Did Lisa Murkowski nearly kill ANWR oil?

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TRUMP HINTS SENATOR TREATED HIM ‘BADLY’ ON OBAMACARE VOTE

President Donald Trump this morning at a major conservative convention in Maryland, hinted that someone had treated him badly, and he almost didn’t sign off on opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge because of it.

The Conservative Political Action Conference is the largest annual gathering of the American Conservative Union, attracting thousands of attendees.

“One of the other things we did in our tax package is ANWR,” he said about 45 minutes into his over two-hour speech. “Perhaps the largest field in the world, oil and gas. I got it approved. And I didn’t want to get it approved for a certain reason because I thought somebody treated me very badly. Very badly. Don’t get that vote very often.”

“That vote” was likely the one cast by Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who voted against the repeal of Obamacare in 2017. Murkowski  was one of three Republicans to vote against it; the others were Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and the late Sen. John McCain of Arizona.

Repealing Obamacare is not only one of Trump’s priorities, but is also a priority of the Republican Party nationally and in Alaska. Just before this section of his speech, Trump had been talking about Obamacare.

Murkowski has advocated for the opening of ANWR’s oil patch in the 1002 Area of the Coastal Plain.

“And I said, you know, I don’t want to…” Trump continued in his speech, indicating his ambivalence. But then Trump said he got a call from someone in the oil business he’d known for a long time, who wasn’t asking for anything but convinced him to sign off on opening the 1002 Area of ANWR. His speech drifted off into some personal stories at that point.

What’s interesting is that Murkowski voted against Obamacare before the tax package that contained the ANWR legislation was passed back in 2017, and two years later Trump remembers her vote and has an opinion about it.

The portion of the video where he talks about nearly not signing off on ANWR because of his unhappiness with “someone”  is at the 45:30 minute mark and lasts about a minute:

Trump is also still irritated with Murkowski over her vote against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and has said in other venues she will face voter wrath when she comes up for reelection in 2022.

Meanwhile, the lease sales for the 1002 Area of ANWR would follow the closing of the public comment period, which ends on March 13. The first lease sale could offer some 400,000 acres for bid.

24 COMMENTS

  1. Ramona never trusted Lisa and always told me to do the same…..Lisa has become consumed with her hate for the President and in doing so has worked to hurt America not just Alaska….she must be defeated in 2022 and I hope Trump will be able to stop her from most of her agenda

  2. Senator Murkowski’s explanation for declining to vote for Justice Kavanaugh was extraordinarily weak. If she feels strongly about voting against the interests of her constituents, she should at least put forward reasons that make sense. If she offered good strong reasons for her votes, even her opponents might respect her. Instead, everyone gets mush.

    • I wish that you are correct. Due to the Native Corps and Public Employees Unions support, I just don’t see it.

  3. Lisa has been happily feeding her inner Orange Man Bad NPC. Only a matter of time before it hurts Alaska. Not that that damage concerns her much these days. Makes you wonder who she thinks she is representing. Cheers –

    • I don’t wonder; Native Corporations, Native Health Non-profits, unions, and Planned Parenthood. They elected her and she dances with who brung her.

    • Her daddy brung her. By appointment. Her daddy taught her how to hang in there. Her house husband won’t let her quit.

  4. The answer to the question posed by the headline to this column is: No.

    Lisa Murkowski does a decent job representing Alaska’s diverse views, is obviously pro development and uses her seniority in the Senate to good effect.

    What substitute candidate would do a better job for Alaska and our country?

  5. I rarely agree with Lisa M on issues. I do believe she does what SHE thinks is right, and is not vindictive in her approach to how She addresses an issue.

    I honestly have more concern when someone would refuse to approve legislation, opening ANWR for instance, because someone voted against on a separate issue.

    Partisanship has gone too far.

  6. @lisamuarkowski, our democratic senator from Alaska is an embarrassment to the Great State of Alaska. She continues to OBSTRUCT at every turn. Somehow lisa “missed” the vote for Life for Babies vote where she would have voted with dems to kill babies after birth. U r so done lisa, just sorry it will be 2022 before we can get rid of ur miserable ass

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