If Sen. Lisa Murkowski is re-elected, at the end of her new term, Alaska will have had 27 years with her as our US Senator. This will continue the Murkowski monarchy – 47 years of a political dynasty that was continued when her father appointed her to his senate seat in a brazen act of nepotism.
Alaskans need to decide if we want to continue with the status quo? We can look at Murkowski’s past performance to see what she will deliver if elected yet again. Take her track record on the Second Amendment, for example–an important issue across the board for most Alaskans. She has an abysmal 22% rating with the Gun Owners of America, a strong pro-Second Amendment organization.
Just this year, Murkowski voted with Joe Biden multiple times to subvert our Second Amendment rights. She voted for automatic federal criminal investigations of everyone who gets flagged during the background check for a gun purchase, despite the fact that the vast majority of those flags are false positives. She voted to allow for an expansion of red flag laws and exposure of juvenile records, infringing our gun rights without due process of law. And she supported federal prohibition of gun rights for non-violent crimes without giving a person notification, a hearing, or a right of appeal.
In addition, Murkowski has broken with Republicans to support anti-Second Amendment nominees throughout her career, including multiple radical Biden nominees, Obama’s Attorney General Eric Holder, and U.S. Court of Appeals nominee Caitlin Halligan, whose legal career is littered with anti-gun actions. Murkowski even cast the tie breaking vote for Biden’s Department of Justice nominee, Vanita Gupta, an anti-gun defund the police activist.
Murkowski also opposed the confirmation processes of constitutionalist Supreme Court nominees Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett–justices who would protect the Second Amendment and other constitutional rights. She was the only Republican to oppose Kavanaugh.
When radical feminist protestors stormed federal buildings to shut them down with the intent of thwarting the constitutional process of confirming Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, Murkowski’s reaction was to call for healing and unity, not to condemn it or call for a congressional investigation, as she has done for another protest. Murkowski’s sympathy for radical feminist anti-Kavanaugh inciters and her double-standard hypocrisy are contemptible and fundamentally un-Alaskan.
She also demanded that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives review the legality of bump stocks, criticized the “inappropriateness” of the National Rifle Association scoring her and other lawmakers’ votes, and opposed the sale or transfer of handguns by a licensed manufacturer or dealer unless a secure gun storage or safety device is provided.
Murkowski didn’t fight for Alaska’s service members and retirees when Congress attempted last year to pass a red flag law that would strip them of their guns without allowing them a hearing before a judge.
Many Alaskans recall the NRA opposed Lisa Murkowski when she served in the Alaska State Legislature–that’s how far back her anti-Second Amendment record goes.
However, like most every issue, Murkowski has been inconsistent and unreliable in her voting over her 21 years. About a decade ago, Murkowski voted against a comprehensive gun control bill after a mass school shooting incident. She also supported contemporaneous efforts to protect lawful firearm ownership, including increasing the number of votes necessary to adopt future gun control legislation.
Indeed, this spring she paid for ads on Facebook touting her support for the Second Amendment, warning in one (in all capital letters) that “BIDEN WANTS TO TAKE YOUR GUNS AWAY.” Weeks later, though, she voted with Democrats for the gun control bill championed by Joe Biden.
That is why no one on either side of the Second Amendment issue trusts Senator Murkowski. At least progressive Democrat Pat Chesbro is clear and consistent about where she stands–she always supports more gun control.
After 21 years, it’s time for a change. It’s time for Alaskans to have a senator they can trust to reliably protect and defend their Second Amendment rights. In this race, I’m the only candidate who is the true gun rights advocate for Alaska. If you care about the Second Amendment, please visit www.Alaska2A.com to join our team.
Kelly Tshibaka, Candidate
U.S. Senate in Alaska
