Koch brothers plan to spend 889 million dollars in 2016. Did anybody else's blood just run cold?

Courtesy of Politico: 

The Koch brothers’ political operation intends to spend $889 million in the run-up to the 2016 elections, according to an attendee at the operation’s annual winter donor gathering in the California desert. 

The spending goal, shared with donors at a Monday morning session at the Rancho Mirage Ritz Carlton, reflects the sweeping ambition of a private conservative political network that in many ways has eclipsed the power of the official Republican Party.

The $889 million spending goal dwarfs the $404 million the Republican National Committee spent during the 2012 election and the $188 million it dropped during last year’s midterm campaign.

Almost a billion dollars spent by one family in an attempt to buy elections. That should frighten just about everybody. 

Unless of you are the beneficiary of that kind of spending of course.

From this same gathering comes this quote:

“Americans have taken an important step in slowing down the march toward collectivism,” Charles Koch said in his speech, seemingly in reference to the Republican takeover of the Senate during the 2014 midterm elections.  

“But as many of you know, we don’t rest on our laurels. We are already back at work and hard at it! In fact, the work never really ends. Because the struggle for freedom never ends,” Koch said.

You know there is a part of me, a hopeful part of me, that wants to believe in the American voter and trust that they cannot be swayed by enormous ad buys in local markets by outside groups.

But then I remember what happened up here in Alaska this last election cycle, and I know I am being naive.

There is simply no way that Dan Sullivan should have beaten Mark Begich, and simply pit without the Koch brothers and Karl Rove he wouldn't have.

Since the Citizens United decision politics has become a numbers game.

In many ways it has ALWAYS been a numbers game, but these days it is not the number of voters that seems to count, it is the number of dollars spent for each of those voters.

The duplicity of Lisa Murkowski, and why moderates should wash their hands of her.

This editorial was written by Fairbanks resident and political activist Sean McGuire. And it comes to us courtesy of the Fairbanks Newsminer:  

Let’s go back four years to August 2010. In what many view as the biggest upset in Alaska political history, Sen. Murkowski was defeated in the primary by the far-right candidate, Joe Miller. She was beaten fair and square. 

What did she do? She spent the next two-plus months running around Alaska pleading with Native Alaskans and moderate Democrats to save her political life with a write-in campaign. She promised she would represent those moderate voters’ interests. Sen. Mark Begich didn’t attempt to interfere; he let Alaskans decide who they wanted. In the end, Natives and Democrats did indeed save her. 

During the next six years, Alaska’s two senators apparently worked well together, collaborating on many issues and voting the same way more than any other split-party senators in the nation. 

Fast forward four years to this election. Sen. Begich, the champion of the Natives — overwhelmingly endorsed by AFN, and a true moderate — was fighting for his political life. 

What did Sen. Murkowski do? When Begich was most vulnerable, she stuck a knife in his back, going on TV and saying she didn’t have a good partner in the Senate. And just as dishonorably, she betrayed all those moderate Democrats who had come to her rescue when her political life was hanging by a thread. 

Politics is a nasty business. But in my opinion, the dishonor Sen. Murkowski displayed is several levels deep. It’s not only that she betrayed those who saved her. There’s a longstanding tradition in the U.S. Senate: you don’t turn on your colleague in an election.

There's more but I think that this really captures the meat of Mr. McGuire's point.

And it is quite a valid point.

Murkowski has demonstrated herself to be a cagey political operative, who quickly calculates where she needs to position herself in order to retain her Senate seat and garner support for the future.

When she needed moderates, she was moderate. And when she believes she needs conservatives, well...she IS still daddy's little girl.

Clearly she recognized that the Republicans would most likely capture the Senate in this elections cycle, and positioned herself accordingly. I am sure in her mind Begich's lost Senate seat is simply an acceptable casualty in her strategy to gain more power.

And she has indeed gained that power.

She will now be given the chairmanship of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which will allow her to once again campaign for the opening of ANWR, even as we are faced with information about climate change which should dissuade any reasonable person from even entertaining such an idea. (To be fair Mark Begich also promoted the opening of ANWR. You really cannot get elected up here if you are against it.)

The President will of course veto the proposal and it will never happen, but it is once again a move that puts her in alignment with the Republican platform.

And there she will remain right up until it works against her in retaining her seat, and then my friends we will see the Murkowski's political chameleon act once again.

We deserve better that is for sure, however I reiterate once again that Murkowski will undoubtedly hold onto her seat right up until she no longer wants it, or until some unforeseen scandal knocks her out of the running. 

Because that's just the way things work in Alaska.

Before he leaves the Senate Alaska's Mark Begich would like to do something about those SuperPAC robo-calls.

Courtesy of The Hill:

Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska) is taking a departing shot at super-PACs following his defeat in the Alaska Senate race. 

 Begich introduced legislation Thursday that would add super-PACs and other outside groups to the list of groups that must comply with the National Do Not Call Registry. 

His legislation, titled The Do Not Disturb Act, would also keep people on the list from receiving robocalls and "push polls," which are surveys that attempt to get a desired result with leading questions. 

"I have long been an advocate for protecting Alaskans’ privacy and for limiting the ability of outside groups to spend endless amounts of money on our elections,” said Begich, a member of the Commerce Committee. 

