My letter to the editor got published.

[Blue_In_AK]

(Apologies to any Metcalfe fans)

Don't permit 'fundraising juice' to squeeze out viable candidate

I wonder if I am the only one who noted the irony inherent in this quotation from the Aug. 5 article, "Reports of corruption shake Alaska delegation's credibility":

"For the first time in years, Rep. Don Young has a challenger with fundraising juice: Jake Metcalfe ... who announced his candidacy last week." It seems to me that "fundraising juice" is a major component of the corruption problems we find ourselves in today.

I'm not in any way implying that Metcalfe has questionable ties; I'm merely asking you, the potential voters, to consider whether it's more important to be represented by someone with "fundraising juice" or by someone with fresh ideas. I for one am tired of business as usual. "Democrat Diane Benson, who challenged Young in 2006, is also running." Get to know her -- for a change. And don't forget to vote come primary day.

Blue_in_AK, volunteer
Benson for Congress
Anchorage


On a side note with regard to today's letters, I am amazed (although I guess I shouldn't be) at how many people have no problems with our senators and representatives taking personal gain from their positions. For example, "We've robbed Sen. Murkowski of a home on the Kenai. Stevens and Young are being harassed by association with Bill Allen and jealousy from their ineffective peers in Congress. I would rather have representatives who are smart enough to make good business and personal deals than those who would be too paranoid to be effective due to the witch hunt and crowd mentality." HUH?????

More hilarity here: http://www.adn.com/opinion/letters/story/9212332p-9128458c.html

[Ahgoo]

1. Read it - Good One

The LTTE and the comics are the only part of the AD News I appreciate anymore.

This newspaper is too big a voice with too much invested - I question much of their coverage or more correctly lack of coverage. Trying to be the statewide paper means no single community is covered well.

But for the sportsfans in the house it would be cancelled.

[WhoDoYouTrust]

2. I thought it might have been you when I read it!

Great letter.

:thumbsup:

I was shocked, also, that so many people condone bribery.

:eyes:

[snowbear]

