Tag Archives: mark begich

Government shutdown could cost Alaska up to $39 million

Using Moody’s Analytics and the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee says that the recent government shutdown could cost Alaska as much as $39 million in lost wages, federal funds, and in impacts from lost federal contracts.

The 16-day federal government shutdown was at its heart a fight over the funding of Obamacare and affected, among other things, disability checks, veterans’ benefits, and federal lands and contracts.

Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell, who is running in the U.S. Senate Republican primary, has been repeatedly calling for the repeal of Obamacare. At one point Treadwell said that he would “stand” with the senators who were supporting the shutdown, and at other times said that he wouldn’t. Another candidate, Joe Miller, unequivocally supported it.

The DSCC called both of them “reckless,” and said that they were putting “partisanship ahead of Alaska.”

Former DNR Commissioner Dan Sullivan, who is also running in the Republican primary, has yet to address the issue. He declined to answer questions on the day that he announced his run on Oct. 15, the day before the shutdown ended.

Both Sens. Lisa Murkowski, a Republican, and Democrat Mark Begich worked to end the impasse.

Alaska appears to be faring better than other states with a high federal presence. Washington D.C. is expected to be hit hardest, followed by Maryland and West Virginia.

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com

DNR Dan Sullivan’s primary election voting problem

Of the three candidates in the U.S. Senate Republican primary race so far, it looks like former DNR Commissioner Dan Sullivan is the candidate who can raise money. His first fundraiser brought in about $50,000, which was more than 25 percent of what his most heavily financed primary challenger, Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell, managed to raise in 90 days.

His opponents know this. Both Treadwell and incumbent Sen. Mark Begich are trying to stick him with the rap that he’s not a real Alaskan and that he’s using the state for his own personal political advancement.

His voting record, specifically that he missed voting in primary elections, will likely be used to further that rap.

While Sullivan has voted in every general since at least 2004, when public records are available, he has only voted in two of five primaries in those years. He skipped the 2004, 2006 and 2008 primary elections.

The Republican primary race in Alaska in 2004 was relatively uneventful. There was no governor’s race, and U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski was the only member of the delegation to have a challenger, whom she beat handily. In 2006, however, the governor’s primary race was a three-way one, pitting challengers Sarah Palin and John Binkley against incumbent Frank Murkowski. (The rest of that story, as they say, is history.)

In 2008, Rep. Don Young only won the primary by about 300 votes against current Gov. Sean Parnell.

Joe Miller did not vote in the 2008 primary, but voted in all of the others since 2004. Neither Treadwell or Begich have missed an election.

Sullivan’s spokesperson Mike Anderson sent the following email in response to questions about his voting record:

Since coming to Alaska over 16 years ago, Dan has always voted in the state. While serving his country after 9/11, he stayed engaged in voting in Alaska while working as a National Security Council staff at the White House, then as a Marine Corps Infantry officer and finally as an Assistant Secretary of State. During that period, he did miss a few primary votes, but never missed a general election vote.

Sullivan moved to Alaska in 1997 after getting a Georgetown law degree to clerk for judges, including Chief Justice Warren Matthews. He was in private practice until 2002, when he moved to D.C. to head the International Economics Directorate of the National Economic Council and National Security Council under George W. Bush. He left the White House to become an assistant secretary of state.

In 2009, then Gov. Sarah Palin appointed him to become Alaska’s attorney general. Sullivan has also served in the Marine Corps since 1993, both on active duty and in the reserves. He was recently called to active duty to work on a counterterrorism mission in Afghanistan.

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com

Miller to Begich over delay in healthcare mandate: Welcome to ‘knucklehead’ club

U.S. Sen. Mark Begich announced a change of heart about the healthcare law Thursday. In a statement, he said that given the problems with the federal exchange, he now supports extending the deadline to sign up for healthcare ~~delaying the individual mandate~~ until the public can actually use the website intended to be a portal for the insurance.

“I have repeatedly said this law is not perfect and have proposed changes to make it work for Alaska families and small businesses,” he said in a written statement. “Given the recent website issues, I also support extending open enrollment season. I want to work with the administration to ensure that individuals are not unfairly penalized if technical issues with the website continue.”

Begich is among a handful of moderate Democrats in “red states” who called for the delay. Most of them are up for reelection in 2014 and their seats are considered vulnerable.

The online exchanges, or marketplaces, are part of the new healthcare law and were intended to be the place where consumers, who didn’t have it as part of their employment, could buy affordable insurance. The law requires most Americans to have coverage by Jan. 1 or face a fine.

