Nice!
http://boingboing.net/...
Pat sez, "Alaska Robotics News is a political satire series covering the Alaska legislative session. We've had good luck at engaging law makers and have had several notable guests on the show. U.S. Senator Mark Begich recently joined us to talk about NSA dragnet surveillance and precognitive policing. We have a small group of writers contributing the the show and enjoy a lot of support from our community. This segment was a good opportunity to get outside our local issues and poke at the boiling frog of government surveillance." - Boing Boing, 3/19/14
Watch the video, it's really funny. For the record, Begich has been a huge critic of the NSA and has called for more transparency, reforming the FISA Courts and protecting Americans' civil liberties. Now why would Begich go on a satire YouTube news show? Two reasons: 1. Begich is taking a page out of President Obama's book when he went on Two Ferns with Zach Galifinakis to promote the Affordable Care Act. You can check out Alaska Robotics blog here for more content:
http://alaskarobotics.com/
2. Begich went on the Alaska based web series because it's a part of his strategy to emphasize his deep roots in Alaska:
http://atr.rollcall.com/...
Narrated by his wife Deborah Bonito, the ad is set to soft music and includes a portion of a campaign ad for Begich’s father, Rep. Nick Begich, followed by a news clip covering the congressman’s 1972 death in a plane crash. The ad then cuts to the senator walking toward a similar plane, the only way to travel to some of the state’s remote population pockets.
“Mark was 10 when he lost his father,” Bonito says. “We’ve lost too many Alaskans this way. But Mark is clearly his father’s son, and there’s nowhere he won’t go to listen and stand up for Alaskans.”
Bonito then notes Begich’s efforts to open up Alaska for oil and gas drilling, strengthen the Coast Guard and defend local fishermen.
The ad is running statewide on broadcast and cable. - Roll Call, 3/20/14
And Begich has already been highlighting how his likely opponent, Dan Sullivan (R. AK), isn't a true Alaskan:
http://time.com/...
Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska) is one of the most vulnerable Democrats in the country and a key target for Republicans trying to take over the Senate this year. Conservatives have hit him with ads since at least last April, before former Alaska Attorney General Dan Sullivan even jumped in the race, surged to the top of the Republican money leader-board and received the endorsement of the influential conservative group Club for Growth. But over the past two weeks, Begich and an outside group have hit back with two ads bashing Sullivan and the wealthy industrialist Koch brothers.
The early mudslinging is typical of what’s sure to be an extremely close race, and one that’s critical to the overall battle for the Senate in 2014. And Begich’s latest on-air protests aside, the ads run by his supporters omit some key facts, too. Sullivan didn’t qualify for the in-state license because he was working in Washington in the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs, and before that in the Marines and the White House. Sullivan has spent the past five years working for the Alaskan government, and he moved to the state about 16 years ago.
The Alaska race is bound to get dirtier, as Democratic polls show a Begich lead and Republican polls show higher support for Sullivan and Treadwell. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report calls the race a “toss-up,” one of seven in the country, and with Republicans needing to pick up a net of six seats to seize control of the Senate, one can expect more misleading—and yes, fishy—ads to come. - Time Magazine, 3/19/14
Of course Begich is also highlighting how his work in Washington is helping his constituents:
http://ktna.org/...
This week, U.S. Senators for Alaska are returning to the 49th state to speak directly to constituents. On Monday afternoon, I spoke with Senator Mark Begich about a number of issues that impact the Upper Valley as well as the upcoming mid-term election.
First, Senator Begich discussed flood insurance. The issue has gained national attention after Hurricane Katrina, Super Storm Sandy, and other recent flooding events. In Alaska, floods in the Mat-Su, Galena, and the Kenai Peninsula have brought the issue closer to home. Last week, the Senate approved a bill that would limit flood insurance premium increases in areas newly classified as flood zones. A previous bill that did not get voted on would have stopped rate increases for four years. Senator Begich supported both measures.
“I think it’s good for the homeowners in a lot of ways. First off, it delays the increases. In other words it puts a limit on premium increases, versus one-hundred-percent carried by the homeowner, which is one of the threads that some people wanted in Congress, so it does create some limits and caps. Second, the affordability study is important for the long term to understand what this all means. At the end of the day, the goal is not to have insurance rates so high that people can’t afford to pay them and live in their homes.”
Also last week, Senator Begich’s office claimed to have scored a victory in the name of small air carriers against the IRS. The issue has been brewing for years, as the IRS has been inconsistent in how it collects a special excise tax levied on air passengers in Alaska. Some small flightseeing and charter services were levied tens of thousands of dollars in back taxes, fines, and interest. The statement from Senator Begich’s office last Friday claims that the IRS “caved” on the issue. Over the last few days, however, it’s become less clear exactly how far the IRS will be backing off. Senator Begich says he realizes there is still a long way to go on the issue.
“I think it’s a good first step. It really clearly says that they recognize there are some issues with how they have been taxing individuals who are doing one-day sightseeing activities, or fly fishing, or hiking–those kinds of activities.” - KTNA 88.9 FM, 3/19/14
And Begich is also going to be getting some help from Democracy For America for taking the lead in calling for expanding Social Security:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
The group Democracy for America, founded by Howard Dean and run by his brother James, is throwing its support behind Sens. Mark Begich of Alaska, and Jeff Merkley of Oregon.
Merkley is a logical choice for the group, which cites his efforts around Social Security, filibuster reform and the minimum wage. Begich would seem to be a less natural fit, but Democracy for America likes his stance on the social safety net. And it doesn't hurt that Begich has been targeted by billionaire oil tycoons David and Charles Koch -- archenemies of liberals.
Franco Caliz, Democracy for America's electoral campaigns manager, said in an announcement of the picks Thursday:
Look out: the Koch Brothers are setting up shop in the Last Frontier, and this time they have their eye on one of Alaska's own -- Senator Mark Begich.
Sen. Begich has always stood up for real Alaskan values in the Senate, pushing back against corporate special interests, protecting vital safety net programs and expanding health care coverage for working class Americans.
He was one of the first senators to throw his support behind expanding, not cutting, Social Security -- a fight DFA has been leading the charge on from the beginning. Working together, we convinced President Obama to drop all Social Security cuts from his new budget, guaranteeing a more financially secure future for thousands of Alaskan seniors.
We believe Washington needs the kind of progressive leadership Sen. Begich showed on Social Security -- and that's why we are endorsing him today. - Huffington Post, 3/20/14
Begich is going to need our support big time this year. If you want to donate or get involved with Begichs re-election campaign, you can do so here:
http://www.markbegich.com/