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.”
Oh please. He still has to work with her. Just because he'll work with her doesn't mean they'll be bestest friends.
-—“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.”-—
....Groan....
Exactly! We’ll enjoy the majority in two more years when our guys flush turds like you, Lisa! Enjoy the crossfire in the meantime!
“He made the statement in support of Joe Miller - two months ago.”
Unlike Cornyn who was talking out of both sides of his mouth.
Whatever.
Tome to move on. The Democrat holding the other seat in Alaska is up soon. I suggest we find a candidate the exact opposite of Princess to win the primary starting now. And this time choose one who won’t alienate both the Palin and libertarian factions in Alaska while being smart enough to side step the traps the establishment will put up. We can’t shut Princess up for another 6 years through the usual road so we’ll have to do it by giving a mandate to a new conservative Republican Senator in a couple of years.
We have a republican “Pelosi” on our hands. She will destroy herself. Let her ramble on.
She is very, um, vocal.
Yes, she'll stick with the Republicans when there is no doubt about the bill passing or being defeated. When the vote is close, when we need her most, that's when she'll embrace the Democrat policies and ideals.
Lease A Murkowski can KMA! We’ll get her commie RINO politician @$$ next time. Americans have had it with BIG Government, tax and spend types like her!
And in the meantime, Princess is beholden to greasing every palm who wrote her in, rat and repub.
She will fall through the cracks eventually.
Just the kind we need in the senate now that the nation teeters on the brink.
That would be a grievous error in judgment, Mr. Demint. You may want to rethink this one. She is not your friend. She is not a friend of conservatism. She will betray you, and conservatism.
What is disusting is I am willing to bet she becomes the John McCain of the talk shows, the kind of Republican that enjoys the attention and talk of being a maverick. Of all of the losses this is the one that hurts most, Palin couldn’t deliver Alaska , and we get this McCain lite for the next 6 years.
Willing to bet she becomes a favorite of MSNBC and will probably be a willing participant on those psycho’s shows. Wouldn’t be surprised to see her on maher’s show, .......geez.....us I can’t stand her
This really takes the cake - she ran against her party’s own nominee and risked throwing that seat to the Democrat candidate in a 3 way race. Where does she think she, of all people, has a place to criticize for electoral strategy on obtaining a majority with the stunt she pulled?
I'm not so sure about DE either - that "I'm not a witch" ad to kick off the campaign was a self-inflicted wound, and running cheaply produced ads with all of that cash was another. Even Joe Miller did a spoof of that "I'm not a witch" ad.
Buck and Angle lost due to personality issues, not due to ideology.
Well, NRSC did send a team with up there to assist Miller, for what it is worth.
Of course she will - she has nothing to lose. She now knows she can win her seat without conservatives or the Republican Party altogether. Before she at least threw conservatives some table scraps from time to time...now I bet she will be like the ladies from Maine.
>>> That woman does not exist for me, therefore anything she says falls on deaf ears.
That’ll show her !
>>> If that hag wins Alaska should be nuked.
Sarah too genius ?
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