“I heard from Alaskans all across the state during the campaign, and enough is enough. My bill will allow individuals to opt out of receiving these sorts of pestering phone calls from super-PACs and similar groups,” he added. 

If Begich is successful this may be the most impactful, and welcome, legislation that he has ever introduced.

As I have mentioned before the number of calls I received from pollsters, recorded campaign messages, and other interested parties, was completely overwhelming.

I quite literally hated the sound of my phone ringing. It seemed like it was never a call that I wanted to take.

Personally I think this is a good step, but I would also like to see something done about the advertisements that pop up on every YouTube video that I tried to watch this last few months, and the avalanche of television advertising that seemed to use up every second of commercial airtime since August.

And it is no wonder that Begich is the one to spearhead this effort.

I think it is pretty clear that he lost this race solely due to the efforts of outside groups, and that without the interference of the folks like Karl Rove and the Koch brothers he would have almost certainly retained his Senate seat.

Instead we are stuck with a political whore bought and paid for with corporate money, who has little interest in anything that Alaskans need or want, and is solely focused on pleasing his masters.

Mark Begich concedes.

Courtesy of Alaska Dispatch:  

After holding on to dwindling hope for days, Sen. Mark Begich on Monday conceded he had lost his U.S. Senate race to Republican Dan Sullivan. 

With the concession coming nearly two weeks after the Nov. 4 general election and with few votes left to count, the statement was largely a formality.

As you know I already called this race the day after the election.

The reason I did that is because even though I may be an optimist, I am still a realist and I knew the numbers simply did not add up.

However I would be lying if I did not admit that a part of me secretly hoped that I was wrong and would have to eat crow. Crow would taste so much better than bitter defeat.

Mark was a good guy, and a hard worker for Alaska, who actually understands the people and lives they live up here in the Last Frontier.

Sure many of Mark's votes were in line with President Obama, but much of those votes were ultimately beneficial to the people of our state.

Sullivan does not work for us, and his votes in the Senate will be guided by outside forces. And trust me, few of those will ultimate be of benefit to Alaskans.

After day of counting absentee ballots AP calls Alaska Senate race for Dan Sullivan.

Courtesy of Politico:  

Republican Dan Sullivan has won the Alaska Senate race, ousting Democratic incumbent Mark Begich, according to The Associated Press, which called the race for Sullivan late Tuesday night following the first day of counting early and absentee ballots. 

Sullivan leads Begich by 7,911 votes, according to the latest tally. Even though Begich gained some ground on Tuesday, and thousands of ballots are left to be counted, the AP said “the results indicated that Begich could not overcome Sullivan’s lead.” 

“I am deeply humbled and honored to be chosen by my fellow Alaskans to serve them in the United States Senate,” Sullivan said in a statement. “From day one we told our supporters that we would run a campaign that Alaskans could be proud of, and that’s what we did.” 

Begich’s campaign is not conceding, the AP reported. 

As I think some of you are aware I essentially determined that Mark Begich did not have a chance of  pulling out a victory here the day after the election.

In response I received a rather ugly e-mail accusing me of essentially being a traitor and of hurting his chances by writing him off before the ballots had been counted. I am not sure how my post could make ballots magically disappear but apparently I have incredible powers of which I remain blissfully unaware.

Look I doubt there are too many people up here that wanted Mark to win more than I did. Hell I even had the only Mark Begich sign for several blocks around.

But facts are facts, and as progressives we respect the facts.

This election was obviously for sale, and in the end the Democrats simply did not have the money to compete.

It is clear to everybody that Dan Sullivan is a Koch whore, and he is certainly not the only one representing us in Washington.

And look who finally came out to connect her name to Sullivan now that it is no longer a political liability.

It's time to face the facts.

Courtesy of Alaska Dispatch:  

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dan Sullivan appeared to grab an insurmountable lead over incumbent Democratic Sen. Mark Begich early Wednesday, with all of Alaska's precincts reporting. 

With results from all 441 precincts counted, Sullivan led 49 percent to 45 percent. The margin remained essentially the same from the first returns early in the evening. 

Speaking just after midnight at his election night party in a packed ballroom at the Hotel Captain Cook, Sullivan praised his supporters and told them: “We are taking back our country!” 

“We’re still going to be respectful of the process,” Sullivan said. But he nonetheless touted Republicans’ successes in Senate races across the country Tuesday, and to hearty cheers, he proclaimed that the party had sidelined Harry Reid, the Democratic leader in the Senate.

Look I am as much of an optimist as you could expect from a liberal living in Alaska, but currently Sullivan leads Begich by  over 8,000 votes with all precincts having reported in.

Even if EVERY SINGLE uncounted absentee ballot had the circle next to Mark's name colored in it would probably still not be enough to give him the victory.

I understand why Mark does not want to concede yet, and I seriously doubt it has anything to do with his faith that he can still pull this off.

He can't. And as much as I hate to say it out loud, it looks like the Koch brothers bought themselves a Senator from the once great state of Alaska.

I am incredibly disappointed in my state right now. And while many of the election outcomes put a smile on my face, this one was for all the marbles, and the voters just did not make the right call in my opinion.

