WTF is going on in Alaska

[...of J.Temperance]

With the Senate race between Ted Stevens and Mark Begich?

The polls I saw pre-election and post-guilty on seven counts of fraud, all of these polls had Mark Begich with pretty good leads....now we have this strange situation going on in Alaska.

Generally, the national and statewide polls the day before the election were rather accurate, give or take 2-3%....so are we to believe that ONLY the Alaska Senate race polls were totally out of sync?

Dunno, to me, the Alaska Senate race seems like somethings rotten in Denmark.

Other thoughts:

Minnesota Senate race....a week ago I predicted that Al Franken would unseat Norm Coleman, Coleman's "lead" is now down to 200 and some votes....with some 6,000 votes left to recount, I hold to my prediction that Al Franken will win this.

Georgia Senate race....December 2nd run-off, I believe that Jim Martin CAN unseat Saxby Chambliss, BUT in order to do this, Martin needs a huge turnout in places such as Atlanta....this race will be simply about who has the better GOTV campaign on December 2nd.

IF Jim Martin unseats Chambliss and Al Franken unseats Coleman, this gives us 60 Senate seats....the problem then is, will we have 59 Senate seats still because of Holy Joe.

If Holy Joe remains in the Democratic Caucus this gives us 60 Senate seats, if he leaves, it gives us 59 Senate seats.

Holy Joe will be in for a nasty shock if he joins the Republican Caucus, the GOP ONLY like him because he's FANATICALLY pro-Iraq War and FANATICALLY pro-Israel at ALL costs.

The Republican Party is now basically the party of Extreme Right-Wing Fundies, anti-Choice, anti-gays, anti-stem cell research, pro-Social Security privatization, pro-Dominionist Theocracy etc.

Holy Joe is pro-Choice, pro-gay rights, pro-stem cell research, not sure where he is on Social Security privatization....I think he's anti-Dominionist Theocracy.

So it appears that Holy Joe is fucked, the Democrats REALLY don't want him, but the Republicans REALLY don't want him either.

It's a pity that Connecticut doesn't have a Democratic Governor, if they did, then President Obama could make Holy Joe Ambassador to Outer Borneo or something, and then a Democratic Governor of Connecticut could replace Holy Joe by appointing an actual 100% Democrat to that Senate seat.

Sadly Connecticut is stuck with the GOP woman Governor Jodi Rell *sigh*

Sorry if I've rambled, I just had a few thoughts I wanted to go public with.


On Edit: Dammit spelling error

[BrklynLiberal]

1. STOLEN ELECTION IN ALASKA?

http://shannynmoore.wordpress.com/2008/11/06/stolen-election-in-alaska/

Something stinks. Not just an ordinary low tide smell. Not like something you’d blame on the dog. It smells like an infection. For me to plug my nose, I’d have to overlook some curious facts.

In Alaska, more people voted for George W. Bush in 2004 than for Sarah Palin on Tuesday despite an identical 61-36 margin of victory. Yes. Only four years ago 54,304 Alaskans got off their sofas and voted for Bush, but decided to sit home and not vote for Palin in 2008. In turn, I have to ignore the 30,520 Alaskans who felt progressive enough in 2004 to vote for John Kerry, but weren’t inspired to vote for Barack Obama. I would have to glance past the 1,700% increase in the Democratic caucus in February, the 20,991 newly registered voters, and the three largest political rallies in Alaska’s history. I would also have to forget the people I stood in a long line with to early vote. It would be helpful not to know every other presidential election since Alaska began keeping records has had a larger turn out than the one we just had with our own Governor on the ticket. Try not to remember 12.4% more Alaskans showed up for the August primary as compared to four years ago, before the Palin nomination. Don’t think about the Lower 49’s record voter turn out this year either. Try to delete the memory file, though difficult, that 80% of us approved of Sarah Palin just two months ago.

