Some of Murkowski's most direct comments came in response to a question from Lora Wilke on the Coffee Table about her position on reproductive rights. That prompted Murkowski to speak about a trend she sees in the national debate.
"I think what you're sensing is a fear, a concern that women feel threatened, that a long settled issue might not be settled," Murkowski said.
She cited things like conservative radio commentator Rush Limbaugh's remarks about a female Georgetown University law student, which Murkowski called "offensive, horribly offensive."
"To have those kind of slurs against a woman ... you had candidates who want to be our president not say, 'That's wrong. That's offensive.' They did not condemn the rhetoric," Murkowski said.
On abortion and contraception, Murkowski made her views clear.
"The right to a safe and legal abortion has been affirmed by the courts, and I stand by that," she said. "I will continue to support funding Planned Parenthood."
From her perspective as a Republican, Murkowski said she can't understand why some in her party have raised reproductive rights as an issue.
"It makes no sense to make this attack on women," she said. "If you don't feel this is an attack, you need to go home and talk to your wife and your daughters."
I have a very difficult time getting a good handle on Senator Murkowski.
On the one hand for years she has been a toady for the oil companies, and even allowed two energy company lobbyists to write amendments on her behalf.
However on the other hand she embarrassed the shit out of Palin's pet asshole, Joe Miller, and essentially derailed the Teabagger's attempts to represent Alaska in the Senate.
In my opinion Murkowski's Senate seat may be one of the safest ones in the country.
After what happened in the 2010 election I don't think there is anybody who can beat her up here.
And that means she can actually stand up to the Right Wing fanatics without fear of serious reprisal. And that is something that we need to see more of within the Republican party.
Sure she got all caught up the in the GOP fervor about "religious freedom" for awhile, but then she saw the light. ("I have never had a vote I've taken where I have felt that I let down more people that believed in me.")
So as much as it pains me to give credit to a Republican, especially an ALASKAN Republican, I have to say that I am proud of Senator Lisa Murkowski for speaking up, not only for the women of Alaska, but also for the women in the rest of this country, who are currently standing shell shocked while the GOP works to take away their rights one by one, with NOBODY in the party willing to take a stand on their behalf.
Until now.
I actually think it is important to congratulate and praise Republicans when they do something right. You know what they say about positive conditioning!
ReplyDeleteBut really: good on you Senator Murkowski!
Now, do you think you could have her do something about what happened on Tuesday? Like talk about what a tragedy it is to disenfranchise thousands of Alaska citizens? And how wonderful it is that the ACLU has taken an interest in correcting the problem.
Patricia, I agree with everything you say.
DeleteIt is imperative that thinking conservatives stand up to the lunatics of the right and, when they do, they should be supported. And while we're at it, we shouldn't be encouraging ideologically driven closed mindedness on the left either.
I think that after her vote on the Blume Amendment she caught so much hell from women in Alaska that she knew she'd better do something to amend her ways. I've never voted for her and never will....hate watching her speak - she always makes me nervous when watching her face.
DeleteIt's too bad Lisa wasn't concerned about the GOPs War on Women when she voted FOR the Blunt Ammendment to restrict the reproductive rights of women that she *claims* she wants to defend...
ReplyDeleteBINGO. Too little, too late: Meme of the Republicans nowadays.
DeleteAgreed - she was for it before she was against it - it is easy to say anything when you are away from DC and not up for election
DeleteI think that maybe Lisa sees after the vote for the Blunt Amendment, that she let down us moderates that put her back into that seat. I was appalled that she toed the party line in that vote. I would never have voted for her except for the fact that she appeared to back women's' rights. I was proud that she took that stand yesterday in Homer, but she will not win back my confidence until she takes that stand in DC!
DeleteI'm glad she said this and I hope Sarah Palin chokes on it.
ReplyDeleteSee, this is why you shouldn't pay attention to people who don't matter. Because you do, you miss your current Governor, who's 888000 times worse than Palin because he's bad and completely independent of her.
