Good News Friday:
http://www.alaskadispatch.com/...
The Indian Health Service has agreed to pay Southcentral Foundation $96 million in unpaid costs dating back to 1997, a promising move for some 180 other tribes and tribal organizations around the country that also have claims with the agency, including many in Alaska.
The most important result of the settlement with Southcentral Foundation is that the money will help it improve the health care it offers in Anchorage, the Mat-Su Borough, and in numerous villages, said Lloyd Miller, an Anchorage attorney who represents dozens of the tribes and tribal groups.
Southcentral Foundation runs the Anchorage Native Primary Care Center, owns part of the Alaska Native Medical Center and provides health care services throughout Southcentral Alaska to more than 60,000 Alaska Natives and American Indians.
The settlement with Southcentral comes after the Indian Health Service has settled claims with 17 tribes and tribal groups, a squaring up that began last year and included the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corp. in Bethel in Southwest Alaska for $40 million.
Together, the claims from all the tribes totaled some $2 billion, Miller said. The latest agreement provides confidence that the other tribes and tribal organizations will get their claims quickly resolved.
Miller said a key turning point came in January. Congress, pushed hardest by the Alaska delegation, specified in the appropriations act that the agency must provide compensation for contact support costs.
Sen. Mark Begich in particular, as well as Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Rep Don Young, played key roles, he said.
“Congressional action is largely responsible for the change in attitude toward the settlements,” Miller said.
Katherine Gottlieb, president of Southcentral Foundation, thanked the delegation. She said Murkowski, Begich and Young have undertaken “exhaustive efforts over the years to press the Indian Health Service to expedite the settlement process and to resolve claims on a fair and just basis.” - Alaska Dispatch, 4/25/14
While Begich is looking for Alaska Natives, his Super PAC is tying his likel Republican opponent, Dan Sullivan, to the Koch Brothers:
http://www.adn.com/...
The TV ad by Put Alaska First, the pro-Begich group run by political consultant Jim Lottsfeldt, ran statewide over the last week at a cost of $61,000 for the air time. After the Sullivan campaign first began criticizing the ad, the group booked a new round of airings Wednesday for another $100,000. Begich backers say there is nothing wrong with the ads.
"There's no question in my mind they are out there in support of Sullivan," Lottsfeldt said of the Koch brothers. "He is the guy who all the Washington, D.C. SuperPACS on the Republican side have coalesced around. He is their chosen candidate."
For instance, Sullivan is supported by American Crossroads, the SuperPAC former President Bush strategist Karl Rove helped found. His campaign has raised far more money than those of fellow Republicans Mead Treadwell and Joe Miller.
But the ads by Koch-backed groups -- Americans for Prosperity, American Energy Alliance and Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce -- never mention Sullivan. Instead they go after Begich over the Affordable Care Act and whether he's waffled on a carbon tax -- he says he hasn't.
Democrats in Alaska and around the country are railing against Charles and David Koch. The brothers' political activity and money has become a flash point in this year's effort by Republicans to retake the U.S. Senate. Begich's seat is being targeted. - Anchorage Daily News, 4/23/14
By the way, Lottsfeldt is the only mastermind behind the pro-Begich messaging:
http://www.nytimes.com/...
Mark Putnam, a Democratic ad maker who specializes in commercials for red state candidates, is the man to hire right now. The ads he produced for Senator Mark Begich of Alaska, who is among the most vulnerable of incumbents this year, are considered among the best on the Democratic side.
Mr. Putnam’s approach can be expensive. His ads tend to run for 60 seconds, twice the length of a standard one, and they have a painterly, cinematic feel.
One commercial for Mr. Begich, “Alaska’s Son,” not only links the senator to his Alaska roots, but also features old video of Mr. Begich’s father, Nick, a Democratic congressman who died in a plane crash in 1972. Another shows Mr. Begich cruising the state’s frozen tundra on a snowmobile, talking about his efforts to enable drilling. (The ad was the “second-hardest” Mr. Putnam has ever shot, he said; the minus-20-degree temperature caused one of the cameras to freeze up, and the “moonsuits” they wore made everything more difficult.) - New York Times, 4/23/14
Now Sullivan's campaign hasn't received any money directly from the Kochs or AFP but they are spending money to buy Begich's seat for Sullivan. But there are a few factors that are helping Begich seal the deal for a second term. First there's this:
http://www.ktuu.com/...
