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AK-Sen: Mark Begich Explains How Ted Stevens is Out of Touch |
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As mayor of Anchorage, Alaska, Mark Begich has defied the conservative stereotype of Alaska politics being a popular Democratic mayor, first beating an incumbent Republican and then getting reelected by a record margin. Now he has decided to take on Senator Ted Stevens, who not only is under an ethical cloud, but as Begich points out, has become out of touch with the average Alaskan voter. In a conference call, Mayor Begich listed an array of issues where Senator Stevens has decided his judgment is better than that of Alaskans:
- The Jim Webb GI Bill — This is the bill that, somehow, McCain is against as well. The bill would basically give the same benefits to those who are serving in the military now as were received by veterans of WWII. Stevens has argued that this is a bad idea because it would encourage enlisted soldiers to leave the military and not re-enlist. An interesting note here is that Begich mentioned that Alaska has a very high veteran population — about 12% of adults in the state.
- No Child Left Behind — Begich explained that NCLB is extremely unpopular in Alaska, where he hears complaints about it all the time. Stevens, however, still strongly stands behind the program, refusing to acknowledge the problems.
- Native American Health Care — You would think that a Republican would want to allow for more local control and less federal involvement. Yet, according to Begich, Stevens is blocking the ability of Alaskan Native American communities from providing their own health care — something they can do cheaper and better.
- Right to Privacy — When it comes to the Telecom bill, Real ID and the Patriot Act, Stevens has consistently voted to expand the government's power to invade the personal lives of its citizens. This is an issue as Alaska has one of the strongest libertarian movements, and strong privacy provisions are written into the Alaskan Constitution. This is a big issue in the state and Stevens is on the wrong side.
- Minimum Wage — Despite the high cost of living in Alaska, Stevens has consistently voted against raising the Minimum Wage.
While this race originally was on the potential pick-up list for Democrats due mainly to Stevens' corruption issues, as well as the general corruption issues of the whole of the Alaskan GOP, Begich appears to be an excellent candidate. He is not only a popular Democrat in a traditionally Republican state, but he is Mayor of Anchorage, which provides 43% of Alaska's registered voters. The most recent poll, a Rasmussen survey from early April has the race basically tied — 46% for Stevens and 45% for Begich. But my guess is that once the rest of Alaska meets Mark Begich and hears his views, his support will increase — and the more the state listens to the 2008 version of Ted Stevens, the more they will reconsider whether or not they wish to rehire him.
To learn more about Mark Begich, please visit: www.begich.com
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