“BP has complained for months it has been forced to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to businesses that filed damage claims after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster – even though they weren’t really affected. Now, the court-appointed lawyer supervising those payments has confirmed he approved a $173,000 payout to an ‘adult escort service’ that BP said was filed with unsigned and undated financial documents.”
BP’s fighting back with an ad campaign that reads, “The IRS wouldn’t accept this claim. But the Gulf Settlement Program did.” Maybe it’s just me, but whether or not the IRS would accept the claim seems beside the point.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Byron Mallott spoke to a friendly crowd of about 30 people on Thursday at the Democratic Bartlett Club in Anchorage. Without using notes, he spoke for about 40 minutes on subjects ranging from education to oil to declining state coffers. With every subject, he was able to weave in the central theme of his campaign: unifying all Alaskans.
Bringing Alaskans together has been Mallott’s theme since he announced he was running for governor in mid-October. He didn’t deliver a tub -thumper, but his stump speech has gotten better over time, and he always talks as if it’s coming from his heart.
Mallott is a young 70-year-old and brings a unique understanding and perspective to both government service and the private sector, as well as to the rural/urban divide that plagues Alaska. At 22 he was the mayor of Yakutat. He was commissioner of the Alaska Department of Community and Regional Affairs under Gov. Bill Egan. He served as mayor of Juneau before becoming the executive director of the Alaska Permanent Fund. He was the CEO of Sealaska Corp, president of the Alaska Federation of Natives, and has served on the board of many corporations.
One of the biggest applause lines of his talk came when Mallott repeated what he had said before: that he would personally vote to repeal the oil tax bill, or SB 21, that was passed last legislative session and gives oil companies a tax break during times of high oil prices. The repeal is going to figure more prominently as those who support it get more organized, and those who oppose the appeal begin to fight back.
Mallott tempered his statement, however, by saying that his vote for the repeal will be a “nuanced” one. He said that regardless of whether or not the bill is repealed, the state needs to provide a stable climate in which to do business, and it needs to recognize the risks the oil companies take in Alaska.
He also warned the crowd not to demonize those who disagree.
“It will not serve us to continue a divisive debate,” he said. “We can all speak to issues and can come away with the sense that we are all in this together.”
Indeed, support to repeal the oil tax bill is turning into a Democratic litmus test, much like support to repeal ObamaCare has turned into a litmus test for Republicans.
But the bulk of Mallott’s speech was spent laying out a vision for an Alaska as a “place that cares,” as a place that encourages diversity and visionaries, as a place that reaches out to businesses to come to Alaska, and a place that has the most vibrant university system in the country.
If we don’t create such a place, he said, “the least among us loses, and we can’t have that in Alaska.”
To the surprise of some, and maybe the amusement of others, Gov. Sean Parnell announced on Tuesday that he’s not planning to introduce natural gas tax legislation to be considered in the upcoming legislative session. Currently, natural gas is taxed at roughly the same rate as is oil, but it’s only worth a fraction of what oil is.
Parnell says he’s not doing so because the companies that have the lease rights to the natural gas, and who would build the line that would carry the gas from the North Slope to tidewater, haven’t met all of the benchmarks he set out for them in his 2013 state of the state address.
Apparently, Parnell’s refusal to introduce gas taxes signals some sort of punishment. What kind of punishment, however, is unclear. What is clear is that the world is awash in natural gas, and other projects — potentially more profitable projects — await the companies.
Another thing that’s clear: Parnell’s announcement signals another delay in the decades-long dream of getting a large diameter natural gas pipeline.
Bill Walker, who is running as an independent candidate for governor, had a visceral reaction to Parnell’s statement. He said that Parnell is just playing into the hands of the producers. “It’s perfect for them,” Walker said. He has been an advocate for an LNG project for more than a quarter of a century, and has long advocated that the state get tough on the companies by either building the line itself or negotiating with the companies that are willing to do it.