But as the senators pointed out, it’s absurd to fine people who don’t purchase something that they can’t purchase because they can’t for technical reasons. The White House hasn’t ruled out a delay.

Joe Miller, a Republican who hopes to take Begich’s seat, used the opportunity to take a shot at Begich. In a release, Miller questioned if Begich was turning into one of the “knuckleheads” Begich has been criticizing in radio ads.

“Senator Begich called those who offered this compromise ‘a small band of knuckleheads’ who are ‘holding the country hostage over the health care law,’” Miller wrote. “I am happy to learn that Senator Begich has taken off his rose-colored glasses long enough to see one of the glaring flaws of Obamacare. Interestingly enough, the senator promised the people of Alaska that the healthcare exchange would function like buying airline tickets on Expedia. Well, let’s just say that was a little overly optimistic.”

Indeed, only a handful of Alaskans, at most, have been able to sign up for the health care exchange, which is widely considered a disaster.

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com

GOP shutdown damages party and slows fundraising

We all know that the public mood can change on a dime. And Republicans better hope that it does, and fast. Polls are coming out nearly daily showing the abysmal public perception of the GOP in the aftermath of the government shutdown.

A Washington Post-ABC poll released on Monday shows that the party’s image has sunk to an all-time low. About 32 percent of the public says that they have a favorable image of the party, while 63 percent say they have an unfavorable view. Further, a CNN poll finds that 54 percent of the public say it’s a bad thing that the GOP controls the House, and only 38 percent say it’s a good thing.

The Post-ABC poll also finds that only 25 percent of the public has a favorable image of the tea party, which is the lowest rating ever in that poll.

Congressional Democrats aren’t doing that great either. More than six in 10 disapprove of how they handled budget negotiations, and the party’s unfavorable ratings is at a record high of 49 percent. However, all three federal Democratic congressional committees outraised their Republican counterparts in September.

According to The Hill, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee raised $8.4 million, more than $3 million above the National Republican Campaign Committee’s $5.3 million.

The Democratic National Committee raised $7.4 million. The Republican National Committee raised $7.1 million.

And the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee outraised the National Republican Senatorial Committee by about $1 million, $4.6 million to $3.4 million.

As expected, the Alaska Democrats also did better on federal fundraising than the Republicans. In September, the party raised more than $41,000 while the Republicans raised $11,425. For the year to date, the Dems in Alaska have raised $348,418 to the Republicans $64,821.

This money doesn’t include money raised by either party for state candidates, only to help federal candidates. For the Dems, most, if not all, of that money will go to getting U.S. Sen. Mark Begich elected. The Republicans still have to choose their candidate. After the primary in August, the national committees will assess the viability of their candidate and transfer money accordingly.

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com

Begich far outraises Treadwell in quest for U.S. Senate seat

Alaska U.S. Sen. Mark Begich raised $813,000 in the third quarter, which runs from July 1 to Sept. 30, according to a filing shared by his campaign staff. He has $2.4 million cash on hand. All told, Begich has raised $4.8 million this election cycle.

Begich does not have a Democratic challenger in the primary, so the real heat in the race belongs to the three Republicans who have so far filed to run against him: Joe Miller, Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell, and Dan Sullivan. Miller did not respond to a request to share his file. Sullivan wasn’t running this past quarter and didn’t have to report.

Treadwell raised less than $200,000. He has about $155,000 on hand. In total, Treadwell, who announced his plans to run in June, has raised only $340,000.

His campaign called it “tremendous” but it has to be a disappointment. Candidates in other races who are challenging in what are considered vulnerable Democratic Senators have done much better.

In Arkansas for instance, Rep. Tom Cotton outraised Sen. Mark Pryor $1.07 million to Pryor’s $1.04 million.The Republican favorite in Louisiana, Rep. Bill Cassidy, raised. $700,000. In North Carolina, GOP favorite Thom Tillis raised $800,000.

As everyone knows, despite its geographic size, Alaska is a small state demographically, making fundraising more difficult. Also, there isn’t a contested Republican primary in these other states.

Even so, the National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee is watching closely, and it won’t throw the full weight of its support behind a candidate who can’t raise more than 25 percent of what his opponent raises.

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com

Government shutdown: Begich has harsh words for Republicans

In a wide ranging telephonic town hall meeting on Wednesday evening, U.S. Sen. Mark Begich answered questions from Alaskans across the state about the government shutdown, the Affordable Care Act, the debt ceiling, and the effects all of this has on Alaska.

