JUNEAU – Republican officials in at least five Alaska State House districts passed resolutions censoring American Senator Lisa Murkowski, and many of those officials said they believed the state party would also consider a resolution denouncing it.
The resolutions are at least partially motivated by Murkowski’s support for President Donald Trump’s impeachment, but several sponsors have expressed greater dissatisfaction with the senator.
The actions of the districts established a collision course with the state organization of the Republican Party, where President Glenn Clary supported a “big tent” approach to party membership.
“If we are going to win this game, if we want to, or win in politics and maintain our freedoms … then we will have to unite and not separate,” he said during an interview on January 26 on a radio. .
Republican officials in other states expressed their disapproval of the elected Republicans who supported the impeachment, but the Republican organization in Alaska has remained relatively quiet until recently.
“I think the party will do what it can. We have seen this happen in other states where my Republican colleagues who voted to condemn have seen this resistance from within the party, ”said Murkowski.
“I maintain my position. If I had to take that vote again, I would vote to keep my oath. And if the party blames me because it felt I needed to support the party, they can make that statement, but I will make the statement again that my obligation is to support the Constitution that I promised to defend, and I will do that, even if it means that I have to oppose the direction of my state party. “
Under the rules of the Republican Party of Alaska, a letter of censure is “an official rebuke and disapproval”, but it can also act as a political windsock, indicating a lack of support for a particular person.
In Homer, Republican district president Jon Faulkner said Murkowski’s support for Trump’s impeachment was “the proverbial drop that broke the camel’s back” for Republicans in his district.
He said that local Republicans were disenchanted with Murkowski for a number of reasons, including her vote for Obamacare (something he said showed lack of support for small businesses), lack of support for Trump, excessive spending at the federal level and “a spectrum of issues that we will call constitutional, but also social. “
“I think abortion is a big thing for many people,” said district president of the North Pole, Barbara Tyndall, who oversaw a censorship resolution.
This resolution refers to a “standard of disregard for fundamental conservative principles”.
In the district covering parts of Wasilla, Eagle River and Butte, a resolution passed on January 28 said Murkowski should be censored because registered Republicans should make a good faith effort to support other Republicans, such as the president.
Republicans in District 8, covering Big Lake, and District 9, covering Valdez, Delta Junction and the eastern Matanuska-Susitna neighborhood, also passed censorship resolutions.
Murkowski is running for re-election in 2022. A censorship would normally be bad news for a candidate’s chances in state primaries, but Alaskans last year passed Electoral Measure 2, which changed the state’s electoral system.
Murkowski no longer needs to go through a Republican primary election like the one he lost in 2010. (An almost unprecedented campaign saw her re-elected in November of that year.)
Some Republicans are suspicious of the measure and believe Murkowski is behind it, citing the involvement of former Murkowski campaign officials and officials who were deeply involved in the pro-measure effort.
“Everyone I talk to on the Republican side thinks it’s idiomatic – that is, you know, A follows B, it’s as proven as it needs to be,” said Faulkner. “I think if you’re reporting this, her fingerprints are gone.”
The lead author of Measure Ballot 2, a former Murkowski activist, denied that the measure was intended to benefit her.
Murkowski herself said on Tuesday that it is a mistake to think that she would act differently without Electoral Measure 2.
“I didn’t shy away from making difficult or sometimes controversial statements or decisions,” she said. “I do, I think I have a demonstrated track record of independence and resistance to the party, and that certainly causes some problems within the party itself.”
Murkowski voted in line with Trump’s positions 72.6% of the time while in office, according to political website FiveThirtyEight. In comparison, Alaskan Republican Senator Dan Sullivan voted in line with Trump 88.6% of the time.
Among Republican senators who were in office for the entire term of Trump, only Susan Collins of Maine and Rand Paul of Kentucky voted in line with Trump’s positions less than Murkowski.
State President Clary did not respond to several interview requests, but called a conservative radio talk show last month to defend Murkowski and urge the presenter to stop attacking other Republicans.
“I would like, as party president, for Republicans to stop demonizing and categorizing each other and supporting each other … you can’t vote for someone, but that doesn’t mean you have to demonize someone and categorize someone in this category called RINO, ”Clary said, referring to the term“ Republican in Name Only ”.
The show’s host, Dan Fagan, fired back: “You must be kidding. Don’t demonize someone like that? Of course I will demonize someone like that. “
He said Murkowski’s support for abortion rights is unacceptable for a Republican.
“The Republican Party is useless. Has he failed, and people like Glenn Clary, who want to continue spoiling Lisa Murkowski just because she is powerful? It’s disgusting, ”said Fagan.
Not all local Alaskan Republican officials support the effort to censor Murkowski. In House District 32, which stretches along the Alaskan Gulf coast from Kodiak to Cordova, President Duncan Fields said he supported Murkowski.
He compared his impeachment role to that of a juror at a trial. A juror hears all the evidence for and against a suspect, Fields said, and it is not appropriate for him to judge the judge’s decision based only on what he heard.
He believes that there may be a silent majority of Republicans who support Murkowski, even if they don’t agree with all the actions she takes.
“I think there are a good number of Alaskan Republicans who like its conservative principles, that kind of Alaskan independence – I will vote my conscience – that is the thing to do in Alaska,” he said.