Now I could bitch about the political strategy of making distance between the candidates and President Obama, I really feel if they had embraced the successes of the last six years and bragged about the accomplishments of the Affordable Care Act and saving the economy that might have made a difference, but this is no time to throw stones or trot out "I told you so's."

No this is the time to learn from our mistakes and move forward. 

So that is what I am going to do. But first I want to say that I was proud of having helped elect our first Democratic Senator since Mike Gravel was elected back in 1974. I think Mark did a good job, and the reason he lost had almost nothing to do with him, and everything to do with corporate money and the irrational hatred for our President.

Hold you head up high Senator Begich, ya done good.

Dark money in politics and the honesty of Senator Mark Begich.

Courtesy of TPM:

Republican dark money groups are outspending their Democratic counterparts by an incredible margin, according to data from the nonpartisan Sunlight Foundation. 

During this cycle, conservative groups that do not disclose their donors have spent more than $94 million, while liberal dark money groups have spent more than $28 million.

The data this cycle confirms Republican dominance of dark money spending. In the 2012 election cycle, about 80 percent of dark money spending backed Republican candidates.

Of course as we know there has been untold millions spent up here in Alaska in support of Dan Sullivan, hell anybody trying to watch a You Tube video, listen to the radio, or watch television can tell you that. 

And when asked about that Dan Sullivan ran away like somebody was trying to take his lunch money.

Now undoubtedly Mark Begich has received some money from outside groups, and some of those are certainly from shady PACs that don't want to disclose their donor list.

However Begich is not one to shy away from scrutiny as evidenced by the fact that he has voluntarily provided documentation as to how his campaign money is spent.

This from ABC News:  

Senate campaigns aren't required to tell us by Election Day--they submit spending reports to the Federal Election Commission on paper, a seemingly antiquated system that prevents reporters and the public from being able to dig effectively through their latest receipts and expenses. For most campaigns, sortable expense data is only available through June. Weeks or months later, we'll get a fuller picture. 

But Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, apparently out of the goodness of his heart, has been filing his disclosures electronically since October 2013, giving us a window into how Senate campaigns are spending their millions of dollars these days. 

Since Oct. 1, 2013, Begich has spent $7.3 million, a middling total for campaigns. Alaska isn't the most expensive state in which a candidate can run, and it's outside the top 10 this election cycle for candidate spending, although, including outside money, it's the sixth most expensive of all 2014 Senate races, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Can anybody imagine Dan Sullivan being this transparent? Nope me either.

As if we needed another reason to support the only REAL Alaskan running for the Senate in 2014.

While Mark Begich works his ground game Dan Sullivan brings in the old and the crazy.

Courtesy of the Fairbanks NewsMiner

From the Alaska Dispatch: 

Begich and the Democratic Party have a roughly tenfold advantage in paid staff on the ground in Alaska, and their schedule for the next few days doesn’t include any particularly flashy events or guests -- Begich is campaigning in the Mat-Su, Anchorage, and Fairbanks, while his wife and mother make stops in rural Alaska. 

Sullivan’s campaign, meanwhile, is relying on Cruz and 2012 GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who’s holding a rally Monday in Anchorage with Sullivan and Republican Gov. Sean Parnell. 

The visit from Cruz, who’s stumped around the country for Republican Senate candidates, helps Sullivan’s campaign to stoke its conservative base and even generate enthusiasm among Libertarians, whom Cruz mentioned in a video he posted shortly after his arrival in Alaska. 

Saturday’s event in Fairbanks was a showcase for that strategy. 

“In three days, we’re going to retake the U.S. Senate and retire Harry Reid as majority leader,” Cruz said to sustained applause from the Chrysler showroom, telling the crowd that Begich’s support for Reid amounts to “a vote that says, ‘I hate oil.’” 

“Let me tell you, in the fight for this country, for the direction of this country, Alaska is ground zero,” Cruz said.

Yeah Raphael Cruz is full of shit here.

While I agree that Alaska is grown zero in a lot of ways, there is NO politician elected in this state that hates oil.  

After all that is the lifeblood of Alaska right now, and without it we would suffer greatly. Mark knows that quite well.

However I am sure that Begich realizes that it will not last forever, nor should it, and that it is time to start seriously finding alternative fuel sources.

Having said that I can certainly attest to the powerful ground game being used by the Democrats in support of Mark right now. I have personally been visited a whopping seven times by door knockers making sure that I am voting, and voting for our current Senator. (I actually voted earlier today, so maybe I'll put a sign in my yard attesting to that fact.)

I have seen NOBODY from the Sullivan campaign in my neighborhood, and if he is relying on those out of state funded ads and the likes of Mitt Romney and Ted Cruz to give him a boost I think he might be in for a very unpleasant surprise tomorrow evening. (Assuming of course we know anything by tomorrow evening.)

By the way Begich referred to Cruz as "the king of the government shutdown." which I think is too perfect.

Well I for one am responsible for at least three Begich votes. No I did not vote three times, but my family members did come to me for guidance and I think I set them on the path of righteousness.

So if you have not voted yet, make sure you do tomorrow.

It is not just your responsibility, it is your right. And keep in mind who is working to take that right away from many of you.

Just a letter in support of reelecting Senator Mark Begich.

Below is a letter sent to the Juneau Empire by an Alaskan voter. I think it sums up the reasons to keep Begich in office quite succinctly. 