“Parnell is trying to get tough. He’s trying to be a negotiator. But they’re just laughing at us,” Walker said. “They’re just on the floor rolling.” He said that the producers want the delay so that they can work on other projects and wait out Alaska as oil production declines, as the state’s coffers shrink, and as the state becomes increasingly desperate and increasingly willing to negotiate.
Walker ran for governor in 2010. He came in second place in the Republican primary, winning more than 33 percent of the vote on a campaign primarily advocating the construction of a gas pipeline project.
Since the 1970s, Alaska has tried to entice, and at various times demand, that the lease holders of the vast reserves of natural gas on the North Slope build a pipeline to get the gas to market.
The market for natural gas is a fickle one, however, say nothing of Alaska’s political climate. And throughout the years, every time it looked like it might actually begin to materialize, the market either crashes, or the political winds change, or a governor tries to flex his or her muscles and punish the companies, which happen to be the among the largest, most powerful, private companies in the world.
“It’s maddening,” Walker said, expressing a sentiment shared by many who have followed the long, illusive gas line story.
Former Alaska legislator Niilo Koponen died peacefully at the Fairbanks Pioneer Home on Tuesday. As one person put it on his Facebook page, “(t)hey don’t seem to make Alaska legislators these days like Niilo Koponen.” There will be a memorial gathering to honor his life at Pioneer Park Civic Center in the afternoon of Jan. 5, 2014. More information will be posted on the family blog here.
Here’s a short remembrance written by a grandson, Max, republished below with permission of the family:
“He was born in 1928. He grew up in the Bronx, the son of Finnish immigrants, attending the NY School of Music and Art. He was the first white student at the historically black Wilberforce University. He met my grandmother folk dancing and they homesteaded in Fairbanks, Alaska and they raised five children. He left Alaska a few times, to earn degrees from Harvard’s Ed School and from the London School of Economics. He was a principal, fire fighter, and later Representative to the State House for 10 years. He helped found the local Head Start, credit union, and Quakers. He always seemed to inspire those around him.
The Sunday sauna at my grandparents’ place has been running for more than 50 years. The ways I think of Sunday sauna are similar to how I think of him: Open and welcoming to all. Without pretense. Full of conversation on endless topics. Quiet, rousing, bold, rugged, and sophisticated. Intense. Without parallel.
He was, in my experience, many things I aspire to be, among them kind, caring, and welcoming of every person, no matter their background or beliefs, and interested in making a better world, one individual action (and one individual) at a time. He believed a better world was possible and worked to make that vision a reality.”
Last evening, I posted an article about Brad Keithley’s allegations against the UAA athletics program and UAA Chancellor Tom Case. Keithley claims that he is in the process of being barred from any association with UAA athletics. He says that it’s because he’s been critical of the athletic program, that he expressed concerns to Case about the hiring of a UAA women’s basketball coach who had a reputation in other schools and who resigned shortly after he was hired amid allegations of “professional misconduct.” He also wrote to the university about a student athlete who felt uncomfortable working with the basketball coach.
He also indicates that he might be being punished for a trip by the women’s basketball team that he paid for and which appears to be against NCAA rules.
The allegations are serious. I sent an email to the university about them. The questions and the response are below:
Why is the university considering barring Keithley from further association with its athletic program? Keithley says that it’s because he’s been critical of the program and has raised concerns with the treatment of a female student athlete. Is this true?
What action was taken when Keithley came to Chancellor Case expressing concern about a female student athlete’s concerns about working with women’s basketball coach Nate Altenhofen?
What, if any, action has the NCAA taken against the university regarding the 2011 trip Keithley paid for involving the UAA women’s basketball team?
The NCAA has indicated that the trip was against rules. Whose responsibility is it for ensuring that the university would follow such rules in this case?
In 2012, women’s basketball coach Nate Altenhofen resigned following accusations of “professional misconduct.” According to news accounts, he was being investigated for such allegations. What is the latest in that investigation? If complete, can you release the results? If not, can you tell me when it will be complete and what the public will know about the investigation? When he resigned, was he given any kind of severance package?
Does the university have an overall quote on Keithley’s accusations?
