Alaska Senate race - "Moving Beyond 'Cut, Kill, Dig, Drill' in Alaska"

[Blue_In_AK]

Here is a post at DailyKos by Scott McAdams, the Democratic candidate for Senate in Alaska, who will be running against Teabagger Joe Miller should he hold his lead over Lisa Murkowski for the Republican nomination. I think I like this McAdams guy, even though I'm just learning about him, so I want to get the word out about him and hopefully drive some money his way. People think that he doesn't stand a chance in "red" Alaska since he doesn't come from Anchorage/Fairbanks/Juneau, but if the money can be raised to get him out and about in the state, I think he stands a good chance against the teabagger nutcake, who is also a newcomer. McAdams is like the old-style Alaskan politicians -- Jay Hammond, Wally Hickel, Bill Egan, etc. -- visionaries who had the best interests of ALL Alaskans at heart.

If you are looking for a Senate race to contribute to, this is the one. Joe Miller is Palin with a brain, and the Tea Party Express is throwing tons of money at him in a win-at-any-cost campaign. This could get ugly. We can't let Miller/Palin take the day.



http://www.scottmcadams.org/node/40

We see the bumper stickers all over Alaska. To tourists and visitors, such might seem backward, crude or comical. To outside progressive eyes, the text might appear hopelessly Palinesque and reinforce all the negative stereotypes her bizarre rise to national prominence have cast on our great state. To many Alaskans, the phrase "Cut, Kill, Dig, Drill" is a rebel yell aimed at outside Governmental interests who manage much of a huge landmass that is less than 1% privately owned. To many of us, it is also a declaration of hope to earn a living, raise a family, and build a community.

We are a resource state, and for a generation, our most important resource has been oil. Over 85% of the State of Alaska's annual budget is built from oil revenues, and the major oil fields of the North Slope have long since passed peak production. The clock on Alaska's ability to provide for itself is ticking. Alaskans wonder if our next cut, kill, dig or drill will sustain a new generation.

Many of our political leaders have worked hard to condition us to believe that the only way we will survive is if we do business the same old way, elect corporate loyalists to office to battle federal management agencies, and sell the farm to London and Houston in order to spur resource development. I say the Lisa Murkowski model of developing Alaska for the benefit of big oil will not work and will not sell to the American people in the 21st century, and that our state's economic security depends on immediate political change.

Now is the time to boldly proclaim that Alaska must become the laboratory and incubator for an American energy revolution. Today in Alaska, unrivaled renewable energy potential sits stranded in the tide, wind, rain and ground. Today in Alaska, as a latter day state, we neither enjoy the benefits nor endure the scars of having been developed during the industrial revolution, and it is only fair that we stand ready to benefit from the first fruits of America's next great era of imagination, creativity and industry. Today in Alaska, with new leadership fighting corporate tax giveaways and making it possible, we can use any new federal oil developed on federal land in Alaska as a cash machine to convert 150 stand alone community utilities to clean energy.

The things we will learn, the challenges we will overcome, the innovations we will make during this conversion could provide a blueprint to the world. The jobs we will create, the capital we will attract and the enduring savings we will provide our communities will greatly enhance our quality of life. Lets do this together, move beyond talk, and prove what is possible. Lets make Alaskan energy 100% renewable, and give every Alaskan good reason to invest in a better brand of bumper sticker.