GOP Senate challengers fall short

Not since Ted Turner fired his son at the dinner table has there been such turmoil in a high profile family

With an embattled party chairman, a public rift between top Republican politicians and the first competitive U.S. Senate race in twenty years, these are challenging times for party of Lincoln. Throw in a long history of fractious political maneuvering and welcome to the Alaska Republican Party’s summer of love.

Randy Ruedrich emerged unscathed as party chairman, even hailed as a survivor. His survival was made possible by the fear of a hard right turn. In an election year with a critical primary and a feisty right wing, protecting control of the party was deemed more important than protecting the credibility of the party. To draw attention away from the unpleasantness, the governor blamed the media for Ruedrich’s ethics violations. Blatantly ignoring the Republicans who instigated the charges.

The group hug didn’t end there. U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens characterized Lt. Gov Leman’s endorsement of Mike Miller in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate as jumping off a bridge with his eyes wide open. Gov. Murkowski was equally distressed, especially after receiving news of the endorsement via voice mail, just hours after spending the weekend with Leman in Petersburg.

But with a wink and nod to the chairman’s ethical lapses and the Soprano’s approach to primary competition, the all-important higher moral ground is being lost. Primary races are supposed to provide the opportunity for eligible voters to contrast and compare candidates before making a nominating decision. Protecting the guilty while snuffing out opposition does nothing for the Alaskan Republicans who believe in choice. As a life-long Republican I say the more voices the better, so long as everyone is held accountable for his or her records.

Mike Miller spent eighteen years in the legislature. Loren Leman spent fourteen years in the legislature. That’s three decades leading Alaska and where are we today? This month the governor will convene a special legislative session to address a budget crisis that has plagued Alaska’s ability to attract investments and prosper. During the last decade of fiscal uncertainty, both of these guys consistently avoided making the tough decisions to protect Alaska’s economic health. We shouldn’t fear them.

Lisa Murkowski simply needs to point to the scoreboard.

On January 19, 1999, Murkowski was sworn in as a freshman state representative, inheriting a billion dollar budget deficit from the previous legislature. She didn’t blame outgoing Senate president Mike Miller, who was one of the leaders responsible for handing off the budget crisis. She quickly realized tough positions had to be taken and started taking them. And when career politicians continued to avoid making the tough decisions, she spoke out.

At a March 21, 2000 press conference, I stood with Rep. Murkowski as she cautioned about the cost of inaction on the fiscal gap. She voiced concerns about the need to protect the state’s economic health and stabilize the dividend. During four years as a legislator, Murkowski engineered two fiscal plans that would have solved the fiscal crisis, balanced the budget and protected a growing dividend. During eighteen years as a legislator, Miller failed to advocate for a solution let alone engineer any viable solutions.

Since getting appointed in December of 2002, Murkowski has been creating a record as our junior U.S. Senator. Her positions and votes on critical issues along with questions about how she was appointed by her father will be fiercely debated until Election Day. That’s good, because being accountable is never bad.

And while the November general election will provide a formidable challenger in Democrat Tony Knowles, the primary challengers appear to be more opportunists than opponents. According to federal campaign records, Miller donated $250 to Murkowski’s re-election campaign last August. And today she’s too liberal?

Is this a case of love gone wrong or just plain politics?

The fact is party primaries provide the opportunity to closely evaluate candidates leadership and history. And history has taught Alaskan Republicans one consistent lesson about leadership; the far right will never have what it takes to lead Alaska.

Lets tango.