Here’s how the UAA chancellor’s office responded to the above questions:
UAA has been working with the NCAA since July 2012 on an investigation that looked into the women’s basketball program and the conduct of former head coach Tim Moser. It was not focused on UAA athletics generally, nor was it focused on Altenhofen. NCAA bylaws prohibit UAA from commenting further on an ongoing NCAA investigation.
Former coach Altenhofen resigned in the midst of an investigation into professional misconduct in August 2012. In accordance with Board of Regents policy, UAA will not comment further on personnel matters.
Joe Napolitan, credited with coining the term “political consultant,” died on Monday. Napolitan worked on over 100 campaigns and served on the campaign staffs of John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson. He has worked on every continent and has been a personal consultant to nine foreign heads of state. He was the founder and first president of the American Association of Political Consultants and co-founder of the International Association of Political Consultants.
Closer to home, Napolitan played an instrumental role in two statewide Alaska races. He served as the chief strategist and consultant to Mike Gravel, who won a big upset in the 1968 Democratic primary against 81-year-old incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Ernest Gruening, the popular former governor of the Alaska Territory and considered one of the fathers of statehood. A 30 minute biopic, the likes of which hadn’t been seen before in Alaska entitled “Man for Alaska,” did the trick. Gravel went on to beat Republican banker Elmer Rasmuson in the general by eight percentage points.
Later in 1982, Napolitan advised Bill Sheffield’s successful gubernatorial campaign.
New allegations have surfaced about UAA’s athletic department which include accusations that the UAA chancellor’s office turned a blind eye to improper treatment of at least one female athlete. Brad Keithley, a lawyer and a possible candidate for governor, is making these allegations on his website. He is also charging that UAA is involved in retribution against him for, among other things, speaking about these issues. Keithley says he is in the process of being permanently barred from further association with its athletic programs
These are serious allegations, and I’ll try to get a response from the university on Tuesday.
Until recently, Keithley was a major donor and was highly involved in UAA’s athletic department.
In his blog, Keithley details how he had a meeting with UAA Chancellor Tom Case about the 2012 hiring of women’s basketball coach Nate Altenhofen and about his concerns with Altenhofen’s sketchy reputation, the lack of adequate community involvement in the hiring, and background checks. Three months later, Altenhofen resigned amid allegations of “professional misconduct.”
Keithley writes that he contacted Case again about a female student athlete who was uncomfortable with Altenhofen, and wanted to transfer, but was denied that transfer by UAA. Keithley, who was then working for a firm that had represented the university, was asked by the university to withdraw the letter because of potential conflicts of interest. The student never got her transfer and enrolled in is now at a community college, according to Keithley.
Most recently, Keithley says he is in the process of being permanently barred from further association with its athletic program for what he says is retribution for criticism of the program and for paying for the UAA women’s basketball team to travel from the University of Virginia to Washington D.C., where he hosted a tour of the Capitol followed by dinner for the team and coaches with the Alaska congressional delegation.
This is against NCAA rules, something that Keithley didn’t know at the time. Neither, apparently, did the university, which touted the trip and Keithley’s involvement with it on its website. He was given a special award following the trip for supporting UAA’s athletic department.
He was recently interviewed by the NCAA about the trip, which so far has not recommended sanctions against Keithley. However, Keithley says that he was not interviewed by UAA about the trip.
When he heard about being barred from the athletic program, Keithley sent an email that was distributed to the president of the University of Alaska, the chair of the Board of Regents and the UAA chancellor, questioning the university’s process and proposed actions, he writes. He has yet to get a response.
Keithley’s allegations fall on the heels of the firing of UAA Athletic Director Steve Cobb after an incident involving a coach slashing a hockey player with a stick began to make headlines and Gov. Sean Parnell expressed serious concerns about the public’s perceptions of the UAA athletic department.
Keithley writes:
To paraphrase an NCAA standard, UAA has become an institution out of control. There appears to be no accountability remaining in the system for bad decisions or for arbitrary and biased procedures. Put another way, when UAA screws up the first reaction appears not to be, how did that happen and how do we fix it, but instead, how do we silence or undermine those who call us out on it so that we don’t have to worry about that again.
