Note to the National Republican Senatorial Committee: Stay Out of the Alaska Republican Primary

Red County ^ | August 27, 2010 | Thomas Lamb

[theanchoragedailyruse]

This is going to be one of those commentaries that takes you in a different direction from what is taking place here in Alaska.

The direction I will be pointing at will be at a rift between Republican senators in Washington D.C. and it looks like the rift is over the Tea Party movement

But first, on August 25th, I had a conversation with a reliable source about a rumor that 1000 ballots had been missing in the Alaska primary.

I had written about it here on Red County:

Yesterday afternoon, I had a conversation with a very reliable source here in Alaska and the source stated there was a rumor floating around that there were 1000 ballots missing in the Alaska primary.

I didn't go any further with the statement with the source because it was a rumor. But I sent a tweet out to see what type of ping would come back if any.

@rsmccain Gossip is 1000 ballots have gone missing - Someone is looking to get lawyered up. about 2 hours ago via web in reply to rsmccain

Since the time of the post, the focus of the Murkowski/Miller race is growing and the focus is on a recount, how many absentee ballots there are, will Murkowski run as a third party candidate etc, etc.

And as I had mention in the tweet I sent to rsmccain, someone was looking to get lawyered-up.

Guess who was getting a lawyer --- The WaPo has the story:

Redacted for FreeRepublic policy.

The big guns at the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) are backing Murkowski. The NRSC should be neutral in a contested primary and the fact they sent an attorney to help Murkowski, this should be cause for all of you who donate to the NRSC to stage a protest against the organization.

This idea that not too much should be read into the NRSC helping out Murkowski is pure Bravo Sierra, because when the NRSC endorsed Charlie Crist, he was not an incumbent senator (incumbent Governor doesn't count) in a Republican primary.

So this is just another example of the poor leadership that has presided over the Republican party for sometime. And that takes me to the direction of Washington D.C. and point to a rift between Senate Republicans and the rift is reflected in the support given to two moderate to liberal Republicans (Crist and Murkowski) over two conservative candidates.

It is not uncommon to see a rift in the Republican party when there are issues that drive a wedge between different political ideologies in the Republican Party.

In 1998, when I ran for the first time in a state race, I came across a political divide within the Republican Party here in Alaska. Back in 1998, the issue that divided the Alaska Republican Party was the subsistence issue and there was a split within the ranks of Republican state senators and part of the problem was the Washington D.C. influence of then Senator Stevens.

On issues that are sensitive to the state, many times Washington D.C. has an influence on what should be state matters.

With the Murkowski/Miller race, this is a race that is sponsored by the State of Alaska and the Republican primary is a state matter in that it is being run by the state and the Alaska Republican Party.

The NRSC has no business to involve itself in the primary, unless of course it wants to build enemies and a group of people who do not want to contribute to their group.  And given the NRSC is hell-bent on helping Murkowski, I have to ask what is the reason why?

In a previous Red County commentary, I pointed to a redacted e-mail that was sent to me from an aide to a Republican senator in Washington D.C. The e-mail was given to me by a very reliable source here in Alaska. And because of the nature of the contents of the e-mail, the sender's identity was not known.

I agreed to the e-mails being redacted because the sender has concerns that if the senator's names were known, Murkowski would use her power as chairman to retaliate against the senators who are behind the e-mail.  

The part of the e-mail that is most interesting, is this:

Although they’ve called repeatedly for repeal of the Democrats’ new health reform law, some senior Senate Republicans have not endorsed a bill that would actually do it. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), GOP Conference Chair Lamar Alexander (Tenn.) and Conference Vice Chair Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) have all argued that the reforms — passed in March without Republican support — will hike costs and erode services, and therefore should be scrapped. Yet they haven’t signed on to their party’s repeal proposal. That bill — just nine words long — has been endorsed by other party leaders, including Sens. Jon Kyl (Ariz.), the minority whip, and John Cornyn (Texas), who heads the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC). That McConnell, Alexander and Murkowski haven’t done the same, some experts say, could erode the Republicans’ election-year message that the Democrats’ health reforms will do more harm than good. “Unified party positions are better than divided party positions,” Julian Zelizer, a congressional expert at Princeton University, said in an e-mail. “When the GOP is not all on board with legislation,” he added, Democrats can argue “Republicans calling for repeal are on the wrong track.”

