This is worth a read:
http://news.firedoglake.com/...
One of the benefits to having a large archive of US dirty deeds such as the one over at WikiLeaks is the ability to see the unauthorized background of rising political stars. Take Dan Sullivan, Republican candidate for the US Senate from Alaska.
Prior to his candidacy for US Senate, Sullivan was in the Bush White House (43) as well as the US State Department. Sullivan’s chief political patron was Condoleezza Rice who he served under at the National Security Council while Rice was National Security Advisor to President Bush. Sullivan then went on to serve under Condoleezza Rice at the State Department as United States Assistant Secretary of State for Economic, Energy, and Business Affairs. Rice has now formally endorsed Sullivan for Senate saying “Dan Sullivan is tireless in his defense of this country. He showed that in his service in the military, and he showed that in his service in the White House and in the State Department.” in an ad that aired statewide thanks to Karl Rove’s Super PAC American Crossroads.
Dan Sullivan’s numerous appearances in WikiLeaks are due to the Cablegate leaks from former Army Private Chelsea Manning. Sullivan’s name appears in thousands of state department documents in cases ranging from meetings in Eurasia to expand the BTC Pipeline to pushing “market based initiatives” on Climate Change in Germany.
Much of Sullivan’s advocacy on behalf of the Bush Administration is laid bare and, not surprisingly, stinks of Big Business shilling such as Sullivan’s involvement with the French government where he conspired on behalf of Monsanto and other agro-giants to push back against anti-GMO activists. The use of government resources on behalf of companies that give politicians massive campaign donations – such as with Monsanto and the Bush Presidential Campaign – is a legal gray area in the United States, but Sullivan definitely kissed the line that supposedly separates state business and business lobbying. - Firedoglake, 6/18/14
Firedoglake also points out that Sullivan also lobbied for the tyrannical government of Turkenistan to restart it's "Surveillance Detection Program" which you can read about in the link above. This ladies and gentlemen is the GOP frontrunner aiming to take on Senator Mark Begich (D. AK). By the way, no one's buying Sullivan's proposal to ban outside many from the race:
http://juneauempire.com/...
This week Dan Sullivan, the best-funded of Begich’s challengers, came forward with a pledge for which he’s seeking Begich’s support. Called the “Alaska Agreement,” the pledge’s stated purpose is to leave state residents in control of the race’s funding.
Under its terms, candidates would have to donate half the value of any third-party attack ad buys to a charity of their opponent’s choice. Mr. Sullivan modeled the agreement on the “People’s Pledge” agreed to by Sen. Scott Brown and challenger Elizabeth Warren in their 2012 race in Massachusetts.
At first glance, the agreement’s principle is well intentioned: Why not cut out negative ads made with outside money?
But the particulars of the race make it clear that this agreement is a political gambit rather than a true effort at campaign finance reform. Both Sullivan and Begich will be able to raise ample money in their own campaign coffers to saturate media from here to the primary and — if Sullivan prevails there — the general election. Both candidates are already running ads heavily, some of which are already turning toward the negative.
Even with the agreement in place, Alaskans would likely see little difference in the volume or tone of the ads they see and hear in the newspaper, online, and on the radio and TV airwaves.
Furthermore, the agreement makes no mention of candidates in the race other than Sullivan and Begich, despite the fact that polling shows Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell and the aforementioned Miller as credible candidates who have very realistic chances of emerging from the Republican primary.
Treadwell, who isn’t known for making high-profile comments thus far in the race, called the agreement a “publicity stunt,” pointing to the fact that Mr. Sullivan has raised the majority of his campaign funds from donors outside Alaska.
Also undercutting Sullivan’s intention of giving local voices more weight in political campaigns is his stance in support of the U.S. Supreme Court’s well-publicized decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which prohibited the government from restricting campaign spending of the sort he would seek to limit in his current race.
The disharmony between Sullivan’s stances on political campaigns in general and the specific race he is running this fall is peculiar, and doesn’t support his stated intentions in seeking the agreement. - Juneau Empire, 6/17/14
Of course Sullivan has to win his primary first. And his opponent, Lt. Governor Mead Treadwell (R. AK), big up a big endorsement:
http://thehill.com/...
RedState.com editor-in-chief Erick Erickson is backing Alaska Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell's (R) Senate campaign, giving the underdog a potential boost on the right against frontrunner Dan Sullivan (R).
Erickson, a leading Tea Party voice, writes that Treadwell is "better on the stand your ground law in Alaska than his opponent" and accuses Sullivan of being "'all in on the climate change agenda" because he's voiced support for decreasing U.S. dependence on oil. He also hits Sullivan for having the backing of American Crossroads.
