Murkowski delivers for tribal health centers across the state

On Monday evening, U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s office announced that after year-long negotiations with the administration and Congress, the Interior Department’s budget includes full funding for six new tribal health facilities across Alaska and $66.2 million to staff these facilities.

“Murkowski is the top Republican on the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee, and was able to leverage her position to assure the government will fulfill the Nation’s trust responsibility with its first peoples in the delivery of health care,” a press release said.

Murkowski is one of the few Republicans in the Senate who is open to negotiate and to occasionally compromise with her Democratic colleagues and with the Obama administration. Although she gets criticized for doing so, it can also lead to results.

Here’s a list of who got what:

  • Southcentral Foundation, $11.2
  • Norton Sound, $8.4M
  • Tanana Chiefs, $20.1M
  • Barrow, $12.5M
  • Copper River, $3.5M
  • Kenaitze, $10.6M

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com 

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Go Kikkan!

Somethings, like Kikkan Randall’s amazing talent and perseverance, fly above politics. That said, if I were a politician in Alaska, I’d be sporting some Kikkan-endorsed L.L Bean anywhere I could.

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Ed Gillespie enters the Virginia Senate race, and why it’s important

From NBC:

(Republicans) have a strong candidate in Michigan; they might get Scott Brown to run in New Hampshire; and now they have (Ed) Gillespie in Virginia, who at the least will make Warner and the Democrats have to spend money in Virginia this year. We’re not saying VA or NH or MI are suddenly toss-ups. But they aren’t run-aways anymore for the Dems. That’s more resources and more incumbents (toss in Colorado and Minnesota to boot) asking the DSCC for help. By comparison, the only two Republican seats Democrats have put in play are Georgia and Kentucky…

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Weekly roundup: Aloha moderate malarkey flu

aloha It’s still very early in the election season. The sun is still low and coy, objects hidden under the snow haven’t even begun to think of stirring, and most Alaskans haven’t even begun to think about who they’re going to vote for in the upcoming elections.

It feels a lot like Joe Miller time.

I know that many of you common-sense conservatives have written Miller off. But common-sense conservatives have never been accused of being commonly sensitive enough to feel the fury of that small group of primary voters, the ones that Sarah Palin awoke from their long slumber and the ones that are now gathering during these long winter nights to plan for a Miller win, much like they did in the early days of 2010.

Word is that the meetings are happening with increasing frequency, particularly in the Mat-Su Valley, where there’s something in the water which makes everyone feel dispossessed. The meetings are revivalesque, I’m told. In other words: those people vote.

In the meantime, Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell , who also tries really hard to act like he’s dispossessed, is plugging along, sending out press releases accusing Begich of being soft on energy and not “enthusiastically” supporting Murkowski’s bid to end exports on oil. I say be careful of what you wish for. Any more enthusiasm from Begich and he’ll be knocking at your door, using that soon-to-be-grating,  folksy voice to try and convince you that he’s as “independent as Alaska.”

And he’ll keep going until you agree.

Speaking of Begich. How’s this for his new moniker, a la Art Hackney: “Malarkey Mark.” And isn’t it interesting that the national Republicans are bashing him giving a speech in Hawaii rather than being in D.C., voting to extend unemployment benefits? Maybe they’ve been employed for so long that those same Republicans forgot they don’t like the bill?

Besides, in addition to attending fundraisers and giving a speech, Begich likely spent the rest of his waking hours in Hawaii convincing Alaskans that he’s as independent as they are. Indeed, you can’t throw a stone this time of year in Hawaii without hitting an Alaskan. Former Mayor Tom Fink is reportedly there, giving lectures to anyone who will listen on laissez faire economics and school choice. Rep. Les Gara is riding a girl’s 10 speed bike around Oahu. It was the affordable one available, he said.

From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs.

Speaking of throwing stones, neither of the two Republican candidates running for lieutenant governor showed at the first state-wide candidate forum in Anchorage on Tuesday night. Mayor Dan Sullivan had other plans, so he declined immediately. Sen. Lesil McGuire called in sick right before it started. Malarkey? Who can blame her? I’d be sick too if I were a moderate Republican in that crowd, in this state, where to win statewide office, you have to get at least a handful of those Valley folks to cast their vote for you. Maybe the remedy is in the Valley water.