             (emphasis added)

Because of the dynamics between Murkowski and Cornyn on ObamaCare, I had asked the source what were the dynamics among Republican senators on ObamaCare because knowing John Cornyn who heads the NRSC, is opposite with Murkowski on ObamaCare and Cornyn also endorsed Crist, there has to be another common thread with Murkowski.

That common thread could be Cornyn just doesn't like tea:

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn drew boos from a crowd outside the Texas Capitol this afternoon as he spoke at a “tea party” rally organized by the Texas office of Americans for Prosperity.

Cornyn was booed at the start and close of his remarks, which assailed actions in Washington; there were no boos while he awarded a Purple Heart to a Copperas Cove resident injured in Iraq in 2006.

“You’re the problem,” a crowd member hollered.

Another crowd member yelled that Cornyn voted for the initial federal bailout of Wall Street approved by Congress last year, the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Back in 1998 when I was asked to resign my candidacy to allow a well known conservative Republican to run, I answered with a no.

Then I confronted the moderate Republican on live T.V. about his stance and the fact that the Republicans wanted to put a Republican in to run against him.

He changed his stance to the conservative's side and voted with the Republican conservatives on the subsistence issue.

From my first experience in politics, I have learned that you confront your adversary head on and do it with resolve and Joe Miller I am happy to say, is doing just that.

And I would point to the NRSC's behavior and state do you really want to go down the road you are taking in Alaska?     

Because Murkowski took the race for granted and logic is on the side of Miller in that when absentee ballots were sent out, Miller didn't take anything for granted, while Murkowski did.

 

[McGavin999]

I don’t think Washington realizes how much trouble they are in. McCain was able to pull his butt out of the fire, but it took an unprecidented $21 million to do it. AND that’s before he even gets to the general. How much is it going to cost to keep infuriated republicans from leaving the senate box blank?

[Shery]

I wrote a letter to Michael Steele today and blasted the Republican party. I know a lot of people that are looking for a more conservative party because the Republican party is “stuck on stupid” right now. Who do they think they are serving, trying to serve up to us Democrat-lite or Marxism-lite is probably more accurate. They’ll never learn. With their ‘tin ears’, they cannot hear, nor do they wish to.

[hoosiermama]

COnsider this a FREEP!
Make sure you contact the following and let them know what you think.

NRSC (202-675-6000)
info@nrsc.org

Washington, DC Senate Office of Senator Cornyn
Main: 202-224-2934

TO help Miller with expenses of this fiasco:
https://www.completecampaigns.com/public.asp?name=MillerJ&page=1

[rrrod]

Make your voices hear!
Hers something...need to tell the DC class to stay out of the primaries!!!
NRSC (202-675-6000)
info@nrsc.org

Washington, DC Senate Office
Main: 202-224-2934

Senator Cornyn FaceBook
http://www.facebook.com/Sen.JohnCornyn

And dont mince words!!!!

[Vinnie]

Drain the right side of the swamp also.

[GoCards]

just called Cornyns office in DC. They cant take a complaint against NRSC because of ethic rules. Gentlemen said you need to talk to NRSC org.

Its selective rules our government chooses to abide by. I hate all of them.

[Diogenesis]

Connect the dots:

"Now comes word that Romney will headline an event circled on many political calendars -- the National Republican Senatorial Committee's annual fund-raiser. ... In an email to the Globe, Fehrnstrom said that a couple of weeks ago, Senator John Cornyn of Texas, chairman of the committee, asked Romney and he accepted."

[redhead]

Well, well... Romney, huh? Boy, does THAT ever figure.