Murkowski Abandons Republican Mainstream

Republican Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who won re-election last month as a write-in candidate after losing the GOP primary, now flaunts her independence from the party. She was the only Republican in the lame-duck session to support President Obama on all four major bills the Senate considered, Politico reports.

Those bills were the “don’t ask, don’t tell” repeal, the tax cut compromise, the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty and cloture for the DREAM Act.

“Murkowski’s willingness to defy Republican top brass after a bitter fight to keep her seat may mark a pivot point in her career as she emerges as a real maverick foil to Sarah Palin,” Politico states. “And while conservatives who helped oust Murkowski from the GOP ticket in Alaska may howl about her being a ‘Republican In Name Only,’ Murkowski could enjoy a powerful perch as a much-sought-after moderate in an almost evenly divided Senate.”