3. As always, AWESOME job Blue!

~~~~

[Blue_In_AK]

4. Okay, maybe I WAS implying that Metcalfe has questionable

ties. :rofl:

Seriously, I don't know, but you gotta wonder just what is the source of the "fundraising juice."

[snowbear]

5. I've never met Jake before.... is he any relation to Ray?

Geez, I hope not..

I hear that Gravel will be up here tomorrow.. not sure where, but I'm sure CC,Shannyn, and Aaron will nab him for their radio shows.

I saw Jack Frost over at the meat market off Lake Otis this past Saturday.. I said. "hey! you better not have prawns in that bag!"

He laughted and said, no.. just fat juicy steaks..

Jack said there'sno way in hell he'd ever run for mayor again... but that he'll be busy running his close pals campaign..

Well.. simple math rules out Diane and Jake.. so.. ..I'm predicting he's jumping onboard with (ack) Sullivan as his spokesman.

[Blue_In_AK]

6. No, I don't think they're related.

I was interested to see that Ethan was a bit perplexed by Jake's move, as well. I read that Ethan was in contact with Diane while she was down in Juneau and they talked about the possibility that he would enter the race, too. I think that's a much more honorable thing to do than just jumping in without discussing it with the already announced candidate, or even the "party people." It makes me wonder, too, if the ADP didn't withhold funds from Diane last year because Jake suspected that he might run this year.

All in all, I just think the way he did this was pretty sleazy.

P.S. Gravel is going to be speaking for Commonwealth North today. at the Captain Cook, I think. $30 general admission.

P.P.S. Dan Sullivan? He's had his eye on that mayor's job forever. I can't stand the guy.

[snowbear]

7. =DOH= !

See what happens when I post here long after you guys are snoozing and I should be asleep!!

--- I've got Diane and Jake running for mayor?!?

Anyway.. since we've pretty much come to the conclusion that Ethan will be running against old Uncle Ted, I sure hope that Eric Croft runs on the Democratic ticket for mayor!

And with three major races coming up (U.S. Senate, U.S. Congress, and Anchorage Mayor).. I also (and I'm sure you do too) expect to see Halcro's name in one of those races.

Question is.. ..will he remain an Independent, or will he revert back to (ack) a Republican again? I hope not!

Those three upcoming races will be interesting! Let´s just hope Diebold doesn´t once again play a major factor in who winds up winning any of them!

Ok.. back to the grind. Talk to U all later!

[Ken Burch]

8. Well, Diane was here in Juneau for the Democratic picnic

She and Jake BOTH spoke, and even though Jake was presented as the "hometown boy"(his dad, Vern, was the Democratic state rep for Juneau at one point and his sister is still here)Diane went over much better with the crowd. She had a message, whereas all Jake had to really offer was "I'm from Juneau"(to which Diane could have replied, had she not been better mannered than that, that she had roots in Southeast Alaska that went back thousands of years earlier.)

We also had a good fundraiser for her the next night.

[Blue_In_AK]

9. Jake is getting a very tepid response here, too,

at least from what I've seen. The woman at the Democratic booth at the fair (who I thought I was replacing) was clearly none too pleased by his entry into the race. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and wearing my Benson for Congress button everywhere I go. :)

[ANCGuy]

10. Time to quit the Kool-Aid

Diane stands zero chance of beating -anyone- whether it be a primary or a general election. Jeeze Louise, her groupies look more like Ron Paultards every day. Sportsfans, this is the same woman who endorsed Frank Murkowski, the same woman who ran as a serial Greenie, and the same woman who won't even frackin' promise to support the Democratic nominee next fall!

Diane is cut waaaay too much slack simply because she's a Native and a woman. She's a crap fundraiser (most of the vaunted 200K she got in 06 came from the party) and went through campaign managers the way my friend Dave goes through fiances. All she talks about is Impeachment, the one thing she'll never be able to do anything about as that retard Dubya will have already moved back to Deliverance country in January 09.

Finally, for those who whine alongside Diane that it's 'her turn', remember that it's a primary, not a coronation. A pencil sharpener would have garnered 40% against Don, simply because 40% think Don is a discraceful sack of garbage. Fortunately for us, a much higher percentage of the electorate have now reach the same conclusion: Don must go. And with a real candidate going against him next November, Don will be back living in his Ft Yukon trailer soon enough. Alas, Diane is not a viable candidate. Fortunately, Jake Metcalfe is.

[ANCGuy]

11. Awfully quiet on this post, Blue_In_AK...

...care to dispute any of the above facts?

[Blue_In_AK]

12. I'm not an arguer, ANCGuy

You support your candidate, I'll support mine.

[ANCGuy]

13. Agreed...

we're all good Democrats here, right? Now if only Diane would commit to supporting the winner of the Democratic primary...

[Ken Burch]

14. She already has. Don't go there.

