Monday, November 01, 2010

Bill Clinton and Rex and Sharry Miller Called Me Sunday

First there was another  a robo poll
  • Q1: If you've already voted, push 1;  If you are highly likely to vote, press 2, etc.; 
  • Q2:  Which of the following candidates are you most likely to vote for:  Undecided, press 1, Lisa Murkowski, press 2, etc.)
Then I got robo calls from Bill Clinton (vote for McAdams) and from Rex and Sharry Miller (Please vote for our son.) (Isn't the sabbath supposed to be a day of rest?)

Neither George W. Bush nor Frank or Nancy Murkowski have called to tell me to vote for Lisa Murkowski.

But we have gotten daily glossy 9X11 fliers in the mail from her and her corporate Native supporters.

The messages that  symbolize the candidates for me are:

Miller:  I'll cut the deficit and restore the Constitution and save America.  And I'm not as bad as they keep saying.

Murkowski:  I have seniority.  Miller's a disaster.  And a vote for McAdams is a vote for Miller.

McAdams:  Vote your values not your fears.

Given the political use of the polls in this race, no one has any faith in any of them.  And they don't really know how to deal with a write in candidate.

Tea Party people know they're voting for Miller no matter what the media say he's done.

The Alaska Republican establishment are voting for Lisa Murkowski.

Independents will go all different ways depending on what their individual issues are.

Most Democrats seem to be ready to vote for McAdams on the grounds that maybe McAdams does have a chance, and Murkowski won't vote much differently from Miller anyway.

But the 'practical' Democrats are mulling over Murkowski's pitch that McAdams can't win.   They're thinking that Murkowski is better than Miller and can overcome the write-in odds. 

Of course, that assumes that enough people will

1.  Want to vote for Murkowski
2.  Remember to spell her name close enough to be accepted as a Murkowski vote
3.  Remember to fill in the oval next to her name
4.  Remember which office she's running for

My guess is that there will be quite a few votes for Murkowski for Governor, for US House, for Lt. Governor, and various state house and senate seats.  

And a lot of Alaskans aren't even going to vote.  

Attorney Don Mitchell, who worked closely with Sen. Ted Stevens, is the author of two huge, highly acclaimed volumes on the history of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, and a Democrat, has boiled it down to whether Democratic and left-leaning Independent voters should vote for Alaska or vote for the USA.
After giving that "I'm damned if I do, I'm damned if don't" conundrum considerable thought, the way I come out on it is that undecided Democratic and center-left independent voters have to decide whether they are Alaska patriots or national patriots.
For an Alaska patriot the decision is easy. He or she should vote for Lisa Murkowski. Because an Alaska patriot would be a dumbbell to give up the seat on the Senate Committee on Appropriations that Alaska has held since 1973 and the seat on the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources that Alaska has held since statehood (when it was called the Senate Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs). Lisa holds both seats, and if she is reelected she will continue to hold them.
But if an undecided Democratic or center-left independent voter is a national patriot, then that voter should vote for Scott McAdams, knowing when he or she does so that casting that vote may help elect Joe Miller. Because having Joe Miller in the Senate is a better result for the nation than reelecting the same old Lisa. [You can read Mitchell's whole piece here.]
 So, as you can see, everything is illuminated here in Alaska the day before the election.  And with a write-in candidate, it could be Wednesday, Thursday, or even longer before we know the results of this race which has made all the other Alaska races nearly invisible.

4 comments:

  1. Corporate Native supporters.....lolol

    So what's the difference between a "corporate native" and a regular native ?

    Does one have to receive a dividend to be a "corporate native", or just have a job with the corporation ?

    What about white people who are married to "corporate natives" ? Where do they fall in ?
    Even though I don't receive a dividend I do work for a tribal 8a, does that make me a "corporate whitey" ?

    Steve, Do you have any idea how offensive the term, "corporate native" is ?

    Why don't you just use the term, "Rent-An-Eskimo" , or better yet call them Apples ? You know, red on the outside, white on the inside ?

    Isn't that what you really mean ?

    ReplyDelete
  2. I think "corporate native supporters " is the correct way to address Alaskans Standing Together.
    As a shareholder who is dismayed, angry, and just generally POed about about my Regional Corporation giving money and voice to a super PAC I have been saying way worse in the privacy of my own home.
    I am deeply offended that my for-profit corporation is pretending to be an Alaskan.
    It is a corporation . A for-profit corporation Period.
    Having the money for slick adverts and taking advantage of the blow Citizens United v Federal Election Commission dealt our collective conscience is appalling as far as I am concerned.
    Putting the corporation up as equal to real people stinks.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thank-you for a very good summary. I must be a national patriot first and foremost. I voted for Scott McAdams. I decided that Miller and Murkowski are the same. I also feel that Lisa may have various "ins" by being in the Senate for a long time, but they can be a hindrance as well. No one is the Senate knows Scott, and he will get more attention and listening ears, than rusty Lisa.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Lucky you, getting Bill Clinton! I am in N E Ohio and I have also gotten many many calls but the all time worst one of all came from Pat Boone...for God's sake...frickin Pat Boone! I thought he was dead. Who knew he was alive and wanting me to vote Republican. My 40 year old son got the same call and he had no idea who Pat Boone even was. Kinda of loses all viability when you don't even know who he is, doesn't it?

    ReplyDelete

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