Bloodless Coup

Tony Knowles

And hey, as long as I'm praising Democrats ...

If like me you're looking to support candidates who can really make a difference in this country's political landscape and Barack Obama and Jeff Smith aren't quite who you are looking for, may I point you in the direction of Tony Knowles. Knowles has twice been elected governor of (strongly Republican) Alaska, and has now set his sights on the U.S. Senate and Senator Lisa Murkowski this fall. Now what's special about Knowles? Well, for one thing he's shown he can win in Alaska. That's no small feat for a Democrat. And this is probably the best shot that a Democrat will have to pick up a Senate seat there this generation. This really is a truly unusual opportunity. For one thing Knowles is very strong. For another, Murkowski is very weak. She was appointed to the seat by her father (the current governor), and if that bit of perceived nepotism didn't hurt her, her father's growing unpopularity certainly has. Her appointment was so disliked that there's even a reasonably strong primary challenge to her candidacy for a full-term (supported most recently by Alaska's Lt. Governor, though it's still likely she will win the Republican nomination). So the electoral stars are really in a very rare alignment. But beyond that, Knowles appears to be great. Now true, he's going to be more pro-development than some of my environmentalist friends will like, but aside from that he's got a strongly progressive record and is the sort of person who is extremely effective in explaining why that type of politics is good for America (and even Alaska!). Now this being Alaska this is still no better than a toss-up race. But this is the first toss-up race in Alaska in decades. So if you've got in it in you, consider sending a few dollars to Tony Knowles.