Why are you spreading this kind of horseshit?

[ANCGuy]

16. If she arready did, I'm sorry...

...but she's what she emailed out last week:

"It has been proposed that as candidates for Congress we make a pledge to support who ever may win the Primary election. This is a nice idea albeit a bit unnecessary, but I would support such a move to alleviate any insecurity others might have about the intent of the candidates. However, it seems premature and illogical to do this now as the deadline for candidates to file is not until June 1, 2008. Perhaps June 1, 2008 might be a better time to do this with all the candidates together and to take that time to show strength of unity for the party. I think this might be more advantageous to the party, and what is advantageous to the party matters to me."

[Ken Burch]

17. The important part is the first line.

Still, the rest hardly sounds like a threat to withhold the nomination. I think the only circumstance she would mean would be if someone who was clearly a non-Democrat(like Ray Metcalfe)were to slip into the primary and steal it(as Ray almost did last year).

So there's no real issue here.

[Blue_In_AK]

18. I haven't heard that she won't support the winner.

I think mostly she just wants to see Don gone. Of course, I'm sure she would prefer to be the one to take him out, but I've heard no mention among her campaign people that she would consider a run as an independent or Green if she doesn't win the primary. All I've heard her say is that she was a Democrat long before she was a Green, and now she's back to stay.

And, yes, we are all good Democrats -- at least I know I am, and I assume you are, too, or you wouldn't be here.

Thanks for the nice comments about my fair photos, too. :)

[snowbear]

26. A caller to CC's program on KUDO is the one who brought this up..

.... when what's his face.. the guy in D.C. that runs the DCCC Hdqtrs was a guest on "Cutting Edge". The show was maybe a week to 6 weeks ago-ish?

I can't recall the exact conversation, but a caller phoned in during the show and said to the DCCC guy that his concern about Diane was that she mentioned at some function or something that if she doesn't win the Democratic nod, that she'd run as an Independent.

There's no telling if what the caller said was legit with his info, and I don't catch that show everyday, so I'm not sure if Diane ever called in to clarify what he said?

I do know it was concerning to some of the other callers though, so if she's a guest on any of the KUDO shows during the election, it would be a great question to ask.

Hopefully it's NOT true because our Democratic candidate will need every single vote. Splitting the votes with an Independent would be horrible.

[Ken Burch]

29. Gee...could that caller maybe be our "Ancguy"?

n/t.

[Ken Burch]

15. Are you posting for any other reason than to bash Diane?

Diane got 40% without a DAMN BIT OF HELP from the party. Everybody decided that Brillcream Boy's race was the only one that mattered. She more than doubled the Democratic vote in that race from the previous campaign, and did it while people like you were refusing to do a thing to help.

Diane HAS agreed to support the primary winner, so stop lying about that.

And Diane NEVER FUCKING ENDORSED FRANK MURKOWSKI and you know it.

You act like Jake's automatically entitled to the nomination. What makes him so freakin' special?

There's no way you're helping Jake by spewing abuse at the candidate whose large bloc voters Jake will have to win over in the fall if he manages to get nominated.

One more post like this and I alert the mods.

(on edit)and I've just advised the Metcalfe campaign of your activities as well.

[Blue_In_AK]

19. May I add to that

that she was approached by Sarah Palin's people last year who said they would actively campaign for her if Diane would support Sarah. As a good Democrat, she would not do that -- I think that says a lot, given Sarah's popularity.

[ANCGuy]

20. Oh, come on...

...'alert the mods'? Call Mommy?

Geez, I poke around in the forum, see that everyone here is waving Diane's flag and say something contradictory: is that so bad? I didn't see you terribly upset when Jake was accused of not having ethics on the fudraising front. And on the subject of Frank: I think Fran would respectfully disagree with you on that one.

I voted for Diane on 06. She did well, simply because Don is a scumbag. It's now become clear that Don is an even bigger scumbag than we thought. All the more reason why we need a viable candidate to run against him. May the best primary candidate win!

[Ken Burch]

21. "something contradictory" Oh puhleeze....

You essentially accused Diane's supporters of being a cult.

If you want to support another candidate in the primary, that's your call, but there's no way you can seriously argue that Diane isn't a strong candidate.

And Diane didn't do well JUST because "Don is a scumbag". Everybody knew Don was a scumbag the previous race when he got 76% or whatever. Diane did well because she deserved to do well.

There's no way Metcalfe would have a snowball's chance of hell of winning if everybody in his campaign took your tone.

