Free Republic

If Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski attempts a write-in bid to keep her seat in the November election — and she will decide by Friday — her Senate GOP colleagues will not support it. Several Republican senators told The Hill this week they are backing primary winner Joe Miller, an attorney who shocked the political establishment with his Aug. 24 victory over Murkowski, 51 percent to 49.  “I’m a big fan of Lisa’s, but I usually go with the primary winner,” said Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama.  “I don’t think it’s a good idea for her,” said Sen. James Inhofe of...

Did this talk about taking back Denali National Park seem weird and off-the-cliff to you? It shouldn't have because we were forewarned. Instead of 'What the...?!', our reaction should have been 'Ah-ha'. Why on earth did Joe Miller pick on Denali right away? Couldn't he be content with more modest targets, then quietly work up to ... the crown jewel of the Alaska National Parks which everybody in the entire nation instantly recognizes? We were forewarned, because we now have "Guns In Parks." The key part of the new rules is that the regulation of guns in the national parks...

The day after shooting a man who robbed his store at gunpoint, owner and pharmacist Jeff Fenwick talks only with 5NEWS about why he felt he had no choice but to pull the trigger. Fenwick called what happened yesterday morning life-changing. He walked 5NEWS through the surveillance video step by step, explaining what was happening along the way. Fenwick says he feared not only for his life but for the employees he cares about. "He told us he was just here to check the store out and this is him here pulling the gun out of his pocket," Fenwick said...

Fairbanks, Alaska. August 31, 2010 Earlier this evening, I received a call from Senator Murkowski honorably conceding the race. I want to thank her for a hard fought contest. Tomorrow, the general election begins. But tonight I'd like to reflect back on the amazing feat we accomplished together. We started from a handful of people knowing who we were and what we stood for to now being the Republican Party nominee. I want to thank the many people that made it all possible. First the people of the Great State of Alaska. As I traveled throughout the state, I met...

Political Hay Joe Miller, RINO Killer By Robert Stacy McCain on 8.30.10 Joe Miller's ascent to political stardom has been astonishingly sudden. When I first interviewed Miller in early July, he was "Joe Who?" After last Tuesday's stunning upset -- defeating Sen. Lisa Murkowski by 1,668 votes in the Alaska Republican primary -- he has become a hero to grassroots conservatives nationwide. That Miller has beaten Murkowski is something the incumbent has not acknowledged. After coming up short on Tuesday night, the senator said she would not concede until the absentee ballots had been counted and then held a Wednesday...

<p>Republican U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski will concede tonight in the Alaska GOP senatorial primary which remained unresolved after last Tuesday's voting, ....</p>

Murkowski Presser in 15 Minutes. I hear the "C" word. No, the other one. No, the other one. Concession. Buzz buzz: Claim that staffer says she's calling her family as a prelude to concession. Understand that this stuff isn't really super-vetted but it's all I'm hearing and besides I heard something like this three hours ago but wasn't allowed to say anything. That's all he's got.

Anchorage police have identified the man shot during a late-night weekend robbery attempt in Spenard. Robert Kost of Anchorage, 23, was killed just past midnight Sunday at the 800 block of West 23rd Avenue. Another suspect was injured during the incident, and police say an investigation is in its early phases. Police say there were multiple shell casings found on the floor. “They demanded something they demanded money and valuables and other items of this nature,” said APD Sgt. Slawomir Markiewicz. “We know that several people came in. One was shot and killed. We are still looking for other people...

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...

Joe Miller's lead over U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski slightly narrowed to 1,668 votes with all the election precincts counted Wednesday. A stunned Murkowski said she is not giving up hope until absentee ballots are counted starting next week. "It ain't over yet, folks," Murkowski said at her campaign headquarters in Anchorage. "There are thousands of absentees that are yet to come in." Miller was leading with 47,027 votes to 45,359 for Murkowski after the final precinct results came in late Wednesday afternoon. More than 16,000 absentees were requested from the Division of Elections and about 7,600 of them have come...

Posted 14 mins. ago ### As of this morning, with nearly 98 percent of the statewide precincts reporting, Joe Miller’s lead over incumbent Senator Lisa Murkowski in the Republican primary has shrunk a bit, but the challenger still has a just under 2,000 vote lead. Late last night, Miller credited his volunteers. Murkowski’s campaign manager, Steve Wackowski, said the the results so far are not altogether a surprise.