Anyway, because no Republican showed, the show was left to Democrats Sen. Hollis French and Palmer teacher Bob Williams, and independent Craig Fleener. As expected, Gov. Sean Parnell took a beating.

Sen. Hollis French, as usual, was like, “au contraire Parnell!” He was like, “Oil companies j’en peux plus!”

I don’t know Craig Fleener well enough to poke fun at him. He seems really nice, smart. Besides, he’s a former Marine.

But the line of the night belonged to Bob Williams.

Bob Williams? I hadn’t heard of him either, and yet he has blue eyes and even comes with props! On Tuesday night, there was a red cup, yellow cup and green cup, and some sort of piece of cloth all of which represented something important enough to warrant them. I can’t remember what it was, however. (My dog ate my notes, and then I suddenly came down with the moderate malarkey Republican flu.)

What I do remember, perhaps the only thing I remember, is when Blue Eyes called Parnell a wimp.

That got the requisite, snide, liberal chuckle. But Williams wasn’t done. Because it’s so uncool in school to call anybody a name, he went on to explain what he meant was that Parnell is “Wildly Inaccurate, Misleading, and Partisan.” It doesn’t quite work as an acrostic, but nobody, least of all Parnell, is going to challenge him.

What else is going on out there? Mayor Dan hired his buddy, high school friend and chief-of-staff Dan Kendall to run ML&P. His qualifications for running one of the state’s largest electrical utilities? For 30 years he was a corrosion technician for ENSTAR. For 30 years, he did nothing but drive around in his truck, getting a big union paycheck to check for cronyism. Oops! I mean corrosion.

Whispers of Eagle River Rep. Lora Reinbold, and Valley Rep. Wes Keller organizing what’s being called a “conservative caucus” in the House to push out the moderates. Because, you know, Alaska’s Republican dominated House is so full of moderates. Must be something in the water.

And there’s lots of talk about the good bureaucrats at Revenue and DNR, who could probably use a chug or two of Valley water, trying to untangle the state from the very last vestige of the Palin regime. Next session, the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act, or AGIA, will be likely be a goner, taking its hundreds of millions with it, and one of the countless big dreams of a big natural gasline. Aloha AGIA.

As William’s might put it: “Alaska Gets It in the….Abdomen again.”

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com

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Begich skips unemployment benefits vote for Hawaii

As the Hill first reported, Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Begich skipped a procedural vote on unemployment benefits to give a speech on Wednesday morning to the American Association of Airport Executives. The vote was tight and he was the only Democrat to miss it. Even so, skipping the vote might not have provided fodder to those seeking to unseat him, had not the speech been in Hawaii.

Cue conservative outrage.

According to Begich aides, plans were made for the speech long before the vote was scheduled. While in Hawaii, he attended two fundraisers and met with Hawaiian governor Neil Abercrombie.

Senate candidate Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell’s campaign sent out the following:

“While Mark Begich was off in Hawaii, raising money for his campaign, the Senate was voting on extending unemployment benefits and considering job creating amendments. But unfortunately for Alaska, Begich was the only democrat to skip that vote and his boss Harry Reid has blocked any amendments that would create jobs. It was reported today that only 62% of adults are participating in the workforce – the lowest number since 1968. It is abundantly clear to everyone but Harry Reid that our country needs more jobs today. Now that Begich is refreshed from his trip to Hawaii, maybe he could leverage all the support he has provided Harry Reid over the last five years to support creating jobs for Alaska.”

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com 

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Alaska-based super-PAC hits Begich

The Alaska based super-PAC supporting former DNR Commissioner Dan Sullivan for U.S. Senate has released the first of three radio ads attacking Sen. Mark Begich, which will run in Anchorage and the Mat-Su. The super-PAC, Alaska’s Energy/America’s Values, is run by Art Hackney, who has worked on many Republican campaigns throughout the years and who does work for Karl Rove.

In various ways, the three ads, which you can click on below, go after Begich for, among other things, his vote on ObamaCare, his vote to confirm Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell, and his time serving as mayor of Anchorage. One ad questioning Begich’s self-proclaimed independent streak, dubs him “Malarkey Mark,” a moniker that could very well stick. Another says he’s trying to “duck and hide” over “the biggest jobs issue” facing the state. The ad is referring to SB 21, the oil tax bill break passed last legislative session and facing a repeal initiative, which Democrats in the state generally support.

