2. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. The Nevadan was targeted by the GOP, his Senate Republican foes, and a well-organized Tea Party movement. His state suffered among the worst in the economic downturn. But the wily ex-boxer pulled off a stunning comeback to win re-election.
3. Sen. Lisa Murkowski. The Alaskan senator was left for dead when she lost in her GOP primary to newbie Joe Miller. But a well organized write-in campaign that taught state voters how to spell her name exactly was too much for Miller to hold back. Miller on the advice of Norm Coleman will keep the protest going until climate change brings Alaskians a 5 month summer.
4. Vice President Joe Biden. The veep has had a great year, but seemed to be at the short end of rumors that he would be pushed aside to make room for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Biden kept his head up, brushed off the rumors and was eventually endorsed by Obama and the media-hyped threats to his position died down. Clinton is favorably viewed even amongst Obama democrats.
5. Sarah Palin. The former Alaska governor proved her critics wrong by getting rich selling books while expanding her influence especially through the Tea Party movement. She's also become a reality TV show figure on Sarah Palin's Alaska and in one show shrugged off a few unlucky shots to take a majestic caribou. Sarah's newest mission is keeping fat unhealthy kids fat and unhealthy by making sure they continue to get their eating advice from the source it comes from now.
ACVDN
Alaska Election Results:
Murkowski To Be Sworn-In, Judge Rejects Miller Lawsuit
About two months ago the midterm elections ended for most of the United States with the exception of Joe Miller doing his best Norm Coleman sore loser impression. Knowing how much tea partiers and Miller hate federal judges I know they are happy that the court has rejected their claims and let the will of the people stand.
JUNEAU, Alaska — A Federal Judge on Tuesday dismissed a Lawsuit by Republican Joe Miller and lifted a stay on certification of Alaska's U.S. Senate election, clearing the way for Sen. Lisa Murkowski to officially be declared the winner later this week.
The rulings by U.S. District Judge Ralph Beistline mean Alaska state officials will likely certify the November Election Results either Wednesday or Thursday.
That would allow Murkowski to be sworn in when the new term of Congress convenes Jan 3rd., and make her the first U.S. Senate candidate since 1954 to win with a write-in campaign.
Fairbanks attorney and would-be totalitarian strongman Joe Miller apparently will not try to perform a citizens arrest on Lisa Murkowski. He will, however, take her to federal court for having the audacity to defeat him in the general election after losing the August 24 primary in a write-in campaign.
Never mind that it was the Tea Party that originally came in to steal Murkowski’s seat out from under her.
We all remember Karl Rove’s judgment:
“Absolutely no she can’t win. Under the law, you have to carefully spell the name exactly correct, now everyone go to your pencil and paper and write the name ‘Murkowski’ and see if you got it right.”
“No, she’s going to lose,” he said.
And Senator Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) used a Tea Party fundraiser to call her a “big-tent hypocrite” and said she had betrayed the conservative cause. Republican cannibalism at its best – or worst.
But she didn’t lose. She outraged the Tea Party by actually winning.
And what neither Karl Rove nor Joe Miller (nor, most certainly, Sarah Palin) reckoned on was the innate fairness of the process. The state Division of Elections established guidelines before counting even began that the voter’s intent had to count when writing-in a vote.
God forbid fairness should enter into the democratic process. “We can’t have that!” the Tea Party says.
So Miller lost fair and square. That’s the verdict of the Alaska Supreme Court, the law of the land. But that is Joe Miler’s whining lament: she cheated! Egads, people misspelled her name. Has she no shame claiming the victory?
The Alaskan Supreme Court ruled against him. The message from the voters was “You lost, Joe.” The message from the highest court in the state was the same: “You lost, Joe.”
“There are no remaining issues raised by Miller that prevent this election from being certified.”
But Joe claims that the sanctity of the election process is at stake. Meaning, he can’t possibly have lost. Perhaps God promised him a victory or something. After all, he promised one to Sarah Palin too on the eve of the ’08 Election Day.
Apparently, those nasty feds aren’t so nasty when Joe’s victory is at stake. To hell with the State of Alaska. What do the feds say? Does the Tea Party have no shame, throwing the state under the bus and trying to trump with the federal courts?
Did the world just turn upside down?
I’m unclear as to how losing an election fair and square violates the sanctity of the democratic process but then, I’ve never performed a citizens arrest on somebody who asked me a question.
For the record, this is Joe’s reasoning:
“After careful consideration and seeking the counsel of people whose opinion I respect and trust, I have decided that the federal case must go forward. The integrity of the election is vital and ultimately the rule of law must be our standard. Nevertheless, I have also decided to withdraw our opposition to the certification of the election, ensuring that Alaska will have its full delegation seated when the 112th Congress convenes next month.”
What a guy. Such a gesture of magnanimity!
There really wasn’t much magnanimity evident in Joe’s official protest. As his spokesman Randy DeSota said on Wednesday, “We are disappointed the Alaska Supreme Court has ignored the plain text of Alaska law and allowed the Division of Elections to effectively amend the state election code without even giving the public an opportunity for notice and comment.”
Of course, the Alaskan Supreme Court made just that ruling, that state law had not been violated. End of story. Not so, says Joe.
Of course, none of this surprises Lisa Murkowski, who has already been exposed to the limitless, mindless hate and nihilism of Tea Party politics. Her campaign fully expected Joe Miller to be a big crybaby.
Perhaps the most amusing aspect of this whole situation is that with or without the contested votes, Joe Miller has lost. Murkowski ended up with a lead of 10,328 votes. Joe says 8,159 of those votes can’t count. Even without them, however, Lisa Murkowski still has a 2,169 vote lead.
There is a great deal wrong with this picture. There is the Republican betrayal of Lisa Murkowski later reinterpreted as a betrayal by Lisa Murkowski, another Sarah Palin demagogue who like Christine O’Donnell showed himself completely unequal to the office to which he sought election (a real chip off the old block), and then, when the people had spoken, when the State of Alaska had spoken, these Tea Party tenthers turn around and appeal to the hated feds to overturn the state. We’ll leave aside for the moment the sheer childishness of Miller’s position on this. What does he do for an encore? Hold his breath?
No, take your medicine Joe. In Palin-speak, find your cojones and man up. Vox populi: The people have spoken. Isn’t that supposed to be what the Tea Party is all about? But it isn’t, is it Joe? It’s not about what the people want: it’s about what you want, what Sarah Palin wants, what Christine O’Donnell wants – a free lunch.
ACVDN wishes you a Happy New Year
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