Lisa Murkowski opposes defunding Planned Parenthood

Lisa Murkowski has come out against defunding Planned Parenthood. Here reasoning sound like it came straight from Democratic talking points.

Politico: “I believe Planned Parenthood provides vital services to those in need and disagree with their funding cuts in the bill,” Murkowski wrote in a letter to Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) and Vice Chairman Thad Cochran (R-Miss.). “I ask you to consider these programs going forward to determine if there is room for allowing continued funding.” [...]

In an e-mail to a constituent, Murkowski expanded on her position, also taking shots at the House Republicans’ attempts to end Title X funding. “I do believe that Planned Parenthood provides vital services to those in need and disagree with its funding cuts contained in the H.R. 1 package,” she wrote in a Friday e-mail, obtained by POLITICO. “From 2002-2008, Planned Parenthood received $342 million in federal taxpayer money through Title X funding alone. With these funds, Planned Parenthood has provided women throughout the U.S. with important family planning and contraceptive services as well as screening for breast and cervical cancers for low-income women. I believe it is important that Title X organizations continue to receive funding. In Alaska, this includes five centers — two health department clinics, two Planned Parenthood clinics in Sitka and Soldotna and one independent clinic.”

I am reminded how the GOP establishment chastised TEA Party conservatives for loosing the Senate by supporting strong conservative candidates in blue states. Christine O'Donnell immediately comes to mind. However, Lisa Murkowski is a perfect example of what happens when conservatives go along with supporting RINOs just for the sake of adding numbers. Simply packing the Senate with any old Republican, means that you end up with some folks wondering off the reservation.

In 2012 there are 23 Democrats up for reelection and Republicans only need five or six seats to control the Senate. Needless to say, we can very well afford to be extremely picky.

Via: Memeorandum
Via: Politico

Lesser women knocking Palin, take #965

An alternative title for this post could easily have been Sour Grapesfest 2010! 

I have noticed something about many of Sarah Palin’s female critics, let’s see if you noticed it too.  Many of Palin’s female critics tend to be Sarah Palin’s lesser. These women tend to have lesser jobs, smaller families, lesser looks, you get the picture.  Yet here they are knocking Sarah Palin like they masters of the universe.

The latest entry in the "Lesser Gals Knocking Palin Club" is Lisa Murkowski. During a sit down with ratings loser Katie Couric, Lisa (from her pretend lofty perch) had this to say.

Oh, brother! I wonder how much "intellectual curiosity" Lisa had when her daddy gave her the Senate seat. I also wonder just how successful Lisa’s write in campaign would have been if Sarah Palin had not endorsed her rival.  Something tells me all those Democrats who helped Murkowski out, would not have given two cow chips if Murkowski crashed and burned on election night.

Lisa Murkowski can sit there yammering all she wants about "intellectual curiosity", but we all know the truth. No one handed Sarah Palin anything. Sarah Palin had to scrap for everything she got and still did a whole lot better for herself than Lisa Murkowski and Katie Couric ever could. Heck, neither Murkowski or Couric added any new words to the American lexicon this year and Katie Couric would probably murder for 5 million viewers. 

The resourcefulness and true grit Palin has shown over the years is probably going to be more in demand come 2012, than the wonkiness Lisa Murkowski craves.

Via: Memeorandum

Via: CBS News

Via: Hot Air
Via: The Hollywood Reporter
Via: ABC News

It is beginning to look a lot like Murkowski

The counting of the Alaska write in ballots is underway and thus far it looks like Lisa Murkowski’s lead will hold. I have to say Joe Miller’s attempts to cut down that vote are not looking very positive to me.  Challenging slight misspellings or other picayune mistakes doesn’t really fit the whole Tea Party feel to me.

I think the big question now is just how much of team player will Lisa Murkowski be when she wins.  If the story below is any indication, I think Republicans should not count on too much support from Murkowski.

The Hill:  If Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) is interested in apologizing to Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R), he'll have to make the first move, Murkowski said Friday. 

The Alaska senator, who appears poised to win reelection as a write-in GOP candidate for Senate, suggested she's not eager to reach out to DeMint, who backed her challenger Joe Miller in the Alaska Senate race. 

DeMint, who has said he and Murkowski might have "some making up to do" if she wins reelection, would have to act first. 

"He has suggested that he's got some making up to do," Murkowski told CNN's "John King, USA" in an interview to air this evening. "I'll let him make that first move."

Murkowski's terse response underscores the relationship she might end up having with DeMint, whose Senate Conservatives Fund backed Republican candidate Miller against Murkowski in the general election. Miller, like several other candidates DeMint had backed this cycle, beat incumbent or establishment GOP candidates in primary battles this year. 

Via: Memeorandum

Via: Alaska Daily News

Via: Slate

Via: The Hill

Joe Miller sues for exact spelling on write in votes

ADN: JUNEAU – GOP nominee Joe Miller is asking a federal judge to keep the state from using discretion in counting write-in ballots in Alaska’s hotly contested Senate race.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday, comes the day before election officials planned to begin counting write-in ballots that could determine the outcome of the race.

Miller’s attorney, Thomas Van Flein, said the campaign is seeking a hearing on the matter as early as Wednesday afternoon.

A spokesman for the state Department of Law said he hadn’t yet seen the lawsuit and couldn’t immediately comment.

Miller’s rival, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, waged a write-in campaign after losing the primary to Miller.

Initial returns, including thousands of absentee ballots tallied Tuesday, showed write-ins maintaining a lead over Miller. However, it’s unclear how many of those write-in votes are for Murkowski or were properly cast for her.

Election law calls for write-in ballots to have the oval filled in and either the candidate’s last name or name as it appears on a declaration of candidacy written in. But election officials, pointing to prior case law, have said they plan to use discretion, in consultation with a state attorney, when it comes to misspellings or variations of Murkowski’s name.

While I am not crazy about disenfranchising anyone’s vote because of a misspelling, I can see were vote counters can use their “discretion” to allow all sorts of creative spellings. What is needed in this instance is a clear set of guidelines to determine what is or is not an acceptable spelling for Lisa Murkowski’s name.

What America sorely needs is some tighter controls on voting. Every election it seems like we are regressing into some dysfunctional hodgepodge with selective recounts, ballots “found” at the last minute and court determined outcomes.  I really don’t think things will improve until we all demand some sort of uniform integrity standards that both voters and voter counters must adhere too.

Via: Memeorandum

Via: Alaska Daily News

Lisa Murkowski concedes primary to Joe Miller

Palin 2, Murkowskis 0!

Lisa Murkowski the Republican senator from Alaska has conceded the primary to Sarah Palin’s Papa Grizzly Joe Miller.

Fox News: In a major upset, Sen. Lisa Murkowski has conceded her GOP Senate primary race to Tea Party Express favorite Joe Miller, who had the backing of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

"I don't see a scenario in which the primary will turn out in my favor," Murkowski said in her concession speech.

Murkowski made the concession speech Tuesday night, a full week after the primary.[MORE]

The Murkowski family must be making Sarah Palin voodoo dolls about now.  Palin bumped off Lisa Murkowski’s father to grab the governorship and now Palin has turbo charged Joe Miller’s campaign to victory.  Should Palin make a run for the presidency, she will have to do it without any help from Alaska’s GOP. 

Lisa Murkowski makes the third incumbent to lose their primary. Bob Bennett and the self serving Arlen Specter were the other two.  I am pretty sure, November 3 will yield even more surprises for incumbents.

Via: Memeorandum

Via: Fox News