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Murkowski Is ‘Insanely Un-Libertarian’ UPDATE: ’99% . . . No Way’ Murkowski Will Get LP Nomination, Official Says

Posted on | August 27, 2010 | 30 Comments

The deal that Palin-hater Andrew Halcro is trying to broker to secure Lisa the Loser’s Senate nomination on the Alaska Libertarian Party ticket strikes many people as odd, simply because Murkowski is the kind of GOP Establishment type that LP activists loathe in their souls. And at least one top national LP official isn’t afraid to say so:

Wes Benedict, executive director of the Libertarian National Committee, told The Daily Caller that Murkowski hardly fits the Libertarian Party mould. “As far as I’m concerned if Murkowski is for bringing our troops home and for ending the war on drugs and if she voted against the TARP bailout and she is for reducing spending then maybe she could earn a spot on the Libertarian ballot,” he said. “But my understanding is that she voted for the TARP bailout and that is just insanely un-Libertarian.”

(Yeah, I was just compelled to link the Daily Caller for that quote. Life sucks sometimes)

There is much cause for conservative supporters of Joe Miller to be discouraged by the current situation, including the fact that I just got hit with an unexpected $678 repair bill for the 2004 KIA — life sucks sometimes — but we’ll leave that aside for a minute.

The far larger problem is that Team Murky is much better-funded and far more devious than the grassroots activists (and hired GOP clonebots) running Team Joe. What I’m hearing from Anchorage suggests that the Miller people don’t seem to grasp how a game like this is played, whereas the Murkowski crew is playing it like the ruthless political mercenaries they are.

Although Andrew Halcro’s obsessive hatred of Palin is such that he may be working as an unpaid freelance operative for Team Murky, he advertises himself as a political consultant. It is therefore likely he’s getting paid (if not by the Murkowski campaign, then by her Big Money supporters) to play matchmaker between Lisa and the LP.

Meanwhile, the LP people say Joe Miller’s campaign staff seem unduly cautious about reaching out. While Miller’s grassroots supporters are friends with the Libertarians — well-acquainted through common activism in the Tea Party movement — the paid staffers at Team Joe are regular Republican operatives, some of them from out-of-state. And not all of them seem to be taking the Libertarian Party seriously.

Which kind of explains the Tweet that one of those staffers sent out on Miller’s Twitter account:

“What’s the difference between selling out your party’s values and the oldest profession?”

Now, if that got spun as a dig at Murkowski, there would have been public-relations hell to pay, so the follow-up Tweet from Miller depicted it as being aimed at the Alaska LP:

“Please accept my apologies. Staffer trying to encourage Libertarians not to sell out.”

Good news: The LP people in Alaska have a sense of humor: “We don’t view prostitution as necessarily being a bad thing,” one Libertarian said. They understand and are not holding that one against Miller.

Bad news: This embarrassing incident is just one example of how the Miller campaign staff is badly misplaying their opportunity with the LP.

If Team Joe wants to “encourage Libertarians not to sell out,” they could try this simple and direct solution: Have either the candidate or his campaign manager make a phone call to Alaska LP chairman Scott Kohlhaas and arrange to meet for a cup of coffee.

It would be that simple, but that hasn’t happened yet.

Remember, first thing Wednesday morning — as soon as it became clear Murkowski had come up 1,668 votes short in the primary — Halcro called Kohlhaas to open negotiations, and Halcro is in direct communication with Murkowski.

All it would take to end this talk of Lisa the Loser becoming America’s Least Plausible Libertarian is for Alaska LP officials to say, “No deal.”

But — you knew there was a “but” coming, didn’t you? — the LP people aren’t going to make that kind of statement if Team Joe doesn’t show them some respect. So we’ve got something of a Mexican standoff that seems to be caused by a belief among key people at Miller HQ that it would be beneath the dignity of a Republican Senate nominee to reach out directly to those wacko Libertarians.

That’s discouraging, but now some good news: I’m informed that Sarah Palin has taken notice of the situation — she’s in Hershey, Pa., for a speech tonight, prior to her appearance Saturday at the Beck rally in D.C. – and is aware that LP Senate nominee is a fan. Don’t underestimate Mama Grizzly’s savvy.

