The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

One-Way Flight to Anchorage

Posted on | August 30, 2010 | 60 Comments

That’s right — I booked my flight this morning, and Mrs. Other McCain has already packed my suitcase, so I’ll be in Alaska for Tuesday’s absentee-ballot count.

Frankly, I was planning to go later, but got an e-mail Sunday from a source who suggested I didn’t want to miss the action Tuesday and so I did something crazy: Booked a one-way flight on short notice, because (a) I wasn’t sure I had enough money yet to buy a round-trip; (b) it isn’t clear how soon they’ll have an official decision; and (c) maybe I can drop by and see the neighborhood where, uh, Joe McGinniss lives.

 IYKWIMAITYD.

OK, since I’ll be off the grid for about 12 hours, let’s round up the Alaska news, starting with this video of Joe Miller’s appearance Sunday on Face the Nation, courtesy of our friend Brian O’Connor at Red Dog Report:

“The government is going bankrupt. I don’t think anybody can deny it, sitting at $13.3 trillion in absolute debt and $130 trillion in future unfunded obligations.”

You want to see what media bias looks like? Check the lede of this story:

Joe Miller, the surprise leader in Alaska’s unresolved Republican Senate primary, said Sunday that the growing national debt requires “belt tightening” that should include cutting back on federal dollars that his state receives.

Got that? Not the “winner,” but merely the “leader.” Of course, the only reason the primary is “unresolved” is because Murkowski wouldn’t concede on Election Night and she apparently thinks the NRSC can pull some shenanigans with the absentee ballots.

Ian Lazaran at Conservatives for Palin has an important rejoinder to the PPP poll, which was hilariously wrong about the impact of Sarah Palin’s endorsement of Miller.

U.S. News & World Report has “10 Things You Didn’t Know About Lisa Murkowski,” to which we might add No. 11: She’s a loser.

Apparently, my friend Susan Ferrechio at the Examiner hasn’t gotten the memo:

In Alaska, Republicans may knock each other out on the November ballot and allow a Democrat to win the U.S. Senate seat held by the GOP for nearly three decades. Incumbent Lisa Murkowski trails GOP challenger Joe Miller by 2,000 votes and has not ruled out running as a third-party candidate if she is not the victor after state officials count absentee votes on Tuesday. A general election ballot with three candidates would split the Republican vote and make it easier for Democrats to win if they field a strong enough candidate.

Yes, there will be three candidates on the ballot in November: But if you think Lisa Murkowski’s going to be on the Libertarian ticket, you haven’t been paying close attention. It may not be up to Lisa to “rule out” a third-party campaign, OK?

Dan Riehl wonders why it took two years for Murkowski to pass the bar exam, and hints at a reason. Hey, Dan’s just askin’ questions . . .

OK, that should be enough Alaska news to hold you until Smitty can get back online this evening, when I’ll be on that long flight to Anchorage. This will be the longest trip yet for the increasingly legendary fedora I borrowed from Da Tech Guy, and my buddy Eric Dondero has promised to find me a sofa to sleep on, at least for the first night or two.

Booking a one-way fight when we’ve still got bills overdue has got Mrs. Other McCain  worried to death about this trip, but she’s praying, and you can’t go wrong with a praying woman. Thanks to everyone who has already contributed to the Shoe Leather Fund.

Maybe I’ll be able to update from the airport in a few hours, but other than that, my next dateline will be Anchorage. So for now, I will close with the five most important words in the English language:

HIT THE FREAKING TIP JAR!

UPDATE: As predicted, the LP tells Lisa the Loser to get lost.

I’ve deleted a few of the troll Waylay’s comments, and will delete him entirely if he ever again derogates the blog, per se. This is what is not allowed, you see? You can argue any political viewpoint you wish, but you can’t come into the comments of my blog to declare that the blog sucks. If you want to declare that my blog sucks, go get your own blog and call it, “Hey, That Other Guy’s Blog Sucks,” and see how much traffic you get. But you can’t use our bandwidth to delegitimize our project.

This afternoon, I kissed my wife and hugged my kids good-bye and now I’m about to fly across the country to do what I do, and I don’t need some pathetic troll coming into the comments to say that what I do isn’t worth doing.

PREVIOUSLY:

Category: Alaska, Da Tech Guy, Dan Riehl, Election, Mrs. Other McCain, Senate, Shoe Leather Fund

Comments

60 Responses to “One-Way Flight to Anchorage”

  1. Red
    August 30th, 2010 @ 5:15 pm

    I always appreciate a firsthand account from someone thorough. Good luck in AK Stacy!

  2. Rejected! Alaska Libertarians Say No to Murkowski | The Lonely Conservative
    August 30th, 2010 @ 5:19 pm

    […] absentee ballot counting begins tomorrow. Stacy McCain is on his way and will be reporting from Alaska. Be sure to check for updates. In the mean time, Dan Riehl has […]

  3. Let’s Just Chill a Bit About the Alaska Senate Primary | Smash Mouth Politics
    August 30th, 2010 @ 5:56 pm

    […] like The Other McCain, Dan Riehl and Bob Belvedere have been somewhat exercised over the possibility of strange […]

  4. Mark J. Goluskin
    August 30th, 2010 @ 11:26 pm

    Most important is that you are highlighting the same issue the GOP faces here in Cali. The fight between the grassroots and the establishment. Sure, Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina are outsiders in the sense that they have never ran for anything before. But Meg much more than Carly will cave as fast as Benedict Arnold. Why do you think that the Alaska GOP went up against Sarah Palin? And now Joe Miller? Because these are people that ACTUALLY believe why they ran for office and do what they say. Keep up the good work R. S.!

  5. Mark J. Goluskin
    August 30th, 2010 @ 7:26 pm

    Most important is that you are highlighting the same issue the GOP faces here in Cali. The fight between the grassroots and the establishment. Sure, Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina are outsiders in the sense that they have never ran for anything before. But Meg much more than Carly will cave as fast as Benedict Arnold. Why do you think that the Alaska GOP went up against Sarah Palin? And now Joe Miller? Because these are people that ACTUALLY believe why they ran for office and do what they say. Keep up the good work R. S.!

  6. Bob Belvedere
    August 31st, 2010 @ 6:28 pm

    Thank you, Stacy, for waylaying waylay.

  7. Bob Belvedere
    August 31st, 2010 @ 2:28 pm

    Thank you, Stacy, for waylaying waylay.

  8. Fear And Loathing 2010: In The Land Of The Midnight Sun « The Camp Of The Saints
    August 31st, 2010 @ 2:40 pm

    […] he left for the airport yesterday, Stacy filed a report that contains a lot of good links to reports and analysis on the race.  He also commented: Booking a one-way fight when we’ve still got bills overdue has […]

  9. ALASKA SENATE COUNTDOWN TODAY UPDATE: Preliminary Absentee Count Expected Soon in Anchorage District : The Other McCain
    August 31st, 2010 @ 3:13 pm

    […] 31: Greetings From Anchorage! Aug. 30:Alaska LP to Murkowski: DROP DEAD!Aug. 30: One-Way Flight to AnchorageAug. 30: Did Murkowski’s Mystery Man ‘Mike’ Tamper With Alaska Senate Vote?Aug. 29: Alaska […]

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    September 2nd, 2010 @ 12:30 pm

    […] TODAY Aug. 31: Greetings From Anchorage! Aug. 30:Alaska LP to Murkowski: DROP DEAD!Aug. 30: One-Way Flight to AnchorageAug. 30: Did Murkowski’s Mystery Man ‘Mike’ Tamper With Alaska Senate Vote?Aug. 29: Alaska […]