Three contentious ballot initiatives won't appear before Alaska voters in Aug. 19 primary ballots. Instead, they'll appear in the Nov. 4 general election, since the Legislature failed to wrap up business more than 120 days before the primaries.
The initiatives include an efforts to legalize marijuana, increase Alaska's minimum wage, and an initiative that would require legislative approval for large-scale mines in the Bristol Bay region. Supporters and opponents of each initiative now have nearly three extra months to make their case to voters.
Assistant professor Forrest Nabors, with the University of Alaska Anchorage's political science department, says the ballot initiatives now slated for November are hot-button issues to younger, more progressive voters.
"These ballot initiatives could very well bring young voters out to the ballot box on Election Day -- and if so, that will help Democrats," Nabors said.
The delay could also help Democratic Sen. Mark Begich -- facing GOP challengers Lt. Gov Mead Treadwell, former state attorney general Dan Sullivan and Fairbanks lawyer Joe Miller -- keep his job. - KTUU, 4/23/14
Plus there's this:
http://www.ktuu.com/...
Joe Miller kicked off his campaign in Wasilla, adding his name to a GOP list which includes Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell and Dan Sullivan, a former state attorney general and Department of Natural Resources commissioner.
Miller, a conservative Fairbanks lawyer, is familiar to many Alaskans from his 2010 run for Senate. He defeated Sen. Lisa Murkowski for the Republican nomination, but lost the general election to her after she mounted a comeback campaign as a write-in candidate; Democratic nominee Scott McAdams came in third.
Introduced to a crowd of more than 100 people by a pastor and a gun rights advocate, and surrounded by his family, Miller says this race will end differently than 2010’s. He says he plans to address many of the same issues he took on during his last campaign. - KTUU, 4/21/14
Now Miller is a distant third in GOP primary polls but here's why Republicans like Sullivan should be nervous about Miller:
http://www.politico.com/...
Until this past year, when new chairman Peter Goldberg established calm, fratricidal bickering between Tea Party-style libertarians and everyone else has bedeviled the Alaskan Republican Party. Several chairmen have been ousted since 2010, and at one point the party leadership resembled the medieval papacy, with multiple claimants and no clear pope. The wounds from those intra-party fights are still fresh, and it’s not hard to imagine Miller launching an independent bid should he lose the primary, taking many of his Tea Party supporters with him. After all, “there’s a reason why the party bosses hate him and Washington fears him,” says the voiceover in one campaign ad. In the same clip, Miller says he is sending a message to “big-taxing, big-spending elites that the party is over.”
For the GOP, Miller’s run as an independent would likely be a disaster. In February, a Hays poll hypothetically pitted Begich, Sullivan and an independent Miller against each other (omitting Treadwell—a decision his campaign protested for “ignor[ing] the space-time continuum”), and found 45 percent for Begich, 33 percent for Sullivan and 10 percent for Miller—just enough to prevent a Republican victory.
Miller has been cagey about his plans. When prompted at a University of Alaska speaking event on April 10, he was careful neither to confirm nor deny a possible independent run in November, if he does not win the primary. But he did say that a vote for Treadwell or Sullivan would amount to a vote for Begich, and he did refer to good and “evil” Republicans. - Politico, 4/22/14
Miller was endorsed by Sarah Palin back in 2010 and that might come back to haunt the GOP this year:
http://www.alaskadispatch.com/...
Joe Miller declared his candidacy for Senate Monday, aiming to unseat embattled Democrat Mark Begich, who’s finishing up his first term. But Begich might do well to celebrate Miller’s arrival in the race, according to an analysis piece by University of Alaska Anchorage political science professor Forrest Nabors published by Politico. Nabors' piece goes into detail about the history of the Alaska politics, but its takeaway is summed up succinctly in the third paragraph: “Yet by an unusual arrangement of events, Miller is actually poised to seal Begich’s re-election, protect the Democrats’ Senate majority and prevent the repeal of Obamacare. And it’s all thanks to Sarah Palin.” - Alaska Dispatch, 4/23/14
And Miller has been picking up some key endorsements:
http://www.peoplespunditdaily.com/...
