Lisa Murkowski breaks my heart. Update!!

Sen. Lisa Murkowski said she would not support Judge Sonia Sotomayor, President Barack Obama's nominee to the Supreme Court, during a speech on the Senate floor Wednesday.

"After lengthy introspection, I rise today to inform my colleagues that I am unable to support the nomination of Judge Sotomayor to serve on the Supreme Court," Murkowski said in prepared remarks released by her staff. "This is a difficult result for me because I have grown fond of Judge Sotomayor on a personal level."

NOOOOOO!!!

I cannot adequately express my disappointment in Murkowski's decision.

After the drubbing Alaska has taken from the rest of the country over the fact that we chose a witless beauty contestant runner up to lead our state, many of us were counting on Lisa Murkowsi to show the kind of intelligence and common sense lacking in our ex-Governor.

Sotomayors IS going to be confirmed. And Murkowski's decision not to confirm her based on "speeches as well as her decisions in key cases involving the Second Amendment and property rights", does nothing to help put to rest the impression left by the McCain campaign that Alaska is filled with uneducated racists.

Now more than ever Alaska needs a strong female politician who can show the world that we are well educated, erudite, and progressive. I had hoped that person could be Lisa Murkowski, and I am sorry to see her pandering to the fringe hate groups of the GOP.

The speeches to which Murkowski alludes have been more than adequately explained by the media and Sotomayor herself, and the only people who have a problem with them, in my opinion, are those who are looking for an excuse to vote against this more than qualified candidate.

YIPPEE!! Mark Begich votes YES on Sotomayor!

After weeks of mystery, Mark Begich has finally announced he's a yes vote on Sonia Sotomayor — an hour before the confirmation vote.
So he'll lose points with the National Rifle Association, but he's also not up for reelection for another five years.


“Today, following one of the most thorough confirmation processes in Senate history, I am honored to vote to confirm Judge Sonia Sotomayor for the U.S. Supreme Court," Begich said.

"... During our meeting, I told her that Alaskans believe especially strongly in the Second Amendment and our right to bear arms, that we cherish our personal privacy and privacy rights and that we strive for a careful balance between protecting our state’s unmatched beauty and the need to develop our natural resources. Judge Sotomayor told me that she understands and appreciates these strongly held Alaskan and American values. "


Wow just when I had about given up hope for Alaskan politicians, Mark Begich lifts my spirits back up.

Thank you Mark.