It’s not easy being a Democratic politician in a red state like Alaska, but Sen. Mark Begich does it with integrity. One of Sen. Begich’s first votes in the Senate was for the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. He also co-sponsored the Paycheck Fairness Act. It matters that he was raised by a single mother of six kids. He saw first hand how his mom had to struggle to make ends meet. Sen. Begich says equal pay for women is a fairness issue, which is what women have been saying for decades. 

In March of last year, he issued a statement in favor of marriage equality. The arc of recent history is definitely bending towards marriage equality, and Alaska, the state of new beginnings, is finally on board. 

Dan Sullivan is stuck in the 1950s. He is against a woman’s right to choose in all cases. He even has issues with birth control. He’s against gay marriage, against the Affordable Care Act, and won’t say if he supports equal pay for women. If you look closely at Mr. Sullivan’s TV ads, you see that many of them are paid for by the Koch brothers under the names of Americans for Prosperity, Crossroads GPS, Freedom Works, Freedom Partners, and a long list of others. If Charles and David Koch are in his corner, you know they expect to get less regulation and lower taxes under his administration. 

This past week, I was startled to see Condoleezza Rice’s face filling our television screen touting Dan Sullivan’s qualities to be the Governor of Alaska. Condoleezza Rice lied in front of the world about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, and as a result, that terrible war cost thousands of lives, both military and civilian, and left thousands of American soldiers disabled. Why would Mr. Sullivan think her endorsement would be a plus to his campaign? Who’s next? Dick Cheney? 

Let’s face it. Alaskans only have two working members of Congress. We’re lucky that both of our Senators are thoughtful, honest, and smart people who understand the value of compromise. Let’s keep Sen. Begich in Washington, D.C.

Barbara Belknap 

Juneau

I might quibble a bit with the idea that Lisa Murkowski is thoughtful and honest, but I agree wholeheartedly with the rest. 

New poll numbers show good news for Alaskan Democrats.

Courtesy of Ivan Moore's Facebook page:  

600 sample of registered voters, fielded Friday 24th - Sunday 26th. MOE +/- 4%. 

There are two likely voter subgroups for this survey, one fairly loose (544 sample), and one tighter (330 sample). I'm giving results for both screens for transparency. Suffice to say, the 544 sample suggests a 90% turnout, which is highly unlikely, even this year... while the 330 suggests a 55% turnout, which is historically very close to reality. Also the age distribution of the 330 sample is exactly what you would see if you combined Alaska census data for age with average turnouts by age group. In other words, the 544 gives us good sample size in our view of the electorate, the 330 is the closer modeling of turnout on election day: 
 

Senator Mark Begich

US SENATE: 

544 sample: Begich (D) 48.3% Sullivan (R) 41.6% Other 6.5% Undecided 3.6% 

330 sample: Begich (D) 50.1% Sullivan (R) 42.2% Other 5.3% Undecided 2.4% 
 

Forrest Dunbar

US CONGRESS: 

544 sample: Dunbar (D) 42.6% Young (R) 44.4% McDermott (L) 9.5% Undecided 3.5% 

330 sample: Dunbar (D) 46.1% Young (R) 40.6% McDermott (L) 9.6% Undecided 3.7% 

Not much of a difference in the Senate race between the two screens... Begich has a 6.7% lead in one, 7.9% in the other. 

The Congress race is interesting... Young up by 1.8% when you look at the wider population, but zero in on the people who are the highest probability to turn out and Dunbar has a lead of 5.5%. 

That's what happens when you really tick people off two weeks before an election.

I had been avoiding pollsters lately so I was not part of this one, however yesterday I did participate in two back to back polls, and one was for Moore, so I imagine that the next poll will include my input.

I have to say that if these polls are accurate it indicates some very good news for Alaskans.

It would be very unusual for Dan Sullivan to win against a lifelong Alaskan, as regardless of politics we tend to protect our own. Begich may not vote the way that many Alaskans want him to in Washington, but he is still one of us.

As for Don Young, well one of us or not, he is becoming too much of an embarrassment for Alaskans to tolerate any longer.

Quite literally every time I hear his name come up it is right before somebody expresses anger and frustration at having him represent us in D.C..

I really think that Don Young may finally have pissed off too many people to wind the election. 

About damn time!

In other 2014 voter news, Senator Mark Begich and Kentucky's Alison Lundergan Grimes receive important endorsements.

First up it's Mark Begich who recently received the very influential Alaska Federation of Natives endorsement:

The resolutions included an endorsement of Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Begich, who is seeking to be re-elected Nov. 4, and an endorsement of the so-called “unity” ticket of independent gubernatorial candidate Bill Walker and his running mate, Democrat Byron Mallott. 

As you see the Walker/Mallott ticket also got an endorsement which might help to balance out the endorsement from the Wasilla Wendigo. 

To understand the importance of the AFN support, there are many who believe that it was they who were instrumental in helping Lisa Murkowski win against Joe Miller in 2010.

However they are not 100% behind the liberal agenda:  

The AFN delegates also approved a resolution in opposition to a ballot measure that would legalize and regulate recreational marijuana in Alaska.

That may seem counter intuitive until you realize how overwhelming of a problem substance abuse is in rural villages.  It is not at all surprising that they are officially against the measure.