Alaska Republican Senate candidate Joe Miller picked up a key endorsement Thursday from the Alaska Right to Life PAC. The latest endorsement underscores Alaskan conservatives’ lack of excitement over the 2010 nominee’s two challengers, Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell, and former Natural Resources Commissioner and Attorney General Dan Sullivan.
“The pro-life position Joe Miller takes isn’t merely a common political platitude, but is centered in the core of who he is. Joe will be a champion for the pro-life cause in Washington and is exactly the caliber of man we need representing Alaska in the US Senate. Alaska Right to Life’s Political Action Committee is proud to endorse him,” said Executive Director of Alaska Right to Life, Christopher Kurka.
While Dan Sullivan appears to have a consistent money edge in the Republican primary race, with a recent endorsement from The Club for Growth, Miller has been endorsed by PACs who support issues near and dear to the hearts of the conservative base in Alaska. The Combat Veterans for Congress PAC endorsed Miller in December, and he received the endorsement of the National Association for Gun Rights PAC (NAGR) in March. The NAGR endorsement added to a solid pro-Second Amendment standing – which has become a top priority for conservatives — including the endorsement of the Gun Owners of America. Miller also recieved an “A” rating from the National Rifle Association.
Now, with the endorsement of the key pro-life group, Joe Miller, who many see as an underdog in the Alaska Senate race, has defined himself as the true conservative in the race. - People's Pundit Daily, 4/17/14
And all three of the GOP candidates are trying to prove their unique even though they agree on almost everything:
http://www.alaskadispatch.com/...
Before a pro-industry audience in the first publicized forum of the U.S. Senate race, Dan Sullivan and Joe Miller swatted at one another over the controversial oil tax cut, while Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell said he once solicited the help of national Republican group to knock off the bipartisan coalition in the state Senate that had blocked the measure.
A question about the tax cut -- which could be repealed if a voter initiative on the August ballot passes -- was one of three submitted ahead of time to Republican primary candidates by the Alaska Support Industry Alliance, which organized the breakfast forum before about 200 people on Thursday. Although the oil tax cut is not a federal issue, it’s the most important matter facing the state and affects everyone, said Rebecca Logan, general manager of the Alliance.
Miller has a campaign ad that touts his work as a part-time attorney for the Fairbanks North Star Borough, when he “took on powerful corporate interests in the important TAPS pipeline case.” Major oil companies lost that fight after squaring off against the borough and other local communities over the pipeline’s value -- and therefore potential tax revenue.
Miller, usually outspoken and direct, gave a nuanced reply to the oil tax question. He pointed out that he’s signed a pledge not to raise taxes. He said his supporters fall on both sides of the issue. Some want to repeal the cut. Others say businesses need a stable tax climate.
He said the issue is technically complex, and the state is trying to find the magic number that provides maximum public benefit while also enhancing production.
He said other things, too, but finally suggested it might be too early to repeal the law: “Certainly, I think the jury is out on this. But to sit back and say we ought to reverse it in a very short time period, without having that information back, I don’t think it’s a very good idea.”
Meanwhile, former Natural Resources commissioner and attorney general Dan Sullivan, who has been criticized for staying quiet on key issues and who helped Gov. Sean Parnell push the cut through, wasn’t quiet on this one.
“Here’s my answer,” Sullivan said, raising a “Vote No on 1” bumper sticker and getting a rare burst of applause. “I’m not 100 percent sure what Joe’s answer was, but here’s my answer.”
He said that after the failure of House Bill 110, an earlier version of Parnell’s cut, the governor in 2012 asked Sullivan to lead the team that pushed through he redesigned tax cut, which came to be known as Senate Bill 21. He also encouraged companies across the country to invest in Alaska and said the cut is working, producing new investment on the North Slope that’s sparking the economy and jobs. - Alaska Dispatch, 4/24/14
While they duke it out, lets make sure Begich is ready to win in November. Click here to get involved and donate to Begich's campaign:
http://www.markbegich.com/