All of the ads tie Begich to President Obama, which is likely going to be Begich’s biggest vulnerability as he runs for reelection.

In response to his stance on the repeal of SB 21, Begich’s campaign said that “Alaskans will vote and Sen. Begich will respect their decision.”

According to Hackney, Alaska’s Energy/America’s Values is spending $12,000 on radio placement. “This is just the start,” he said. Listen to them by clicking on them here:

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com 

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Treadwell goes after Begich for lack of enthusiasm to end oil export ban

partisanshipU.S. Senate candidate Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell’s campaign has been churning out the press releases in the past few days, most of them attacking Sen. Mark Begich for being both soft on energy and for taking money from the national Democratic Party, which is taking money from former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, who is fighting for stricter gun control.

Both charges are a stretch, but the last one is particularly elastic. Begich was one of a handful of Democratic senators who broke with the party to vote against gun control, incurring the wrath of gun control groups everywhere, including one funded by Bloomberg.

On energy, Treadwell accused Begich of failing to lend his enthusiastic support for Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s fight to end the 1970-era oil export ban.

Murkowski is leading the charge to do away with ban, with the support of the American Petroleum Institute, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The ban was issued in 1975, following the Arab oil embargo, and was meant to protect American consumers from an unstable market and widely vacillating gasoline prices.

It does not apply to all oil produced in Alaska. However, demand has been high enough that no Alaska oil has been exported since 2004, according to the Energy Information Administration.

As more domestic oil is produced, it’s likely to be one of the biggest energy issues in the coming years.

Although Begich considers a higher priority making sure that Alaska can sell its natural gas to Asia, he does support lifting the ban.

“Alaskans know Mark Begich’s strong record of supporting Alaska’s energy industry and his work to create quality energy jobs for middle class families including his support of exporting Alaska crude oil and natural gas,” a Begich campaign press spokesperson said.

But some top Democrats say that because oil companies will try to sell oil more expensively to other countries, lifting the ban will translate into higher prices for consumers at the pump. Refiners, such as Valero Energy Corp., the largest U.S. refiner by capacity, also opposes lifting the ban, according to Bloomberg News.

“Yesterday, Mark Begich had the opportunity to enthusiastically support Alaskan energy by supporting Lisa Murkowski’s bid to end the oil export ban but he failed to do so. Mark Begich and the Obama Administration cannot claim to support free trade in energy on one hand without reversing policies to produce Alaska energy on the other,” Treadwell said.

U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz is willing to consider lifting the ban.

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com

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Quote of the day: Here’s the beef

“Today, when you buy a Big Mac or a T-bone, a portion of the cost is a tax on beef, the proceeds from which the government hands over to a private trade group called the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. The NCBA in turn uses this public money to buy ads encouraging you to eat more beef, while also lobbying to derail animal rights and other agricultural reform activists, defeat meat labeling requirements, and defend the ongoing consolidation of the industry.”

Siddhartha Mahanta, in the Washington Monthly, writing about the $45 million of tax-payer money that goes to the NCBA.

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Republicans a no-show at first statewide candidate forum

The first statewide candidate forum of the year was last night. Three people running for lieutenant governor answered questions posed by KTVA reporter Rhonda McBride at the YWCA in downtown Anchorage on Tuesday night. Two Democrats — Alaska state Sen. Hollis French, Palmer math teacher Bob Williams, and independent Craig Fleener — fielded questions from McBride, a seasoned reporter, about education, tribal rights, federal regulations, natural resources, health and public safety, just to a name a few.

One of the two Democrats will be running with Byron Mallott in the general election. Fleener, who will skip the primary process, will be running with independent candidate Bill Walker.

The two Republican candidates, Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan and Alaska state Sen. Lesil McGuire didn’t show up for the forum. At the time the event was announced, Sullivan said that he had a personal engagement that evening. McGuire called in sick at the last minute. It was too bad. McGuire, who is a moderate Republican, shines no more brightly than when she’s speaking extemporaneously in front of a crowd.