Now let's take a look at Kentucky where Alison Lundergan Grimes received some very good news yesterday: 

Two major Kentucky newspapers have endorsed Alison Lundergan Grimes for Senate over incumbent Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R). 

The Courier-Journal and the Lexington Herald-Leader both ran editorials Sunday in support of the Democrat, who currently serves as Kentucky's Secretary of State. 

In its endorsement, the Courier-Journal's editorial board praised Grimes' stance on issues like the minimum wage and early childhood education, while accusing McConnell of "lacking a vision for Kentucky." 

The Lexington Herald-Leader's endorsement strongly rebukes McConnell, who the editorial board says has "repeatedly hurt the country to advance his political strategy." 

"The Senate may never recover from the bitter paralysis McConnell has inflicted through record filibusters that allow his minority to rule by obstruction," reads the editorial. "He poses as a champion of the right to criticize the government, but it's really his rich buddies' right to buy the government that he champions." 

"If McConnell had a better record, he would not have to argue for six more years by obsessively linking Grimes to Obama, who will be gone in two years no matter what," the editorial continues.

Damn, that's going to leave a mark.

The most recent polls show McConnell still with a six points lead. But who knows, with this kind of support Grimes might just pull this off.

I have my fingers crossed for both of these races. If we can not only hold onto the Senate but also kick McConnell to the curb this may usher in a whole new era of bipartisanship moving forward.

I know, I'm a dreamer.

Did Mark Begich just take the lead in Alaska's Senate race?

Okay hang on, don't  get cocky.

Courtesy of TPM:  

An Anchorage polling firm is giving Sen. Mark Begich (D-AK) an unexpectedly huge lead in his re-election bid less than two weeks before Election Day and with early voting underway. 

Hellenthal and Associates shows Begich up 10 points over Republican challenger Dan Sullivan, 49 percent to 39 percent. It is by far the biggest lead that Begich has seen and runs counter to most public polling, which has shown Sullivan with a consistent advantage since mid-September. 

Another poll released Friday and sponsored by Democratic PAC's supporting Begich showed the race tied at 44 percent. 

The Hellenthal and Associates poll, conducted Oct 15 to 21, surveyed 403 likely voters. Its margin of error is 4.9 points.

I am having a hard time trusting the polls right now. Partly because I have stopped participating in them, and I know I am not alone. 

It is no exaggeration to say that I get between four and five phone calls a day asking that I participate in a poll, or giving me unsolicited information on the candidates or issues.

I have also had at least five visits from the unions asking me if  I am going to support Begich. Which I point out they should already know as illustrated by the fact that I have a Mark Begich sign on my front lawn.

However I will tell you something that I firmy feel to be true and that is that the glut of anti-Begich ads that pop up EVERY SINGLE time that you try to watch a YouTube or Hulu video is turning people against Dan Sullivan in a big way.

The overkill is absolutely incredible, and there is no escaping it since trying to watch television or listen to the radio also exposes you to yet another series of never ending attacks on Mark Begich, many of them filled with completely false statements that many Alaskans know are bullshit.

 What I keep telling everybody is that a vote against this guy is a vote against attempts to buy local elections by outside corporations. And that if we allow Sullivan to win we can expect all of this to escalate even more in the years to come.

And not just in Alaska. If this formula works here, these billionaires have no reason to think it will not work EVERYWHERE.

Bob Cesca bravely fights for America's right to mock Sarah Palin. And so far he is winning.

Courtesy of The Daily Banter:  

For the last several months or so, I’ve been following the intellectually-impaired grifter antics over at The Sarah Palin Channel — Palin’s recently launched subscription service, which also happens to feature free-to-the-public videos posted on the main page. In the process of covering the Sarah Palin beat, it’s been necessary to excerpt sections of her videos and to subsequently embed the “takeouts” (Antonin Scalia’s word) on The Daily Banter in the context of reviewing her illiterate blather. 

One of the clips in particular went viral. You might recall the video in which Palin lapsed into some sort of aphasia or stupor and began to babble about Elizabeth Warren, fast food and Purgatory. To date, no one’s been able to adequately decipher what she was saying. Accordingly, my excerpted clip and the accompanying article spread throughout the blogosphere and, as of late September, was pushing toward 700,000 views. 

However, the view count was halted and the video was disabled when Sarah Palin’s production company stumbled upon it. 

Cesca goes on to share the forms he had to fill out, and the hoops he had to jump through, in order to get YouTube to listen to his side of the story after TAPP complained that he was essentially stealing content.

Cesca also mentions in this piece that Palin herself has argued for the 1st Amendment rights of those on the Right, often confusing them with the right of an employer to fire an employee for saying controversial things on the air.

After Cesca explained to Yo0u Tube that he was using the snippet under the fair use clause for journalistic purposes, and also pointing out that TAPP did the same by borrowing from Elizabeth Warrren's speech so that Palin could mock her, he got his video back up.

Which you can see here:

(Oh I forgot how awesome that was!)

So this is good news for all of us, for as you know I will not pay to watch Palin make a fool of herself on that crazy ass channel blog  of hers, but I will certainly make fun of any video that others snatch from that sea of desperation and bring out into the light for the amusement of others.

