As lawmakers gathered in the U.S. Senate on Wednesday to vote on a plan to expand background checks for gun buyers, staffers in the office of Alaska Democratic Senator Mark Begich fielded a steady stream of calls urging him to break with his party and vote against the measure.
Those callers got what they wanted: Begich voted no - one of four Democrats from gun-friendly states to do so - and the most ambitious gun-control push in two decades went down to defeat.
It was an impressive show of force by the National Rifle Association, which reaffirmed its reputation as one of Washington's most powerful interest groups by turning back one of President Barack Obama's top second-term priorities.
Here's the thing, if Begich thinks the NRA is going to fund his campaign over that of his GOP rival in 2014 then he may be too stupid to hold public office.
And will this vote mean he will get even ONE more Republican vote in this state?
Very damn unlikely!
All Begich has done is to reinforce the VERY worst of his detractors characterizations of him. That he is a career politician who will do and say ANYTHING to hold on to his seat.
And that is exactly what the Democrats in this state DON'T want in their representative.
What the NRA has done is to demonstrate how spineless Mark Begich is, and that with enough pressure applied he can be threatened, bribed, or fooled into doing just about anything that lobbyists want him to do.
He could have earned respect. He could have stood for something, He could have been the man that his father, the late Congressman Nick Begich, could have been proud of, but he is not.
Here is a final word from the sister of one of the Sandy Hook teachers that sums up my disgust pretty effectively:
“My sister wasn’t a coward that day, she protected our kids,” said Soto, sister of slain teacher Victoria Soto. “Why aren’t they protecting us?”
That young woman stood up to a barrage of bullets, why can't Mark Begich, and the other 45 cowards in the Senate, stand up to a barrage of NRA directed phone calls?
Buh bye, Markie....I hope someone primaries you because I do so hate to have to leave the oval blank, but in your case, I will, again.
ReplyDeleteI only hope that Begich loses in a Democratic primary and not to a Republican in the general election. If he isn't challenged in a primary, he'd still be a thousand times better than sending another Republican to the Senate. Those are the sad facts of the matter, and, perhaps, why he did what he did.
ReplyDeleteMark IS a Republican, what's the diff?
DeleteI was very disappointed w/Begich over his vote and notified him that he will no longer receive my support or vote.
ReplyDeleteSo did I. If he thinks this vote means that the rabid right will not lie about him, smear him, and will actually vote for him, then he's an idiot.
DeleteI just cannot fathom how it must be to live in Alaska. Majestic beauty with an ugly soul.
ReplyDeleteHey, there are lots of wonderful beautiful places full of reprehensible politicians, pick a state, any state and you're bound to find at least one that gives that state a "black eye".
DeleteGiven our low population at least we only have to deal with one House Rep and the requisite two Senators that every state is burdened with.
Trick is, not to get too invested in any of it, politically that is. Do your duty, vote, or not, depending on whether there is a candidate that represents your views. Otherwise, just chill and enjoy the scenery.
what he did was shameful and cowardly.
ReplyDeleteNow that Mark has lost the democratic voters in Alaska, who does he think will vote for him, republicans? I have a question, is there anything more we can do in the U.S. to make it easier to arm domestic terrorist?
ReplyDeleteMarky thinks his seat depends upon the state Independent voters. After all, it was mostly Independents and weak-kneed Dems who put Lisa back in office. Perhaps it does. But this is one Independent voter who is really hoping someone with more integrity to democratic values shows up to challenge him.
ReplyDeleteI told him as much on his Facebook page and most of the comments there I was in agreement with. He's getting nothing from me again!
ReplyDeleteI suspect that if we had any idea he would vote that way, he would have been deluged with calls from us before the vote and not after. I certainly never expected it. I hope Scott McAdam challenges him in a primary. Otherwise, even disappointed in him, I'll vote for him again. What would be our other choice...Joe Miller?
ReplyDeleteLeave it blank. Why vote for someone just because they are the "lesser of two evils"? That is what is wrong with the system today. Just don't vote for anyone if you can't agree with their politics.
Deletei sent e-mails to both begich and murkowski saying that i would never vote for either of them again. dems need to have dems on the ballot that actually believe as the rest of us dems do. (check the national democratic values)
ReplyDeleteJim Graves Posts Big Fundraising Numbers After Announcing Michele Bachmann Rematch
ReplyDeleteJim Graves, the Democratic businessman who recently announced that he'd be challenging Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) in 2014 as he did in 2012, is off to a hot start in terms of fundraising, Politico reported on Thursday.
The Graves campaign told Politico it had drawn over $100,000 in donations in the week since he officially announced his second effort to topple Bachmann.
He'll need to keep up the pace. Bachmann has made a name for herself as a prolific fundraiser, a reputation that she kept this month after posting a first-quarter fundraising total of nearly $675,000.
But massive amounts of cash may not necessarily correlate to results. During the 2012 cycle, Bachmann raised an impressive $14.4 million, and ended up outspending Graves by a 12-to-1 margin. Despite that, Graves only lost to Bachmann by about 4,300 votes.
And Bachmann is already facing a steeper climb than she did in 2012. Her former presidential campaign is facing a variety of ethics complaints. While Bachmann has claimed that everyone involved will be cleared of any wrongdoing, her former chief of staff announced this week that he'd testify in one of the cases and confirm allegations that Bachmann's campaign made improper payments to Iowa State Sen. Kent Sorenson (R).
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/19/jim-graves-fundraising_n_3116894.html
Shelley's goin' DOWN!!!
If these people want to raise morons that are unfit for ANY job, excepting perhaps fast food fry cook or barista, then go for it! Your children will never be part of a functional society and there may be a time where they meet others outside of their christian homeschooling and find that they've been, to borrow a christian term, "left behind".
ReplyDeleteSo sad that these religious idiots have set their children up to never ever be able to succeed in this world. Talk about your food stamps and welfare; these type of kids will be your new welfare and food stamp beneficiaries, and they will remain on assistance their whole lives, while clutching their bible and talking about how unfair the world is.
Onward christian soldiers, marching off to poverty, ignorance and unemployment!