More good news: Despite what Erick Erickson’s sources told him about Team Murky offering a “sizeable chunk” of Lisa the Loser’s million-dollar campaign account in exchange for the Libertarian Senate nomination, the LP people say they haven’t gotten one red cent from her, nor has anyone made a firm offer to the LP. No money has exchanged hands and no deal has been struck.

Meanwhile, Kohlhaas and other LP officials are being indundated by phone calls from Alaska and national media, but on-the-record public statements from Libertarians remain noncommital.

Call the LP whores if you wish, but they certainly aren’t stupid whores.

UPDATE: Just got off the phone with Alaska LP vice chairman Harley Brown who said, “More than likely — 99 percent — there’s no way Murkowski is going to be our nominee. I don’t see that happening, honestly.”

Furthermore, Brown dismissed as “completely ludicrous” any report that the Alaska LP has accepted or agreed to accept money from the Murkowski campaign. “That’s just somebody running their mouth . . . just a rumor,” Brown said.

Brown is an advocate for the legalization of marijuana, and said his original motivation for joining the Libertarian Party was former Gov. Frank Murkowski’s strong anti-drug policy.

Brown says the LP is willing to meet with Murkowski — it would be “rude” to reject such an offer, he said — and he is “flattered” that the Libertarian Party spot on the ballot is suddenly so coveted. He and other LP activists “worked our butts off” to get enough petition signatures to keep from getting “kicked off the ballot,” he said.

The attention national and statewide media are now giving the LP is “great publicity,” Brown said, and the Libertarians hope it will help their party.

Just a crazy idea: If Joe Miller’s supporters were to contribute to the Alaska LP — hit their tip jar, as it were – that might be an effective way to send a “No Murkowski” message.

UPDATE II: I’d promised to say more about that $678 repair bill, and have now kept my promise.

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Category: Alaska, Election, Joe Miller, Sarah Palin, Senate

Comments

  • http://knappster.blogspot.com Thomas L. Knapp

    It’s disgusting that this is even being tossed around as a possibility.

    Either the Libertarian Party is a political party or it’s not.

    If it is, well, they’ve already nominated a candidate. That candidate should be concentrating on running like hell against the other parties’ candidates, and his party should be concentrating on supporting him in doing so.

    If it isn’t, then it should quit wasting space on the ballot and voters’ decisionmaking time.

    Either way, it shouldn’t even entertain the idea of being the GOP establishment’s bitch.

  • http://knappster.blogspot.com Thomas L. Knapp

    It’s disgusting that this is even being tossed around as a possibility.

    Either the Libertarian Party is a political party or it’s not.

    If it is, well, they’ve already nominated a candidate. That candidate should be concentrating on running like hell against the other parties’ candidates, and his party should be concentrating on supporting him in doing so.

    If it isn’t, then it should quit wasting space on the ballot and voters’ decisionmaking time.

    Either way, it shouldn’t even entertain the idea of being the GOP establishment’s bitch.

  • Dan

    Keep up the great work. I really appreciate you looking into this. I am just sick over how such a great thing (Miller winning) is now in jeopardy due to shenanigans and corrupt dealmaking.

    Where are the other GOP big wigs from the senate telling Lisa to stop all this third party nonsense?

  • Dan

    Keep up the great work. I really appreciate you looking into this. I am just sick over how such a great thing (Miller winning) is now in jeopardy due to shenanigans and corrupt dealmaking.

    Where are the other GOP big wigs from the senate telling Lisa to stop all this third party nonsense?

  • jefferson101

    It sounds about right to me.

    I don’t find it at all unbelievable that the RNSC would rather see a Democrat elected than have to face a Republican that they don’t control.

    They’ve shown us that fact already, several times.

    I’m not going to be too abrupt with them, this year. But if they aren’t brought to heel by 2012, I’m ready to start a third party.

    Short term, a RINO is perhaps better than a Democrat. Long term, there’s no difference, and that’s got to change, which means that the RINO’s have to go join Arlen Specter.

    Either they can be honest, and Democrats, and out of office, or they can lie and be RINOs, and still be out.

  • jefferson101

    It sounds about right to me.

    I don’t find it at all unbelievable that the RNSC would rather see a Democrat elected than have to face a Republican that they don’t control.

    They’ve shown us that fact already, several times.

    I’m not going to be too abrupt with them, this year. But if they aren’t brought to heel by 2012, I’m ready to start a third party.

    Short term, a RINO is perhaps better than a Democrat. Long term, there’s no difference, and that’s got to change, which means that the RINO’s have to go join Arlen Specter.

