AK Senate Race Heats Up

[NightTrain]

Mark Begich was able to squeak a win in 2008 while Senator Ted Stevens was found guilty of corruption charges that was set aside due to the prosecution engaging in misconduct right after Begich won the election. Ted Stevens died in a plane crash afterwards out of Bethel.

Alaska is a vastly conservative State, and Begich is well aware that this time he won't have the help of an FBI investigation and a crooked D.C. prosecutor to sway voters into voting Democrat.

During the last couple of years, he's been running advertisements informing us he's not your typical Democrat and 'frequently' stands up against those pesky liberals in Washington. His voting record indicates otherwise, though, and things like introducing Photo Radar (which was run out of Anchorage soon afterward) and voting for Obamacare are going to make re-election a tough battle.

Recently I heard an ad on the radio from him saying that he and Lisa Murkowski (R), the other AK Senator, work together like a well-oiled machine for the good of Alaska. I was surprised about the strange ad, and wondered why Murkowski would tie her ship to his. It turns out that she didn't - and was understandably pissed off about it!


A Democratic Alaska senator facing a tough reelection is doing all he can to hold onto his seat, but his latest attempt to buddy up to his GOP counterpart has backfired spectacularly.

Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, recently received a cease-and-desist letter from an attorney for Republican Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski after the Democrat’s re-election campaign created a television ad touting them as a dynamic duo.


“Senator Begich should run on his own record and not attempt to deceive the public into believing he has support that does not exist,” the letter said.


The letter marks an unusual rebuke for Begich from the other half of the Alaska Senate delegation, as he prepares to face a tough Republican challenge following next week's GOP primary.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/08/12/alaska-gop-senator-to-dem-counterpart-stop-using-my-name-in-ads/

I'm no fan of Murkowski, because in my view she's a RINO. However, she's a damn sight better than Begich voting the liberal agenda.

I think AK may deliver an extra seat to Republicans in this election.

[fj1200]

I'll be shocked if AK doesn't go R this time around. What do the polls look like?

[jimnyc]

Everyone will look to the liberals, as they want the weed legalized! Isn't it on the ballot this go round?

[jimnyc]

Everyone will look to the liberals, as they want the weed legalized! Isn't it on the ballot this go round?

And liberals, don't yell at me, that's not an insult, just the way voting goes. I don't have an issue with legalization and have smoked more than all of you bastards combined. So bite me!

[NightTrain]

I'll be shocked if AK doesn't go R this time around. What do the polls look like?

It looks good for a solid Republican vote, there's some strong candidates. It looks like Dan Sullivan will take the R nomination.

The wild card is the remote Native towns & villages. Murkowski won on a write-in ticket (unheard of!) after not getting the Republican nomination. There was a huge turnout in the villages supporting her after the Republican candidate put his foot in his mouth regarding Native Alaskans and her victory surprised everyone.

[NightTrain]

Everyone will look to the liberals, as they want the weed legalized! Isn't it on the ballot this go round?

It's already legal to have. The push now is to emulate Colorado with open selling of it.

It'll probably pass... I personally think it's a bad idea but there's a lot of support for it.

[jimnyc]

It's already legal to have. The push now is to emulate Colorado with open selling of it.

It'll probably pass... I personally think it's a bad idea but there's a lot of support for it.

I'm kinda on the fence. My experience tells me it's harmless. No one dies from smoking alone. It does help with quite a few ailments, even simple things as headaches, bad stomach, anxiety... My experience also tells me that long term smoking DOES lead to addiction. Plus, how do you regulate smokers and driving? How will they test for DUI? Will stores being around lead to kids wanting and getting their hands on it more than already?

Decriminalization I am all for. I don't think it deters, I don't think it helps, I don't think it reforms. I think it costs us a fortune for absolutely nothing, and puts people in jail for these crimes. Of course traffickers excluded.

But you're getting this opinion from an ex-stoner, so take it with a grain of weed.

