Blog Post 2.5 - "Lisa Murkowski"

1. Lisa Murkowski from Alaska and Susan Collins from Maine.
2. She has said that "tax reform is complicated...when you add health care reform...it continues to complicate it," which seems to indicate a no vote. However, she has carefully stated that this is not a definitive position. She has also stated that she favors repealing the individual mandate, but this is also not definitive. 
3. Republicans added a rider that would allow portions of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to be drilled for oil and natural gas. 
4. The proposal to begin drilling in that area has been immensely popular in Alaska, so much so that opposing it is political suicide. It could be a financial boon to Alaska as a whole. 
5. The rate of uninsured persons in Alaska fell 7.2% after the passage of Obamacare, and she doesn't want to see that reversed, especially since Republican plans were supposed to hit Alaska particularly hard. 
6. The Refuge was created in 1960, so drilling was probably not allowed for 57 years. It would have been permitted in 1980, 37 years ago, but the lack of an environmental impact study and Congressional approval means that it is still not allowed. 
7. Each Alaskan that has been in the state more than a year gets a check paid from the dividend of the earnings on the Permanent Fund, which in previous years has been around $2,200 but this year is projected to be around $1,100.
8. As an instructed delegate, Murkowski would reflect the views of her constituency. Since a significant chunk of people want to keep Obamacare, she would probably support the tax plan if a stabilization bill were passed in conjunction. If not, she would still probably vote for the plan, since not all of Alaska wants Obamacare, but all of it wants to open up the refuge to drilling. As a trustee, she would act according to her best judgment, which seems to be wavering. I'm not entirely sure how she would vote, but I would guess that she would not vote for it, since she seems to think that health care is important. Finally, as a partisan, she would vote according to her party, which means she would vote in favor of the bill.