Something stinks. You don’t care? Obama won. Yes. He. Did! Free at Last! Wait. Democracy demands all of the votes be counted…if you can find them.


more at above link..

[...of J.Temperance]

3. Theory:

They needed Stevens to "win", he's going to be convicted and sent to jail, which means he can't serve in the Senate.

Palin is Governor, she gets to appoint someone to replace Stevens....she appoints herself, this keeps her in national politics until 2012, as opposed to reducing her to regional politics as Governor of Alaska.

McNut made a gaffe a few weeks ago, or WAS it a gaffe, when he called her "Senator Palin", instead of calling her "Governor Palin"

[RaleighNCDUer]

5. Don't think she can appoint herself -

she'll have to give Todd the job.

[...of J.Temperance]

8. That'd work for them too

Todd Palin as Senator would keep her in national politics until 2012.

[Earth Bound Misfit]

12. Alaska's law on senatorial succession was changed twice in 2004

-- once by the Legislature, and once by ballot initiative. Both laws call for a special election within 60 to 90 days of the vacancy. But they disagree on whether the governor appoints an interim senator in the meantime.

The Alaska Supreme Court would ultimately have to decide which law the state follows.

[...of J.Temperance]

15. And the Alaska Supreme Court is

Republican dominated I suppose?

[Earth Bound Misfit]

16. They recently...

rejected an effort to stop the "Troopergate" investigation, maybe they're not exactly "big fans" of hers.

[...of J.Temperance]

18. Well then, one can hope n/t

[Blue_In_AK]

28. No, they're not.

I've known the Chief Justice since 1977, and she's a wonderful progressive person. She ascended to her Superior Court judgeship after having been the state's chief Public Defender for several years, and it took her no time to make it to the Supreme Court, being highly recommended by the state's attorneys. She has an excellent mind.

I haven't kept up that much with the other members of the 5-person court, but they've made some good rulings in the past few years -- as in assuring same-sex benefits for state employees, etc., and continuing to uphold the 1975 Ravin decision which legalizes the possession of small amounts of marijuana here.

I have confidence in our Supreme Court.

[BrklynLiberal]

19. The gov does not appt anymore. There is a special election.

The law was changed after Murkowski (sp?) appointed is daughter to the Senate after he left it to become Gvoernor.

[...of J.Temperance]

22. If this comes to a special election

Then hopefully Mark Begich will win, the DNC and President Obama's people, in the event of a special election, need to FLOOD Alaska with poll watchers AND lawyers.

I should add that I think the reason we prevented Pennsylvania and Virginia from attempted theft, was because the DNC and the Obama/Biden people had so many poll watchers and lawyers in those two states making sure NO hanky-panky occured.

On Edit: Added comment

[BrklynLiberal]

23. I would hope they will be very vigilant, as they should be during the GA runoff..

[...of J.Temperance]

24. Absolutely, agreed on Georgia too n/t

[Blue_In_AK]

26. The most she could appoint herself for

would be 90 days. We have to have a special election within 90 days of a vacancy. The governor could appointe an interim replacement, but to do that, she would have to step down as governor. That seems to be a risky step to take, since she's not particularly popular with the Republican Party establishment here.

[SteppingRazor]

2. Actually, if Martin and Franken win, doesn't that give the Dems 59, not 60?

Assuming Stevens wins in Alaska, of course.

[...of J.Temperance]

6. D'oh, you are right

I just looked at my notes from last week, and I had assumed that Mark Begich would win that Alaska Senate seat, well, lets face it, Begich did probably win....the Alaska GOP probably threw a bunch of Democratic votes out and gave them to the Mooses to eat.

So minus Holy Joe it'd be 58 Senate seats....Jaysus if ONLY we could convince Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe that they are not wanted in the Extreme Right-Wing Republican Party, convince them that Republicans in New England are going the way of the Dodo, and get them to Caucus with our side.

On Edit: Added comment

[SteppingRazor]

10. Alternatively, Obama could appoint either Collins or Snowe to his cabinet...

or Arlen Spector in PA. Then, the Democratic governor replaces the outgoing senator with a Dem -- poof, 60!