And there's no way Diane or those of us who support her deserved the cyberspite you spewed in post #10. That was way out of line and I really hope you'll do the decent thing and delete it.

Fight for your candidate on the merits.

[ANCGuy]

22. I think that the hard Left...

and the hard core environmentalists will continue to back Diane, but those two constituencies alone will not make our state blue in 2008. Jake's more of a traditional blue collar D with a libertarian streak: now -that's- something that appeals to a broad cross section of Alaskans.

At least we agree that Don needs to be permanently retired toFt Yukon ASAP.

[Ken Burch]

23. "hard left"? Diane's a mainstream progressive Dem, not a Stalinist, ffs

Ratchet down the attacks. Diane's campaign hasn't been about bashing your guy.

[ANCGuy]

24. I didn't realize this forum was just for campaign types...

Can voters with opinions post here, too?

[Ken Burch]

25. Anybody can post here.

And can expect a response.

You've come on and talked a ton of trash about Diane. You wanna go there, I'm gonna call you on it.
And don't play the "i'm just a guy with opinions" game when your whole approach has been to use right-wing talk radio tactics.

You can back your candidate, but you can't smear the other candidate and not expect a fight.

[ANCGuy]

27. I agree...

...so expect to be called-out when you and your ilk smear Jake as you have done in this thread. BTW, when's Diane signing the pledge to support the Democratic nominee? And when is Diane going to clean-up her http://bensonforcongress.com/Endorsements">list of endorsements? Considering http://www.jake2008.com/2007/08/29/and-were-off/">Eric Croft endorsed Jake and introduced him at his Anchorage kick-off, he shouldn't be on Diane's list. Max Cleland is another guy who probably shouldn't be there, either, not to mention all the other endorsees left over from old campaigns. Be sure she leaves Gravel's name up...now there's a real vote-getter!

[Ken Burch]

28. Nobody smeared Jake in this thread and you know it.

All I said about him was that he didn't get a huge response at the Dem picnic in Juneau. That's not a smear, that was just reality.
It didn't justify the viciousness you showed in post #10. I assume you now retract most of what you said there.

And Diane IS going to support the winner of the primary. You have no good reason to be raising questions about that.
I like Jake as a person, I know his wife's family. They would NOT want you to be using this kind of right-wing talk radio tactics on Jake's behalf.

And as a former Teamster truck driver, Diane is as blue collar as anybody.

They'd both be good candidates. You don't have to bash Diane to help your guy. And you don't have to lie.

[ANCGuy]

30. When will Diane sign the pledge?

Why does she refuse to do so? It -is- a big deal that she hasn't signed the pledge, considering her Green past and her shameful treatment of Fran Ulmer. If you work for her campaign (and it appears that you do) why not get her to do so...it will make me, and lots of other Alaska Ds, happy.

[Blue_In_AK]

31. ANCGuy, I have just received the following e-mail from Diane's

campaign which should put your mind at ease ... if you truly are concerned about this issue and not just trying to get a rise out of us.

***

So that you as staff and supporters may know the answer,

My short and sweet Answer should the question arise of my commitment to the party and of Primary Candidate endorsement.

I reassure all,

I am not leaving the party for any reason.

I expect to win the Primary, and look forward to Jake’s support.

And I will endorse whoever the Party chooses in the Primary.

Thanks all – It’s going well!

SHIRLEY - Please make sure to send this message with the letter to our Coordinator/Contacts.

Diane E. Benson



I hope that this clarifies the issue for you. And if you were saying that I was the one trashing Jake because of my LTTE, as I clearly said, I was NOT implying that he had questionable ties. All I was saying is that voters should regard with skepticism boasts by any candidate of his or her "fundraising juice," which, as I said, is what led to the current corruption issues.

I met Jake myself during Diane's campaign last year, and while his support of her seemed lukewarm, I have nothing personally against him. I am just a dedicated Benson supporter -- she speaks for me.

Now, can we please be peaceful about all this? It's a long campaign season.

[ANCGuy]

33. Diane does the right thing!

I think this is good news for Alaska Democrats. In the note you posted, Diane is committing herself to the Democratic Party. It's nice to see her in the process of putting herself 100% inside the Democratic tent: I hope she'll be signing the pledge soon, too.

On the 'fundraising juice' comment of yours, you most certainly wrote here on this board, 'Well, yes, maybe I am implying...'. If you're backing away from that statement, then that's a good thing.

You seem to have contacts with Diane's campaign: perhaps you can get her to remove from her website http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=138&topic_id=2147&mesg_id=2195">all the endorsements she clearly does not have for the 2008 election.

Lest anyone forget, the goal is to http://www.dropdon.com/">send Don back to his Ft. Yukon doublewide!

[Blue_In_AK]

