WHY IS MARK BEGICH DISTANCING HIMSELF FROM HIS MAN, BARACK OBAMA? I clearly remember my conversation with Mark Begich in Kodiak several years ago. I told him, You cant trust Obama. Youve got to reign him in. Begich smiled, assuring me that Obama will see things our way. The Mudds were sitting right by me when I had that conversation (which was a pleasant one. I interviewed his mom many years ago.) What you also wont hear Mark Begich mention is that the prosecutor in the set up trial of Ted Stevens (which was proven to be unfair, political) committed suicide. Remember that Ted was brought to court on bogus charges because the Democrats wanted to railroad Obamacare and they needed Marks vote. Thats the only way that Mark could get elected. Remember, even though Democrats running for Congress, may distance themselves from Obama, in Obamas words -- Im not on the ballot, but my policies are. Scary... FROM THE LA TIMES: Alaska incumbent Sen. Mark Begich avoids even saying Obama The simple question is at the top of many minds this grumpy election season, even among the 1,000 or so high school students gathered for a televised debate: How will you work to reach across partisan lines to accomplish real goals?. I will NOT vote for Obama in 2012. Icumbent Sen. Mark Begich, a Democrat in a tight race, started his answer by shoving his partys president gently under the campaign bus, talking about the need to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling, anathema to the Obama administration. Only then did he get around to his record of working with anyone, no matter who they are. Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, a libertarian and tea party favorite. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent and self-described socialist. And, always, the senior senator from the Last Frontier. Vulnerable Democratic lawmakers running for re-election have scrambled to distance themselves from the administration. Lisa Murkowski and I, Republican and Democrat, this last year voted 80% together, Begich boasted, a claim he makes at campaign stops from Barrow to Ketchikan. No other senators in a split delegation in the country have that kind of voting record. Begich invokes his Republican counterpart so often that Murkowski sent him a cease-and-desist letter when he ran an ad calling them a great team. But the name Obama rarely escapes his lips — and only then when a prospective voter mentions the president first. Like many Democrats locked in tight races, Begich is betting that his odds of victory go up the more distant he seems from President Obama. But few Democrats this election season face the kind of hurdles that stand between Begich and a second term. Well more than half of the electorate here does not align itself with either major party — although if pressed that group tends to lean Republican — compared with about 40% nationwide. The last time Alaskans sided with a Democrat seeking the White House, the Beatles had just premiered on The Ed Sullivan Show. Only a third of Alaskans approve of the job Obama is doing, among the lowest rates in the country and almost 10 percentage points below the nation as a whole. And then there is the simple fact that politics in this vast, sparsely populated state bears scant resemblance to that practiced in what people here describe as Outside — or the Lower 48 when theyre feeling generous. Mark Begich is pro-gun, pro-choice, pro-oil and -gas development, pro-gay marriage, said campaign spokesman Max Croes. Those are four things that perhaps dont make sense in deep blue California or deep red Wyoming. But here in Alaska, thats where the majority of the people are.... [Begich] is running for Alaska. Alaska Republican Senate candidate Dan Sullivan speaks during a debate last week in Anchorage. (Mark Thiessen / Associated Press) The race between Begich and Republican rival Dan Sullivan, a former state attorney general who has served 20 years in the Marine Corps and Reserves, appears to be a toss-up. Polls show Sullivan, who has been endorsed by Murkowski, slightly ahead, with one big caveat: Polling is notoriously difficult here because so many Alaskans live off the grid, off the road system and away from dependable cellphone service. The 2008 Senate race was so tight that Begich was behind on election day proper, and was only able to claim victory once outlying votes were counted. The victory margin was about 3,800 votes, despite the fact that incumbent Ted Stevens, a powerful Republican, had been found guilty of corruption just days earlier. (The conviction was later thrown out because of prosecutorial misconduct.) So its little wonder that Begich rarely misses a chance to say how much he disagrees with the president, who won only 37.9% of the vote in Alaska that year. c Comments The 13th Amendment forbids involuntary servitude. The ACA (Obamacare) mandate is nothing if not involuntary servitude. Mark Begich voted for the mandate. Mark Begich is therefore a fascist pig, as are all the others who voted for involuntary servitude. At a town hall meeting on the east side of Alaskas biggest city, not that far from where the candidate grew up, Begich took a swipe at the Affordable Care Act, which he takes pains not to call Obamacare: Weve got work to do. Weve got to fix it. Weve got to make it better. Facing a packed house at the Muldoon Boys & Girls Club, he allied himself with Murkowski against the president on a key foreign policy issue. Sometimes she and I conflict with Obama, like the latest thing on Syria funding, he said. I couldnt support him on funding the rebels in Syria — couldnt do it. Even when a supporter took Sullivans mantra and turned it into a compliment — They use it negatively against you that you have voted with President Obama 97% of the time.... I think thats a great thing — Begich pushed the president away. Related story: Key races may hinge on what voters distrust more: Obama or Congressby Michael A. Memoli There are people who like the president and people who dont, Begich said. This race is not about the president. Hell be gone in two years. This is about Alaska. Its about a Senate seat for the next six years. What that other guy wants to do is only make it about the president. What was left unsaid in that exchange was just as important as the words the candidate uttered. He didnt mention the presidents name or just who that other guy is. If there is a name thats more absent from a Begich campaign than Obama, it would have to be Sullivan. Sullivan argued in a recent interview that Begich was running away from six years of votes in Washington, and that his opponents performance was fair game. Im hitting [Begich] on his record, Sullivan said. Im hitting him on his votes. Im hitting him on his lack of pushing back against the Obama administrations overreach in Alaska. And thats what an election should be about. Asked why his tactics sound an awful lot like those used against other vulnerable Democrats — Minnesotas Al Franken, for example — Sullivan said it was because Frankens record was the same as Begichs. ADVERTISEMENT The Democrat does not believe Sullivans explanation for a second. His opponent, Begich said in an interview, has taken on the national talking points churned out by the Republican Party: The deciding vote for Obamacare was cast by (fill-in-the-blank Democrat), who also voted for the presidents priorities 97% of the time. Its all the same in every state, Begich said, adding that he doesnt have to bring up the president when hes on the stump because his opponent was already invoking Obama a lot. Whats not the same are the high stakes of the Senate race here. Like a small handful of other states, Alaska could have an impact that goes far beyond its chilly borders. And thats something Begich reminds voters every chance he gets. All eyes are on Alaska, he told the crowd at the Boys & Girls Club in urgent tones, microphone in hand. You and this room and others like you will determine this race and who controls the United States Senate. There has never been a time, other than statehood, that Alaska is in the forefront. Remember all those other races, he asked the men and women in the room, when wed be the last ones to turn in our votes? Alaskas at a time zone disadvantage, an hour earlier than the West Coast, four hours earlier than the East. No one cared, Begich reminded them. Theyd have the lights off already, the national news, because no one cared. This time, all eyes are on Alaska. What we do here will make a difference. maria.laganga@latimes
Posted on: Wed, 29 Oct 2014 21:23:53 +0000
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