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Alaska artist and political wonk, Tom Begich, was on Moore Up North today. Tom is U.S. Sen. Mark Begich’s brother. Along with brother Dr. Nick Begich, Jr, Tom is far more progressive than Mark. Tom borrowed my classroom blackboard from the University of Alaska Anchorage to illustrate two important things – why Sen. Lisa Murkowski cannot win on November 2nd as a write-in, and how close Scott McAdams may really be.
Here’s Tom’s segment from the show:
The rest of the show – a long, detailed and sometimes quite humorous interview with Democratic Party U.S. Senate candidate Scott McAdams – may be viewed here.
Joe Miller keeps on getting slammed in the Alaska press and blogs, perhaps more than any GOP candidate in a statewide race since John Lindauer, back in 1998. . . .
The fact that McAdams led both Murkowski and Miller in campaign contributions last month is somewhat surprising, but very reassuring. Miller is getting hefty 527 Tea Party Express support, and most of those ads won’t start running until late October.
There was a debate this past week on Alaska Native issues, and others are scheduled soon. Miller has not yet agreed to an Anchorage debate on October 18th, hosted by the left moderate Alaska Dispatch.
34 Comments
Wow! Thanks for the update, ET!
Thanks for sharing!
Congrats, ET…! Front-paged again…! ;-)
I did rather enjoy this factoid…
Thanks, ET. I mailed this to my friend in Fairbanks and suggested he contact you. He’s a long-time Dem. organizer there. Hope something good comes of this.
First I am all for a D winning but I fear this D may be another Ben Nelson.
The thing that bothers me about his campaign is the theme of making sure Alaska “gets it fair share of federal dollars”
Considering that Alaska is among the biggest subsidized states in the union, getting way more back in federal funds then they pay in, this seems like an false, dishones and inane arguement.
50 years after becoming a state isn’t it time that Alaska learned to contribute their fair share instead of living off the contributions of people from California, new York, Illinois and the other states that are subsidizing these people who can’t seem to find a way to pay their own bills without federal subsidies.
The hypocricy of those alaskan citizens claiming to be big brave individualist standing on their own 2 feet while their state, their jobs and their infrastructure are paid for out of the pockets of those they deride .
Sorry Ithe hycrosicy enrages me.
And I have lived in Alaska – Fished Fairweather grounds, Kodiak long line, and S.E and have also been sworn at in Norwegian. I known off the attitude of entitlement that permeates the alaskan mentality.
A serious case of gognitive dissonance.
It puts another spin on the term nannie state.
Aloha, MM…! How’s the weather on your Isle… Mixed plate here…! ;-)
The State could always charge more from Big Oil…! Just a thought…?
Very enlightening and entertaining video clip. Good Show. If the logic is correct, it looks like McAdams is a lock.
tweeted and recommended et. thank you for the encouraging update.
Alaska is the frontier. Frontiers always suck resources from the more developed parts of an empire. But I agree, many Alaskans need to understand their dependence on the rest of America can’t last forever.
And Alaskans need to come up with something to sell the world besides oil, which despoils their natural wonder. That’s why I’m very excited about McAdams water proposals.
I was disappointed in Senator Mark Begich almost before he was sworn in. There’s no question that Democratic Senators from essentially GOP states aren’t going to please progressives, or even the Democratic middle, most of the time. I don’t think I’ll be very delighted with Senator McAdams, quite frankly, but the possibility of TWO Senate Democrats from Alaska is very exciting.
Although I’ll be disappointed, and probably soon.
Such a gloomy gus, eh…? ;-)
How long is it a “Frontier” ?
50 years of statehood after almost 100 years as a territory. How long does it take to wean them?
If the state of Alaska can distrubute thousands of dollars a year in cash payments to all of its residents one would think these proud rugged individualists would refuse the payment that is fostering such a welfare mentality. But instead they belly ache that they are not getting “their fair share”.
From the gross mismanagement of its fisheries, which lives off of Canadian and Washington transitory fish, over harvesting of forests that silt up harbors that they expect, and demand, that the feds pay to dredge, to absolute lack of regard for the consequences of mining that threaten to destroy water quality and fisheries the Alaskan mentality is that of spoiled brats who take no responsibilities for their actions and demand that others clean up its mess in the name of “getting its fair share”
Thanks, Teddy, for sparing me from having to answer the comments further up. I missed being here when this was front-paged, as I’m finishing off pulling crops from the gardens and doing roof repairs today, before winter clamps its grip.
