Sarah Palin and the Tea Party Express aren’t the only ones hoping Republican attorney Joe Miller beats Senator Lisa Murkowski in the August 24 primary. If Miller were to win, it would give the Democrats their best shot possible at winning the seat and making Democrat Mark Begich Alaska’s senior senator. Especially since a Dittman Research poll done in April showed 49 percent of Democrats supporting Murkowski for reelection.

Of course, in April, there wasn’t a Democratic candidate for the seat. There is now—Sitka Mayor Scott McAdams, who held a fundraiser at party chair Patti Higgins’ house in Anchorage last weekend. McAdams attacked Murkowski for blocking a bill to raise the oil spill liability cap from $75 million to $10 billion. “How could you stand for BP instead of AK?” McAdams asked.

But there was a palpable sense of excitement that the Tea Party Express will flood the state with money supporting Joe Miller in his primary run against Lisa. The sentiment was that if Miller wins the primary, Alaska could have an all-Democratic congressional delegation (that’s, of course, assuming Anchorage Democratic Representative Harry Crawford can do what all other Democrats have failed to do—defeat Congressman Don Young in November). Meanwhile, Republican elected officials are rallying around Lisa; the Murkowski campaign issued a press release this week welcoming the endorsement of Senate President Gary Stevens and Speaker of the House Mike Chenault.

Briefs sends wishes for a successful surgery and quick recovery to Anchorage Democratic Representative Mike Doogan. Doogan is undergoing surgery at the University of Washington’s Harborview Medical Center to remove a brain tumor. “Estimates of recovery from such surgery vary,” a press release reads, “but Doogan said he expects to be back at work by the fall.”

In a tale of odd coincidences, last week the Anchorage Assembly unanimously passed a resolution declaring the week of June 28 to July 2 “American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Week,” in honor of the federal employee union’s 11th District training conference, held at the Captain Cook those same dates.

But on June 28, the first day of AFGE’s conference, the members weren’t at the Captain Cook; they were at Elmendorf picketing in protest of an Air Force pilot project to privatize food service at Elmendorf and five other bases, and replace the union employees with private contractors.

If it’s any consolation, AFGE members, at least the city loves you.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska is issuing a travel advisory to people who may look “foreign” and may be traveling to Arizona for the holiday weekend. The national ACLU is one of the civil rights groups contesting the SB 1070, the Arizona law which critics say codifies racial profiling into Arizona’s statutes.

In the meantime, the AKCLU is distributing information packets and cards in Spanish and English on handling vehicle stops and questioning by police, U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents or the FBI, along with frequently asked questions about SB 1070. If you’re headed to the Grand Canyon State for the Fourth of July and you happen to be brown, it’s probably a good accessory to carry. The info sheets and card are available at www.akclu.org/Resources/Resources.htm.

bjk@anchoragepress.com