Showing posts with label Senator Ted Stevens. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Senator Ted Stevens. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Mayor Mark Begich Wins Alaska Senate Race, Beats Sen Ted Stevens

According to the blog "Clintonistas for Obama ", Anchorage, Alaska Democratic Mayor Mark Begich has beaten Alaska Senator Ted Stevens.  Begich is ahead by 3,724 votes, with fewer votes than that to be counted.  


This means that there are now 58 Democrats in the Senate.  President-Elect Barack Obama needs just two more wins to reach the "filibuster-proof" mark of 60 Dems.    Two races remain: Republican Georgia Senator Saxby Chambiss in a runoff against Democrat Jim Martin, and Republican Norm Coleman vs. Dem Al Frankin in Minnesota, in a vote recount too close to call.  

Friday, November 14, 2008

Mayor Mark Begich Ahead of Sen. Ted Stevens By 814 Votes In Alaska Senate Race

In the race for Alaska Senate, Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich is ahead of embattled Republican Senator Ted Stevens by 814 votes according to Begich's website .  If that lead holds or expands, Begich wins the Alaska Senate race, giving Democrats 58 seats versus 41 Republican seats -- two shy of a filibuster-proof majority.  

Tuesday, September 02, 2008

Palin's selection as McCain's VP candidate raises questions - lots of questions.

According to Paul Kane, writing at WashintonPost.com, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin employed a lobbying firm to secure almost $27 million in federal earmarks for a town of 6,700 residents while she was its mayor, according to an analysis by an independent government watchdog group. McCain is proud of his recent opposition to earmarks, though. Is that not what he wants from his Vice President, too?

Well, you could point out that Palin has also decried earmarks, citing her opposition to a $223 million bridge in Alaska. "As governor, I've stood up to the old politics-as-usual, to the special interests, to the lobbyists, the big oil companies, and the good-ol'-boy network," she said on Friday, yet she favors fostering those same big oil companies desires to drill in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge. Is that really standing up to big oil and politics as usual?

Wasilla, a town of under 7,000 people, did not receive any federal earmarks in the first few years of Palin's term as mayor, but after she checked off on the retention of Robertson, Monagle & Eastaugh, an Anchorage-based law firm that lobbies in D.C., the earmarks started rolling in. The account was handled by partner Steven W. Silver, the former chief of staff to Senator Ted Stevens, the longest serving Republican Senator, coincidentally indicted in July on charges of accepting illegal gifts. Is that McCain's idea of standing up to special interests and the good old boy network in D.C., or Palin's?

In FY
2002, Wasilla took in $6.1 million in earmarks, on the heels of the $15 million rail project, in 2001 intended to connect Wasilla with the town of Girdwood, where Senator Stevens has a house. Is Sarah Palin really all that worried about change, or is she a savvy Republican working the system for all it's worth?

Sarah Palin, who would possibly be in line to become President, was once been a member of a group that advocates secession from the United States. Is that who we want as our potential Commander in Chief?

How much do you know about Sarah Palin, and what motivated McCain to pick her? Do you think there's likely more to it than pandering for women's votes? Naturally - there must be, right? I think we'd all like to learn more about this first-term Governor. So follow the money.

Meanwhile, in the interest of fairness, I'd like you to meet Joe Biden, too.

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