Tag: alaska

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Senator Collins Slams Justices Kavanaugh & Gorsuch Over “Inconsistent” Roe v Wade Decision

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An interesting segment on Fox News’ The Story w/Martha MacCallum(06/24/22) delved into the feud brewing between Senator Susan Collins(R-Maine) and conservative Supreme Court Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch over the decision by the high court to overturn Roe v Wade, a 1973 precedent that legalized abortion in the United States. According to Fox News Congressional Correspondent Aishah Hasni, Senator Collins is not just upset because she was misled during the Senate confirmation hearings on questions about respecting precedents, but also because this bombshell decision comes at a time of great division in the country, and she fears the decision will only widen the divisions.

Senator Collins issued a statement saying:“This ill-considered action will further divide the country at a moment when, more than ever in modern times, we need the Court to show more consistency and restraint. Throwing out a precedent overnight that the country has relied upon for half a century is not conservative. It is a sudden and radical jolt to the country that will lead to chaos, anger, and a further loss of confidence in our government.”

Senators Collins and Lisa Murkowski(R-Alaska) have apparently introduced a bill which aims to codify Roe v Wade, so we’ll see how far that goes.

Bottom line folks, Republicans routinely dismiss criticisms of the out-of-touch Roberts Supreme Court as simply “rantings of the radical left.” it will be interesting to see how they deal with the very sharp criticisms leveled at the high court by moderate Republican Susan Collins, and especially, her written assertion–not AOC’s or The Squad’s–that what the court engaged in re Roe v wade was “not conservative” but rather, “a sudden and radical jolt to the country that will lead to chaos, anger, and a further loss of confidence in our government”, which essentially translates to an extremist court.

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Is It Time To Go To Non-Partisan Primaries To Address Growing Polarization?

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A segment on MSNBC’s 11th Hour w/ Stephanie Ruhle(06/22/22) delved into the very interesting discussion as to whether, given the staggering levels of polarization in the country, we should change adopt a non-partisan primary voting system. Ruhle’s guest Nick Troiano, Executive Director of Unite America, says this change, which is already in place in several states, notably Alaska, would incentivize candidates to look for support beyond their party affiliation thus making them more likely to seek bipartisan solutions to problems. Unite America is a national organization trying to bridge the growing partisan divide by supporting political reforms and candidates who put people over party.

Troiano told 11th Hour host Ruhle(video at 1:22):“I think we spend a lot of time focused on who we elect, not enough time focusing on how we elect, because it’s the systems of our elections that are really pushing our parties further and further apart, and I think our politicians, as a result, are much more polarized than we the people. We’re not seeing the types of solutions and bipartisan policy making in Congress as the American people want and deserve, and the core reason of that is because of our system of partisan primaries. In the last election, it was only 10% of Americans who elected 83% of Congress, because the vast majority of our elections are decided not in the general election in November, but in the primary election, and that problem is getting even worse this election cycle after the latest round of redistricting. We’re going to have the least competitive elections of our lifetime. It’s going to lead to the least accountable Congress of our lifetime. So if we want different outcomes out of Congress, we have to change the process, and fortunately, there’s a growing movement to do that at the state level all across the country.”

Below are some of United America‘s suggested reforms

Troiano singled out the primary system in Alaska as the “best example” of what should be emulated nationwide, if we are going to address the growing polarization problem. He said: “Senator[Lisa]Murkowski was one of the 14 Republicans who voted to advance the bipartisan gun legislation. She’s the only Republican up for election this year, and what’s notable is that this is the first time where the Senator doesn’t face a partisan primary. She’s standing for election in front of all Alaskan voters because in 2020, Alaskans adopted a ballot measure that replaced both parties primaries with a single non-partisan primary. So all the candidates compete in one election, all the voters get to participate on that ballot, the top four finishers go to the general election and through an instant runoff, whomever wins the majority of support gets elected, and so it gives voters more voice and choice in elections, and it incentivizes candidates and leaders to campaign and be responsive to the whole constituency, not just the 10% who may vote in a partisan primary. Now imagine if additional states were to adopt this reform, we can have dozens of our elected leaders in Congress finally being able to be responsive to the majority of Americans and not the political extremes.”

Troiano also said non-partisan primaries would encourage more people to throw their hats into the political ring without fear of being labeled “spoilers”, something he acknowledged, keeps a lot of otherwise good candidates from both parties, on the sidelines.

Bottom line folks, non-partisan primaries is a very interesting suggestion indeed, which Yours Truly hopes, will be given serious consideration given the crippling levels of polarization in our politics today. Simply put, when the likes of Boebert(CO) and MTG(GA) start showing up in Congress, then reasonable people will agree, that the selection system is surely broken!!

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Why Sen Murkowski Is Highly Likely A NO On Kavanaugh



While mainstream media political pundits have been busy trying to figure out how Sen Susan Collins(R-ME) will vote on Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court, very little has been discussed about the fact that out of all GOP Senators, it is Sen Lisa Murkowski(R-AL) and not Sen Susan Collins who is most likely to vote NO on Kavanaugh. This point appears lost to all the beltway political pundits.


Luckily it turns out the Lisa Murkowski angle is not lost to one Jennifer Bendery of the Huffington Post who penned a brilliant piece on this subject–an absolute must read folks. Bendery’s article clearly illustrates that contrary to popular belief, Sen Murkowski is under significantly more pressure than Sen Susan Collins when it comes to the Kavanaugh confirmation issue. As a matter of fact, based on Bendery’s reporting, Lisa is almost certainly a NO on Kavanugh at this juncture.

So you say, “@Emolclause you full of it. Why would you make such a gigantic leap of faith on Murkowski?” Here’s why. There is a case currently pending at the U.S. Supreme Court, Sturgeon v Frost, in which the court will have to decide who controls Alaska’s waters–the state or the federal government.  As it currently stands, Alaska has federally protected waters where native Alaskan tribes survive on subsistence fishing. Sturgeon’s argument(the plaintiff) is that the state of Alaska should control its own waters not the feds. A win for Sturgeon at the the U.S. Supreme Court would therefore threaten the way of life (subsistence fishing) of the native Alaskan tribes, who played a major role in Sen Murkowski’s election victory. Kavanaugh’s previous decisions at the DC Circuit Court apparently line up with Sturgeon’s argument for state over federal control of Alaskan waters and the locals are making it crystal clear to Sen Murkowski that she must vote NO on Kavanaugh.

Therefore unlike Sen Collins who is pressured by Mainers mostly over Roe v Wade questions, here you have Sen Murkowski who is getting flooded by calls from native Alaskan fishermen who put her in the U.S. Senate, telling her a vote for kavanaugh would literally upend their way of life. This is why Yours Truly argues that Sen Murkowski is under more significant pressure than Sen Collins and is at this juncture an almost definite NO on Kavanaugh. It cannot also be left unsaid that other factors like Kavanaugh’s controversial “vetting” process(hiding documents) and the fact that he is one of the least popular Supreme Court nominees ever, also support Yours Truly’s conclusion that she is less likely to jeopardize the livelihoods of her native Alaskan fishing communities(her voting block) for a Supreme Court nominee as flawed as Kavanaugh–one who there is already talk of impeaching even before he is seated on the high court. Voting for Kavanaugh despite desperate pleas from Alaskan fishing communities, her loyal voting block, would literally make Sen Murkowski the hands down winner of the world’s “most deplorable person” contest.

Bottom line Alaskans, like Mainers must continue putting pressure on Sen Murkowski. There’s a very good chance she will vote NO on Kavanaugh as a result of desperate pleas from Alaskan fishing communities.

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