“Moderate” Murkowski
Senator Lisa Ann Murkowski of Alaska is portrayed by the liberal press as a “moderate Republican,” in contrast to the “conservative” label typically associated with most members of her party. The daughter of former senator and governor of Alaska, Frank Murkowski, Lisa Murkowski served in the state legislature, representing the 14th district in the Alaska House of Representatives from 1999 to 2002. She has served in the U.S. Senate since December 20, 2002, when she was appointed her father to fill his Senate seat when he resigned to become governor. She was elected to her first full Senate term in 2004.
During her time in the Senate, Murkowski has garnered a dismal cumulative “Freedom Index” score of 48 percent, the third-lowest for any current Republican in the Senate (only Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Mark Kirk of Illinois have lower scores, at 40 and 34 percent, respectively). The New American’s “Freedom Index” is a congressional scorecard, published biannually, that measures the constitutional fidelity of individual members of Congress based upon their votes on key issues.
During her 2010 reelection campaign, Murkowski lost the Republican primary to Tea Party-backed candidate Joe Miller. Undeterred and staunchly opposed to the Tea Party, having called the Tea Party Express both a “racist” and an “extremist” group, Murkowski continued her reelection bid as a write-in candidate and defeated both Miller and her Democratic opponent, Scott McAdams. A month prior to the election, the liberal Anchorage Daily News, Alaska’s largest newspaper, endorsed Murkowski, touting her “moderate” credentials, support for healthcare reform, and her ability to “join hands with — or even lead — moderates in both parties.”
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