Murkowski Wants to Reopen Government

“I am one who is amenable to a process that would allow for those appropriations bills that have concluded some time ago that they be enacted into law — whether it’s the Department of Interior or the IRS. I’d like to see that.”

— Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), joining calls today to reopen the rest of the federal government before the funding fight over the border wall is resolved, CNN reports.

Murkowski on Trump’s Ford Comments: ‘Unacceptable’

“I am taking everything into account. I think the president’s comments yesterday mocking Dr. Ford were wholly inappropriate and in my view unacceptable.”

— Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), quoted by The Hill, when asked how President Trump’s mockery of Christine Blasey Ford would impact her vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.

Murkowski Warns GOP Ahead of Kananaugh Hearings

“We are now in a place where it’s not about whether or not Judge Kavanaugh is qualified. It is about whether or not a woman who has been a victim at some point in her life is to be believed.”

— Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), offering a blunt warning: “Do not prejudge sexual assault allegations against the nominee that will be aired at an extraordinary public hearing on Thursday,” the New York Times reports.

Murkowski: Palin Not Connected with Alaska

I think there are a lot of outside interests that would like to see Sarah Palin in some form of elected office. Most in Alaska recognize our former governor is really not involved in or engaged in the state anymore, that she’s moved to other interests. In order for you to represent the state of Alaska, you’ve got to be in the state.

— Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), telling The Hill not to expect a Senate bid from Sarah Palin because she’s not really connected to Alaska anymore.

F I N A L L Y

Maybe his new year’s resolution was to quit being a schmuck.

After almost two months, Alaska Republican Senate candidate Joe Miller announced Friday that he will end his legal challenge to incumbent Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s write-in victory, The Anchorage Daily News reported.

Speaking at a news conference in Anchorage, Miller said it was time to accept the “practical realities” of recent court rulings that had gone against him.

Then again, being a schmuck is hard to quit.

In his first interview after his public concession, Miller appeared on “John King, USA,” where CNN’s Ed Henry asked him if he had called Murkowski to personally concede. Miller said, “I have not called her. In fact, I don’t have her number.” When asked if he had sought out her phone number through the Alaska GOP, he answered, “Well, I think we already have conceded. We’ve asked for it before. I don’t have it.”

Murkowski Poised for Palin Payback

M001153Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) found out what it was like to be shunned by her party during the 2010 election. While high-profile types like Sarah and Todd Palin backed tea bagger Joe Miller, Murkowski refused to cede her office after her initial primary loss, despite calls to quit from such GOP notables as Sens. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) and Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), and of course, the quitter queen herself, Sarah Palin. Instead, Murkowski made history by winning as a write-in candidate.

Now all those Republicans who kicked Murkowski to the curb are finding out they might be in for a very long six years.

…Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski seems to be declaring political independence.

She cast a yes vote for all four of President Obama’s big legislative items in the lame duck congressional session: don’t ask, don’t tell; the tax cut compromise; the START treaty; and the DREAM act.

With the Senate almost evenly split in the coming session, a move to a more moderate position could make Murkowski a swing vote on any important issue.

So instead of being sidelined for not, as Palin put it, heeding “the will of the people,” Murkowski could be the highest profile senator since Joe Lieberman. Good going, Republican party!