[...of J.Temperance]

14. These would be smart moves

I say go for it....although I loathe Spector, he's not a Moderate Republican like Collins and Snowe are, he just pretends to be Moderate, Spector never saw a piece of W legislation that he didn't like, he also comes across as a TOTAL ass-licker.

[Alexander]

7. Yes, but Begich could still pull it off in Alaska.

If we win all three of the remaining Senate races, we reach 60.

[SteppingRazor]

13. Granted, though I'd put both AK and GA as very unlikely at this point. n/t

[...of J.Temperance]

17. GA is more optimistic than AK I think

But as I mentioned in OP, Georgia is going to be about who has the better GOTV campaign, if Jim Martin's people can get a huge turnout in Atlanta, he could unseat Chambliss on December 2nd.

It'd be very satisfying to remove Chambliss, his disgusting campaign against Senator Max Clelland proved him a pig....Clelland, a man who left two legs and an arm in Vietnam, smeared by a Chickenhawk Chickenshit like Chambliss.

[SteppingRazor]

20. A lot of it is GOTV, but...

I think a runoff between these two candidates is a far better deal for Chambliss than Martin. First, Chambliss got more votes in the Nov. 4 election anyway. Now, remove the Libertarian candidate (who garnered 127,000 votes in Georgia), and Chambliss looks even better. It will be extremely difficult for Martin to pull this off, though I don't dismiss it as impossible.

[...of J.Temperance]

25. You could be right

But I hold out hope for Jim Martin :)

[TheKentuckian]

4. Alaska is a freaking frontier outpost

Its time for Federal oversight up there.

[Sebastian Doyle]

9. Well this is a historic day: A DLC'er actually admits to the existence of election fraud!

The motivation in Alaska is obvious: This is all about Moosealini. Stevens has to "win" so the senate can throw him out, Palin can appoint herself "temporarily" to the seat, and then run in the special election, which will also be stolen.

Ensuring not only another corrupt Senator from Alaska - and one less Democrat in the Senate - but also the continuation of the right wing's love affair with Tundra Barbie, whose functionally illiterate soundbites from the Senate floor will become a staple of the corporate media news. :puke:

[...of J.Temperance]

11. NO, I've always said that 2000 Presidential Election was stolen

I've always said that Vice-President Gore won and that Florida was stolen....and that something weird happened in Ohio during the 2004 Presidential election.

Yes I'm DLC, but I'm NOBODY'S rubberstamp....I'm an independent thinker, and if I think somethings wrong, then I'll say so.

[AkFemDem]

21. I'm not surprised. Stevens has been good to the state

he is a pork-master, and Alaskans have benefitted nicely from that pork. Alaskans don't want "change" because financially, the same ole same ole benefits us.

Honestly most people I know never believed the national polls about Begich. It's too bad, he's a good guy- but we all figured Stevens was going to win. There is a reason the crooked old man is elected time after time after time after all.

[...of J.Temperance]

27. Utterly astonishing

From a state that elected Tony Knowles.

[Blue_In_AK]

29. I think I disagree with you, FemDem

Did you see the map on the back page of the Daily News this morning that shows where Begich is ahead and where Stevens is? If I recall correctly, conventional wisdom has always been that Stevens did well because of largesse to the Bush, but all the rural areas are solidly blue. The red areas are the Valley and the Kenai Peninsula (not surprising) and Anchorage -- which to me IS surprising.

Plus the very low number of votes seems extremely suspicious to me. And why would McCain/Palin pull fewer votes than Bush/Cheney did in 2004? Could it be that some of those McCain/Palin supporters also voted for Begich and so disappeared down the rabbit hole? It's not out of the question because Mark took great pains not to badmouth Sarah during the campaign.

With so many undeclared and nonaffiliated voters here, I'm sure there were lots of split ballots.