Begich has clashed in the past with Democrats. However, on the shutdown, he’s sticking with his party and he had harsh words for Republicans on Wednesday. “All the gimmicks are coming from the other side,” he said. “These are the kind of shenanigans that Alaskans and Americans all across the country are fed up with.”

The shutdown is in its third day. Federal employees all across the country are furloughed. Veterans’ benefits are being held up, so are checks for those applying for Social Security and disability. According to J.P. Morgan analysts, furloughs will reduce national income by a total of $1.3 billion per week. As a result, the shutdown could shave 0.12 percent off fourth quarter GDP growth for each week it goes on.

Why? Because House Republicans want to defund or delay the onset of the Affordable Care Act as a condition of allowing a budget bill to pass.

To be more specific, an increasingly shrinking number of House Republicans, including Speaker of the House John Boehner, won’t allow a bill on the House floor that would separate funding for the Affordable Care Act from the rest of the budget.

If allowed, such a bill, or a “clean continuing resolution,” would likely pass with the support of more centrist Republicans and those who are up for reelection in more moderate districts.

Begich urged callers to email and call the rest of the congressional delegation to push to get a bill on the floor, particularly Rep. Don Young. He indicated that Young might vote for such a measure, but hasn’t yet said so publicly.

Young was unavailable for comment late on Wednesday evening. In response to a question about whether or not Young would vote for a budget absent conditions on the health care bill, Young’s spokesperson Mike Anderson said that there hasn’t been such a bill yet offered. However, in response to a question about the shutdown on Wednesday afternoon, Young told reporters that if it were up to the Alaska delegation, the crisis would be averted.

Begich also spent time busting a myth: neither Begich, nor any member of Congress get exemptions from signing up for insurance through the exchanges. In fact , he said, they are the only employees in the country who are actually required to get their insurance through the exchanges.

The federal exchange website has been overwhelmed and glitches have been widely reported. One caller expressed frustration over the glitches. Begich said that he too experienced problems when he tried to sign up.

Unlike many other states, Parnell opted to allow the federal government to create the exchange for the state. Had Alaska chosen to create its own exchange, like Washington state did, there would likely be fewer issues, Begich said.

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com

Begich holds fast with Democrats over shutdown

Since being elected in 2008, Sen. Mark Begich has often bumped heads with his Democratic Senate colleagues. He did so over gun control, for one. He’s repeatedly voted against environmental issues that Democrats have pushed for.

But now, he’s holding fast and true with his fellow Democrats who are blaming Republicans for shutting the federal government down over the funding of the Affordable Care Act, an act, it should be noted, that Congress passed, has been litigated up to the Supreme court, and has gone through an election cycle.

It’s also something that Alaskans are against, by and large, for now at least.

So why is Begich, who’s up for a tough reelection in 2014 sticking with the Dems on this? Principle no doubt plays into it. He likely truly believes that Republican entrenchment on this is wrong for the country. But Begich is nothing if not a political animal. He has one of the best political noses in the state, and the political winds he’s smelling are telling him that this one is a winner.

I couldn’t find anybody who’s polled on the shutdown in Alaska, but feelings here aren’t likely radically different than feelings across the country: no matter how much people object to the health care law, they have consistently told pollsters that they are not in favor of tying government operations to defunding the law. Arizona Republican Sen. Jeff Flake probably put it best when he said, “Obamacare is not popular, but we’ve managed to find the one thing that’s less popular than Obamacare.”

Republican Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell, who’s running for Begich’s seat, believes otherwise, apparently. He has said that if he were elected, he would “stand” with those Republican senators most entrenched, senators that even Republican stalwarts like John McCain and Richard Burr, to name just a few, believe have gone too far.

He’s since walked some of that back, maybe, although it’s been hard figure out exactly where he stands. Indeed, Roll Call writer Stu Rothenberg, who interviewed four Republican Senate candidates about the shutdown, said that among all of them, Mead was the most “difficult to pin down.”

Tea Party favorite Joe Miller, who is also running, is not difficult to pin down. He’d fight to end the health care law for as long as they’d have him in the Senate.

Former Department of Natural Resources Commissioner, Dan Sullivan, who has for weeks dithered about running, may be the smartest of the three. He’s not answering questions about the mess. He doesn’t have to. For now, he’s a private citizen dithering away like the rest of us. And by the time he might have to, the worst will likely be over, and he’ll get to play statesman.

