Posted on 06/08/2011 5:18:32 AM PDT by rabscuttle385
Sen. Mark Begich is turning a deaf ear to Sarah Palin's demand that he make drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge a condition for his vote to approve raising the nation's debt ceiling.
"She's not really on my radar screen to take advice from," the Alaska Democrat told reporters Tuesday.
"Let me put it this way. It's always interesting to read what she has to say," Begich said. But, he added, "Someone who quit Alaska is not someone I look for to get Alaska policy decisions on."
In discussing the debt ceiling vote on "Fox News Sunday," Palin said: "How about people like Sen. Begich, a Democrat from Alaska. He better get ANWR in this bill, opening another domestic source of energy up there in Alaska when he votes yes for increasing the debt ceiling."
Begich, a supporter of drilling in ANWR and the Chukchi Sea, suggested that Palin look to persuade her fellow running mate Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) to open ANWR to drilling.
"I would encourage her to talk to her senator because our senators, me and [Lisa] Murkowski, already aligned on this," he said. "I know she's talked to McCain, who is her new senator where she lives. He hasn't supported [drilling in] ANWR in the past, hope he will."
Um, yeah. You know what, Mark, I’m pretty sure that unless the Palins sold the place in Wasilla, or made the other place their primary residence, you and Daddy’s Little Girl are both still their senators. So I think you should either be more respectful to your constituents or shut the hell up.
Excellent point. Palin’s endorsement of McCain in the primary was the last straw for me. that act confirmed my suspicion that she is much more of a populist than a true conservative.
Oh, yeah, says the former mayor of Anchorage after he lied to the Municipal Assembly in order to commit the Municipality to a 5-year deal with the Unions leaving Anchorage in a financial mess.
Compared to Governor Palin who left office with the State in decent fiscal condition.
And lots of Alaskans have summer homes in the lower 48. That complaint is a stupid as the person who complained Governor Palin took an afternoon off to go fishing.
So her endorsing a candidate that was already a lock to win and who brought her to the forefront of politics to where she has become one of the most influential politicians in the country overshadows a stellar record of executive leadership and experience? It over shadows the fact that her endorsements of lesser known candidates, which did make a difference, doesn’t matter?
You do know that McCain would have won whether or not Palin endorsed him, don’t you? It was simply done as a courtesy and out of loyalty, which judging by Michelle Bachmann’s latest actions, Palin does not get back in return.
You might want to watch this discussion about her accomplishments. Maybe you’ll see the light again.
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/15227455
Begich needs to go post-haste.
They edited out the rest of his comments...
"And the fact that she was immensely popular and achieved numerous policy successes while in office is irrelevant. I'm proud that my party, in collusion with the mainstream media, succeeded in driving her from the governor's office once and for all. We continue to do our best to marginalize her, and even though it backfires most of the time, we're gonna keep at it!"
That's scary in itself. His last term, he'll do as much damage as possible. John McCain is an evil POS - don't want to rehash the same old "she owed him" arguments - but she put her political loyalties over the good of the people on that endorsement. I'll vote for Palin if she is the candidate - but she made a serious error there.
any bets he is a one termer?
Begich knows he’s toast. That was as “fluky” a win as they come.
The 2008 ticket turning on itself would have destroyed the 2010 election.
For McCain, yes.
It would have destroyed the Republican brand for 2010.
Old post, but true.
If the vice presidential candidate for John McCain and the the biggest GOP superstar since Reagan had not supported McCain for reelection for his Senate seat, then it would have meant the destruction of her image, and of the GOP image and it would have been the non stop political story of 2009 and 2010, the division between the ticket of the previous year would have made the Republicans appear broken and shattered and would even have led to a widespread reevaluation of the importance of a Democrat victory in 2008, because it would make the GOP ticket look like it had been a sham, it would have damaged and have prevented this incredible change in public opinion towards the entire republican brand that Palin has helped reshape during the last 17 months.
Palin would have looked cheap and shallow to the general public for turning on the man that 59,000,000 of them voted for, she would easily be painted as a radical and unstable person and a bitter, small timer to the general public.
There is a lot more going on with the national image of the republican/conservative movement here than what we McCain haters see in the Arizona Senate race, the general public does not share all of our perceptions and in depth view of the race between McCain and Hayworth. They would see the Presidential and the vice Presidential candidates of the Republican party at each others throats, clearly signaling that Obama and the Democrats represented stability and calm.
Palin’s image would have never survived, and the entire national, conservative movement would be weaker in reality and in the public’s eye.
The Republican brand has already been destroyed for years, and the party can thank George "I Love Big Government" W. Bush (and others like him) for that.
They would see the Presidential and the vice Presidential candidates of the Republican party at each others throats
McCain spent years attacking the Republican Party, something that improved his image in front of the liberal half of the American electorate.
Oh, wait, that wasn't what you meant...
Palin’s image would have never survived, and the entire national, conservative movement would be weaker in reality and in the public’s eye.
That excuse is as pathetic as Bush's excuse for the bailouts: he had to "destroy capitalism to save it."
If you keep endorsing Socialism to save conservatism, in the end, all you will have is Socialism.
Only a Ron Paul goofball like you that seems to know very little about politics, could ignore one of the most successful elections in American history by either party, that was the Republican sweep in 2010. The “destroyed party”.
Breaking out the ad hominem so early smells like desperation on your part.
I knew you would ignore the facts about the 2010 election.
The "facts" about the 2010 election are that McCain's win over J.D. showed that conservative advances against the RINO establishment can in fact be stopped.
LOL, one of the most, if not the most successful elections for conservatives in our history, and you seemed to miss it, way to keep on top of things.
When that candidate is John McCain...yes it overshadows EVERYTHING. That is unforgivable///especially in that she did it during the primaries, when he was being challenged by a conservative. It would have been different during the general vs a democrat but she rescued his nasty rotten backstabbing ass when he was vulnerable. Unforgivable.
Better yet Stevens should be allowed to finish out Begich’s term. I think Stevens’s subsequent service would be a great improvement over his past performance.
Yes, I know Stevens is dead.
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