Mark Begich Takes Ted Stevens' Senate Seat

I hate to lose a Senate seat to the Democrats but Stevens needed to go away and Begich does not sound like a New England liberal Democrat. He wants to open ANWR for drilling and is a proponent of 2nd Amendment rights and may be a needed vote the GOP can peel away from Harry Reid along with other red state Dems to make up for a Collins, Snowe or McCain to maintain a filibuster. MK Ham points to this LA Times article about Begich.

Mark Begich settled in Wednesday as Alaska's newest U.S. senator-elect by doing what almost no other Democrat in Washington would ever do: declaring his support for oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

But this is Alaska, where Democrats are of a different stripe, Begich reminded those who haven't seen many national-level Democrats from Alaska lately.

"I think anyone who knows me knows I'm a different Democrat. I'm from Alaska. I'm a believer, a strong supporter of the 2nd Amendment, a supporter of drilling in ANWR. Alaskans are very liberal [in their belief that] government should not interfere in their personal life," he said.

"I'm definitely different from a New York Democrat -- you can bank on that," he said in response to a question from the New York Times.

Ted Stevens was definitely a cancer to the GOP as one of the biggest porkers in the Swamp and it certainly sounds like Begich may be a maverick on the other side of the aisle. I also understand he has a good working relationship with Gov. Palin. Hopefully the Democrats don't have the mandate or votes to pass their more radical plans. My fingers are crossed.