Anybody who’s gone through a dark night of the soul in Alaska knows that it can be especially long and dark this time of year. Alaska’s always a harsh place, and it begins to feel intensely that way come mid-November, when the sky’s mostly gun metal grey, the sun only a brief tease.
But people help. Remembering what we’re grateful for helps too. Sen. Lisa Murkowski understands this. She recently put out a call to Alaskans to tweet about what they’re thankful for. One person wrote that she’s grateful that she lives in such a beautiful place, another that she’s thankful for her good husband, her twin babies, and Sitka. A teacher with Redoubt Elementary school sent out a video of her and her students, who are thankful for all the educational opportunities in Alaska.
I’m writing this from the Triple A Chevron on the corner of Airport Heights and Debarr, waiting for my tires to get changed. Right now, I’m thankful for Fred Heinzelmann ,who has owned this place forever. It’s the only place in Anchorage that I know, where if you can’t pump your own gas, you can pull up to the pump and honk your horn for service.
“Here’s Sam,” one of the workers says as a customer pulls up and honks.
Sam, who looks like he’s seen a lot of Alaska Thanksgivings, smiles at the attendant.
One of the workers here is from Samoa. She’s been here for ten years. The darkness doesn’t bother her anymore. She likes it here a lot more than her home country. Her family is here, and the food’s better here.
“It’s always coconut over there,” she says. “Coconut and pig.”
Yes. It always could be worse.
The other day, I sent some questions to politicians who are running for federal and statewide office, about what they were doing for Thanksgiving, what their favorite Thanksgiving food is, family traditions, any holiday memories they want to share, and what they were grateful for this year.
Some of them answered. Some didn’t. Nobody mentioned coconut or pig. Nearly all wrote about pie. Gubernatorial candidate Byron Mallott, who is an Alaska Native from Yakutat, also likes smoked salmon and herring egg salad. Senate candidate Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell likes sweet potatoes with marshmallows on top, while his Republican challenger “Afghan” Dan Sullivan likes smoked salmon from the family’s fish camp. Mayor Dan Sullivan, who’s running for lieutenant governor, likes turnips with lots of butter. State Sen. Lesil McGuire, who is running for lieutenant governor, sent along a recipe for her famous apple pie.
U.S. Rep. Don Young likes turkey tail. Turkey tail? “For those of you who haven’t heard of Turkey Tail, it’s exactly what it sounds like,” he said.
Some of their answers allowed a little glimpse beyond the public face.
Gov. Sean Parnell and his wife Sandy have spent Thanksgivings volunteering with the Salvation Army helping to feed the hungry. “Serving in that way takes me back to a grandfather I never knew who died on the streets of Seattle and is my way of giving thanks for the strangers who fed and clothed him,” he said.
What’s Parnell most grateful for? “A wonderfully understanding and loving wife in Sandy for over 26 years of marriage.”
One of Afghan Dan’s holiday memories was when, “I literally surprised my wife and three daughters and came home to Anchorage unexpectedly for 4 days over Christmas while I was deployed on active duty with the Marines in 2005-2006.”
One of Mayor Dan’s favorite traditions is cooking with his mother and “serving as her official gravy and dressing taster.”
Sen. Mark Begich is most grateful this year that his mother celebrated her 75th birthday. “And of course, Jacob and Deborah surviving my schedule.”
Mayor Dan is particular grateful for his daughter’s “wonderful” wedding this year.
The upcoming year is going to be brutal on us. The balance of the Senate will likely rest on our shoulders. The governor’s race will be competitive. The ballot initiatives, particularly the oil tax initiative, will pit neighbor against neighbor.
Lesil McGuire has a lot of things going for her. Following a script is not one of those things. Heart, however is:
“My parents are older and our children are older and alas I am older too. Life is way too short and I am so happy for these moments around a table with my family and making memories. Alaska is the very best place on the earth, but too many Alaskans are living without enough food and clothing and warm shelter. This is a time for all of us to reflect on how fortunate we are to have these things and to remember that we have a responsibility to those who are less fortunate among us.”