ReplyDeleteAnd speaking of the Republican war on women, AK state rep Wes Keller (Palin apointee and an elder in her Wasilla Bible Church) does not want to honor the Girl Scouts because, according to internet rumors, they might want to get abortions or something. So are AK and AZ in some kind of competition for the most crazy-assed legislators?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.adn.com/2012/04/05/2409758/wasilla-representative-delays.html
Keller is extreme and a religious freak and should be dumped next election cycle. Cannot abide the guy! He is NOT good for Alaska!
DeleteOT: Thomas Kinkade, artist of schlocky rainbow and sunbeam paintings with a Christian theme has passed away.
ReplyDeleteI didn't think much of his art, but I liked his style
I couldn't get down with all that candle light coming from his windows.
DeleteHis houses would have burned to the ground in reality.
Kinkade was not an artist. He was an illustrator. A very good one.
DeleteI like his work and as I type I can look up at a framed illustration hung above me. It's lovely! And, the only one I have of his work. I have to say that I've enjoyed it for a number of years.
DeleteMr. Kinkade died way too young! May he RIP!
i am a dem, but kinda like murkowski.
ReplyDeletemurkowski spoke the truth. repubs will be coming after her with torches and pitchforks. obama 2012
ReplyDeleteRepubs can't touch her now.
DeleteKinkade - better he had lived and his paintings died. They are a blight.
ReplyDeleteMurkowski - you need to make a distinction Gryph, between Republicans and TeaTHUGlicans. The former are tolerable when they aren't pandering to the latter.
She has been bought off by the oil companies.
ReplyDeleteThe latest Catholic rag is bashing her for standing up for women's reproductive rights. I am sad for her being in this position.
I'll believe it when she works to undo the ridiculous attempts at denying women rights. I'll believe it when she changes party affiliation. She should be profoundly embarrassed by what has been happening in Congress.
ReplyDeleteA stopped clock is right twice a day.
ReplyDeleteIt's encouraging to see a GOP Senator take a stand and to do so publicly like she has. Yes,she voted for the Blunt-Rubio Amendment, but I did get the impression that she sincerely regretted it and did not see it for what it really was in the minds of the Tea Party Taliban. Anyway, it' heartening to see speaking out on women's rights. And she's taking a big risk in doing so.
ReplyDeleteLimbaugh, Palin, the Tea Party Taliban, and other far right co-workers will not be happy. But women will be, and we don't forget this stuff.
All the right wing media and many others think this will all go away come November. So tell me ladies, do you forget things like this. Ever. Ever?
Hopefully this was the beginning of a growing awareness on Lisa's part that she no longer has to kowtow to the GOP. She won her re-election in the face of nasty right wing opposition, and as far as I can see, she can pretty much follow her conscience, and nobody can touch her. I was pleased (and surprised) at her most recent stand. Maybe enough Alaska women got her attention over the Blunt Amendment to wake her up. I hope it's just the beginning of a new and improved Lisa who works for us and not for the puppet masters. I will cheer her all the way.
ReplyDeleteBegich is NOT a liberal, he's one of the "Blue Dog" Democrats. He is a LINO.
ReplyDeleteBegich is owned by big oil in Alaska. He walks lockstep with the conservative Republicans in our state and fears the extreme right. His votes reflect not the Alaska Democrats or Alaska women, but fall more along Teaparty lines. He is an disgrace to those Democrats who elected him into office. What a douche! I would guess he supports the "Stand Your Ground Laws" too boot. What a coward.
DeleteI'm not buying it. She wasn't sorry for being part of the war on women until she got back here in Alaska and the women here handed her her ass. Total hypocrite. Actions speak louder than words.
ReplyDeleteYep, she did vote for the Blunt Bill and when she got home realized that she could lose the women voters so she flip-flopped.
