links for 2010-08-31

In a major upset, Sen. Lisa Murkowski has conceded her GOP Senate primary race to Tea Party Express favorite Joe Miller, who had the backing of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

"I don't see a scenario in which the primary will turn out in my favor," Murkowski said in her concession speech
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Murkowski made the concession speech Tuesday night, a full week after the primary.

Miller has never held elected office but he is now the immediate front-runner in the heavily Republican state.

Murkowski trailed Miller, a Fairbanks attorney, by 1,668 votes after last week's primary. Election officials began counting absentee and outstanding ballots Tuesday. Murkowski made slight gains, but was never able to get Miller's lead below 1,200 votes.
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Sarah Palin > Sarah Palin

…….please show grace, humility and some honesty before the American people tonight. Please don’t declare “Mission Accomplished” and then saunter away with an assumption that your opposition to the Iraq strategy was key to our troops’ success. Please end the political posturing. Admit you were wrong about the surge. Recognize what our brave armed forces have achieved. Admit that the strategy long advocated by Republicans, proposed by President Bush, led by Generals Petraeus and Odierno, and executed by thousands of America’s finest – our brave men and women in uniform – brought violence under control and made responsible withdrawals possible. The more honest you are about the past, the more likely it is you will gain the support of the American people for your Iraq policy in the future. We need to be able to trust the White House war strategy, as our children’s future depends on it. Being honest with us tonight is a good starting point in building trust.
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Read it all……

California GOP Senate hopeful Carly Fiorina this week staked out her spot opposing tough Net neutrality rules.

The former Hewlett-Packard CEO and telecommunications industry executive told POLITICO she opposes any federal requirement that Internet providers treat all Web traffic equally.

"The principle sounds fantastic, but the principle is not the problem," Fiorina said in an interview at the Technology Policy Institute's conference in Aspen, Colo. "The problem is how companies and regulatory bodies are trying to translate that principle into policy, which would have a bad effect."

A spokeswoman later added that Fiorina "opposes Net neutrality and thinks government intervention and more regulation will not be helpful where the Internet is concerned."

Fiorina's position contrasts greatly with that of her opponent, Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer, who previously cosponsored legislation that would have set open Internet rules firmly in place.
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How will it translate into votes?

Reconstructing the Democrats' meme, we can fairly say that the economy is a huge problem for the party. Of this, there can be no doubt. We can also say that the stalled recovery denied the Democrats a chance to win back the voters they lost over health care. But the process and passage of health care reform were crucial elements in the story. That's when the party started losing the voters it needs to retain control of the government.
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Obama fiddled with health care while America's economy burned

A new poll shows that public support for health care reform dropped sharply in August – a dagger in Democrats’ hopes that their landmark legislation will help them in November’s midterm.
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Obama pushed ObamaCare as the economy collapsed.

The Kaiser Health Tracking Poll has support for the bill dropping seven percentage points in August – down to 43 percent – while opposition rose 10 points to 45 percent. That’s the weakest showing since May – and a far cry from the bump proponents had hoped to see as some of the law’s more consumer-friendly provisions kick in.