Begich is holding a telephonic town hall on the government shutdown on Wednesday evening. Expect strong words from him about entrenched Republicans. It’s a winner and he knows it.

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.ccom

Is Mead Treadwell afraid that Dan Sullivan will eat his lunch?

In a wide-ranging interview with Politico which took place in Washington D.C., Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell, who is running for U.S. Senate, all but called prospective candidate, Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Dan Sullivan, a carpetbagger.

“I’ve got a jar of mayonnaise in my refrigerator that’s been there longer than Dan Sullivan’s been in Alaska,” Treadwell told Politico.

Sullivan’s partial response, via email: “(A)fter moving to Alaska over 16 years ago, I learned something new today — not to eat any of Mead Treadwell’s sandwiches.”

Sullivan hasn’t officially announced, but has resigned his job effective Sept. 24, and everyone, including Treadwell, knows he’s going to. This will pit him against Treadwell and tea party candidate Joe Miller in a three-way primary race before running against U.S. Sen Mark Begich in the general election.

“Politically, this helps Joe Miller. And most importantly, it helps people who want to help Mark Begich by fomenting division in the Republican Party,” Treadwell said.

Asked about whether or not he would be a better candidate than Sullivan, Treadwell said that he’s “very happy to put my record out there and let the voters decide.”

In 2009, then Gov. Sarah Palin appointed him to become Alaska’s attorney general. He’s now the commissioner of DNR. Sullivan has also served in the Marine Corps since 1993, both on active duty and in the reserves. He was recently called to active duty to work on a counterterrorism mission in Afghanistan.

Treadwell moved to Alaska in 1978 to work on Wally Hickel’s losing gubernatorial run. He returned in 1982 armed with a master’s from Harvard to work for Hickel’s company, Yukon Pacific which tried, but failed, to build a natural gas pipeline that would run from the North Slope to tidewater in Valdez. Hickel ran again for governor and won in 1990 and Treadwell served as his deputy commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation.

In 2001, Treadwell was appointed to the United States Arctic Research Commission by President George W. Bush. He became president of the commission in 2006. Throughout, he invested in a series of tech companies. He has been the state’s lieutenant governor since 2010, a job that’s been described by this writer, and by a columnist for the Anchorage Daily News, as not worthy of a “warm bucket of spit.”

According to Politico, Treadwell has been traveling across the country raising money. He’s recently been in Chicago, Columbus, Ohio and Oklahoma City. It’s unclear if any of these trips involved state business, and if not, whether Treadwell will reimburse the state for the time he has spent traveling for fundraisers.

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com

Sen. Begich, Koch brothers group in tussle over ads

Sen. Mark Begich and a Koch brothers’ funded group are in a battle over whether or not a television ad falsely characterizes Begich’s position on a carbon tax.

The American Energy Alliance, the political arm of the Institute for Energy Research, both of which are funded partly by the Koch brothers, launched an ad recently in Alaska that says that Begich is in support of a carbon tax, something that the AEA is staunchly opposed to.

Begich says he doesn’t support the tax, and now lawyers are involved.

Begich’s lawyer called on station managers to take the ads down, calling them “false and misleading.”

“For the sake of both FCC licensing requirements and the public interest, your station must immediately cease airing this advertisement,” Begich’s lawyer wrote to the station managers on Sept. 5.

According to the AEA, the station mangers reviewed the ads and declined to remove them.

Begich has said publicly that he opposes a carbon tax. He did, however, vote on a non-binding amendment that said if such a tax were passed, revenue from it would be “returned to the American people in the form of federal deficit reduction, reduced federal tax rates, cost savings or other direct benefits.”

The vote would not have created or defeated a carbon tax, Begich’s lawyer wrote.

However, the AEA says his vote was a vote for the tax. Further, Begich voted against an amendment that would have required a vote of three fifths of the Senate to approve a carbon tax.

“That you felt the need to attempt to suppress the advertisements with threats and intimidation from your lawyers rather than publicly disclaim your past support for a carbon tax is telling,” said President of AEA Tom Pyle in a scathing press release.

“The American Energy Alliance would welcome a public apology to your constituents for your earlier votes in support of carbon taxes and your pledge that going forward your voting record will match your rhetoric on this vitally important issue for Alaska’s economic well-being,” Pyle wrote.

There’s more than a year to go before the 2014 election. Expect much more of this in the future.

