« BACK  |  PRINT

RS

EDITOR OF REDSTATE

Lisa Murkowski Profits in Office

By: Erick Erickson (Diary)  |  September 28th, 2010 at 05:00 AM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

When the obituary is finally written on Lisa Murkowski’s political career, one of the key points will be her land deal.

Many people, even in Alaska, have not heard about it, but it gives us a glimpse into everything wrong with Lisa Murkowski and why voters rejected her.

USA Today has a helpful rundown on the story, which is old, but which has some new interesting facts.

Basically, Murkowski paid $179,400 for 1.27 acres of undeveloped land valued at $350,000.00. The guy she bought the land from would be her neighbor. Murkowski was then — and this is seemingly the new information — able to get an earmark of several million dollars from Washington to pave 3 miles of road.

Guess where the paved road was? If you answered “to her property” you would be right.

Well, people find out about the land sale and make a big stink about it so Murkowski does not return the land to her neighbor. She sells it back to him.

And yes, she turned a profit of $40,000.00.

But wait. There’s more.

Murkowski failed to properly note the purchase in her financial disclosure report for 2006. Boehm said Murkowski also said in the same report that she had a 15-year mortgage when financing records indicate a 39-year loan with First Bank, which offers a maximum seven-year maturity date for loans on undeveloped land. Murkowski once sat on the bank’s board.

Tags: ,

COMMENTS

POSTING RULES  |  LOGIN TO COMMENT  |  REGISTER TODAY
  • fpete13527

    ….seem to be rivaled only by the Obama WH, Czardom, and corruptocrat filled Democratic Congress.

  • theproudinfidel

    She’s showing her true colors, it’s time for her to go. The voters of Alaska have spoken, and she’s acting like the spoiled brat she is!!

  • JadedByPolitics

    The Republicans better step up and end that process when they control the House! and the tools in the Senate better jump on the killing of the earmarxist train or 2012 is going to be 10X worse then it is already going to be!

  • newriver400

    Well, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree as they say. She is done – the only thing remaining is to finish the RINO’s who allowed her to keep her committee memberships and ranking member status. It’s one thing for her to serve out her term and not be stripped of rank, it’s quite another for her to be running against the nominee and continue to have even tepid support from the establishment RINO’s in the Senate.

  • audax
  • AceInTX

  • AceInTX

    Well, there is McCain, Graham. Voinovich is still there…then you have Snowe, Collins, Brown, Lugar…

    Then there’s the lean RINO crowd…that would include McConnell, Alexander, Hutchinson, Cornyn, Lott and a few others…

    I could name more but I think this is a good start

  • fpete13527

    ……and let’s not forget the new applicants for advanced RINO upgrade status……….

    Corker (we don’t need no stinkin tax cuts, just US disarming and world governance)

    Hatch (Murlowski is a pure loyal Republican who is not corrupt and deserves to stay on the Energy Committee)

  • RedBeard

    But as an old man I once knew said, “Not everyone we send to Congress is crooked. But give ‘em time.”

  • JoeG

    He needs to be the biggest target.

    Utah’s primary system coupled with the guarantee that his replacement will still have an R by his name makes it him.

  • Locked and Loaded
  • Locked and Loaded
  • joecollins

    I don’t recall a more corrupt grouping of federal elected officials than the ones we are witnessing now. Time for a lot of them to GO HOME.

  • http://908StraightSt.wordpress.com/ mbecker908

    It’s foolish as well.

    You (and that would be the “royal” You, not just Ace) people are the same folks who were all worked up about the disaster known locally as JD Hayworthless.

    Now you want to primary Scott Brown?

    • So, is there anyone in MA with any kind of statewide name recognition who is more to your liking?
    • Does said “person” happen to be a CREDIBLE candidate?
    • Is there a Conservative leadership group in the state who will organize, fund raise and get active for that person?

    Because if you can’t say YES to all three of those things, you’re doing nothing but jousting at windmills.

    If the fund raising part of the Tea Parties holds together, you might manage to raise enough money to fund one winner, but you’ll need a perfect storm and a primary win doesn’t necessarily equate to a general election win (we’ll see what happens in DE).