34. Perhaps I should have used the sarcasm smiley.

:sarcasm:

[ANCGuy]

35. So your 'email from Diane' was bogus?

Am I understanding you?

[Blue_In_AK]

37. No, the e-mail from Diane was 100% real...

The sarcasm smiley was for my comments about "maybe Jake DOES have questionable ties." I thought that's what you were talking about.

I will make this perfectly clear. I don't know anything at all about Jake's ties other than he's the former chairman of the Alaska Democratic party, a former school board member, and an IBEW lawyer. The latter means nothing to me, either positive or negative, because I've worked with lawyers here for over 30 years and I don't paint them with a broad brush.

I know much more about Diane, having worked on her campaign last year and now. I know the things she stands for, and I agree with her. I also trust her because her values have not changed in the years that I have been aware of her. I know all about the "Green" thing and why she did it, and I don't hold that against her. I think she's a remarkable woman with a very firm grasp of the issues we face as Alaskans and Americans. I will continue to support her through the primary. If she doesn't win, I will be disappointed, but I will vote - obviously - for the Democratic candidate (unless it's Theresa Obermeyer, in which case I'll withhold my vote. In case it's needed, here's another sarcasm smiley :sarcasm: ).

Now, that should be all I need to say on this. As I said before, you support your candidate and I'll support mine; after the primary, we'll both be supporting the same person, I would assume. Okay?

[Ken Burch]

36. Will you give it a rest! There was NEVER an issue here.

She's on the record. Signing the pledge no longer matters, and Diane was fully inside the Democratic tent already.

There is no reason to assume that Diane is any less electable than Jake. At this point, nobody in the state but a few party types has HEARD of Jake.

And the "fundraising juice" comment wasn't baiting. It was a defense of Diane against the insinuation in the Daily News article. Yes, we'd had trouble getting money from the party. But that wasn't Diane's fault. It was the state and NATIONAL party's fault for refusing to change their assessment of the race as hopeless even as Diane was dramatically closing the gap with no money at all. Diane more than doubled the Democratic vote in that race from the previous year, and you act as if that doesn't count.

Nothing anybody has said about Jake here justified your attacks on Diane. All we were doing is challenging the assertion that Jake was the only REAL candidate this year. That's a bogus claim and you know it.

[ANCGuy]

38. Signing the Pledge matters greatly...

...I don't understand what the problem is with signing it. I think it's great that Diane realizes that the perception that her commitment to the Democratic Party was serious enough for her to alert her supporters. Now she needs to tell the rest of us, the voters.

Ken Burch, everyone except for you knows that all of Diane's problems last election cycle were self-inflicted. I've outlined all of those problems earlier on this thread. Thank God we have a candidate this cycle we can be proud of, a candidate who can beat Don Young: Jake Metcalfe.

Come November 2008, I -like you- will vote Democratic. Time to send Don into retirement.

[Ken Burch]

39. What do you mean, "everyone except ME" knows that?

Diane ran a strong campaign with almost NO support from the party. She did nothing to deserve having the party cut her loose. Her race was just as important as the governorship. The only good that came of that campaign is that we're now free of Brylcreem Boy and his anti-Democratic approach to Democratic politics.

Diane's loyalty in this campaign was NEVER in question. She never needed to prove it.
If Jake Metcalfe is a true stand up guy, he'll disavow your hardball Rahm Emmanuel tactics. Democratic candidatss are suppose to focus on attacking THE REPUBLICANS.

Diane and Jake would be EQUALLY strong candidates. There's no reason for the approach you've taken here.

Diane is a loyal Democrat. Her statement is enough.

[ANCGuy]

40. "Her statement is enough." For you, perhaps...

...but real Democrats like me can't understand why her signing the Pledge is such a problem. Again, she's been a serial Green Party candidate and played footsie with Frank Murkowski while treating Fran Ulmer --a life-long Democrat and Frank's opponent-- horribly. These are reasonable concerns, which is one of the reasons why the Democrats created the pledge in the first place.

Ken Burch, when you post here, are you writing as a Diane Benson campaign offical? I work for an engineering company, not a campaign. And you? You seem to have it fixed somewhere in your head that any comments I make (which have too many facts in them, which is why you're so irritated) are some kind of Official Jake Communique, which is equally entertaining and false.

BTW, is it an Article of Faith among Diane supporters to dislike Rahm Emmanuel? He and Howard Dean did turn both houses of Congress Democratic in 2006, if you weren't aware.

[Ken Burch]

41. It's an Article of Faith with me to have problems with Rahm.

