Murkowski Weighing Write-In Bid?

Update (7:59 PM):

It should be noted that Senator Bennett would have had a decent chance of victory in Utah, due to the State's overwhelming Republican majority, but the same cannot be said of Alaska - its politics are unpredictable at best.

Original post:

Bad news out of Alaska this evening via Roll Call.

If Senator Murkowski does run as a write-in candidate for reelection, she's only hurting her own image, the Republican Party in the State of Alaska and future control of the United States Senate. As you (the reader) might remember, Senator Bennett was also considered a viable "write-in" threat after his Primary loss in Utah.

Any thoughts on Murkowski's possible write-in campaign?




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Senator Bennett, Mark Steyn and Freedom of Speech.

I must admit something that rarely happens to me: I have too many topics to write about than time to spare this morning. It feels like the end of the world is upon me; just last night I was in "Chairman" mode at a local Young Republican meeting, and today; I'm completely lost, without direction as to what the hell I should be writing about.

Thus, the following article will be a combination of opinions on Senator Bennett of Utah, a book review of Mark Steyn's America Alone and a valued paragraph or two on Freedom of Speech and how that Freedom must be exercised and protected at all costs.

To Run or Not to Run.

According to an article on USA Today's website; Senator Bennett will soon decide on whether or not he will run as an "write-in" candidate in Utah's Senatorial election in November. He would be the first Senator since Joe Lieberman back in 2006 to attempt a "third party" run to reclaim his seat in the Halls of Congress.

Putting aside my personal (positive) feelings about Senator Bennett for a minute; can the longtime United States Senator win if he were to run as a "write in" candidate against the eventual Democratic & Republican nominees? I believe Senator Bennett could and would win. Some might accuse me of political bias, but I think we should look at the facts before labeling me.

1. Senator Bob Bennett won the 2004 Senate Election with 69% of the vote, compared to 28% of the vote for his Democratic opponent, and 3% of the vote for two lesser known candidates. As we are well aware of; Utah is a red state, that's not gonna change in 2010.

2. According to a Rasmussen Reports poll in April; 37% of Utah Republicans would have voted for Senator Bennett if a Primary was held, instead of the State Convention. If Senator Bennett could retain those 37% in November, along with at least 70% of undecided Republicans; than a successful campaign could achieve 51% of Republican votes; more than enough to achieve the ultimate upset.

3. If my above mentioned "theories" were to occur, and the Democratic candidate receives about the same percentage of votes in 2010 than in 2004; Senator Bennett could win with 35%* of the vote, the eventual Republican Nominee could capture 34% of the vote, leaving the Democrat in last place with 28% of the vote.

Senator Bennett could win; if he runs.

America Alone.

Mark Steyn has long been my favorite talk show host and Conservative columnist, but his book America Alone; was just eye opening. I never realized before that birth rates have fallen to such levels in Europe; I've heard of the Pope begging for Italian Catholics to reproduce and I've read of the Russian government offering $9,000 thousand to reproducing couples, but I never put two and two together before.

I'm not going to write long about it, but if you want an eye opening experience on the death of Europe and how radical Islamists are slowly gaining control; please purchase Mr.Steyn's book and be amazed (and also send it to your liberal friends).

Freedom of Speech.

Today is Draw Mohammad Day across the entire Conservative Blogosphere, where faithful individuals to Freedom of Speech will declare this to radicals who threaten them: We're not gonna take your threats anymore. Freedom is for all, not for the selected. Freedom of Speech doesn't protect the Freedom to not be offended; to be offended is to be breathing, a natural human experience.

As William Wallace declared in Braveheart: FREEDOM!

* - Including the Independent voters; who would be more inclined to support a Senator Bennett "write-in" reelection campaign than to support Mike Lee or Tim Bridgewater, who most feel are dragging the Party to the Isolationist Right.

Run As a Write-In, Senator Bennett!

I know that Mr. K has written in defense of the three-term incumbent. I know that he's not perfect, but Bob Bennett is the man to lead Utah in the Senate this election year. I realize that he voted for the TARP bailout and worked for a health care consensus, but he is a solid, proven conservative.

He voted against ObamaCare and against the Stimulus. He's worked against the Obama agenda and knows what he's doing. He knows how to use his Senate seat for the maximum effect. He's strictly pro-life and pro-gun rights.

He won 69% of the vote in 2004. He would win an open GOP primary easily. So why kick him off the ballot in such a back-handed, back-room fashion? Utah should overhaul its outdated primary system-- it's a complete waste and against the will of Republican Utahans.

So run as a write-in candidate, Senator Bennett. Watch as you get more votes than your two opponents combined.

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Utah GOP Convention Update.

Senator Bob Bennett has survived the First Round of voting at the Utah Republican Convention, placing third in a crowded field of 8 candidates for the Senatorial Nomination. According to a just published article on the Utah GOP blog, none of the three leading Republican candidates for the Nomination received 30% of the vote, setting up an interesting second round of voting.