French said that neither of the Republican showed because they wouldn’t be able to defend Gov. Sean Parnell’s record. Namely his decision not to accept federal money to expand Medicaid, which would insure up to 40,000 Alaskans on the federal dime. Then there was the issue about new regulations on Medicaid-funded abortions which made news earlier that day. The issue was only alluded to at the forum. Had McGuire showed, however, she would likely have been asked about it.

Throughout the night, Williams and French generally held the Democratic line. Fleener, a Gwich’in Athabascan from the Interior, and former Marine and currently a major in the Alaska Air National Guard, as well as the state’s former deputy commissioner of Fish and Game, displayed more of an independent streak. He’s more inclined to talk about giving parents more choice over education options, had stronger words for federal government encroachment, and mentioned, more than once, that as an independent, he’s “free from party and political corruption.”

When asked to give Gov. Sean Parnell a letter grade for the job he’s doing so far, French gave him a “D,” Fleener a “C-“ and Williams an “F.”

Williams, an up-and-comer to watch in the Democratic Party, called Parnell a “wimp,” which stands for “wildly inaccurate, misleading, and partisan.”

It doesn’t exactly work as an acrostic, but it was the line of the night, the delivery was spot on, and if nothing else, last night showed that Williams is a politician to watch.

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com

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Parnell administration hands huge victory to pro-life advocates

After two decades of fighting, pro-life Alaskans won a huge battle in the state. As of Feb. 2, new regulations dictate that the State of Alaska’s Medicaid program will no longer pay for abortions unless a doctor deems such abortions “medically necessary.” The regulations were proposed and will be enforced by the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, which regulates Medicaid, and were certified by Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell on Jan. 3.

According to the state’s Bureau of Vital Statistics, roughly 35 percent of reported 1,629 abortions performed in the state in 2012 were paid for by Medicaid, a joint state and federal medical insurance program for poor Alaskans.

The new regulations require that doctors fill out a form prior to a Medicaid-funded abortion that says that the pregnancy was the result of rape, incest or performed to save the woman’s life. A second option says that the abortion is necessary due to “impairment of major bodily functions” such as “diabetes with acute metabolic derangement or severe end organ damage,” and “renal disease that requires dialysis treatment,” and “coma.” In all, 23 options are provided.

While a handful of Democratic legislators issued blistering responses to the new rules, Republican state Sen. John Coghill, from Fairbanks, praised Gov. Sean Parnell’s “initiative on this matter.” Coghill introduced a bill last session that mirrored the regulations.

Even though the regulations go into effect on Feb. 2, the fight is far from over. The Alaska Supreme Court ruled in 2001 that such “medically necessary” restrictions for state funded abortions are unconstitutional. Josh Decker, the director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska, said that the ACLU is disappointed in the rules and is “looking at all options,” including a legal challenge. If it doesn’t come from there, it will likely come from Planned Parenthood, which sent out a press release calling the decision unconstitutional.

Since 1993, the state has allowed a doctor to use his or her professional judgment to determine whether abortion is necessary. An administrative code provided guidance. The code said that a woman would be eligible to receive a publicly funded abortion if the pregnancy was a result of sexual assault, abuse or incest. It would also be covered if the procedure was necessary to prevent her death, cause her to be disabled or to “ameliorate a condition to her physical or physiological health.”

Pro-life Alaskans have chafed under the vague terms. Parnell went as far as to veto bipartisan legislation to expand health insurance coverage for impoverished Alaskan families — including more than 1,300 children — because it paid for what he called “elective abortions.” He said that without guidance about what is and isn’t medically necessary, the state will be in a perpetual state of “confusion and turmoil.”

If the federal government is asked to pick up the cost, the abortion provider must certify that the abortion was performed because of rape, incest, or because the life of the mother is at risk. At various points in history, the Legislature has tried to impose those same standards for Alaskan women.

In 2001, however, the Alaska Supreme Court ruled that although the Feds can impose such standards, the state cannot “selectively deny necessary care to eligible women merely because the threat to their health arises from pregnancy.” In other words, the state can’t decide to pay for a medically-necessary birth for one woman and deny a medically-necessary abortion to another.

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com

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Murkowski breaks ranks with Republicans over unemployment benefits

Once again flexing her moderate muscles, Republican U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski voted with a majority of Democrats and five other Republican colleagues to extend the debate over emergency unemployment benefits. About 1.3 million Americans have been taken off the benefit rolls since Dec. 28.