I volunteer for Diane, but I am not enunciating the "official line" of the campaign or anything like that.

The Dems took Congress in 2006 largely due to grass-roots energy. Many of Rahm's hand-picked candidates lost. I particularly remember the 6th District race in Illinois, when Rahm stomped all over a dynamic progressive peace candidate, Christine Cegelis, and imposed another candidate who failed to do significantly better than Christine did in 2004.

Diane, as far as I know, only ran ONCE as a Green. She had NOTHING to do with Frank Murkowski. I like Fran Ulmer, but she lost in a landslide and Diane's candidacy had nothing to do with it.

At the time Diane was a Green, the Democrats had made it clear that progressives weren't welcome(other than to campaign for the DLC's chosen slate). A lot of good people left the party over that treatment. Most of them are back. You can't seriously say they all should be prescribed(especially since Rahm's notion of party loyalty doesn't prevent him from recruiting former Republicans(and just barely former Republicans in many cases). Why is it only acceptable to bring in new people to the party from the RIGHT?

The Pledge is a straw man. Diane has always made it clear she would back the primary winner. This Pledge is a McCarthyite loyalty test and Diane has done nothing to deserve it being used against her. She'll back the primary winner(which she will probably be).
She undoubtably will sign it, but it has been used to create bad feelings that didn't need to be created.

Devil's advocate question on the Pledge: In Illinois, several years ago, the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate and governor were won by followers of Lyndon Larouche. If something like that happened here, due to some freak result, would you still hold Diane OR Jake to that Pledge? This sort of occurrence may have been what Diane was referring to(although I don't know).

[ANCGuy]

42. Until Diane signs the Pledge...

...no real Democrat should bother with her candidacy. Spew all the extremist invective you want Ken Burch, but facts are facts.

[Ken Burch]

43. Diane is a REAL Democrat. I am a REAL Democrat.

And she has given her word, which can be trusted. There was no need to embarass or humiliate her be demanding a signed Pledge that no other Dem candidate in any other race is being forced to sign. She will support the winner. She has said REPEATEDLY she will support the winner. That is enough.

And it's not extremist just to be a Democratic progressive. HUAC was disbanded decades ago. Didn't you get the memo?

[ANCGuy]

44. Jake Metcalfe was asked..

...to sign the Pledge by the Bartlett Club a couple of weeks ago and he did so without hesitation. I saw him do it. Why you think Diane --considering her less than stellar record in the Good Democrat Department-- shouldn't be held to the same standards as everyone else is beyond me.

Ken Burch, you like to use a lot of radical invective and slurs against progressive and moderate Democrats. Do you feel percecuted? Try http://zapatopi.net/afdb.html">one of these out for size and see if it helps.

[Ken Burch]

45. So it's come to tinfoil hat jokes?

And I'm not sure what you mean by "radical invective".

I'm just defending the candidate I support against an unjustified line of attack.

Real Democrats fight fair.

[ANCGuy]

46. Your use of dialectics...

...smacks of Marxism. Look, accept the fact that we differ as to whether or not Diane will pull a Joe Lieberman when she loses the primary.

We are in agreement in the fact that Diane Benson has yet to sign the pledge promising to support the Democratic nominee.

You argue:

-she doesn't have to;
-she 'said it on the radio' and that's 'good enough';
-she's a 'good Democrat';

In addition, there's been a portion of of an email posted here --purported sent by Diane to her supporters-- wherein she says she's support the Democratic nominee.

I argue:

-She's left the Democratic Party before;
-She has been a candidate for another party before;
-She has campaigned against Democrats before;
-When asked, she refused to state publicly (KUDO, Shannyn's show) that she will support the Democratic nominee.
-When asked, she has thus far refused to sign the same pledge that Jake Metcalfe had no problem signing.

I think my arguments are a tad stronger than yours. We don't need Lieberman act-a-likes in the Democratic Party, particularly here in Alaska. If Diane isn't willing to commit to supporting whomever the Democrats choose as their nominee, then she is unworthy of anyone's political attention or financial contribution.

[Ken Burch]

52. Joe Lieberman was from the RIGHT WING of the Democratic Party

Diane is a progressive. She is not going to split the Democratic vote. She NEVER endorsed Frank Murkowski. And she has stated on Anchorage radio AND IN A LETTER THAT HAS BEEN REPEATEDLY QUOTED ON THIS THREAD that she will endorse the winner of the primary if it is someone other than herself.


Enough lies already.

[ANCGuy]

53. This dead horse has been flogged enough...

...by both of us, Ken Burch.

Can we agree that you think Diane does not need to sign the pledge and I think she does need to sign the pledge?

[Ken Burch]

54. You brought this non-issue up.

I'm just refusing to let you get away with McCarthyism.