    None of the folks you named is going to be a “bad” candidate – eg: Coakley, Castle – and they certainly will take a lesson from McCain. Please note that the notable Tea Party victories, over Murkowski and Castle, were against candidates who were simply Coakleyesque. Both of them were supremely arrogant and “assumed the seat”. Both were caught off guard very late in the campaign with a publicity and fund raising blitz. Do not think for one second that Graham, Brown or either of the ME Girls will let that happen. If you don’t have an organization, a plan, money and a really credible candidate you’re going to do nothing more than put a weakened Republican incumbent into a really tough general election race against a motivated Democrat in a Blue state. The obvious exception being Graham, but his position will 100% analogous to McCain, he’ll be able to spend $20MM in the primary because he can raise it and he’ll need to spend about $1.98 in the general to win.

    A question for you Ace, since you live in Texas. I’m assuming that Michael Williams will run for – and win a primary if necessary – KBH’s seat in ’12. In Williams you’ve got a really credible candidate with great name recognition and a fantastic track record. And then there’s Cornyn. Who do have to run against him? Can you find someone who by-then-incumbent Williams and your Governor can both support against Cornyn?

    The one really bright spot here is Hatch. The organization is in place and is a proven winner. But then again, UT is a whole lot different than everywhere else in the way you get on the ballot which is why Hatch is probably a goner. Oh, and they’ve got more than a couple of really well qualified, very credible candidates. And, like TX, it’s a very Red state and he who wins the Republican convention will be the Senator.

    As for Brown and ME Girls, don’t hold your breath. As for Graham, gamecock has indicated that there may be a credible candidate to primary him. We’ll see, but I’ll take his word for it.

    I now come back to the same point I made in November of last year when a whole bunch of folks were all whipped up about Hayworthless and were hauling out their long knives to tell me over and over again how badly JD would beat McCain (and to be fair, you weren’t one of them, you were honest enough to admit that JD would probably lose but you just got giggly about the idea that anybody would run against McCain). If you don’t have a credible candidate and an organization – local organization – you can’t beat a motivated and well organized incumbent. And note that Murkowski and Castle were certainly not motivated and their organization was faulty at best.

  • Icythus

    He’d be able to explain to all of us how things are different in Alaska, and so, see, this is quite all right, nothing to see here, and in fact this happens all the time.

    Besides which, the federal government owns so much Alaskan land (which it STOLE from its rightful owners!!!), it’s only fair that Alaska’s senators rob the taxpayers of the other 49. Murkowski and Young, they’re latter-day Robin Hoods, really.

    Oh, and if any corruption did occur, it’s all Sarah Palin’s fault. After all, she’s just a shameless self-promoter who ruins the lives of career bureaucrats for fun. And she hates puppies. PUPPIES, guys!

  • mdd1956

    system

  • Tbone

    and return here to keep us informed about the minutia of Alaska politics and the threat posed by Palin.

  • mikerazar

    As Art has explained so many times, only people whose entire career has been spent helping corrupt politicians in return for a little vig, can appreciate that the system is just fine the way it is. The rest of us should just shut up and pay our taxes.

  • http://www.gmsplace.com/ civil_truth

    Micah 7:8
    I Cor 10:12

  • http://www.gmsplace.com/ civil_truth

    Same scriptures:

    Micah 7:8
    I Cor 10:12

  • http://www.gmsplace.com/ civil_truth
  • benson1

    like so many politicians who have been in Washington to long. I agree she needs to be voted out.

    But why would you include in the report of her crooked dealings that she sold the land back to the guy she bought it from and made a profit. Why would she give it back and not sell it back. She’s a crook not stupid and there’s nothing crooked about selling back property you paid for. This should not have been included in her crooked dealings. It looks ridiculous to say a person can’t sell land it owns but should give it back to the person it was purchased from.

    If there’s something about this specific action that was crooked it sure wasn’t stated.

  • Dan McLaughlin

    I was disappointed. This is so his MO.

  • mikerazar
  • http://www.gmsplace.com/ civil_truth
  • mikerazar

    I kinda miss Art. I just think he is a RINO who wants respect.

  • Tbone

    I’m sure he’ll have time to return as soon as the paving job is done. :-)

  • Locked and Loaded

    you could just surmise that she earned $40K for providing to the gentleman a taxpayer-funded road. Either way, he gets the road. Once found out, she still had to get something out of the deal, didn’t she?