Republicans had been threatening to block debate unless they got to vote on a temporary repeal of the ObamaCare mandate. According to Politico, that the bill advanced with Republican votes “shocked Democrats, who appeared ready to strafe the GOP with charges of obstruction should the legislation stall on the floor.”

In a press release, Murkowski said that it’s “important that we have compassion for those Americans caught up in the administration’s economic policy failures,” and warned that the benefits can’t be extended indefinitely. “Instead, we need to see far more productive actions to strengthen job creation and restructure existing programs – not just ongoing safety net extensions – while seeking ways to not add to this nation’s deficit. That’s why I cast my vote today to have a responsible, solutions-based conversation about the unemployment problems facing this nation,” she said.

Debate will continue in the Senate as to how to pay for the $6.5 billion bill.

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com

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Joe Miller’s stealth Senate campaign

19660467_mlThe fourth quarter officially ended on Dec. 31 and now, federal candidates  — Dem. U.S. Senate Mark Begich,former DNR Commissioner Dan Sullivan, and Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell — are busy preparing their reports due to the FEC by Jan. 31. It’s hard work. Each receipt has to be accounted for, and politically suspect contributors need to be checked, and in some cases scrubbed and their checks sent back. Some, particularly the ones who have raised lots of money and have lots of checks they are accounting for, are spending more time than others.

Senate candidate Joe Miller, for one, likely isn’t spending tons of time with all of that. From looking at his past reports, he’s not putting much time and energy into fundraising, nor is he engaging in high-profile events that catch the eye of the media. What he appears to be doing instead is taking a page out of his own playbook: he’s slowly, but surely, building grassroots support, far from the eyes of the media. Just this past weekend, for instance, he met with living-room groups in Anchorage, Wasilla, and Sheep Mountain.

Mike Coons, who is the former head of the Conservative Patriot Group and writes for a blog The Alaska Conservative, attended one of those meetings. He said that the room was packed.

Coons supported Miller in 2010, the last time he ran. This time, he hasn’t yet decided who he will vote for in the Republican primary. Treadwell isn’t conservative enough for him, and hasn’t yet heard much from Sullivan. He’s leaning strongly towards Miller because of his conservative values and because he’s reaching out to people like him.

“Stealth mode has advantages,” Coons said, who saw how it worked for Miller in 2010, when seemingly out of nowhere, Miller beat Murkowski in the Republican primary.

Indeed, in 2010, Miller didn’t file for that race until April, and only a few months prior to that, Murkowski’s polls had her positives at more than 60 percent. Murkowski had a war chest. Miller was a pauper in comparison.

Yet he won the primary. As Miller’s spokesperson, Randy DeSoto put it then: “If your message is good and it resonates with people, the person with the biggest bank account doesn’t necessarily win.”

One Valley political activist noted that people are so committed to Miller’s message, that his gatherings are reminiscent of revivalists meetings. The other candidates may have a lot going for them, but none, as of yet, have that.

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com

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Begich’s latest radio ad

As Republican candidates are apparently busy building their campaign apparatus, Alaska Sen. Mark Begich has been hitting the airwaves. His ads about ObamaCare and the government shutdown began airing months ago. This week, he released another ad that’s touting his pro-development record and taking Washington to task for not understanding Alaska issues.

For all of Begich’s supposed disdain for the Washington establishment, the ad was first shared by his campaign not to local reporters, but to Politico, the quintessential inside-the-beltway political news site. (Listen to the ad here.)

“Even though Washington keeps trying to stop Alaska from developing our natural resources, I’m pushing for more oil drilling and mining because it means thousands of new jobs that you can raise a family on, and because it’s our land, and we know best how to use it,” he says.

The ad also mentions how he is working with Republican U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski on getting roads built to the Niblack and Bokan mines, and how he got the Forest Service to open up 11 new drill sites at Greens Creek mine in Southeast.

The ad follows a potentially politically damaging decision by Interior Secretary Sally Jewell to block a road between Aleutian Chain King Cove and Cold Bay. The road, which cuts through a slice of federal land, would provide the residents of the King Cove community access to an all weather airport for medical evacuations.

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com

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