Speaking of desperate and amusing, late last night Palin decided to finally come out for Mark Begich's opponent, and her former Attorney General, Dan Sullivan.

This from her Facebook page: 

Barack Obama, thank you for sealing the deal for the next U.S. Senator from the great state of Alaska, Dan Sullivan! 
-Sarah Palin 

"These are all folks who vote with me!" - Barack Hussein Obama October 20, 2014 (Geez is she still using his middle name as a slam against him? Grow the fuck up.)

This then links to a Breitbart article, big surprise, that contains this statement from the President that he made yesterday:   

"Here's the bottom line: We've got a tough map. A lot of the states that are contested this time are states they didn't win. So some of the candidates there, you know, it is difficult for them to have me in the state because the Republicans will use that to try to fan Republican turnout. The bottom line is, these are all folks who vote with me. They have supported my agenda in congress. They are on the right side of minimum wage. They are on the right side of fair pay. They are on the right side of rebuilding our infrastructure. They're on the right side of early childhood education. So, this isn't about my feelings being hurt. These are folks who are strong allies and supporters of me. And I tell them, I said, you know what, you do what you need to win. I will be responsible for making sure that our voters turn up."

As you can see it does not mention Mark Begich by name, or even which states the President is talking about, but the Republicans have been quick to pounce on it and to start using it against Democrats in red states.

It contains nothing new, and of course reminds the voters who put these individuals in office in the first place why they are the best candidate for 2014, but in Palin's world it "seals the deal" for Dan Sullivan.

And all I can say to that is if she is so determined to help Dan Sullivan win then she needs to get SarahPAC to endorse him and start making appearances with him in the state.

I mean if she is really a king maker with conservatives then this is her opportunity to prove it.

Unless she is afraid that is.

The Koch brothers and conservative PAC's are spending millions to defeat Mark Begich in Alaska. So here come the labor unions to the rescue.

AFL-CIO President Vince Beltrami with Rachel Maddow

Courtesy of Mother Jones:

Republicans' most likely path to retaking the Senate in November requires GOPers to pick up seats in six key states: Alaska, Arkansas, Louisiana, Montana, South Dakota, and West Virginia. Of the six, Alaska—where Democratic Sen. Mark Begich is facing off against former Republican Attorney General Dan Sullivan—may be the closest race. That's why right-wing groups backed by the likes of the Koch brothers and Karl Rove are dumping millions into the state—and why Alaska unions are pulling out all the stops this year to make sure Begich, a fierce supporter of labor, carries the day. 

"This is literally the most active we've ever been in an election cycle," says Vince Beltrami, the president of the Alaska AFL-CIO, which represents nearly all unions in the state. 

Union members have been working the phones, pushing out mailings, and canvassing on behalf of Begich. Volunteers have even taken the unusual step of door-knocking in areas far outside of Alaska's urban centers, says Jerry McBeath, a professor of political science at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. Because of the unprecedented level of campaign action this year, Beltrami says, the AFL-CIO had to rent out an extra 7,000-square-foot warehouse.

The giant push by labor this year comes not only because the race is one of the most competitive in the country and could decide which party controls the Senate. The wave of union action is also a backlash against the onslaught of money pouring into the state in support of Sullivan from the billionaire Koch brothers' dark-money group Americans for Prosperity and GOP operative Karl Rove's super-PAC, American Crossroads. The groups—which support the rollback of collective bargaining rights and back right-to-work laws, which prevent unions from compelling employees to join or pay dues to a union—are dumping money into the Alaska Senate race for the first time ever. 

"They're up here on the airwaves 24 hours a day, seven days a week, trying to tie Mark to Obama," Beltrami says. "They say things 50 times a day on the airwaves that aren't true. You gotta push back."

Don't forget these are ALASKAN union members fighting against forces outside of our state throwing truckloads of money at this election in order to elect an outsider who will jump through any flaming hoop they hold up for him.

We are fighting for our very lives up here, and this is absolutely a David and Goliath story of a local Anchorage man facing off against giants of industry willing to bury him under a mountain of campaign spending.

I know Vince though, and if this thing can be turned around with good hard work and a never say die attitude then he and his union brothers and sisters are certainly the ones to make that happen.

Republicans unleash Rand Paul on Alaskan voters in support of Dan Sullivan. Awkward!

Courtesy of the Washington Examiner:

 Sen. Rand Paul is engaging in the Alaska Senate race with an endorsement for Republican Dan Sullivan in a new ad. 

Paul, who has quickly become one of the prized Republican surrogates in this midterm election cycle, is featured in a television spot from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which debuted Friday. 

"In states like Alaska, the chamber is focused on the independent swing vote and we think Sen. Paul is well positioned to deliver a message that appeals to them," said Blair Latoff Holmes, a chamber spokeswoman. 

In the ad, Paul looks straight to the camera to deliver the message that "Washington is broken." 

"Washington takes too much of our freedoms and too much of our money," Paul says. "I think Dan Sullivan will get it back." 

"To change Washington," Paul adds, "change your senator."

Wow you know filmed in that light, it almost covers up for the fact that Rand Paul has a dead squirrel on his head. 

You know I agree with Paul that we need to "change Washington." And by that I mean we need to stop sending obstructionists whose sole objective is to undermine the President, and force the government to grind to a halt.