    You’re the one who looks ridiculous defending any part of this deal. How do you feel about the Rezco/Obama relationship?

  • Locked and Loaded

    you could just surmise that she earned $40K for providing to the gentleman a taxpayer-funded road. Either way, he gets the road. Once found out, she still had to get something out of the deal, didn’t she?

    You’re the one who looks ridiculous defending any part of this deal. How do you feel about the Rezco/Obama relationship?

  • AceInTX

    Second, Yes Brown is a RINO…as is Snowe, Collins and the rest I listed…

    Third, I didn’t say anything about primarying any of them but I wouldn’t lose a moment’s sleep if they were all GONE….RINOs tarnish the brand…they make it impossible to govern because the McConnells and Boehners of this world pander to them constant and continuously.

    As for Hayworth, Yeah I cheered him on…and what of it…I told you I had no allusions that he was some Greek God come to save the world…He served his purpose…McCain spent what, $20 million dollars pummeling Hayworth…that’s $2o Million Dollars that didn’t go to prop up and cram down Trey Greyson, Mike Castle and others down our throats…

    As for whether we can do better than the Main Twins or Brown in the NE…I could give a rat’s rear end about whether they win or lose in 12…they’re an irritant and a distraction to the rest of the county…It’d be nice to have them for procedural votes…but what else do they bring to the table? COMPROMISE…That’s what…if we can win the south and solidify the gains we’re making in the mid west and Mountain West right now…we won’t need their sorry buts and I’d say…good riddance to all three of them because I’m about saving what’s best a greatest about this country not compromising it away so Mitch McConnell can solidify his grasp on power and you can crow about a W in the win loss column.

    Then there’s your little rant about Cornyn…setting up straw men and knocking them down as well…did I say anything about primarying him? No I didn’t…but I can think of a couple up and comers who would be perfect for the Job…first would be Rick Perry if he doesn’t run for Pres and get it…then David Dewhurst…I could think of any number who would be as good or better than Cornyn….That said…my beef with Cornyn isn’t as a Senator…it’s as Chairman of the NRSC…It’s his penchant for backing the most liberal candidate in the primaries that frosts my britches….take him out of the NRSC and I’ll be blowing his horn again…

    So…now that you’ve gotten that off your chest…

  • aesthete

    Most voters can tell the difference between a moderate and a conservative, understand that some members of a coalition will trend more left than the members of the philosophical heartland, and at any rate, most moderates aren’t itching to call themselves conservatives. The problem is self-described conservatives like Bill Frist, George Bush, and countless others in leadership roles taking the party down decidedly anti-conservative ends. If you want to improve the brand, don’t focus on self-described moderates where only moderates can win: focus on self-described conservatives who are anything but. I include members like JD, Bennett, and pretty much any “conservative who voted for No Child Left Behind, Medicare Pt D, McCain-Feingold, and the expansion bill to the latter. Get conservative leadership backed by independent conservative membership, and you will get more conservative results. Concentrating on kicking out moderates where conservatives can’t win is wasted effort, and counterproductive, to boot.

  • aesthete

    Moderates, AK, Palin, Art, and RINO-hunting all in one thread. This should be interesting.

  • Zaber

    But yeah, the whole “you have no idea what Alaska is like, so shut the heck up” message got really old after the hundredth time I read it, all the while he had no problem with getting involved with those other silly 49 states.

    So, after the whole “taking my football and going home” blowup the night that Murkowski had her little party, I don’t see why its a big deal if someone makes the occasional joke along those lines.

    I was going to say that we obviously just don’t understand how road construction is done in Alaska. :)

  • http://908StraightSt.wordpress.com/ mbecker908

    If you want to improve the brand, don?t focus on self-described moderates where only moderates can win:

    Other than that one sentence, I agree wholeheartedly. On that one, the problem isn’t so much – IMO – places where “only moderates can win”, because I think a conservative message can be a winner pretty much anywhere. The real problem is, again, no credible Conservative candidate is available. So far as I know – and I’m no font of knowledge on this, so I would love to be proved wrong – there aren’t more conservative candidates and organizations available in at least two states, ME and MA.