DeleteAs an Anchorage Democrat, the thing I like about Senator Murkowski is that she is not predictable. I think it's a good quality in any politician, to demonstrate that he or she is actually thinking and listening, not just following the party line. Granted, Sen. Murkowski DOES follow the party line on many issues, and I don't agree with her OR with Democrat Senator Begich on ANWR and some drilling issues, but I am glad that we have both of them representing us in Washington. I feel like they are both smart, hard-working and dedicated to the job. And I feel like they both listen.
ReplyDeleteGet your head out of your ass. They both vote in line with the republican dogma. They don't represent THIS Alaskan!
DeleteMurkowski voted with the rest of the Republicans to continue subsidies to big oil, against President Obama's bill to end same. Begich crossed party lines and voted with the Republicans; Snowe and Collins voted with the Democrats.
ReplyDeleteI am not sure Murkowski can be trusted for anything other than her self-preservation.
Boy you guys are tough!
ReplyDeleteI am trying to give Lisa the benefit of the doubt here. Jesus, ALL of the Republicans can't be a waste of space!
Can they?
Benefit of the doubt...are you nuckin'futz?
DeleteTalk is CHEAP.......SHE VOTED ~~FOR~~ THE BLUNT AMENDMENT!!!!.
She can flap her gums from her to kingdom come...she KNEW FULL WELL what she was doing...just as she KNEW YOU DON"T GET "DO OVERS" WHEN YOU CAST YOUR VOTE IN THE SENATE.
AND...she didn't HAVE TO...Murkowski sure as hell does not owe the republican party anything after the last election and further to that...SHE KNEW IT WOULD NOT PASS ANYWAY!
That would have been the EASIEST vote for her to make...if she were not..lying through her teeth!
For chris sakes Gryphen you ought to know better....when it comes to politicians, it's not what they SAY....but what they DO.
Look at it this way, if she'd given women and their rights to their own bodies any thought whatsoever, it would and should have been easy to vote against the Blunt Amendment. It SHOULD have been a NO brainer! We DO pay her salary. To represent US, the people of her state. All the people. The Republicans currently sitting in office care only for the pledge they signed to their leader. They care only about being re-electable. She is no exception. She is what happens when citizens vote scared.
DeleteWhat about Lisa protecting women and Shailey Tripp from Todd Palin?
DeleteWhen will there be an investigation into Todd Palin's pimpimg business?
I've never been a supported of Lisa - she's done too much flip/flopping around during the past years and been called out for it/them.
DeleteShe needs to pay attention to what is going on in Alaska and go after the Palins.
I think the thing about Sen. Lisa is that when she is wrong, she will admit it, and tries to mend the errors of her ways. Some may call it flip flopping, some may call it having her cake and eating it too. However, many of her Republican colleagues just keep the same old banter going, feeding off each other, and trying to get the biggest sound bite on Faux news. That is the problem...no one will admit when they are wrong, and they just keep talking louder and in circles about the same old stuff.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate Sen. Lisa's hard work, and her stand on Women, Planned Parenthood, Don't ask, Don't tell, the Dream Act, her staunch support of the troops, and everything Alaska.
SHE GOT CAUGHT! It's called Pandering. She is in big oil's pocket.
DeleteHOLD THE PRESS!
ReplyDeleteBefore everybody salutes Murkowski, what does Murkowski have to have to say about Alaskan men pimping out Alaskan women?
Does Murkowski have a stand on that or is she willing to turn a blind eye to the Palins like the Anchorage Police Dept and the rest of the Alaskan law enforcement community?
If the law enforcement - Anchorage Police Dept is willing to destroy evidence even when the court ordered them to return Shailey Tripp's personal possessions and also fabricate lies to the media at the request of the Palin lawyers then who in Alaska is going to step up and protect the women of Alaska from Todd Palin?
If not the Anchorage Police or the judges then what about our elected officials?
Lisa Murkowski?
Where are the Alaskan women?