[ANCGuy]

55. It is an issue. It remains an issue.

But one can't argue in any productive way with a Marxist. Here's my last word on this theme for now: Diane needs to sign the pledge before she can expect to be taken seriously by real Democrats. Peace out, yo.

[Blue_In_AK]

56. One other thing...

You seem to forget that the majority of Alaskan voters are undeclared and independent. They're not Republicans, they're not Democrats -- they're UNDECLARED. So they might tend to say, take your Democratic Party loyalty oath and stick it up your ass. (Notice I didn't say DIANE would say that.) I think YOU are putting way too much emphasis on the party and not enough on the issues. Talk about an apparatchik.... :eyes:

[Ken Burch]

57. Tinfoil hat jokes AND redbaiting. That's the secret to party unity.

:sarcasm:

[Edward Teller]

48. Stellar Good Democrat Department

AncGuy,

With such stellar Dems as Bill Sheffield and Steve Cowper to look up to, I'm sure you'd pledge blind loyalty to either or both of them if once again given the opportunity. Why should candidate Benson be forced to sign some bogus document cooked up in some bar by Rod McCoy and Jake, when she can say it so much better herself:

Short Diane:

I reassure all,

I am not leaving the party for any reason.

I expect to win the Primary, and look forward to Jake’s support.

And I will endorse whoever the Party chooses in the Primary.

long Diane:

 A Message to Democrats from Congressional Candidate Diane E Benson
 
 
Dear Fellow Democrats,
 
We are moving forward as a campaign to do the work that must be done to share our vision and our message in my bid for the U.S. House of Representatives, and part of that message is expanding and strengthening the party.  I am writing to you so that you may know of my commitment and of my great respect for Alaska Democrats.  I am also writing to clarify a few points rather than have you rely on speculation.
 
Discussion of Pledges
 
It has been proposed that as candidates for Congress we make a pledge to support who ever may win the Primary election.  This is a nice idea albeit a bit unnecessary, but I would support such a move to alleviate any insecurity others might have about the intent of the candidates.  However, it seems premature and illogical to do this now as the deadline for candidates to file is not until June 1, 2008.  Perhaps June 1, 2008 might be a better time to do this with all the candidates together and to take that time to show strength of unity for the party.  I think this might be more advantageous to the party, and what is advantageous to the party matters to me.
 
Rumors of my "Jumping Ship"
 
I want my fellow Democrats to know, I have absolutely no intention of leaving the Democratic Party.  To put it another way, I will not leave the party for any reason.  When I entered the race last year I worked very hard to present the best image and voice to add legitimacy and viability to the Democratic presence in Congressional races.  I believe I did that, and will continue to do so.  That is my pledge to you.
 
Today is our opportunity to make much needed change in Congress, and to bring some sanity and humanity back to government.  I hope that will continue to be the focus of us all as we move forward to show the nation that Alaska is a great state, not just in resources, but in mind, body and spirit.
 
In service always,
 
Diane E. Benson

[Ken Burch]

32. She was on two talk radio shows today and SAID she would support the winner

If she's said it on radio, that commits her no matter what she signs. This isn't an issue.

And let's face it, Fran had no chance of winning in 2002. Diane had nothing to do with Fran's loss that year.

There's no reason to do McCarthyism on this.

[Edward Teller]

47. kool aid?

I worked on Diane Benson's campaign last year and spoke with her over the winter about running again. I've donated to her current campaign. Although I've known Jake Metcalfe since 1991, I only met Diane fairly recently.

I don't remember her ever making a statement to anyone that would indicate she felt she "deserved" anything in politics. The memes that she has spoken something like that or that she is an "unwinnable" candidate are false, probably intentionally so. Additionally, the canard that she received most of her money from the Party is beyond laughable. The realities on theae two issues are that Benson has expected at least a two-way to four-way race in the 2008 Dem Primary since about February of 2007, and received less than 15% of her funding from the Democratic Party.

[ANCGuy]

49. Phil! So good to see you here...

Now if you would only stop posting your poisonous, anti-Jake non-sequiturs in the comment sections of other websites, the world would be a better place. And http://www.adn.com/life/story/5003946p-4931783c.html">speaking of poison, isn't Horst Wessel overdue for the Munger treatment?

[Edward Teller]

50. your theme song?

Don't know it. could you hum a few bars from memory?

[ANCGuy]

51. Working on the David Duke campaign this cycle, Phil?

I can't imaging Diane knowingly having someone with your weltanschauung on her staff. Ever.

[Edward Teller]

58. your comment

I have no idea what you're writing about. Could you please explain?