Begich the Driller

By GottaLaff

Mark Begich is a vast improvement over Ted Stevens, no doubt about that. However:

Mark Begich settled in Wednesday as Alaska's newest U.S. senator-elect by doing what almost no other Democrat in Washington would ever do: declaring his support for oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Not surprising, but I couldn't disagree with him more.

"I think anyone who knows me knows I'm a different Democrat. I'm from Alaska. I'm a believer, a strong supporter of the 2nd Amendment, a supporter of drilling in ANWR. Alaskans are very liberal [in their belief that] government should not interfere in their personal life," he said.

"I'm definitely different from a New York Democrat -- you can bank on that," he said in response to a question from the New York Times. [...]

Begich said he was committed to working with the Republican hierarchy in Alaska, including Gov. Sarah Palin, to advance the state's interests above party conflict.

"I've known her for many years. As mayor, we had a good working relationship on issues that were important to us," he said. "I don't care whether she's a Republican or not. . . . Right now, I think her issues are very similar to mine."

Begich said he was confident he would be able to act as a powerful new advocate on Capitol Hill for opening up Alaska's northernmost wildlife refuge to oil drilling. The idea has been blocked for years because of concerns it would threaten caribou, migrating birds, polar bears and other wildlife whose survival depends on the Arctic coastal plain and nearby waters.

"For the last 28 years, there hasn't been a Democrat sitting in the caucus talking about ANWR," he said. "My goal is to educate them about how big ANWR is to this state."

Alaska first? Begich the Driller needs to have a little more foresight. This is unacceptable.