I’m thankful that I live in a place that still has the ability to take my breath away, and that we have so many good politicians looking after us. Seriously. I am.
Here’s McGuire’s apple pie recipe:
You need 2 c chopped and peeled Granny Smith apples, 2/3 c sugar, 2 T if flour, 1 egg beaten with whisk, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1 cup of sour cream, 1/4 tsp salt. Chop apples set aside. Beat egg with whisk and add flour and flavoring, add in sugar the stir in sour cream and salt. Pour in apples and mix well. Pour into unbaked pie crust and bake at 375 for glass or 400 for metal for 20-25 minutes or till set. Remove from oven and drop temp to 350 degrees. Mix 1/2 stick of butter, with 1/3 c flour and 1/3 c brown sugar to get crumble topping. Sprinkle with cinnamon and cardamom or use ground nutmeg if none, cardamom! Sprinkle evenly over top of pie and put back into oven for 20 minutes!
On Thursday, Kriner’s Diner, the small box of a family restaurant perched on the hill on C Street before Fireweed, is opening its doors to any and all looking for a Thanksgiving meal. It’s free, and it’s in keeping with the spirit of the business.
The building that houses Kriner’s has seen all sorts of restaurants come and go since I’ve lived here. I have eaten at all of them and while some were worthy of success, they all felt transitory. But there’s something about Kriner’s which feels like it’s going to stick. It feels right, like it belongs, like the spirit of this family-run restaurant has been wandering around Anchorage for years, just looking for a home.
Sure, the food’s good, and that’s part of the charm. Although I haven’t had one, I’ve been told that the burgers are the best around. I can say with confidence that the corned beef hash is the best I’ve had. And in keeping with its stated political leanings, the owners definitely are thumbing their noses at the government’s urging for restaurants to cut back on serving sizes.
“As you can see I am a Conservative at heart but welcome all political views at Kriner’s Diner. Remember God loves us all,” the family patriarch, Andy Kriner, writes on the broadsheet menu, along with a story about how his family all pitches in to run the business.
“In God We Trust And Merry Christmas,” the menu tells the diners.
Famous quotes are littered throughout:
“My concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right.” Abraham Lincoln.
“Reader, suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself.” Mark Twain.
Dishes give diners entry into the lives of the Kriner family. “Sam Burger,” is named after Brother Sam. Another brother doesn’t eat meat. The short stack is named after daughter Lucy. “My 3 Kids Breakfast Special,” speaks for itself. And there’s the aforementioned “Uncle Park’s Politically Incorrect Corned Beef Hash & Eggs.”
The Supreme Court recently announced that it will hear arguments on whether companies should be treated like people. Those arguing that some should, should look no further than Kriner’s.
On Thursday, as always, the mashed potatoes will be served with gravy and a heartbeat.
“Citizens United taught us that corporations count as people when it comes to campaign speech. Does this weird concept of personhood extend to their religious rights? The 10th Circuit said yes. The 3rd Circuit said no. More questions: Does the birth-control coverage benefit substantially burden a company’s exercise of its religious rights, if it has them? Is the contraception mandate nevertheless justified by compelling government interests because it is a vitally important element of affording women equality in health care?”
I’ve stayed away from Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan’s tennis mess, mostly because I haven’t really kept track from the beginning on what’s going on. And I didn’t keep track from the beginning because I had no idea the tennis courts would actually turn into a big story. Who can blame me?
And part of the reason it’s turned into a big story is that the story continues to change. There appears to be a new wrinkle just about every other day or so, and now, those wrinkles have pitted Sullivan against Alaska state Rep. Bill Stoltze, the powerful co-chair of House Finance. And in the meantime, the person who could perhaps help smooth out the wrinkles is staying mum. Rep. Lindsey Holmes, as she tends to do when she’s facing controversy, has gone radio silent.
Here’s what we know: the Legislature appropriated $37 million of grant money to Anchorage for maintenance on facilities that were built in the 1980s. Sullivan wanted to use some of this money to build tennis courts –anywhere from $4 to $10.5 million — in the Turnagain neighborhood, where Sullivan lives and which is represented by Alaska state Rep. Lindsey Holmes.
