Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), was scored by the Washington Post on the percentage of votes on which a lawmaker agrees with the position taken by a majority of his or her party members. The scores do not include missed votes.
Their summary: Voted with Republican Party 80.6% of 319 votes. Overall, Democrats voted with their party 88.4% of the time, and Republicans voted with their party 81.7% of the time (votes Jan. 8 through Sept. 8, 2007).
Source: Washington Post, "US Congress Votes Database"
Sep 8, 2007
Didn't ask Alaskans to accept father's appointment to Senate
KNOWLES: "I didn't make nepotism an issue in this campaign, Frank Murkowski did when he appointed his daughter, and Lisa Murkowski did when she accepted that appointment,"
Knowles said. "Alaskans are clearly concerned about it," he added, referring to the record 50,000 signatures in support of Ballot Measure No. 4, which would bar a governor from ever making an appointment to fill a Senate vacancy again.
MURKOWSKI: "I have made no point hiding from the fact that my father appointed me to this seat. I didn't ask Alaskans to accept that or get over that, if you will,"
she repeated her stock answer. "What I've asked is that Alaskans look at the job I'm doing in the US Senate."
Didn't check before sending thousands of campaign e-mails
MURKOWSKI: Murkowski answered directly when asked the candidates what decision they regret. She said she made a mistake by not checking the Anchorage School District's Internet policy before sending thousands of campaign e-mails through the district's
computer system with an endorsement from former Anchorage Education Association President Bob Roses. She also made light of a choice to use an Exxon station on Capitol Hill as a backdrop for a press conference on gas prices in Washington DC, which has
been used relentlessly by her opponent in commercials criticizing her Exxon policies. "I wish I'd been able to find a Tesoro station to discuss the high price of oil," she said.
KNOWLES: Knowles, however, expressed regrets for a policy failure, not campaign gaffes. He said he wished he had gotten subsistence on the ballot as an issue when he was governor.
Lisa won passage of a resolution that required the Senate to submit an amicus brief to the Supreme Court defending the words "under God" in the Pledge. Lisa has cosponsored the pending Constitutional Amendment to prohibit flag burning.
The flag is a symbol of our nation and the efforts of millions of men and women to defend that flag and thus we should protect it and respect it.
Source: Campaign website, Lisa Murkowski.com, "Issues"
Aug 17, 2004
Voted YES on confirming Samuel Alito as Supreme Court Justice.
Vote on the Nomination -- a YES vote would to confirm Samuel A. Alito, Jr., of New Jersey, to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
Reference: Alito Nomination;
Bill PN 1059
; vote number 2006-002
on Jan 31, 2006
Voted YES on confirming John Roberts for Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
Vote on the Nomination (Confirmation John G. Roberts, Jr., of Maryland, to be Chief Justice of the United States )
Reference: Supreme Court Nomination of John Roberts;
Bill PN 801
; vote number 2005-245
on Sep 27, 2005
Rated C by the Club for Growth, pro-growth but not targeted.
Murkowski scores C by the Club for Growth, a conservative PAC
The GOP controls the Senate by just one vote. Even with today’s margin, the GOP doesn’t have effective control of the agenda as the Democrats use the filibuster to kill pro-growth reform or crucial judicial appointments. The next Senate could confirm two U.S. Supreme Court justices.
If the Republicans do manage to pick up a few extra seats in the Senate, there could also be an ideological shift toward pro-growth issues. Right now, the balance of power is in the hands of the RINO Republicans like Olympia Snowe and Arlen Specter. With a seat pick-up for the GOP, plus the addition of GOP superstars, Olympia and Arlen would no longer be deciding votes. We could move away from watered-down Republicanism toward a genuine pro-growth agenda.
Members of the Club are economic conservatives, like-minded political contributors who are frustrated with the ideological drift of both parties today. Club members have a shared goal of contributing to and electing more Reaganites to Congress who are willing to stand for the issues like: cutting taxes, controlling federal spending, personal accounts for Social Security, ending the death tax, eliminating the capital gains tax, fundamental tax reform, providing true school choice and minimizing government's role in our daily lives.
The stakes are mighty high in the Senate elections. That’s why we’re providing you now with our outlook for every competitive Senate race and a list of our top tier choices. The “A” List Candidates make this list because their races are competitive and they are the very best on economic issues. The “B” List Candidates are all in hotly contested races too, but they are not as rock solid on economic growth issues.
Rated 0% by the AU, indicating opposition to church-state separation.
Murkowski scores 0% by the AU on church-state separation
OnTheIssues.org interprets the 2006 AU scores as follows:
0%- 20%: opposition to church-state separation (approx. 232 members)
21%- 79%: mixed record on church-state separation (approx. 79 members)
80%-100%: support of church-state separation (approx. 153 members)
About the AU (from their website, www.au.org):
Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU) is a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization educates Americans about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom.
AU is a nonpartisan organization dedicated to preserving the constitutional principle of church-state separation as the only way to ensure religious freedom for all Americans.
Americans United is a national organization with members in all 50 states. We are headquartered in Washington, D.C., and led by the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director. AU has more than 75,000 members from all over the country. They include people from all walks of life and from various faith communities, as well as those who profess no particular faith. We are funded by donations from our members and others who support church-state separation. We do not seek, nor would we accept, government funding.
