Alaska's Senate Race Is Winnable By Progressive Ray Metcalfe-- But Schumer Would Rather See Murkowski Win

Because the Alaska Republican Party is torn in half-- the extremists backing teabagger Joe Miller (running as a Libertarian) and the mainstream conservatives sticking with business-as-usual Lisa Murkowski, the Democrats have a chance to win the Senate seat back. But because grassroots Dems-- who backed Bernie 81.6-18.4%-- nominated Ray Metcalfe (long-time scourge of Alaska's corrupt political establishment), the Alaska Democratic Party establishment (and, of course the like-minded DSCC) don't want to win the seat. Literally. They're backing an independent candidate instead and hoping to throw the election to Murkowski. The top of the shit-heap of Alaska Democratic Party corruption, Mark Begich, after toying about running as a write-in candidate himself, just endorsed independent Margaret Stock. Blue America endorsed Ray Metcalfe about a month ago and today he did a guest post for us on what his priorities would be if he's elected to the Senate. Please consider contributing to his grassroots campaign by tapping the thermometer on the right after you read his post.

A Real Progressive Senator For Alaska?
-by Ray Metcalfe

  I am the former Legislator whistleblower who helped the FBI and federal prosecutors convict VECO owner Bill Allen for bribing Alaska's legislators. Six legislators were convicted of accepting bribes in exchange for their vote to tax Alaska's oil at far less than its real tax value.  The bribery had gone on for thirty years and every Alaskan has paid the price. Had Alaska been paid what Prudhoe Bay was worth, and had legislators deposited the additional payments in the Permanent Fund, the Fund, and our Dividend, would have grown to about five times what it is today, and the Legislature would now be in position to pay big fat dividends and fund government from the earnings for perpetuity.

Getting the dirty money out of politics and ending the pay to play game has been my number one priority for thirty years and will remain so if I am elected to the U.S. Senate.

My other political priorities are quite similar to those of Bernie Sanders & Elizabeth Warren. I have reviewed the bills they have proposed and I support the goals they have defined.

Develop responsibly, protect the environment, and get paid world market value for the renewable and nonrenewable resources we place on the commercial market; that's my motto. Addressing the political corruption that permeates our political system is my number one priority.

To see firsthand what corruption is costing us today, look no further than our Permanent Fund Dividend that just got cut in half.  While I disagree with the Governor's decision, the anger behind the recall petition is misplaced. The blame belongs with those who, for years, accepted campaign funding form oil companies surrogates and voted repeatedly to give your oil away.

Political parties and a majority of our elected officials on both sides of the aisle, have developed mutual dependencies between themselves and large donors seeking financial rewards. After contributing, large donors, in Alaska's case surrogates of the oil companies, pay lobbyists to remind those they helped elect what they expect in return. From Wall Street to Washington, from Big Oil to Juneau; It's a never ending cycle of trading campaign contributions for appropriations, tax breaks, and other economic benefits that infects both major political parties.

You may have heard about a split within the Democratic Party. The split boils down to those who wish to bring an abrupt halt to the pay to play game and those who just want to end the other guy's participation.

With a vote of 27 to 6, the elected members of the Democratic Party's Platform Committee inserted the following language into their proposed Party Platform.  

We support legislation that requires elected officials to declare a conflict of interest and recuse themselves from voting on legislation appropriating cash, resources, or competitive advantages, to themselves, their family, their employers, their business partners, or their contributors.

The old guard establishment was so anxious to exclude such language from the platform they adjourned the convention to prevent the above language from coming up for a vote and likely adoption on the Party Convention floor.

I want to put the above language into federal statute, making it a serious crime to fail to disclose such conflicts and recuse one's self from voting when one has such conflicts.

Ask yourself: How can global worming issues be addressed while the fossil fuel industry can easily provide thirty times the campaign funding as those who wish to fix global warming.

I was the one who started the referendum to overturn Senate Bill 21, better known as "The Big Oil Tax Giveaway Bill." We came very close to winning even though the oil companies spent thirty times what we were able to raise.

If you are a Bernie Sanders fan, I was elected to attend the State Convention as a Sanders delegate. I am the only U.S. Senate candidate who has endorsed Bernie Sanders and come out in support of the legislation he has proposed.

Having me for your Senator would be almost as good as being Senator yourself.