APRN's Joel Southern was quick to get actualities of Rep. Don Young and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, with those legislators' takes on the announcement in Anchorage this morning by British Petroleum and Conoco-Phillips, of the oil giants' Denali proposal.Young said, "I'm very excited about it. It's a long time that we got off that, uh, AGIA process, and went ahead and got something that can be done."
The way Young threw out "that, uh, AGIA process" was derisive. He's going to keep pounding at the Governor. Apparently, with Sean Parnell's announcement, his campaign has decided that the way to get enough of the GOP base votes to win a three, four or five-way race, is to run against Gov. Palin.
That's pretty much all he will have to run on, except his "experience," "seniority," and stuff he can make up on the fly.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, on the other hand, according to APRN, "credits Governor Palin and AGIA, for helping advance things to where they are, and she believes the BP/C-P plan leaves the door open to even more co-operation and partnerhips."
She's bright and sunny, eh? She doesn't have to run this year, for one thing. And for another, she appears to be more in touch with the remedial effect this partnership, as sketchy and tenuous as it is, might have on healing deepening rifts between Palin's advocates in the Alaska GOP, and the aging, increasingly ineffectual crowd Young typifies.
Meanwhile, Young is continuing to spend far more than he can, and is still spending more on lawyers than his campaign fund is bringing in. I was a bit surprised he's brought in as much as he has this quarter - $164,000, compared to the $400,000 (I'm estimating Jake Metcalfe brought in $75,000 in 2008 so far) his three Democratic Party challengers have brought in since January 1.
Young's GOP challengers are stuck in fundraising limbo for a few more days, but that will change the day after the regular legislative session ends. Gabrielle LeDoux will probably drop her pledge to stop fundraising, in spite of the upcoming special session.
3 comments:
AGIA, the open public process, produced results in one year.
What progress has Rep. Young produced on the gas pipeline or ANWR during the last 8 years of 'Perfect Storm' ?
Passing the opening of ANWR out of the US House 12 times, most recently in 2005.
Anonymous, I believe it was 14 attempts, the last in the summer of 2006. You are correct that, in fairness, Don Young's labor should be recognized. I question his skills. One would think after 14 failed attempts, Rep. Young would devise a different approach and demeanor, but he has not.
Don Young wants to hold Sean Parnell’s feet to the fire on results. Holding Rep Young’s feet to the fire, ANWR was not opened, despite massive political advantage. Rep Young’s techniques did not produce results.
The last Congressional action was in summer, 2006, during the last months of ‘Perfect Storm.’ Republicans held the Presidency, Vice Presidency, Senate Majority, House Majority, Alaska Governor, Alaska House, and Alaska Senate. Having failed in the 108th Congress and first session of the 109th Congress, and with 2006 elections looming, the strategy was to move ANWR via budget authorization, deep in the larger federal budget authorization bill. Without citing all the maneuvers, the attempt failed, first in the Senate, and last in the House (H.Con.Res. 376, H.Rept. 109-402; yeas 218, nays 210, Roll Call #158), where authorization for ANWR funding failed to be included in committee.
After decades of failure to open ANWR, the issue has become a waste of political capital. Alaska needs to focus on what may be accomplished. It would not hurt Alaska to publicly acknowledge our national interest lands, and our role in conserving those lands. Rebuilding public trust in our judgment would add to efforts to fully open NPR-A to production. (By the way, NPR-A was opened due to a bipartisan effort led by Governor Knowles in concert with then Senate Leader, Tom Dashiell.)
Anyway, good comment, Anonymous.
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