[NightTrain]

I'm kinda on the fence. My experience tells me it's harmless. No one dies from smoking alone. It does help with quite a few ailments, even simple things as headaches, bad stomach, anxiety... My experience also tells me that long term smoking DOES lead to addiction. Plus, how do you regulate smokers and driving? How will they test for DUI? Will stores being around lead to kids wanting and getting their hands on it more than already?

Decriminalization I am all for. I don't think it deters, I don't think it helps, I don't think it reforms. I think it costs us a fortune for absolutely nothing, and puts people in jail for these crimes. Of course traffickers excluded.

But you're getting this opinion from an ex-stoner, so take it with a grain of weed.

My biggest hangup about stores selling it is that it will remove what little stigma is attached to it now and completely legitimize it. Kids will have zero compunctions with buying & using it. It's well known that regular pot use contributes to a massive lack of ambition, especially in youngsters. Many potheads I knew in high school are on staff in such places as Burger King and still look stoned.

I agree completely with the stupidity of throwing non-trafficking people into jail over pot.

Decriminalize, absolutely. Legitimize, no. The supporters are pointing to all the tax revenue it would bring in, but I'm pretty sure they're really wanting to stay at home and grow their own weed legally without being hassled and imprisoned.

[NightTrain]

Dan Sullivan took the GOP nomination last night... I kinda thought he would.

His opponents, Treadwell and Miller, both are going to throw their support behind him. That was the part I was worried about - splitting the vote.

Since there won't be any serious conservative contender to siphon off votes in the election, I'm feeling confident of a Sullivan victory over Begich.

[tailfins]

Dan Sullivan took the GOP nomination last night... I kinda thought he would.

His opponents, Treadwell and Miller, both are going to throw their support behind him. That was the part I was worried about - splitting the vote.

Since there won't be any serious conservative contender to siphon off votes in the election, I'm feeling confident of a Sullivan victory over Begich.

You're overconfident. Sullivan is down 4 in the polls. The race is winnable, but Sullivan starts off behind.

[fj1200]

^That's 4 behind an incumbent before the real election season starts. There are worse places to be.

[NightTrain]

You're overconfident. Sullivan is down 4 in the polls. The race is winnable, but Sullivan starts off behind.

That depends on which poll you reference. The democrat one calls for a democrat lead; the republican one is showing a republican lead.

That aside, AK is a very conservative group as a whole. Democrats have a bad name, and Obama has taken the group to a new low here. Primaries are low turnout, historically. November is when the voters turn out in force.

As I said before... the remote villages can be a real wild card, but they mostly vote conservative - no one can imagine life there without guns and your usual Democrat is all about restricting them. Begich claims to be different, but his voting record says otherwise.

[tailfins]

That depends on which poll you reference. The democrat one calls for a democrat lead; the republican one is showing a republican lead.

That aside, AK is a very conservative group as a whole. Democrats have a bad name, and Obama has taken the group to a new low here. Primaries are low turnout, historically. November is when the voters turn out in force.

As I said before... the remote villages can be a real wild card, but they mostly vote conservative - no one can imagine life there without guns and your usual Democrat is all about restricting them. Begich claims to be different, but his voting record says otherwise.

Overconfidence can result in defeat. Whether you think Sullivan is ahead or behind, you should work yer ass off to help him get elected.

[NightTrain]

Begich is getting desperate.

He's a goner; AK will deliver one of the needed Senate seats in November.


One state political observer saw Begich’s decision to air the ad in the first place as an act of political desperation.“You want to take that big risk if you think you are down and you need that home run you are going to go for it, and that’s what this advertisement told me about the Begich campaign — that they need to fight very hard and take significant risks in order to win in November,” University of Alaska, Anchorage political science professor Forrest Nabors told KTVA.
The race is considered a toss-up, though the most recent poll, from Rasmussen, has Sullivan leading Begich 47-45 (http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections/election_2014/alaska/election_2014_alaska_senate).
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/09/03/alaska-sen-mark-begich-retracts-controversial-ad/