. . . She was urged by senior leadership at the National Republican Senatorial Committee to go negative on Miller in a meeting two months ago but rejected that advice, insisting that attack ads were not how politics were conducted in Alaska, according to a source familiar with the gathering. By refusing to define Miller early on in the race, Murkowski gave away her biggest advantage: money. (On Aug. 4, Murkowski reported $1.86 million in her campaign warchest; Miller had just $84,000 in the bank at that time.) As the votes were being counted, Miller gave full credit for his...

A decorated Gulf War veteran was holding a narrow lead over Sen. Lisa Murkowski in the Alaska Republican Senate primary, as ballots continued to be counted Wednesday in what could shape up to be a stunning political upset. Polls taken before primary day had shown Murkowski, a two-term senator from an Alaska political dynasty, leading handily against the first-time candidate. But challenger Joe Miller insisted all along that the state's polling was unreliable -- as of Wednesday morning, Miller held a 2,000-vote lead. With 98 percent of precincts reporting, he had 51 percent and Murkowski had 49 percent. The number...

FAIRBANKS — Alaska Peacemakers Militia leader Schaeffer Cox helped resolve a tense situation Wednesday night between Alaska State Troopers and a man accused of threatening his neighbor with a BB gun. Troopers were called to 10 Mile Chena Hot Springs Road just after 6:45 p.m. after Darrel Harpham reported being threatened by his 62-year-old neighbor, Bradley Keith Baker. Harpham heard an alarm going off at Baker’s home, and concerned about Baker’s recent health problems, climbed Baker’s gate to check on him, according to a criminal complaint filed in court. When Harpham met Baker, Baker confronted Harpham with what he described...

Tuesday 24 August 2010 Alaska - Primary Arizona - Primary Florida - Primary Oklahoma - Runoff (US House CD 2-R, CD 5-R, Ins Comm-R) Vermont - Primary

Here's an interesting little quiz about the accomplishments of one of America's best known contemporary governors. See if you know the identity of this individual from the following facts: * This governor challenged a corrupt incumbent of the same political party and won a come-from-behind victory nobody saw coming. * This governor then challenged the now-former governor's cronies, who were informally organized in a group known as the CBC, or "Corrupt Bastards Club." Several of the latter now reside at public expense at isolated locations where they can't do any more harm. * This governor forced the Big Oil companies...

Friends say Pantagraph commenters always claim it’ll be a wild frontier if non-criminal Illinoisans carry legal self-defense firearms. Nonsense. I’ve been to self-reliant, truly wild America, without law enforcement or crime because inhabitants carry guns. Affiliations, status, education, wealth or lack of it are meaningless. You’re judged by the look in your eye. I recall in a primitive saloon in wilderness Alaska just south of Yukon River, fishermen, loggers, gold-panners, hunters and trappers discussed guns with me. Rugged alpha men, they exuded manners, politeness, kindness and self-confidence. Outside were stray dogs they all cared for. An old male “neighborhood grizzly”...

In a case that could establish a precedent for gun rights advocates, no charges have been filed against a hiker who shot a grizzly in self-defense in Denali National Park on May 28, 2010. The man and his girlfriend--their names were not released--were hiking in brushy country near Tattler Creek when he heard noise to his right. He drew his .45 caliber semi-auto handgun. A grizzly came out of the brush 25 feet away and charged. The man fired seven to nine rounds. The shooting occurred three months after Congress passed a controversial law allowing people to carry loaded guns...

FAIRBANKS -- A Fairbanks bar owner helped nab a suspected burglar on a night last week in what he called a "textbook sting" right out of a TV show or movie. On Wednesday morning, John Jackovich, who has owned the Big I bar for the past four years, discovered someone had pried the plywood covering off a hole on the south side of the bar. The hole, which leads to the basement, was the result of previous construction at the bar. But rather than call police and report the break-in, Jackovich decided he was going to find out who was...

FAIRBANKS — Officials at Denali National Park and Preserve have released no new details or information regarding the fatal shooting of a grizzly bear by a hiker on Friday in the 6-million-acre park south of Fairbanks. Park officials on Tuesday still had not released the name of the hiker who shot the bear, and rangers are investigating the shooting to determine if it was justified, according to park spokeswoman Kris Fister. She did not say if the park service was contemplating criminal charges against the shooter. A new law passed by Congress in February made it legal to carry firearms...