Below is the AEA press release in full:

WASHINGTON — The American Energy Alliance responded today to a series of letters from a Washington D.C. law firm representing Sen. Mark Begich (D-AK) who complains that a current advertisement sponsored by AEA “mischaracterizes” the senator’s past support for carbon tax legislation and threatens legal action for the continued airing of the ads. On Sept. 5, 2013, attorneys with Perkins Coie, LLP, notified station managers in Alaska that continued airing of AEA’s ad, entitled “Games,” could be cause for “loss of [the] station’s license.” Attorneys for the American Energy Alliance responded to the charges, and the Alaska stations were satisfied that the AEA advertisement did not run afoul of federal laws that prohibit “false, misleading or deceptive advertising.” All Alaska stations continue to run the AEA ad.

In his response letter, AEA President Thomas Pyle addressed two primary claims made by Senator Begich’s attorneys and campaign staff, namely that Begich has not supported a carbon tax and that AEA represents outside interests interfering in the state.

“That you felt the need to attempt to suppress the advertisements with threats and intimidation from your lawyers rather than publicly disclaim your past support for a carbon tax is telling,” Pyle wrote. “The American Energy Alliance will continue our current advertising initiative to inform Alaskans . . . of the impacts of harmful energy policies emanating from Washington and the role you play in shaping them. Moreover, we will seek additional opportunities in the future to do the same.”

Pyle took issue with Begich’s characterization of AEA as an “outsider group,” noting the senator’s willingness to host other “outsiders” who are opposed to economic development in Alaska — so long as those “outsiders” were raising money for the Begich re-election effort.

“Your campaign hosted a recent fundraiser in Fairbanks, charging guests as much as $120 per person to meet Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), [who was there] to help raise money for the Alaska Democratic Party and Alaska’s junior senator . . . Your willingness to invite an ‘outsider’ like Senator Cantwell to help swell your campaign coffers, all the while knowing of her well-documented history of championing legislative efforts to limit the development of Alaska’s vast natural resources and drive up the cost of energy for your constituents, exposes the height of hypocrisy that corrodes our system of representative democracy and always, eventually returns to haunt public officials.”

Pyle pressed further: “You certainly know your record, Senator. And you certainly know that elected officials are held to account more for their recorded votes than for their campaign rhetoric or the threatening missives and petty litigious needles threaded by their Washington-based lawyers. In any event, your record stands, and Alaskans are better informed citizens when organizations like the American Energy Alliance remind them of it.”

Pyle’s letter concludes: “The American Energy Alliance would welcome a public apology to your constituents for your earlier votes in support of carbon taxes and your pledge that going forward your voting record will match your rhetoric on this vitally important issue for Alaska’s economic well-being. Be assured that we will not be intimidated into backing away from our mission to foster an informed electorate of the voting records of their elected officials and call for engaged democratic participation in the American political tradition.”

To read Pyle’s full letter to Begich, click here.

To read the threatening letter from Begich lawyers to Alaska TV stations, click here.

To read the response letter from AEA attorneys, click here.

To view the AEA carbon tax ad currently running in Alaska, click here.

To read the fact sheet supporting the AEA ad, click here.

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com

DNR Commish Dan Sullivan resigns; sets stage for U.S. Senate campaign

As I wrote last night that he would do, Gov. Sean Parnell announced on Thursday morning that Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Dan Sullivan submitted his resignation letter. Although he doesn’t say so in his letter, Sullivan is resigning effective Sept. 24 to run for the U.S. Senate Republican nomination to challenge incumbent Democrat Mark Begich.

“As I explore new opportunities and challenges in the next phase of my life, I intend to seek ways to continue to serve my fellow Alaskans,” Sullivan wrote.

“As attorney general, Dan played a major role in the Choose Respect initiative and fought hard against federal overreach,” Parnell said in his announcement. “During his tenure as commissioner, Dan led the state’s efforts in resource development and permitting reform, and worked to resolve Pt. Thomson litigation – setting the stage for a natural gas pipeline.”

In his resignation letter Sullivan is more specific about his successes as both Alaska’s AG and as DNR commissioner:

Protecting Alaska’s most vulnerable through the Choose Respect Initiative;
Spearheading the Cook Inlet energy renaissance;
Promoting increased oil production and jobs through the More Alaska Production Act;
Accelerating the commercialization of North Slope gas for Alaskans’ benefit;
Resolving Point Thomson and jump starting this multi-billion dollar North Slope development;
Slashing permitting backlogs and streamlining the State’s regulatory system;
Going on offense on ANWR exploration; and
Effectively fighting against federal overreach into the lives of Alaskans and our economy.

Sullivan will be running in the primary against current Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell and former Senate candidate Joe Miller. Treadwell is kicking off his campaign today.