You know the same objectives embraced by Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, Mile Lee, and other political insurgents who are in Washington simply to prove the old GOP adage that government does not work.

By sending yet another Tea party douchebag we help to ensure that nothing that Alaska wants or needs will be delivered.

And let's not ignore the elephant in the room.

In 2012 Joe Miller used the Ron Paul supporters up here to stage a coup of the Republican party.

Ultimately the Alaska GOP dropped the hammer on the Paul supporters, wrestled back control of the party, and then instituted new guidelines to keep that from happening again.

However it left a really bad taste in the mouth of establishment Republicans in this state, so the idea of Ron Paul lite making a commercial in support of Dan Sullivan might not be as warmly received as the Chamber of Congress seems to expect.

And besides that, and maybe this is just me, but how can we take anybody seriously about his message of transparency in government when he wears this thing on his head?

 I mean come on! His hair is straight, why would it suddenly get all curly just at the top of his head?

I totally disagree with his father on almost everything, but at least the little guy wore his obvious comb over proudly.

I have a new policy that I will only take Rand Paul seriously when he stops insulting out intelligence and reveals that he is bald.

I mean I will still disagree with him, and attack him on his political points of view. But I will do it seriously.

More proof that GOP Senate hopeful Dan Sullivan is NOT an Alaskan.

Courtesy of The Hill: 

Alaska Senate candidate Dan Sullivan (R) was a Maryland resident for tax purposes while he lived and worked in the Washington, D.C. area from 2006 through 2008, according to the state's tax assessor. 

The comments come in response to an inquiry from the Alaska Democratic Party into whether Sullivan properly claimed principal residency tax breaks while living in Montgomery County, Md. during that period. 

Sen. Mark Begich's (D-Alaska) allies made the inquiry in order to draw attention to Sullivan's time outside the state. Begich and his allies have long sought to paint Sullivan as an outsider and undercut his state ties. 

"It is the determination of the Department that Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan are deemed residents of Maryland at that property address for the period in question. Therefore, the property tax benefits received were properly granted," Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation Director Robert Young says in an email to the head of the Alaska Democratic Party after reviewing whether the 'principal residence' tax credits were properly claimed at the Montgomery County, Md. home.

The explanation for this by the Sullivan campaign is that he was working for the Bush administration between 2006 and 2008, therefore he  spent the majority of this time in Maryland.

However it should be noted that many Alaskans work outside of the state for extended periods of time, yet they do not change their tax status if they are planning to return and make Alaska their home.

Both Lisa Murkowski and Don Young have worked in Washington longer than Sullivan has, and yet neither of them changed their resident status for tax purposes.

Which is interesting since many of Sullivan's recent ads are attacking Mark Begich for "being out of touch with Alaskans" because he has worked for the last six years in Washington representing Alaska (And accomplishing things like this for our people.), after having lived his entire life in this state.

And by the way, Sullivan's time out of Alaska actually extended from 2002 until 2009, during which time he served with the Bush Administration, which in my mind should all by itself remove him from consideration as a competent representative of the Alaskan people.

The guy is simply not one of us, he is a fucking out of stater.

Snoop Dogg offers to perform in Alaska once the state legalizes marijuana. Actually I bet a whole lot of bands offer to play up here once the proposition passes.

Courtesy of KTUU:  

Rapper and marijuana enthusiast Snoop Dogg has promised to perform a concert in Alaska if voters choose to legalize pot. 

The promise came during an episode of Snoop Dogg's GGN webcast in which he interviewed former KTVA Channel 11 reporter Charlo Greene about her on-air announcement that she owns the Alaska Cannabis Club. 

"If we get y'all to vote yes on Proposition 2, Snoop Dogg is coming to Alaska to do a concert, a wellness retreat concert, and I'm bringing some of that California with me to celebrate," Snoop says.

What some people failed to recognize about the Charlo Greene on-air "fuck it, I quit" comment, was that it would bring national attention and support to Alaska's attempt to legalize pot.

In fact Charlo's comment may play an instrumental part in helping us hang onto our lone Democratic Senator.

Right now we have two issues on the November ballot that should help turnout more young liberals in the state. One is Ballot Measure 3 which increases the minimum wage, and the other of course is Proposition 2.

Even though I think both of these issues essentially cross party lines in Alaska, conventional wisdom suggests that it is the liberals who are more likely to be drawn to the polls in support.

THAT could really help Senator Begich who is currently struggling in the polls, and help Alaska to hang onto the one Senator who is not firmly in the pocket of the oil companies.

At this point every little bit helps, and Greene's on air expletive might go down in history as having a significant effect on Alaska politics in 2014.

PPP has a new Alaska poll out. This one includes a question about the Throwdown at the Hoedown.

"Another PPP poll oh this oughtta be good."

As you know the PPP regularly conducts polls up here in the Great land and today they released their most recent one.

According to the poll Dan Sullivan leads Mark Begich by 43 to 41 percent for the Senate.

Bill Walker leads Sean Parnell by 42 to 41 percent in the Governor's race.

And passage of a new minimum wage in Alaska looks like a sure thing with 61% for it, and 33% apparently made up of business owners who don't want to pay their employees what they are worth.

Sarah Palin is still very disliked by most Alaskans as the poll shows that 54% want her to go away while 32%, who must not have seen her stupid reality show, think of her favorably.