    A conservative message can be a real winner, just look at Toomey and the guy who’s about to put Feingold on the unemployment line.

  • Dan McLaughlin

    He’s been retired for four years now.

  • Zaber

    If Cornyn did what he should be doing, and waiting until AFTER the primary to provide support for the candidate chosen by the actual voters, he’d be golden, right?

    It all makes perfect sense to me.. I just don’t understand why he can’t wait til the people determine who they want to represent them, and then go to town with the fundraising for that candidate.

    I mean, the RNC waits until we have an official nominee before they get involved. It should be easy enough for a senator to understand.

  • AceInTX

    you and I know the difference…but if I had a dollar for every time I tried to convince someone it’s better to vote R than D and had something one of these crap weasels did thrown back in my face as an example as to why I’m full of crap…I’d be a rich man…

    And you’re right Bush and Frist and others are the public face of what I describe whether it be because they are of the same stripe…or because they were bending over backwards trying to appease the liberal members of the caucus and keep them on board.

    either way…I’ve written exhaustively how the people I mentioned above and the others have banded together in groups like the Republican Main Street Partnership and the Tuesday Group to strategize how best to undermine conservatives, raise funds to elect more Republican Liberals to sell us down the river and drag the caucus to the left…

    click the links if you think I’m full of it…let them speak for themselves…

    as for the rest of it…I agree

    If you want to improve the brand, don?t focus on self-described moderates where only moderates can win: focus on self-described conservatives who are anything but. I include members like JD, Bennett, and pretty much any ?conservative who voted for No Child Left Behind, Medicare Pt D, McCain-Feingold, and the expansion bill to the latter. Get conservative leadership backed by independent conservative membership, and you will get more conservative results. Concentrating on kicking out moderates where conservatives can?t win is wasted effort, and counterproductive, to boot.

  • AceInTX

    and essentially how the R Party needs to control the riff raff

  • AceInTX
  • aesthete

    what you thought. What I meant was not that the conservative message can’t win everywhere: I agree that it can be. However, in many cases, the vehicle for transmitting those ideas forcefully and in a way that can win elections isn’t there: Christine O’Donnell may arguably be a conservative, but I doubt that even her most fervent supporters would call her a great advocate for the cause. I only meant the statement in the sense that there are certain races where, due to the quality of the candidates, only the moderate can win. The electable conservative candidate in Tennessee can afford to be more sloppy and quirky than one running in NYC.

  • aesthete

    that, besides McCain, the people I have most throw in my face when talking to independents are “conservatives” like Bush supported by conservatives who say a lot of the right things, only to turn around and implement the worst sort of big government programs. (But then, I live in the West, so experiences may vary.)

  • aesthete
  • audax

    …were supporting Murkowski as ranking minority member on Energy committee and trashing DeMint rather than stripping her of any GOP committee positions as she lost her GOP primary and, am assuming, is no longer running as a Republican in her write in bid. These guys (and gals) don’t have a set and we need to SLAP them with primary opponents in 2012 and 2014 for not giving Joe Miller ONE HUNDRED PERCENT support in his run for the A;aska Senate seat. Good article by Gizzi in todays Human Events about this issue.

  • mikerazar
  • audax

    right off the top….Ted Poe and Dan Patrick! Sure there are many more in the Great State of Texas to give us the Conservative-noun we need in 2014.

  • wayneepalmer

    So long as we are stuck with these RINO country club elites (like that swine McCain and “Nancy” Graham) who keep stabbing us and the country in the back for the sake of “congeniality and the big tent” EVERY TIME we get some power in DC – not to mention how much they hate REAL Conservatives more than they hate the Stalinists on the left – we are never going to change D.C.

  • audax

    ….http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/248052/murkowski-files-rich-lowry

  • chihank

    Lisa Murky is attempting to use the death of Ted Stevens to gain traction for her write-in campaign.

    I hope the attempt backfires on her big time. Lisa Murky is nothing but a low life bottom feeder.

  • AceInTX
  • AceInTX

    my understanding is DeMint was the only one who spoke up in favor of stripping it from her…and then there was a secret vote so noone knows who was for or against…and I don’t think a tally of yeas and nays has ever been reported either.