2016 AK Senate race: on Government Reform


Cean Stevens: Individual rights over state's rights

Too many times politicians speak of "State's Rights" while railing at the over reach of larger governmental entities. "State's Rights" is not mentioned in the US or Alaska constitution. Ultimately, inalienable rights belong to the individual citizen, and no other entity. Not federal government, not state government, nor any business or corporate entity. Coercion by larger governmental entities is still coercion. Insomuch as individuals do not infringe on another's life, liberty, or property government at any level does not have the right to interfere.
Source: 2016 Alaska Senate campaign website, CeanStevens.com Mar 10, 2016

Lisa Murkowski: Scrutinize states with a history of voting discrimination

In a sign of just how much the Republican Party has shifted on the Voting Rights Act since the bipartisan landmark civil rights bill was passed 50 years ago, Lisa Murkowski signed on to a bill to restore the now-gutted legislation. The bill that Murkowski now cosponsors, the Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2015, would revitalize the VRA by forcing states with a history of voting discrimination to clear any proposed changes to their election laws or procedures with the federal government. Voting rights advocates and Democrats have demanded a fix since the Supreme Court invalidated a crucial section of the VRA in 2013 that mandated such federal scrutiny for jurisdictions across the country, including Alaska.

But such a fix has stalled in the Senate, as the chamber's Republican leadership has resisted any calls to restore the legislation. Murkowski's support is also surprising because she said in 2013 that she didn't sense much of a motivation to restore the VRA in Congress.

Source: Huffington Post coverage of 2016 Alaska Senate race Sep 10, 2015

Lisa Murkowski: Opportunity to vote, regardless of where people live

Murkowski now supports the Voting Rights Advancement Act, but she said in 2013 that she didn't sense much of a motivation to restore the VRA in Congress: "I'm not sensing there is this drive," she told the Alaska Public Radio Network. "Right after the Supreme Court ruled on this there was a lot of discussion, a lot of talk going around, but you didn't hear this unanimous cry that we've got to go out and address legislatively."

The bill that Murkowski has signed on to would increase the number of polling sites on tribal reservations, since Alaska Natives and Native Americans are often forced to travel long distances to vote in person. The Department of Justice came out in favor of a similar proposal earlier this year.

Murkowski explained, "The Voting Rights Act of 1965 brought an end to the ugly Jim Crow period in American history. Every American [should] be given the opportunity to vote, regardless of who they are, where they live, and what their race or national origin may be," she said.

Source: Huffington Post coverage of 2016 Alaska Senate race Sep 10, 2015

Mark Begich: Adviser to lobbying firms, but not interested in lobbying

[After leaving the Senate], Begich became president and CEO of the Foundation for Hospice and Homecare. And last month, he signed as a strategic policy adviser to a law and lobbying firm, working mainly on energy and natural resource issues.

While Republicans privately scoffed at Begich for joining a lobby giant, Begich said he's not registering as a lobbyist. Big firms, he said, were courting him after his election loss with lucrative offers. "I don't want to lobby, & I'm not interested in that."

Source: Politico.com coverage of 2016 Alaska Senate race May 6, 2015

  • The above quotations are from 2016 Alaska Senate race: debates and news coverage.
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Candidates and political leaders on Government Reform:

Retired Senate as of Jan. 2015:
GA:Chambliss(R)
IA:Harkin(D)
MI:Levin(D)
MT:Baucus(D)
NE:Johanns(R)
OK:Coburn(R)
SD:Johnson(D)
WV:Rockefeller(D)

Resigned from 113th House:
AL-1:Jo Bonner(R)
FL-19:Trey Radel(R)
LA-5:Rod Alexander(R)
MA-5:Ed Markey(D)
MO-9:Jo Ann Emerson(R)
NC-12:Melvin Watt(D)
SC-1:Tim Scott(R) 		Retired House to run for Senate or Governor:
AR-4:Tom Cotton(R)
GA-1:Jack Kingston(R)
GA-10:Paul Broun(R)
GA-11:Phil Gingrey(R)
HI-1:Colleen Hanabusa(D)
IA-1:Bruce Braley(D)
LA-6:Bill Cassidy(R)
ME-2:Mike Michaud(D)
MI-14:Gary Peters(D)
MT-0:Steve Daines(R)
OK-5:James Lankford(R)
PA-13:Allyson Schwartz(D)
TX-36:Steve Stockman(R)
WV-2:Shelley Capito(R) 		Retired House as of Jan. 2015:
AL-6:Spencer Bachus(R)
AR-2:Tim Griffin(R)
CA-11:George Miller(D)
CA-25:Howard McKeon(R)
CA-33:Henry Waxman(D)
CA-45:John Campbell(R)
IA-3:Tom Latham(R)
MN-6:Michele Bachmann(R)
NC-6:Howard Coble(R)
NC-7:Mike McIntyre(D)
NJ-3:Jon Runyan(R)
NY-4:Carolyn McCarthy(D)
NY-21:Bill Owens(D)
PA-6:Jim Gerlach(R)
UT-4:Jim Matheson(D)
VA-8:Jim Moran(D)
VA-10:Frank Wolf(R)
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Page last updated: Dec 07, 2018