By R.A. Dillon
For the News-Miner
Published July 15, 2007
WASHINGTON — Sen. Ted Stevens’ popularity with Alaskan voters is near an all-time low, according to a new poll by Ivan Moore.
The survey asked 461 registered voters in Anchorage to rank their perception of Stevens from very positive to very negative. Nearly 44 percent of responders said they had a negative opinion of Stevens, while slightly less than 45 percent had a positive view of the senator.
Breaking the numbers down further, 12.3 percent said their opinion of Stevens was very positive, 32.2 percent somewhat positive, 10.9 neutral, 28 percent somewhat negative, 15.7 percent very negative.
The poll has a 4.6 percent margin of error.
The poll, conducted between July 1-7, made no mention of the ongoing federal corruption probe that has involved Stevens’ son and questions about the remodeling of his Girdwood home. Still, Stevens’ approval rating continues to slip, Moore said.
Stevens’ positive rating between September 2005 and April 2007 ranged between 58 percent and 63 percent, according to Moore’s past data. A drop in the last three months to 44 percent is a very significant change, Moore said.
Stevens, 83, dismissed Moore’s latest poll as biased.
“Moore is an opinion-making pollster, not an opinion-taking pollster,” Stevens said.
Stevens, who has served in the Senate since 1968, said he’s confident about his chances in the 2008 election. Stevens said he was warmly welcomed during a recent weeklong trip to the state and heard “not one negative word” from constituents.
He does acknowledge, though, that the ongoing federal probe is a distraction and could hurt his bid for an eighth term if not resolved soon. “I have a concern because it lessens the amount of time I have to do congressional work,” Stevens said.
While neither Stevens nor his son, Ben, have been charged, the investigation has set off a jockeying for position among Republicans eager to challenge the senator should he falter. Democrats have also begun circling, though their bench is much thinner, with the most likely candidate being Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich.
Stevens, who said he’s working seven days a week, has racked up some successes, including helping broker bipartisan compromises in the last month on vehicle fuel efficiency standards and climate change legislation. Those are successes Moore’s survey overlooked, Stevens said.
Hunt for Young
Moore has conducted polls in the past for Democrats and Republicans, but lately he’s been associated with former Anchorage Rep. Ethan Berkowitz, a Democrat who’s contemplating challenging Congressman Don Young in 2008.
Berkowitz was in Washington last week to meet with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee about his potential candidacy. Berkowitz said Thursday that while he has not made a final decision on whether to run, the meeting with the DCCC went well.
“I’m interested, but I’m also happy at home,” Berkowitz said. Young has come under increasing fire from Democrats and members of his own party for his liberal use of congressional earmarks.
While there’s no indication that Young is involved in the ongoing corruption scandal, he’s shelling out big bucks to keep legal counsel on retainer as a precaution. Young has spent $242,000 for legal services to Akin Gump & Hauer in the last three months, according to his most recent campaign finance disclosure with the Federal Election Commission.
Young had nearly $2 million in his war chest at the end of 2006, so the expensive retainer won’t hurt his ability to run a major campaign — at least for awhile.
A Moore poll on Young’s support showed 48 percent of voters had a very positive or somewhat positive opinion of him, while 44.4 percent had negative feelings toward him, 7 percent said they didn’t care one way or another and nearly 1 percent weren’t sure who Young was.
The statewide poll of 500 registered voters was conducted in June and has a 4.4 percent margin of error.
Young was in Africa this week hunting buffalo — missing some resolutions on the floor, including the vote in favor of bringing U.S. troops home from Iraq by April — and therefore unavailable for comment. He was due back to Washington today.
Palin too
Believe it or not, rumors that Gov. Sarah Palin might abandon Juneau early for a run at Congress refuse to die quietly. Aides to Palin said the idea is ridiculous and she has no plans to run for another office before the end of her term as governor.
What might not be true for the governor is certainly an option being considered by House Speaker John Harris, R-Valdez, who said Friday that he would run for Congress if a seat became available.
While he has no plans to challenge incumbents Stevens or Young, Harris said he would step into the race should something happen to shake voters confidence in their leadership.
“If one or other of our delegation would get indicted, I would be a candidate for that seat,” Harris said.
Harris’ hiring of John Bitney to an already strong staff is an indication of his level of interest in a run at national office. Harris said Bitney will initially handle budget analysis and natural gas pipeline issues, but his campaign experience could come in handy down the line.
Until recently, Bitney served as Palin’s legislative director and was widely considered one of her top advisers. His fall from grace within the administration over a personal disagreement with the governor leaves a hole that will be difficult to fill.
His departure has been described as “amicable” by both sides, although Capitol insiders tell a slightly different tale. No matter, the governor’s office says it is glad Bitney landed on his feet and will be happy to work with him in his new role.
Anti-Alaska attack
Blame the “Bridges to Nowhere,” for making Alaska a popular target for potshots from fiscally conservative Republicans and Democrats alike.
Congressman Mark Kirk, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, took aim at Alaska on Wednesday with a proposal that would have barred the state from spending federal funds on the Knik Arm and Gravina bridges. Never mind that Congress eliminated the earmarks for the bridges last year, the fact that the projects are still alive seems to have irked the Illinois Republican no end.
“Congress cannot justify spending more than $450 million in taxpayer funds on bridges that connect two communities with a combined population of less than 100,” Kirk said of the planned bridge between Ketchikan and Gravina Island.
The amendment failed on a voice vote thanks to support from lawmakers concerned about interfering with a state’s prerogative.
“I believe committee members were concerned about the precedent of Congress telling a sovereign state how to use its highway formula funds,” said John Katz, Gov. Palin’s man in Washington.
If Kirk’s amendment had passed, the state still would have received the funding — about $230 million for each project — but would have been prohibited from spending the transportation dollars on the bridges.
Kirk has promised to bring up the proposal on the House floor later this week. He has the support of Georgia Republican Rep. Jack Kingston, who said he expects the amendment to succeed on the floor.
If it slips through the House, the measure would still have to brave the wrath of Sen. Stevens, who threatened to resign over a previous attack on the bridge funding in 2005.
A staffer for Sen. Lisa Murkowski said there are about 20 anti-Alaska amendments to appropriation bills floating around the Senate that the delegation will have to fight off this month.
Long, winding gas line …
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is preparing another status report on the natural gas pipeline project. FERC is expected to deliver the update to Congress in late July or early August.
Life after politics….
Former Gov. Frank Murkowski is enjoying retirement on his boat, The First Lady. His daughter, U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, said her parents are spending their time hunting for hot fishing holes from their base in Wrangell.
The former governor had planned to build a home in Wrangell, but got sticker shock after talking to architects. He’s since decided to build a garage to house his toys and live full-time on the boat.
The Murkowskis were sighted a couple of weeks ago on an Alaska Airlines flight to Fairbanks. Sitting across the aisle from them was Natural Resources Commissioner Tom Irwin, whom Murkowski fired in 2005 over disagreements about negotiations with the state’s major oil companies on a natural gas pipeline project. Irwin, not one to hold a grudge, reportedly exchanged pleasantries with his former boss.
R.A. Dillon is a former Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reporter who now covers national energy policy in Washington, D.C. He can be reached at
dillon@radillon.com.
http://newsminer.com/2007/07/15/7926