I’ve written a bit about how Alaska needs to get out from under the grips of resource extraction and industrial grade, outside-based tourism. I’d like to see Southcentral AK follow the model of Turku Finland, for example.
I’m about as progressive as Alaska Democrats get, and was a member of the Green Party of Alaska for over 16 years. Most AK Dems are DINOs. That hasn’t always been the case, but big oil changed both parties markedly. Scott is not Mark Begich, and would be a bit less left than Mike Gravel. He’s running a campaign designed to hold the center.
I think Tom Begich’s analysis is skewed a bit in favor of Scott, but Alaskans are impossible to poll.
I watched all the Moore interviews. McAdams looks like a force to be reckoned with. I wasn’t thrilled with his answers about health care reform or the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Thanks for keeping us updated about the race in Alaska, ET.
A high percentage of Federal money that goes to Alaska goes to:
1). Military bases and infrastructure – we have more serving military here per capita than any other state.
2). The large number of National Parks, Monuments, Wildlife Refuges and such here. Maintaining them is a national responsibility, and doing that is often very, very expensive.
3). Federal obligations toward Alaska Natives, their health and education. Maintaining that infrastructure is a national responsibility, and is very expensive.
4). The oil, mining and fishing industries require Federal monitoring. Again, in the Alaska environment, harsh climates and enormous distances, this is expensive.
Please cite some examples. To say that Alaska’s fishing fleet “lives off of Canadian and Washington transitory fish” strikes me as bizarre. At one time, the SE AK trawl fishery did that, but it was remedied in the 80s, by which time WA and BC had done all they could to screw up their own salmon fisheries. Most AK salmon (95%) are caught as they near the streams that are their homes. The current offshore trawl fleets are foreign-owned and not even based in Alaska.
To write that “over harvesting of forests that silt up harbors that they expect, and demand, that the feds pay to dredge,” brings no recent examples to mind. Where are these harbors? How much money is being spent? By far, the biggest ongoing dredging project here is that which keeps the Port of Anchorage open, because of enormous amounts of silt washing out of the Aleutian, Alaska, Talkeetna and Chugach mountain ranges’ glaciers.
I agree that the SE AK forests have been over-harvested, and would continue to be if the GOP had their way. McAdams is trying to convert the docks at one of the most highly polluted harbors in Alaska into a shipping place for rainwater to go to India, in tankers you could even let Joe Hazelwood skipper (if they hit a rock, they will only spill water).
I agree that mining in Alaska can be awful. I’m a member of three organizations that spend almost all our time fighting these menacing industries and their practices.
Nor am I happy with his stances on those issues. But Joe Miller and Lisa Murkowski are not sane alternatives.
We do get some less than thrilling choices these days. And we do what we must to keep the bat shit crazies out of office.
*heh* Oahu is a massively, over-built fortress if ya ask me, ET…! With Inouye’s ascension to the Hulkster’s throne, BFF’s, too… (Danny Oh did attend Steven’s graveside funeral…), but I digress…! ;-)
Very interesting video, and one I wish more of my “progressive” friends would see. If I had a dollar for every time I have heard in the past three weeks from “Democrats” around here that “we need to vote for Lisa to stop Joe Miller” I could probably easily give Scott McAdams the maximum amount under the law.
The rest of the country needs to understand that Scott McAdams is about as progressive an Alaskan that we’re likely to field from this state.
God (and the voters) willing, after November 2nd, for the first time since 1968, we’ll have two Democratic senators representing Alaska in Washington.
I was three years old the last time we had two Democrats in our senate delegation. The prospect of having two again excites me deeply.
I think Scott certainly appreciates any monetary support from people on this board. I certainly appreciate it as a prospective constituent of Sen. McAdams, and I am sure other Alaskans do as well.
Yes, Alaska is a strange place politically, but those of us here who know the score are doing our level best to break the Republican stranglehold on this state’s politics.