Sullivan has a lead in the polls, more money and endorsements, but it's not just from the GOP establishment. The economically conservative Club for Growth is also backing him, and most view him as the favorite in the race. - The Hill, 6/18/14
And of course Tea Party wild card, Joe Miller (R. AK), thinks he can pull an upset victory just like in Virginia:
http://homernews.com/...
Miller also criticized Obama for what he called the president’s “upside down” foreign policy. From Russia to China to Syria to Iraq, “we have a weak president who acts in ways that are adverse to the country,” he said.
The Republican Party leadership isn’t much better. Is it serving the country’s values? Miller asked.
“The answer is no. Well, the people of Virginia have answered that question,” he said, referring to the defeat of incumbent Rep. Eric Cantor, House Majority Whip, by David Brat in the Virginia Republican Party primary. That defeat shows why the pundits and polls are wrong, Miller said.
“That was a 43-point spread between what the pundits are saying. That’s not dissimilar with what happened to us in the primary,” he said, referring to the 2010 election.
More recent polls show Miller trailing in third place behind Sullivan and Treadwell. In a recent Daily Caller/Vox Populi poll of likely Republican voters, 32 percent said they would vote for Sullivan, 23 percent for Treadwell and 15 percent for Miller. That poll also has 31 percent saying they’re undecided. Miller said polling by Anchorage pollster Ivan Moore shows Miller leading in the Railbelt — except for Anchorage.
“The establishment, they don’t want you to understand what’s happening to the leadership in the country,” Miller said. “We want to get the country back on track so our children and grandchildren will have a future.”
Miller said Alaskans should be less expectant of federal handouts. “The fact is, we’re going to lose federal money, we’re gong to lose federal earmarks,” he said. “As long as the federal government remains in insolvent positions, we’re going to get less and less.”
Miller said the federal government has no legitimate role in most of the federal land holdings it has.
“We want title back, that’s what we want ultimately,” Miller said. “I pledge to do what I can to increase access (to federal lands).”
Despite the other candidates raising more funds and outspending him, Miller said he sees several things that give him encouragement. In recent straw polls, he won over Sullivan and Treadwell. - Homer News, 6/18/14
We shall see. Whoever wins the primary will get Karl Rove and the Koch Brothers backing because they want this race and the GOP is stooping to new lows to try and defeat Begich:
http://www.ktoo.org/...
Alleging a senator is indifferent to vets is serious anywhere. Even more so in Alaska, which has the highest number of vets per capita. Anti-Begich ads, running on nearly half a million dollars of Alaska airtime, aim to plant Begich in the midst of the scandal.
“Veterans died waiting for care that never came,” says one. “Sen. Mark Begich sits on the veterans affairs committee. His response: ‘If there’s a problem, they need to fix it.’ If there’s a problem?”
It’s paid for by Crossroads GPS, a national group running ads against Begich and for Republican challenger Dan Sullivan. Sullivan highlighted the same Begich “if there’s a problem” quote in an op-ed published last month in the Anchorage Daily News. Sullivan says Begich acts like he’s a mere bystander to the veteran crisis.
But FactCheck.org, a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center, says the ad misuses the Begich quote, which is from a Wall Street Journal story. In it, Begich says the administration should have learned its lesson from the healthcare.gov website debacle. The exact Begich quote in the journal is: “They should have learned from that – If there’s a problem, they need to fix it.” FactCheck says Begich did react to the VA scandal. He called for an immediate hearing, wrote then-VA secretary Eric Shinseki to express outrage, and at a hearing last month, Begich pressed Shinseki on why no one had been fired for falsifying records.
Crossroads unveiled a new TV ad this week, still painting Begich as disengaged on the scandal and suggesting that all he did was write a letter.
Begich is trying to show that he IS helping. He’s trumpeting Senate passage of a bill this week aimed at getting veterans quicker access to care. Begich says it relies on a solution he’s been pressing since he first ran for Senate in 2008 – allowing vets to make appointments at non-VA facilities.
“When I campaigned on the hero’s health card (bill), I just believed that we had a resource that we could maximize, that we could move forward on, that we could make a difference for our veterans,” he said on the Senate floor yesterday. “And we’re seeing it.” - KTOO, 6/16/14
We cannot allow voters to be duped by Rove and the Koch Brothers. We need to make sure Begich is ready to win in November. Click here to donate and get involved with his campaign:
http://www.markbegich.com/