Libby Casey, APRN – Washington DC
Two of Alaska’s candidates for U.S. Senate took to the national airwaves this weekend – throwing punches and setting a tone likely to continue until Election Day. Senator Lisa Murkowski defended her plan to run as a write-in candidate, and Republican nominee Joe Miller defended his views, including his belief that unemployment benefits are unconstitutional.
Murkowski appeared on the Cable News Network’s State of the Union with Candy Crowley, where she accused Miller of budget cutting extremism.
“He is suggesting to us, in my opinion, and the opinion of many many Alaskans, some pretty radical things. You know we dump Social
Security, no more Medicare. Let’s get rid of Department of Education, elimination of all earmarks,” Murkowski said. “You know he has taken an approach that is just plain and simple more radical of where the people of the State of Alaska are.”
Meanwhile Joe Miller appeared on Fox Cable’s news channel, where he opined to host Chris Wallace that Murkowski is out of touch.
“Well, obviously Chris she’s not listening very well to Alaskan voters,” Miller said. “Because we had largest turnout in the history of Republican voters in the history of the state, and they said resoundingly, well, 2000 votes, that’s as resounding as it gets, that the views that we’ve expressed during this campaign are the views that the future of this state needs to embrace.”
“So i think she’s got a real disconnection from reality thinking that the voters of Alaska are extreme.”
Miller said assistance programs or entitlements that aren’t directly listed in the Constitution should be handled by the states.
While Miller and Murkowski battled on national television, Democratic candidate Scott McAdams campaigned in Anchorage.
And meanwhile, in Iowa, which is a sort of preview spot right now for people who are considering running for president two years from now, Sarah Palin gave the keynote speech at the state Republican party’s annual dinner honoring former president Ronald Reagan.
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