Frowning takes 68 muscles.
Smiling takes 6.
Pulling this trigger takes 2.
I'm lazy.
Posted on 11/16/2010 3:32:14 PM PST by Qbert
After ripping Sarah Palin, Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski isn’t mincing words about another one of her high-profile GOP critics: South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint.
“I think some of the Republicans in the Congress feel pretty strongly that he and his actions potentially cost us the majority by encouraging candidates that ended up not being electable,” Murkowski told POLITICO outside her Senate office. “And I think Delaware is a pretty good example of that, and I think there’re some folks that feel that DeMint’s actions didn’t necessarily help the Republican majority.”
Murkowski suggested the South Carolina conservative and favorite of the tea party seemed more interested in bolstering his own political standing rather than that of the Republican Party.
“So the real question is, what’s his desire?” she said. “Does he want to help the Republican majority, or is he on his own agenda, his own initiative?”
Asked what she believed the answer was, Murkowksi said: “I think he’s out for his own initiative.”
With ballots still being counted in Alaska, Murkowksi’s assessment comes on the cusp of an improbable victory following her write-in campaign, which appears to have knocked off Republican Joe Miller, the tea party darling who defeated her in the party’s primary. After Miller won his primary, DeMint backed his candidacy – and sharply attacked Murkowski.
DeMint’s political action committee paid for a TV and radio campaign in Alaska that attacked Murkowski for maintaining an “extreme … pro-abortion” position, saying she backed using federal tax dollars to pay for abortion. DeMint stepped up his attacks against Murkowski, calling her “a party switcher” and saying that the Republican establishment had effectively protected her by not stripping her from her leadership spot on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
Asked about his attacks on Murkowski, DeMint said it was all part of the campaign season and that he was ready to move on.
“That’s behind us,” DeMint told POLITICO. “If she wins, which it appears she will, I’m going to congratulate her and welcome her back. But I didn’t like the idea of a member losing the primary and then running against our nominee. But that’s all done now.”
On CNN last week, Murkowski said that DeMint had “some making up to do,” saying that she would “let him make that first move.”
Asked if he’d apologize for his attacks, DeMint said: “I think that’s what we do against opponents of nominees,” referring to the attack ads. “But that’s part of the battle, and she’ll come back and hopefully caucus with Republicans. And I look forward to working with her.”
A DeMint spokesman declined to weigh in further on Murkowski’s comments. The back-and-forth speaks to the lingering tension between the purist conservative wing of the Republican Party and the Washington establishment over whether the party’s vicious primary season ended any chance of the party to win Senate seats in Delaware, Nevada and Colorado.
Moreover, critics say by nominating tea party favorites in states like Kentucky, the party was forced to spend precious resources that they could have spent in other closely contested races – and now Democrats will maintain a 53-47 majority in the Senate.
DeMint, who saw his national profile grow by taking on GOP leaders’ preferred candidates, had mixed results this election season, seeing his primary endorsements win in states like Florida, but fall short in Delaware and Colorado.
As she’s returned to the Capitol this week, Murkowski began the process of soothing tensions with her party’s leadership.
Before lunching with her colleagues, she met with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has assured her she would keep her ranking position on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, she told reporters. And she withheld her fire against the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which pumped big bucks into TV ads to help Miller and sent out fundraising solicitations to help Miller’s legal efforts in Alaska.
But she didn’t pull her punches about her long-time rival Palin, the former Alaska governor, who attacked Murkowski during the campaign.
Asked about Palin’s presidential prospects, Murkowski told CBS’ Katie Couric on Monday: “I just do not think that she has those leadership qualities, that intellectual curiosity that allows for building good and great policies.”
Ever seen the talking bass? I hear by claim a patent on the talking fish mouth Murkowski.
Just had to get that little dig in on COD?
You do know that she’s done as well as any senate Republican since Roth?
Leftwing Republican “leaders.” They back liberals in primaries with all the party’s resources, and when someone who more closely fits the rank and file’s political tastes wins said primary anyway, they pull their support. Then if the conservative loses, mainly because they’ve been betrayed by their own party, it’s because conservatives aren’t “electable.”
Same old story, different year.
When will conservatives finally tire of this charade? Will it be in time to still save the country?
How easily she forgets about all the RINO senate candidates who also lost. Perhpas it was they who cost the GOP majority. I wonder what’s going to happen to her when all the people who voted for her thinking the pork spigot would be turned off if she didn’t win only to have it shut off anyway.
“This obnoxious wench botched her primary, then refused to accept the fact that she lost. She is a prime example of the ruling class Republican that Rush has castigated.”
Where in the h-ll are the other Republican senators defending DeMint here? Miller won the primary fair and square for cripessakes.
she’s going to be the next Meghan mccain for the next 2 years...
That woman does not exist for me, therefore anything she says falls on deaf ears.
Murkowski is the Alvin Greene of the GOP. I’ve really heard too much from her.
The RNSC called me today. I almost told them to f.......
I held my tongue.
Cornyn, you back the Murk for money or what?
WE KNOW. Even here in the hinterland, WE KNOW.
You want us to believe you? To think the RNSC has the interests of its constituents at heart and does not support cheating?
hahahahahahahahahahahaha!
“she’s going to be the next Meghan mccain for the next 2 years...”
Yep. Only worse: Cow has more power.
I just noticed in the quote I made that even the writer of this article couldn’t spell Princess Lisa’s last name right!
Just go switch parties, ya bitch, and put a sock in it!
Thus woman is an idiot. But for the sake of argument, what benefit would it be for the Repubs to have the majority, if they are made up of limp-wristed RINOs? We have had that before and the majority position was wasted.
Note to the the RNC...
Get you proverbial S&!+ together and grow a pair to tell someone like this it is over and to go home in the primaries.
But no, they are 15 million in debt, and couldn't even crank up GOTV-72, and are too impotent to tell loosing members to exit stage right...
Harmonic convergence.
The stupid party lives....
If that hag wins Alaska should be nuked.
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