passed by Congress since it repealed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in 2010, will pass out of the Senate next week.

All of the Senate Democrats support the bill, including Sen. Mark Begich.

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act would ban workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. It is crafted to mirror Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, though unlike that act, it has certain religious and small-business exemptions.

A version of the bill passed the Democratic controlled House in 2007, but the Senate filibustered it.

The landscape has changed since then, and it’s likely that the bill has enough support to stave off a similar filibuster. Murkowski is one of our Republican senators supporting the bill. The other three are Mark Kirk from Illinois, and Orrin Hatch from Utah, and Susan Collins from Maine.

One more vote, and they get to 60, which is the magic filibuster-proof number. Four Republicans are said to be wavering: Rob Portman (Ohio), Patrick J. Toomey (Pa.), Kelly Ayotte (N.H.) and Dean Heller (Nev.)

In recent years, Murkowski has been an advocate for gay rights. Some say that such a stance will hurt her reelection chances, particularly in the Republican primary, where she’ll likely be challenged.

But a lot can happen between now and then, and perhaps because of the evolution of support of gay rights, opposition to this bill hasn’t been nearly as strong as with other bills dealing with the issue. The Family Research Council has apparently decided not to expend political capital on the fight. The political action arm of the Heritage Foundation, Heritage Action, is urging members to vote against the act. They say that it would “severely undermine civil liberties, increase government interference in the labor market, and trample on religious liberty.” But it appears that they aren’t putting too much time into it.

Although the bill is expected to die in the Republican-controlled House, gay rights advocates think that they have a winning issue here, and plan to use congressional members’ votes against them in the mid-term elections.

It’s unclear where Rep. Don Young stands on the issue. His spokesman did not return a phone call requesting comment. In any case, his appears safe, and a vote either way probably won’t change that.

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com

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Republican Party imposing primary purity to punish purity

From the New York Times:

“[T]he National Republican Senatorial Committee this week informed a prominent Republican advertising firm that it would not receive any contracts with the campaign committee because of its work with a group that targets incumbent Senate Republicans. Even more striking, a senior official at the committee called individual Republican Senate campaigns and other party organizations this week and urged them not to hire the firm, Jamestown Associates, in an effort to punish them for working for the Senate Conservatives Fund…” NRSC spokesman Brad Dayspring said, “Purity for profit is a disease that threatens the Republican Party.”

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