Give us some time (and perhaps a little money to Scott’s campaign) and we’ll turn this state around and will send an all-Democratic delegation to DC.
(the last time we had an all-Democratic delegation was 1966, when I was one year old)
That speaks volumes…! Go, Scott…! ;-)
Its salmon troll and gillnet fisheries target and capture Canadian and Wahington fish.
Espiacially on the Fairweather grounds and lower S.E fisheries. the Alaskan mangement representives consistently present overly optimistic ( to the point of delusional) return estimates to regional management goups and then set their catch limits based upom their delusions expecting everyone else to pay for their mistakes by emergency shutdowns in B.C and Wash. state. ( P.s I have been a Tribal fiseries manager and have come face to face with these delusions.
Not to mention by catch issues that Alaska pretends doen’t exist.
Your right large military presence and contracts that Alaska cultivates and fights for because of large amount of spillover into the civilian economy. Another form of subsidies for the hypocritical.
Part of the expense of managing national forests and resource management by the fed is the failure of the state or citizens to even accept the need for even basic regulations. From Wally World proposls that would have clear cut S.E to Murkowski’s fetish to bulldoze roads through national parks and forests to Palin giving mining a free pass no matter what happens to Bristol Bay not to mention the state suits against the feds on any number of regulations is what adds to the cost.
Not to mention the federally subsidized free medical care that air lifts people from places such as Point Baker or Port Alexander often times using Coast Guard ( federal) resources which is a subsidy from the hard working tax payers of states such as Ill., Ny. and Calif. to the slacker welfare state of Alaska.
If the state and citizens had any pride at all they would forgo their yearly welfare payments from thePermanent fund and use thaat money to have the state start to pay its own way.
As for the Alaska natives part of the high cost incurred their is a result of the state refusing to do anything constructive for this part of its citizenry. Was it 2 years ago when a community ( eagle creek?) was facing disasters from floods ( global warming that no alaskan believes in) being cut off from supplies a harsh winter that resulted in a heating fuel shortage and Palin shorted the emergency funding for the state safety management
response.
Please do not try to rationalize poor behavior and irresponsible attitudes.
I wasn’t. And am not.
The political regime running the SE AK troll and purse seine fisheries is controlled from Seattle, corks, purse line, web, leadline, hook and sinker.
You’re over-estimating the catch of the Fairweather ground compared to the biomass needed to sustain WA and BC salmon stocks by a magnitude of about 20.
You’re also confusing in-state decisions with those implemented by the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council, which is NOAA-managed, and controlled by foreign and lower-48 economic interests.
You’re combining several events that happened almost 1,000 miles apart in early 2009 into what you describe as something that might have happened in one place. The ice jam flooding on the Yukon happened in May. The food and fuel shortage on the lower Yukon and other parts of Western Alaska happened between January and March.
I agree that the state neglects our first people to a disgusting degree. I’ve written a lot about that here and elsewhere.
“The political regime running the SE AK troll and purse seine fisheries is controlled from Seattle, corks, purse line, web, leadline, hook and sinker.”
The economic control may be from Seattle but the political control is from Alaska. Which makes it even more outragous that they would sell out the credability of the state to pander to outside economic interests. Such as the recent decision to allow mining that threaten the Bristol Bay fisheries.
“You’re over-estimating the catch of the Fairweather ground compared to the biomass needed to sustain WA and BC salmon stocks by a magnitude of about 20.”
??? I did not make any estimate the catches anywhere so this comment makes no sense to me.
“You’re also confusing in-state decisions with those implemented by the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council, which is NOAA-managed, and controlled by foreign and lower-48 economic interests.”
I am not confusing them just pointing out that numorous times Alaska has set in state catch limits beyond what the NOAA and the international ( Canada, US) fisheries management compact recommended. Often times Alaska behaved as though they were independent of the US and that Compact was between 3 equal parties i.e US Canada and Alaska which is obviously a bogus position but one that the State has taken to court.
“controlled by foreign and lower-48 economic interests.”
Ah the poor victimhood perspective of Alaska being picked on even as it fights for the right to sell it resources to the highest bidder, irrelevent of consequences. Be it sueing and attempting to use political influence to enable Japanese logging to clear cut S.E. or mining by Canadian and foriegn firms or supporting multinational oil companies even as they screw local fishermen on the Enron Valdez spill or continueing to operate storage tanks in the flow of volcano ash on Cook Inlet.