Both Sullivan and Treadwell are considered more “establishment” candidates, to the extent there is an “establishment” in Alaska. Miller is, well, Miller.

Because the party makeup of the U.S. Senate might very well rest on this race, people who are watching are nervous that Treadwell and Sullivan will pave the way for Miller to claim victory in a Republican primary, as he did when he ran against U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski.

Between Treadwell and Sullivan, Karl Rove, for one, has deemed Sullivan to be the more winnable and is prepared to put money through at least one super PAC that he spearheaded to help ward off Tea Party candidates such as Miller.

Sullivan looks good on paper. He’s got a Harvard undergraduate degree and a law degree from Georgetown. He’s a former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State under President George W. Bush. He’s been in the United States Marine Corps since 1993, and just got back from reservist duty where he was on a counter-terrorism mission in Afghanistan. He’s married to Julie Fate, whose mother is a respected Native Alaska leader and whose father is a former Fairbanks lawmaker.

However, unlike Treadwell, Sullivan has never run for office. Treadwell can fight tough and dirty if need be.

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com

Situation in Syria will likely allow Begich to avoid wrath of Jewish lobby

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, was all set to storm Congress this week to push for Congress to vote to intervene in Syria. The most powerful pro-Israel group in the country, perhaps the most powerful lobbying group ever, was going to deploy 250 activists and lobbyists to strong arm and to threaten, as only AIPAC can do.

It’s unclear what they will do now. Since Sunday, the situation has changed drastically. Syria has said that it’s prepared to cooperate with the Russians to inspect its chemical arsenal and to sign a chemical weapons ban. And President Obama has called on Congress to delay a vote to authorizing force while diplomacy is pursued.

This is welcome news to most who believe that the end is more important than the means. But U.S. Sen. Mark Begich is likely breathing a huge sigh of relief. AIPAC has deep pockets and huge influence and can make or break a candidate. Begich has paid notable deference to Israel in his speeches on the issue, but AIPAC judges support by votes, not words, and had Begich voted against military authorization, he wouldn’t be in good stead with AIPAC.

It’s unclear how much influence the group has on this issue. It looked like it was going to lose in Congress no matter what, but it wasn’t going to go down easy and politicians were going to pay, if nothing else by withholding campaign money. Had Begich voted against authorizing force, which he appeared prone to do, he likely would have been one of them.

AIPAC has lost in the past, and it’s not been pretty. In 1991, against a heavy lobbying effort by AIPAC, President George H.W. Bush cut off loan guarantees to Israel until it froze West Bank settlement construction. A year later Bush lost to Clinton as did many of his supporters in Congress.

More significant for Begich was what happened in 1981, when Sen. Mike Gravel voted with President Ronald Reagan to sell advanced AWACS aircraft to Saudi Arabia, against AIPAC’s wishes. Reagan won then, but learned his lesson by watching members of Congress who voted for the sale lose election after election. One of those members was Sen. Mike Gravel, who, until Begich, was Alaska’s last Democratic senator.

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com

The latest on Syria

I know I’ve been Syria-obsessed the last few days. But everything else I’m considering writing about pales in comparison to dropping bombs on a chaotic Middle-Eastern country with an maniacal leader who has chemical and biological weapons and who hasn’t taken off the table the threat of using them against our soldiers in retaliation.

Congress has been expected to take up the issue of a resolution authorizing strikes against Syria this week. As of this writing, whether or not they do so is still up in the air, which is sounding more and more like a good thing.

It was all set to go until Sunday, when, in what was described as a “gaffe,” Secretary of State John Kerry said offhandedly that the U.S. might not strike if Syria agrees to surrender control of its chemical weapons. On Tuesday, pundits are increasingly questioning whether the” gaffe” was wrapped in brilliant diplomacy because it allowed Russia, which has been against the strikes and has veto power at the U.N. Security Council, to find an opening.

As a result, members of the U.N. Security Council are working on a resolution that would authorize the international community, lead by Russia, to take control of the Syrian chemical weapons stockpile.

On Tuesday, a bipartisan group of eight senators announced that they also plan a new resolution. This one would authorize an attack on Syria, but only after the introduction of that U.N. resolution, which would set a deadline for the Assad government to hand over its chemical stockpile. If Assad fails to do so, then the U.S. could use military force.