    Either they can be honest, and Democrats, and out of office, or they can lie and be RINOs, and still be out.

  • http://powip.com Dan Collins

    Really wonderful that the NRSC is going all out to try to get us our own effing Al Franken.

  • http://powip.com Dan Collins

    Really wonderful that the NRSC is going all out to try to get us our own effing Al Franken.

  • Dan

    God I hope she can’t pull any nonsense here and run third party.

  • Dan

    God I hope she can’t pull any nonsense here and run third party.

  • http://thecampofthesaints.wordpress.com Bob Belvedere

    Great reporting, Stacy – thank you.

    Let us hope that Mr. Miller learns the lesson of never trusting the RRO’s.

  • http://thecampofthesaints.wordpress.com Bob Belvedere

    Great reporting, Stacy – thank you.

    Let us hope that Mr. Miller learns the lesson of never trusting the RRO’s.

  • Hostile Knowledge

    The GOP country club elite are devastated over Murkowski’s defeat.

    Once again they are being reminded that they are no longer going to carry on the Republican Party’s politics-as-usual crap.

    It’s damn well about time.

  • Hostile Knowledge

    The GOP country club elite are devastated over Murkowski’s defeat.

    Once again they are being reminded that they are no longer going to carry on the Republican Party’s politics-as-usual crap.

    It’s damn well about time.

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  • Estragon

    The whole idea that Murky might be able to get/buy the LP nomination was bat-shirt crazy from the start.

    She’s pretty solidly up and down the issues on the opposite side of the LP, so there was no possible ideological marriage. It would have to be a cynical transaction at the least – LP giving away their nomination for the chance at electing “their” first Senator, who wouldn’t vote Libertarian!

    Now, for Murky to in effect purchase the nomination for cash would probably violate federal election laws (which govern all campaigns for federal offices, including party primaries and nominating processes), but does anyone seriously think she would not be roasted high and low in Alaska for the attempt to buy her way back into the Senate?

    She’s cold, soggy, burnt toast. It’s over – but it came as a total shock to her. She’s used to stuff being handed to her because of her Daddy, getting “her” office taken away must have hit her like Paris Hilton getting her credit card turned down: it just canNOT happen!

    Recount? BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Those familiar with American electoral history will tell you that about the most shift you can hope for with a recount is 0.2%, and to get that almost everything has to go your way. More than that just isn’t going to happen except through fraud.

    Drat the luck! Murky’s been a nominal Republican, so she doesn’t have the fraud machine in place and ready to go at moment’s notice like the Democrats.

    It is OVER. Give her a day or two so it can sink in, and the offers from lobbyist firms to come in, and she’ll be okay with everything.

  • Estragon

    The whole idea that Murky might be able to get/buy the LP nomination was bat-shirt crazy from the start.

    She’s pretty solidly up and down the issues on the opposite side of the LP, so there was no possible ideological marriage. It would have to be a cynical transaction at the least – LP giving away their nomination for the chance at electing “their” first Senator, who wouldn’t vote Libertarian!

    Now, for Murky to in effect purchase the nomination for cash would probably violate federal election laws (which govern all campaigns for federal offices, including party primaries and nominating processes), but does anyone seriously think she would not be roasted high and low in Alaska for the attempt to buy her way back into the Senate?

    She’s cold, soggy, burnt toast. It’s over – but it came as a total shock to her. She’s used to stuff being handed to her because of her Daddy, getting “her” office taken away must have hit her like Paris Hilton getting her credit card turned down: it just canNOT happen!

    Recount? BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Those familiar with American electoral history will tell you that about the most shift you can hope for with a recount is 0.2%, and to get that almost everything has to go your way. More than that just isn’t going to happen except through fraud.

    Drat the luck! Murky’s been a nominal Republican, so she doesn’t have the fraud machine in place and ready to go at moment’s notice like the Democrats.

    It is OVER. Give her a day or two so it can sink in, and the offers from lobbyist firms to come in, and she’ll be okay with everything.

  • Kojocaro

    for the first time in my adult life i agree with thomas l knapp

  • Kojocaro

    for the first time in my adult life i agree with thomas l knapp

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  • Kojocaro

    btw palin is not perfect she might do things we disagree with but i still like her

  • Kojocaro

    btw palin is not perfect she might do things we disagree with but i still like her

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