My View: Joe Miller vs. Lisa Murkowski (What it means for Alaska)

Joe Miller, right-wing nut or Alaska's savior?

As we creep ever closer to the November election. It appears more and more that this will be a 2 horse race. McAdams will get a majority of the liberal vote I'm sure, however, most Alaskans aren't liberals. Most Alaskans are Independents and Republicans. Even with Lisa as a write-in candidate I don't think McAdams has a snowballs chance at a rodeo at winning this seat. In fact I would place money that Lisa will pull it off and make some history in the process.

1) Joe Miller really isn't a political newcomer. He made a run for the Alaska State House in 2004 (lost to a democrat).

2) Despite not being a political newcomer he is inexpeienced politically.

3) He doesn't walk the walk. Despite all his tough talk about being a constituational conservative, he himself has taken advantage of the programs he has called unconstitutional. (Farm subsidies anyone?) At the very least this damages the strength of his conviction and principles.

4) Has never ran a business. This is often the Republican battle-cry as why so many over-educated (is there such a thing?) liberals are not fit to hold public office.

5) He comes off as a bit of a wack job. Now granted, I think most politicians come off as wack jobs, something about talking out both sides of your head does this to you. I've watched and listened to the interviews and while it is very much the 'in' thing to talk about how so many government programs are unconstitutional he has very little to say to back up why. Isn't he supposed to be a lawyer?


Lisa Murkowski on the other hand needs to learn how to run a campagin. In all honesty she deserved to be beat by Joe Miller. She took one look at him and saw no threat whatsoever and so decided to treat him as such. Had she gone out and campagined like her seat depended on it she would have won the primary and had a much easier time of this whole election. Perhaps this was a lesson in respect she needed to learn.

There is no possible way anyone can convince me that Lisa Murkowski didn't have more support than Joe Miller for the primary. Joe Miller just proved far more capable at getting his supporters out to vote for him.

Not to go without airing Lisa's dirty laundry, her write in campagin makes her reek of entitlement, especially after breaking her pre-election promise of listening to 'the will of the people' that she made with Joe. The fact that her voting record put her on the top of most Tea Party hit lists, while she had 1 and 1/2 terms to make herself a champion of smaller government and reigning in spending is also a sad fact. Sadly she was just going with what most of the republican party was doing.

Hopefully this will teach her a lesson as when she retains her seat (as I believe she will), she will go on to represent Alaska as the true conservative senator we demand and deserve.