From there, things get dicey. Questions still floating around include:
How much flexibility does the municipality have to spend the money?
How much are the courts going to cost?
What did the Anchorage Assembly know about this project and its costs?
What did the Legislature know when it appropriated the money?
All of these, thanks largely to Sullivan, are moving targets and have been answered in various ways, depending on the audience.
The fourth question is one that has recently caused the most tension. Stoltze said that he worked with Holmes on the tennis court money, and that she told him that the courts wouldn’t cost more than $4 million.
She’s not confirmed or denied this. Instead, Sullivan is doing the talking. He says that’s not true. Stoltze then called Sullivan untrustworthy. In turn Sullivan called Stoltze disingenuous, which is a nice way of calling him a liar.
I know Stoltze a little. Like many of us, he contains multitudes. He’s razor sharp, can be vindictive and tempestuous. But I would never call him a liar. And neither should the mayor of Anchorage, who risks putting his city on the losing end in a battle over funds during next year’s legislative session, say nothing of alienating one of the Valley’s most powerful and popular lawmakers.
According to Holmes’ Facebook page, she is someplace sunny taking pictures of cute raccoons.
Her absence feels familiar. She also stayed low when she changed her party affiliation from Democrat to Republican last year. But that was a different sound of silence. Now, it’s bigger and potentially more destructive.
Holmes doesn’t have a lot to gain from getting in the middle of the mess. On one side, she risks alienating Sullivan and the powerful tennis group who want those courts built, many of whom are her constituents. And there’s Stoltze on the other side, who helped get her a position on House Finance when she switched parties, and appears to have been nothing but gracious to and supportive of her.
But just because it’s not good politics to tell the public what she knows, doesn’t mean that she doesn’t have an obligation to do so. After all, isn’t that what we expect our elected officials to do?
For the past few weeks, U.S. Sen. Mark Begich and a handful of other Senate Democrats have been sending out emails trying to get voters to sign a petition urging Congress to overturn Citizens United, the Supreme Court decision that allows for unlimited giving to super PACS.
It’s unlikely that it will happen anytime soon. For one, it’s rare for Congress to pass a law that directly conflicts with a Supreme Court decision. And even if it does, the Supreme Court would have to be convinced to change its mind. Secondly, it’s unlikely that Congress will change the law given that so much super PAC money is involved in the electoral process. (It should be noted that there’s a super PAC set up to promote Begich’s candidacy.)
One legislator is trying to counterbalance the big money that goes into elections. U.S. Rep. Tom Petri, a Republican from Wisconsin, recently introduced legislation to restore tax credits and deductions for small political contributions. Under H.R. 3586, small donors would be eligible for a federal tax credit of up to $200 ($400 on a joint return) for contributions to a national political party or a candidate for a federal office. The bill would also allow a campaign contributor to elect a tax deduction, instead of a tax credit, of up to $600 ($1,200 on a joint return).
It’s not a new idea. Such tax incentives were repealed in 1986 as part of an effort to simplify the tax code. With the repeal went many small donors.
According to an analysis from Dēmos, a nonprofit that tracks political donations, in the last election cycle, candidates for House and Senate raised the majority of their money from those who donated $1000 or more, and 40 percent of the money from those who gave $2500 or more, or .02 percent of the population.
Nearly 60 percent of super PAC funding came from just 159 donors contributing at least $1 million. More than 93 percent of super PACs money came in contributions of $10,000 or more from just 3,318 donors, or the equivalent of 0.0011 percent of the U.S. population.
If the bill reaches the Democratic-controlled Senate floor, it will be interesting to see how Begich and that handful of Senate Democrats vote.
On Sunday in Geneva, Iran agreed with the U.S. and five other world powers to freeze or reverse much of the progress that the country has made at its key nuclear facilities, including capping or eliminating stockpiles of uranium, not adding new centrifuges, and daily monitoring by international inspectors. In exchange, Iran will experience a modest lessening of international sanctions.