That’s the latest. It’s constantly evolving however and President Obama is scheduled to address the nation on the situation this evening. But the latest doesn’t look so bad. Here’s my favorite blogger Andrew Sullivan’s take:

It is, if it transpires, a huge victory for the US. Yes, it means we have to relinquish ownership of all this and let Russia take the credit – and all the blowback domestically and internationally that might entail. Expect a whole slew of “Munich” stories; a chorus singing the A-word (appeasement); and the usual derision of Obama from the loony right. The great thing about this president is that he doesn’t care how the short-term optics look or how the news cycle plays as long as the result is one he wants. The process toward that goal is inherently messy, but what matters is the result.

Up next: Why U.S. Sen. Mark Begich is breathing a sigh of relief.

This just in from the AP: “Syrian foreign minister says Syria will declare its chemical weapons arsenal, sign chemical weapons convention.”

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com

Thank God it’s Friday’s facts: The cost of war edition

U.S. Sen. Mark Begich held a telephonic town hall on Thursday night, where he listened and answered questions about whether or not the country should strike Syria. Many of the questions asked were about the costs of such military strikes. Begich said that he has yet to get a full accounting of those costs.

Congress is expected to vote next week on a resolution to authorize military action in Syria. Begich said that in order to vote for the resolution, among other things, he would need a to know more about the costs, and that they couldn’t come from money already allocated to existing programs.

The country, as well as members of Congress, are increasingly opposing such action, in part because of the money involved. Below is a taste of what we have spent recently in conflicts in the Middle East, and some of the estimates of what we would spend if we were to go to Syria:

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have cost U.S. taxpayers more than $1.2 trillion, according to the Congressional Research Service. When long-term expenses such as health care for wounded veterans is included, that number is estimated to climb to $2.2 trillion.
In 2002, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget estimated that the cost of invading Iraq was going to be between $50 to $60 billion.
Military operations in Libya in 2011 cost about $1.1 billion, according to the Pentagon.
A single Tomahawk missile costs anywhere from $1 million to $1.5 million.
Operating a carrier strike group and its aircraft during extended operations, at high tempo around the clock, costs about $40 million a week.
The cost of operating guided missile destroyers is about $2 million a week each. There are now four U.S. destroyers operating in the Eastern Mediterranean.
In July, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey estimated that a military intervention in Syria would require hundreds of warplanes, ships and submarines and that “the costs would be in the billions.”
Dempsey also said that establishing a no-fly zone over parts of Syria would cost at least $500 million to begin with and could cost $1 billion per month to maintain.
Securing chemical weapons sites that the US claims the Syrian government has would cost more than $1 billion a month, according to the top general.
Without Syria, the Pentagon is on pace to spend about $574 billion total this year. Of that, about $86 billion was spent on the Afghanistan War.
As of March, more than 190,000 people have been killed in the 10 years since the war in Iraq began, including 4,488 U.S. service members and at least 3,400 U.S. contractors.

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com

Thank God it’s Friday: In the company of women edition

Earlier this year, Alaska state Sen. Lesil McGuire, who is also running for lieutenant governor, released a startling study that she had commissioned about the status of women in Alaska. Among other findings, the review found that when both full and part time work is included, Alaska woman make 67 cents on the dollar for each dollar a man earns. Nearly 56 percent of unmarried men with children under the age of 18 own their own home in Alaska. For a single mother, that rate drops to 42 percent. Nearly 62 percent of all adults with children in a shelter were women.

McGuire is planning a conference, scheduled in October, about the economic status of women in Alaska. The list is growing, but the speakers thus far include First Lady Sandy Parnell, U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, and President of BP Alaska. Janet Weiss.

On Thursday, Sen. Mark Begich joined a group of about 20 women, including representatives from Planned Parenthood, to speak about some of the same issues, and federal laws that he’s pushed and continues to push. (Read more about those here). Begich’s ability to connect in small groups is one of his major strengths. And he’s particularly good with women and comfortable discussing women’s issues.

It’s too cynical for even this cynical writer to say that politics is the sole driver in both McGuire’s and Begich’s focuses on women’s issues. There are real problems here that anybody, public official or not, should be concerned about. And anybody with the ability to do something about it should.

But politics can’t be too far away from either of their minds.

McGuire’s report may point to a sad reality for many women in Alaska. But another reality is that they vote in greater numbers than do men. About 257,000 men were registered to vote in Alaska’s 2012 general election. Only 147,588 voted. In that same election, about 248,000 women were registered to vote and 152,075 did so.

Those are numbers to pay attention to. They could easily make or break a candidate.