DeleteDo they condone men pimping women in Alaska?
Do Alaskan women have the same Christian family values as Sarah Palin where she excuses men for their bad behavior towards women as Boys Will Be Boys?
Do all Alaskan women turn a blind eye towards Todd Palin?
Where are the Alaskan female politicians and female law enforcement?
People should contact Murkowski, Begich and Young regarding the Palins (although I'm sure they are already very much aware of Todd and Sarah's misdeeds!) and send each of them a copy of Shailey's book "Boys Will be Boys"!!!
DeleteJust to let you know.....USA channel has To Kill a Mocking Bird on Sat night with a special note from our prez
ReplyDeleteOT- now Bristle is talking to TMZ--says Levi owes $38,000. TMZ.com
ReplyDeleteThe Palins look foolish to everyone but the bots.
How come she always votes with her Republican colleagues? And how come she doesn't call them out on their misogyny on the floor of the Senate? Sen. Murkowski is like the Republican women senators from New England - all talk until its time to vote and then she votes with the rest of the Republicans in a block.
ReplyDeleteMurkowski has previously been an advocate for women's rights, and took a lot of bashing for it from CPG at a town hall in Palmer not long before her vote on the Blunt Amendment. Obviously she was swayed by the vocal minority and when she got home she heard from an appalled majority of Alaskan women, including myself.
ReplyDeleteShe deserves credit for admitting a mistake. I believe she is sincere and it will be a long time before she makes another of that magnitude.
She also deserves credit for the courage it takes to say, in effect, that her party has gone off the rails and needs to get back on task with the things they should be working on. She has voted with the party a little too often, but has regularly gotten in trouble for not doing so, as well. I wish we could get rid of the two-party system and give a little breathing room to independent thinkers like Murkowski. We need more of them.
When I grew up in Texas, which at the time was virtually 100% Democratic and Southern conservative Bible Belt, there was much more diversity in choice of politicians.
DeleteProbably becasue their (re)election was based on how well they looked out for their voters, whether local, state on federal.
Then the Republicans began to gain a place and it is now just a bunch of cheats and liars trying to out cheat each other.
There are good politicians like Lloyd Doggett and Lena Guerrero(d.) but they are few and far between.
She's just trying to rehabilitate her image, like Sandra O'Connor did after the Bush v Gore obscenity. Cowardly opportunists.
ReplyDeleteTo Hell with both of them.
Granting she is reacting to protect her reelection. However ain't it a bitch that the real rogue woman politician from Alaska isn't Palin, it is her arch enemy.
ReplyDeleteGotta love it.
Any female politician who is against women is likely to hit the wall very quickly. They have not excuse for hating their own and women won't forgive them like they sometimes do men.
She isn't running for re-election. (Home schooled, were ye?)
DeleteIf I lived in Alaska, I would not be proud of her.
ReplyDeleteWORDS ARE CHEAP.
Remember, she VOTED FOR the Blunt amendment.
She is nothing but a repug hypocrite, talking out of both sides of her mouth.
Rachel Maddow Calls On GOP To Appoint Sen. Murkowski ‘War On Women’ Spokesperson
ReplyDeletehttp://www.mediaite.com/tv/rachel-maddow-calls-on-gop-to-appoint-sen-murkowski-war-on-women-spokesperson/
Could it be just another of RM's attempts to get cowardly Rethugs to appear on her program?
DeleteYears ago there were often times that I agreed with a Republican legislator on the local, state or national level. On occasion, I've even been known to vote for one when I thought they were a candidate who better represented my interests.
ReplyDeleteHowever, the GOP has gone so far to the radical right these past few years that it's newsworthy when one of them actually does something right and stands up for ALL their constituents, not just those with tea bags hanging from their hats.
I am willing to give Murkowski (provisional) credit for taking a stand against the GOP, but ONLY if her future actions support her words. Talk is cheap and she needs to prove that she's not just pandering to those who put her in office.