I would like to see an Alaskan stand up and state its time to get up on our own 2 feet and contribute to the country and world instead of insisting that continued subsidation ois ” their fair share.” Its dishonest, hypocritical and detructive to the body politic.
Thanks E.T. for taking the time with others to explain some of how complicated Alaska is. The future of our state is in alternative energy. And sane resource management. Perhaps we are getting one step closer. Isolating the loonie fringe here is going to take so much more than this coming election. Thanks again.
Weren’t Inouye & Stevens best buds and proud of their “we get more Federal $$$ for our states than anyone else”?
I love these hypocrits: with one breath they’re “no Federal spending for worthless do-gooder programs”/let the people pull themselves up by their bootstraps and with the next they’re “send us more MONEY!!!”
A big difference is that Danny inouye doesn’t rail against federal spending for others while trying to get as much as possible for Hawaii. That takes the hypocricy that the Alaska pols have off the table against him.
Another thing is that he is flat out honest when bringing money to Hawaii that he is scoring for his constituents . He does not claim that by Hawaii receiving a $1.44 for every dollar is just getting “our fair share” Even while Alaskan’s receiving $1.84 per dollar paid in feel cheated out of “their fair share”( http://www.taxfoundation.org/research/show/266.html ) while they hand out thousands of dollars every year from the permanent fund to each resident and lecture the lower 48 on how to be self sufficient and how its time to cut off the sfety net for all those “bums” in the lower 48 who are subsidizing their delusions of being rough tough pioneers while the feds pay for health, infrastructure, education and all the socilism they can grab.
Danny and Ted were friends dating back to the 2 states coming in together but Danny never touched the hieghts of hypocrisy that that freeloader stevens had aicheved.
Thanks, Ed. A real eye-opener. Until I saw this, I did not think McAdams had a chance.
To simplify the discussion does anyone believe that a state that recieves a $1.84 in federal dollars for every dollar it pays in should complain that they are not getting “their fair share??
( http://www.taxfoundation.org/research/show/266.html )
Does anyone believe that a politician that runs on the arguement that they should get more of federal largess while yearly paying citizens each several thousand dollars for just maintaining state citizenship is presenting a reasoned and constructive position?
Does anyone believe fostering this sort of parasitical entitlement attitude is good for the country, the state or anyone?
I do not.
One last comment then I am gone.
I recognize and acknowledge whole heartedly that McAdams is light years ahead his 2 opponets.
One is a total nutcase and the other is at best a corporate shill. Murkowski and Miller share a 18th century social prejudices with 19th century politics and a 13th attitudes towards science.
I have no doubt that he surpasses the qualifications of his oppenents Honesty, competence and relative proggressivism exceed those of his two oppenents but that still worry’s me that we are supporting another Ben Nelson.
Really I mean Murkowski and Miller leave a lot of room on their left even before one reaches the center. I would argue Ben Nelson is somewhere between the alaskan nutcases (Miller/Mukowski) and even the lowest definition of sanity. Alas Sen Nelson falls short of public sanity. Just am worried of getting another.
x2
An update:
My friend Mel Green, on Scott’s talk Saturday at the Anchorage LGBTQ event, the Alaska Pride Conference. Great essay, with scads of hyper links to other information on Scott, and to Murkowski’s questionable support for the gay community.!
I don’t understand why Democrats can’t organize these small-population states where you potentially pick up 2 senators. For people into the filibuster conspiracy (the excuse of “can’t get anything done without 60 votes”), this one would be even bigger.
Over the weekend, an issue that Joe the Teabagger might have thought dead has been resurrected – the circumstances on why he left employment as an attorney for the Fairbanks North Star Borough in 2008.
Miller has called for a press conference this morning at 11:00 – just under two hours from now. There is an Anchorage Chamber of Commerce Senate candidate debate set for 11:45 am.
Here’s background from the very pro-Lisa Murkowski Alaska Dispatch, whose publisher, Alice Rogoff, is married to the founder of the Carlyle Group.
And more, from an Alaska blogger’s perspective.