Sen. Manchin Endorses Sen. Murkowski

Details

Category: State News

Created on Monday, 07 February 2022 16:24

Hits: 547

By HOPE YEN 
The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin on Sunday endorsed Republican colleague Lisa Murkowski for reelection, crossing party lines to back the incumbent from Alaska who faces a primary challenger supported by former President Donald Trump.

The conservative West Virginia lawmaker said he has teamed well with Murkowski in the 50-50 Senate to build bipartisan support for legislation such as President Joe Biden’s infrastructure law. He said Alaska and the Senate are well-served with her in office.

“It’s hypocritical to basically work with a person day in and day out and then, when they’re in cycle, you’re supposed to be against them because they have an R or D by their name,” said Manchin, who appeared with Murkowski on CNN’s “State of the Union” to promote the values of bipartisanship. 

“Alaska could only be so lucky to have her continue to serve them,” he said. 

Murkowski faces GOP primary challenger Kelly Tshibaka, who has support from Trump and Alaska Republican party leaders but who significantly trails the incumbent in fundraising. A Democrat has yet to enter the race; the state’s last Democratic senator, Mark Begich, lost reelection in 2014.

It isn’t the first time that Manchin has bucked his party’s political operation. In 2020, he endorsed Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, in her reelection bid. Manchin had indicated last April that he would support Murkowski if she chose to run again this year.

Murkowski is one of seven Republican senators who voted to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial for his role in stoking the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection. Her reelection bid plays up her credentials as a centrist in the Senate, working across party lines to “stand up to any politician or special interest that threatens our way of life.” 

A member of the Senate since 2002, Murkowski lost the Republican primary for her seat in 2010 but ultimately won after launching a successful write-in campaign. She’s joined Democrats several times on high-profile votes, including opposing Trump’s effort to repeal President Barack Obama’s health law in 2017 and her 2018 refusal to vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh as a Supreme Court justice.

Murkowski said Sunday she as well would support Manchin, who is up for reelection in 2024. 

“If he’s running, I’m endorsing him,” she said.

Manchin has drawn ire from the progressive wing of his party over his reluctance to back broad climate and social safety net legislation that Biden envisioned would pass with support from all 50 Democratic senators. After initially indicating he could support a version of that bill, Manchin announced in December that he would not back the effort and that the legislation in its present form was dead. 

On Sunday, Manchin indicated he recently talked to Biden but said the topic didn’t really come up because of the need for separate action by Feb. 18 on a separate funding bill.

He reiterated a desire to pass smaller pieces of Biden’s proposal with input and support from Republicans. “These are major changes,” Manchin said. “It is going to change society as we know it.” 

Palin Resumes Fight with Times After COVID

Details

Category: State News

Created on Thursday, 03 February 2022 15:57

Hits: 592

By TOM HAYS 
The Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Sarah Palin’s libel suit against The New York Times went to trial Thursday in a case over the former Alaska governor’s claims the newspaper damaged her reputation with an editorial linking her campaign rhetoric to a mass shooting.

The trial is a rare example of a jury deciding the validity of a persistent refrain from Palin and other Republicans: That a biased news media is willing to bend the truth to make conservatives look bad.

Palin, a onetime Republican vice presidential nominee, told journalists as she arrived at the courthouse that she was looking for “Justice for people who expect truth in the media.”

A lawyer for The Times, David Axelrod, told jurors the editorial was primarily about gun laws, not Palin, and was not a “political hit job.”

Opening statements to the jury were initially scheduled for last week, but were postponed when Palin tested positive for COVID-19.

The trial is happening on The Times’ home turf, in Democrat-friendly New York City, but Palin attorney Shane Vogt asked jurors in his opening statement to put aside any personal opinions they might have about Palin’s politics.

“We come to this case with our eyes wide open and keenly aware of the fact we’re fighting an uphill battle,” Vogt said. “Give us a fair shot. We’re not here trying to win your votes for Governor Palin or any of her policies.”

Palin will be the trial’s star witness. She’s seeking unspecified damages.

Axelrod, an attorney for the Times, acknowledged the newspaper made a factual mistake in the editorial, but said it was not malicious and the paper “acted as quickly as possible to correct that mistake.”

Palin sued the Times in 2017, accusing it of damaging her career as a political commentator with an editorial about gun control published after U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise, a Louisiana Republican, was wounded when a man with a history of anti-GOP activity opened fire on a Congressional baseball team practice in Washington.

In the editorial, the Times wrote that before the 2011 mass shooting in Arizona that severely wounded former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords and killed six others, Palin’s political action committee had contributed to an atmosphere of violence by circulating a map of electoral districts that put Giffords and 19 other Democrats under stylized crosshairs.

In a correction two days later, The Times said the editorial had “incorrectly stated that a link existed between political rhetoric and the 2011 shooting” and that it had “incorrectly described” the map.

The disputed wording had been added to the editorial by James Bennet, then the editorial page editor. At trial, the jury would have to decide whether he acted with “actual malice,” meaning he knew what he wrote was false, or with “reckless disregard” for the truth.

Bennet has said he believed the editorial was accurate when it was published.

A judge put off the trial last week to give an unvaccinated Palin time to get over any possible COVID-19 symptoms. Away from court, she caused a stir by being sighted dining out in Manhattan after her positive test results were made public.

Palin, 57, has publicly said she won’t get the vaccine.