First Round Voting Results:

Mike Lee - 982 votes - 28.75%
Tim Bridgewater - 917 votes - 26.84%
Senator Bennett - 885 votes - 25.91%
Cherilyn Eager - 541 votes - 15.84%
Other candidates - 91 votes - 2.66%

Mike Lee, Tim Bridgewater and Senator Bennett have made their final appeals to the 632 votes cast for the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth place candidates. Senator Bennett is placing all of his eggs into his "seniority" basket, I hope that's enough, but we shall see.

4:07 PM Update

Second Round voting in Utah is over; close to 3,500 Republican voters are holding their breath waiting for the results, and Senator Bennett is confident about his chances of finishing second and forcing a Primary election in June. I must admit one thing: If Cherilyn Eager wanted to become a rich woman, she would've offered her leverage of 541 votes for a nice position in DC. I congratulate her for not doing so.

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Republicans to meet in Utah.

Republicans in the State of Utah will be meeting this morning and afternoon in Salt Lake City, as a Senatorial candidate will be selected, and the future of the Republican Party and movement as we know it, could forever be impacted.

Will Utah Republicans retain Senator Bennett for another term in Washington, or will the weak-on-National-Defense Mike Lee be selected for his inaugural term of service? That's the nagging question 3,000 or more Republicans will decide on this morning and afternoon, and a bigger and more important question of National Defense, and maybe even Conservatism as a whole, will be decided as well.

Me and several other Conservative bloggers have written about this all important Convention, and how it will impact Primaries and Conventions to come. Some, such as myself; have stood by Senator Bennett's bid for a fourth term in office, while others, including Erick Erickson and the Club for Growth; have made it their personal mission to see the Senator kicked out of office.

Traditional Conservatives are not pleased with some of Senator Bennett's record on a few issues, including the TARP bailout and Congressional Earmarks, but his commitment to Utah, National Defense, the Second Amendment and Life is inspiring, while his principled stances are honorable.

No candidate is perfect, but few are as honorable or as stubborn about their voting record and still proud at the same time than Senator Bob Bennett, who could be cornered into a hard place with Liberals and Conservatives attempting to force him to change his opinion, and he would never budge from his original, well thought position.

I have no control of what happens in Utah this morning and afternoon, but I would like to make one last personal appeal to the Republican Delegates who will be gathering at 8AM Mountain Standard Time in Utah: Will we be a Party of National Defense, or will we be a Party of reducing the debt and budget, at the expense of National Defense?

The decision is yours; please choose wisely, please choose Bob Bennett.

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Bennett in Third in UT Poll?

A new poll places three-term incumbent GOP Senator Bob Bennett in third place against two upstart rivals in the upcoming primary in that state. The poll was conducted by the Salt Late Tribune and shows him significantly behind.

Partial results:

Mike Lee 37%
Tim Bridgewater 20%
Bob Bennett 16%
Cherilyn Eagar 11%
Not Sure 15%

If Bennett does lose, it appears to be of his own making:

Darren Park, a delegate from Riverton, is one of those. He hasn't decided between backing Lee or Bridgewater, but says he won't vote for Bennett because of the senator's health care proposal, which would have required individuals to buy health care, and his support for the first round of bank bailouts during the Bush administration.

"It's very much about Senator Bennett and not only what he has done and what he didn't do," Park said, in opposing congressional actions "that are incompatible, I believe, with the values and principles most Utahns share."

We're not Utahns, but we've written on this recently. Tim posted this yesterday:

Announcing the Endorsement of Bob Bennett.

Enjoy!

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Announcing the Endorsement of Bob Bennett.

I believe the upcoming Utah Republican Convention could define and brand our movement for months, years and elections to come. Our Republican movement will either remain a movement dedicated to National Defense, or transform into a pseudo-libertarian brothel that will force a third national party into existence.

Will we as Republicans reward legislative leaders such as Senator Bennett with reelection, or will we throw out National Defense accomplishments, for a supposed Constitutionalist, who does not respect the single most important aspect of federal government: National Defense. Considering Tea Partiers have proclaimed themselves "in control" of the Utah Republican Convention, this "election" will once and for all define Tea Partiers as either "allies" or "idealistic boobs".

With the above mentioned in mind, I would like to announce my personal endorsement of Bob Bennett to represent Utah Republicans in the upcoming United State Senate election. When we encounter steadfast Conservatives, especially on National Defense, we should never consider another man, especially one that doesn't understand the fundamentals of our current wars at hand.

I know the Republican Nomination comes down to hundreds of elected Delegates to the state Convention in a few weeks, but I would like to encourage all Republican voters in Utah to email, phone, and contact through all means your local Republican delegate, and please encourage him or her to support Bob Bennett for the Republican Nomination, as we need him more than ever in Washington.

Please visit Bennett's campaign website.

Also; this is a position I have remained consistent on: From Chuck Hagel (in opposition to) to Joe Lieberman (in support of) and dozens of supposed Republicans in between, including Ron Paul and Jason Chaffetz: National Defense or nothing.