Below are some random facts amassed about women in Alaska, facts that any politician worth his or her spit should know on the tops of their heads come election time:

According to the 2010 census data, women make up 48.3 percent of Alaska’s population.
Two women have won the Iditarod: Libby Riddles was the first and Susan Butcher was the second, who went on to win it four times.
Three women have won statewide office: Lt Governor Fran Ulmer, U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, and Gov. Sarah Palin.
Two women have served as Alaska Speaker of the House of Representatives: Ramona Barnes and Gail Phillips.
~~Two~~ Three women have served as the president of the Alaska Senate: Jan Faiks, Drue Pearce and Lyda Green.
Out of fourteen total, there are five women in Parnell’s cabinet. They are at Commerce, Administration, Labor, Fish and Game, and one is the Acting Commissioner of Revenue.
There are 17 women currently serving in the Alaska Legislature: 13 female members of the House of Representatives and four senators.
There are four major publically traded companies based in Alaska with a total of 38 board members. Of these board members only seven are women.
GCI recently added one woman to its board of nine. ACS’ sole female on a board of seven is Margie Brown. Northrim Bank’s sole female on the board of 12 is Irene Sparks Rowan. First National Bank has nine members, four of whom are women: Betsy Lawer, Margy Johnson, Jane Klopfer, and Lucy Mahan. Not to take anything away from them, but Lawer is the president of the bank and she Klopfer and Mahan are the chairman’s daughters.
Klondike Kate, the most famous female performer during the gold rush days in the late 1800s, fell in love with Alexander Pantages. In 1902, the two left Dawson to set up their own theater company in the Pacific Northwest. While in the lower 48, Kate discovered that Pantages was already married and that he had been stealing all of the money she made from her activities in the greatland. Good on her that she never forgave him.
In 1927, Marvel Crosson was the first female pilot to ever get a license in Alaska. In 1929 she set a new altitude record for women. She also died in a plane crash in 1929.
The first Latin teacher in Alaska was Ruth Schaefer who arrived in Alaska in 1939 and settled in Palmer. She is this writer’s grandmother and died in 2001 in Iowa City, Iowa. She was 92 years old and she is missed.

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com

Politics in Alaska: Somewhere between North Pole, Jerusalem and Mead Treadwell’s house

A celebration was held at the Westmark Fairbanks on Saturday night in honor of Bishop Otis McCormick, the pastor of New Jerusalem Church of God in Christ in North Pole. McCormick formed his congregation in the area 30 years ago. He was brought to Alaska by the military, and his church offers special outreach to military members and their families. According to one attendee, about 400 people attended the event, including many prominent African American leaders across the state and the country.

It was, to put it in coarse political terms, an event to which any savvy politician should have paid some sort of homage. Apparently, some are savvier than others.

Alaska state Sen. John Coghill and his wife showed. Uber Republican Party activist and former Fairbanks mayor Ronda Boyles was there representing Rep. Don Young. Sen. Lisa Murkowski didn’t show nor bother to write a letter. (Then again, she’s safe until 2016, and she’s acting like it, which itself has been raising eyebrows.) Much to the chagrin of Republican Party activists, Sen. Mark Begich had a letter delivered to the event, and received a standing ovation when it was read. Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell had a free ticket, but was was too busy to attend.

Treadwell isn’t too busy to host an Alaska Family Council fundraiser next Saturday at his house for Bob Cornuke, the controversial amateur archaeologist known to some as the Biblical “Indiana Jones,” and to others as a “con artist.”

It’s unclear whether or not Comuke was the original researcher of the biblical match of Biblical Mount Sinai to Jabal al-Lawz in Saudi Arabia. Others lay claim to that title and still others say that he forged quotes that did or did not prove something or another.

Nor is it clear if he himself believes that the pile of dark-colored rocks in Iran is really from Noah’s Arc. He does appear to believe that the Ark of the Covenant is in Ethiopia at the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion and that contrary to what others believe, the anchors found on the Island of Malta were the anchors from the Biblical shipwreck of the Apostle Saint Paul. The anchors, a fisherman, and a promise got him unsuccessfully sued in federal court by a former U.S. ambassador to the country, who wanted to stop the distribution of a book about the subject. Or something.

In any case, Treadwell, the self professed big advocate of sound science and international treaties, is opening up his doors to Comuke in hopes of raising money for the Family Council, and, in coarse political terms, to cozy up to the right wing of his party. For his part, Comuke’s raising funds to get him back to Ethiopia, to save the Ark from the Nazis, or those ungodly Dems, with Karen Allen at his side.

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com