However only 18% think she should make a run at the presidency with a whopping 75% not wanting her anywhere near the White House.

And then PPP asked a new question, this one about the now famous drunken brawl.

And this was the response: 

Finally 30% of voters in the state think the Palins instigated the recent brawl they were involved in to 18% who think it was the other parties involved, although 52% have no opinion.

Okay well I am not sure how it is possible that over 50% of people have not heard of the brawl, but to me that is the only thing that explain such a high number having no opinion.

Because if you know the Palins, you KNOW they instigated this thing.

However I will admit that I got my hair cut last week, and the lady doing it had never heard of the brawl, nor did any other person in the shop that day. So, perhaps the problem is that we still have not managed to spread this story far enough yet.

Well let's see if we can rectify that, shall we?

The organization contributing millions to fund Dan Sullivan's campaign against Senator Mark, lies about receiving donation of $300,000 from his wealthy parents.

Courtesy of The Center for Public Integrity: 

Republican super PAC American Crossroads misidentified its second-largest donor last month in paperwork filed Friday with the Federal Election Commission. 

The group, co-founded by GOP strategist Karl Rove, listed the Glenmede Trust Company as giving it $300,000 on Aug. 29, part of the $1.7 million American Crossroads raised in August.

Sadly for Karl Rove's super PAC the Glenmede Trust quickly  denied making any such contribution, and even contacted American Crossroads to have them change the paperwork.

Which they did:

Several hours later, however, American Crossroads filed an amended report to the FEC that now identifies the $300,000 as coming from Thomas and Sandra Sullivan, the parents of U.S. Senate candidate Dan Sullivan of Alaska. Lindsay confirmed the super PAC changed its report but declined additional comment.

Wait, what? But..but aren't American Crossroads like the BIGGEST donor supporting Dan Sullivan's campaign right now?

And doesn't that kind of mean that Sullivan's parents are essentially financing his campaign to the tune of $300,000 in donations?

Why yes, yes it does.

American Crossroads says it has spent more than $1.3 million in Alaska's U.S. Senate race and reportedly plans to spend $5.5 million in the race.

Must be nice, thanks to the Citizens United case, to have parents with hundreds of thousands to spend on your campaign, and deep pocketed supporters from all over the country, almost exclusively outside of Alaska, willing to donate many more millions to help you win in a state where you are a relative newcomer. 

Have I mentioned that Senator Begich's father died quite a number of years back?

Yeah he died while serving Alaskans as their last Democratic Congressman, in a very suspicious plane accident. After which the seat has been continually held by Republican Don Young, a man who could not beat Nick Begich in an actual election.

So sadly Mark Begich does not have parents with loads of money, and a SuperPAC willing to funnel it to him on their behalf.

All he has is integrity, and a desire to do the work for the people of Alaska that his father's untimely death interrupted.

Republican Senate candidate Dan Sullivan attacks Mark Begich for "pretending to ride a snowmachine" in campaign ad. Really?

Courtesy of The Wall Street Journal:  

Alaska Democrat Mark Begich drew high praise from fellow Democrats and Republicans for his TV ads that have, among other things, depicted him riding a snowmobile across his state’s frozen tundra, then hopping off to tout his support for oil drilling. 

But Republican challenger Dan Sullivan’s campaign isn’t so sure that it’s actually Mr. Begich. The former state attorney general is out with an advertisement Wednesday that says the Democrat is “pretending” to ride a snow machine, as the vehicles are known in Alaska. 

And it’s not the first shot at Mr. Begich’s authenticity and dedication to Alaska, which the Democrat has made the centerpiece of his re-election bid – his slogan is “True Alaska.” Last month, Americans for Prosperity knocked Mr. Begich for missing votes in the Senate, an effort to undercut the heart of his message.

Here is the ad that inspired this attack on Begich.
Of course Begich took umbrage at the attack to his honesty and had this to say in response:

But Begich said Wednesday that Sullivan, who’s challenging him in one of the most critical Senate battlegrounds of the cycle, should “pull that ad. It’s not factual.” 

In an interview, Begich described the lengths to which he went to shoot the spot. 

“One guy for example, wore an AR-15 around his shoulders because the area we were going to is where polar bears are, and he wanted to make sure we weren’t going to be attacked,” Begich said. “To say that I wasn’t on that snow machine riding it? I rode it for a long time out there and in weather that was very cold that day to the point where I frostbit part of my ear.” 

You know attacking Begich for political points of view is fair game, but the man is a tried and true Alaskan. And he doesn't have to shoot a gun, wrestle a grizzly, OR ride a snowmachine to prove that to any of us. 

I met Mark when he was a pimply faced high school kid, and even then he was involved in politics. There was never any doubt he was going to run for something when he grew up.

Both my daughter and Dennis Zaki have made commercials up here so I am well aware of the tricks of the trade, and it is pretty clear that Begich is indeed out in the elements. And since driving a snowmachine is not that hard I have little doubt that was he was one of the three snowmachiners riding up to the camera as well.

And by the way I find it a little insulting to my intelligence that the same ad where Sullivan  attacks Begich for fake snowmachine riding, ends with footage of Sullivan fake running in a area that I doubt he has ever even visited before.