President Obama and others have called the agreement historic, and say it’s a precursor to a wider agreement in six months. Not everybody is thrilled. Those who aren’t include Israel and some Republican hawks, which in this case would include Republican Senate candidate Dan Sullivan, who thinks that the deal is too soft.
Read the Washington Post’s analysis of the deal here.
On Sunday, Sullivan, who had worked at the State Department when sanctions were enacted, sent a release criticizing the deal, which he said had “dubious merit.”
Following Sullivan’s release, Begich sent out a release, which seemed to take a tough stand on Iran without criticizing the deal. “The threat to their neighbors and the entire world of an Iran with nuclear weapons is far too great to use a carrot instead of stick diplomatic approach,” he said.
I reached out to the other main Republican candidates, Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell and Joe Miller, about whether or not they had a response. Neither did by the time of this writing.
Read both statements in full below:
Dan Sullivan:
Chasing deals with the world’s biggest terrorist regime is not the way to enhance Alaska’s or America’s national security. I am proud of my service under former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as a senior U.S. official who helped lead the charge in pressuring Iran with economic and financial sanctions.
Instead of once again rubber stamping this latest Obama Administration initiative of dubious merit, I hope that Senator Begich will work to actually understand the ramifications of this deal for Alaska’s and America’s national security as well as for our allies in the Middle East, and ask hard questions of his fellow Democrats in Washington DC, like Secretary of State Kerry.
We can’t afford another series of broken promises to Alaskans, especially when we’re dealing with a terrorist regime that wants to acquire nuclear weapons.
U. S. Sen. Mark Begich:
Iran is one of the most unpredictable and dangerous countries in the world, so any agreement with their unreliable government must come with strong provisions for verification. I don’t support making any concessions, such as easing sanctions or taking the military option off the table, until they prove to the international community they can be trusted. The threat to their neighbors and the entire world of an Iran with nuclear weapons is far too great to use a carrot instead of stick diplomatic approach.
The Daily Caller is reporting that Senate candidate Joe Miller spent some time in Washington, D.C. this week, drumming up support from “top” conservative leaders against his main Republican primary challengers Dan Sullivan and Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell. He labeled both “establishment candidates” who are part of the “ruling class destroying the country,” he said, painting himself as the candidate who “reflects the will and the voice of the people.”
The real rub, however, seems to be that they both supported Sen. Lisa Murkowski in 2010 in her write-in bid. Read much more here.
The Alaska Young Republicans are going after Republican Senate candidates for their silence on U.S. Sen. Mark Begich’s vote on Thursday to change the Senate filibuster rules. So far, none of the three main Republican candidates — Joe Miller, Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell, Dan Sullivan—have condemned Begich’s vote.
“While Senator Begich’s position is not surprising to those closely following his positions on important Constitutional issues, we are surprised and appalled that none of the Republican candidates for US Senate in Alaska have released any statements condemning Senator Begich’s disgraceful stance,” the group said in a press release.
Thursday’s vote, which passed 52-48, allows nominations to executive branch and judicial nominations to proceed with a simple majority, or 51 votes. It does not affect Supreme Court nominees or any legislation. It will, however, likely affect the rest of Obama’s agenda, much of which, including the regulation of greenhouse gases, will play out in the courts.
Critics call the change a “power grab.” Supporters say the the change was necessary because Senate Republicans have been so intransigent that courts and agencies were suffering as a result.
So far, 79 Obama nominees have faced filibusters, more than double the 38 picks of President George W. Bush.
All but three Democrats—Sens. Carl Levin of Michigan, Mark Pryor of Arkansas and Joe Manchin of West Virginia—voted for the change. Pryor and Manchin face tough reelections in their respective red states in 2014. Levin announced his retirement earlier this year.
The young Republicans also want the state party to speak up.
“As the next generation of local and national leaders, we cannot sit idly by as the Alaska Republican Party and our future candidates for office are quiet on issues of such gravity,” they wrote.
“We urge them to stand up for our state and hold Senator Begich accountable for his actions.”
