Alaska Libertarian candidate meets with Murkowski at “undisclosed location”; Update: I’m “still in this game,” says Murkowski; Update: Murkowski showcasing her “libertarian” side

The Libertarian Party chairman says their minds are made up and they’re dead set against putting her on the ballot.

But if that’s true, what’s there to talk about?

Alaska Libertarian Party Chairman Scott Kohlhaas said Monday that Murkowski’s campaign reached out to his party after she conceded last week — despite the fact that the party’s executive committee had already announced it would not replace its candidate, David Haase, with Murkowski.

“Yes, we’re in discussions with the Murkowski campaign. We’ve always said we’d be open to a sit-down with any Alaskan, especially a sitting U.S. senator,” Kohlhaas said. “Even though the talks are a good thing, we’re not going to flip-flop. We warned them, but they still want to talk.”…

Not only would Haase have to remove himself from the ballot, but the state executive committee would have to approve Murkowski’s candidacy by Sept. 15. The Alaska Libertarian Party, however, already voted on Aug. 30 not to allow Murkowski on the ballot because of ideological differences — a vote that Kohlhaas said will not be reversed.

Haase has already hinted that he’s willing to step aside, and — funnily enough — he and Murkowski met within the last few hours. Maybe her thinking here is to force the committee to change its mind by having Haase drop out first? In that case, they’d have to choose between picking a replacement or running with no one on the ticket. And if they’re going to pick a replacement, why not pick someone who … actually stands a chance of winning?

Unsurprisingly, Team Murkowski is rarin’ to go:

Amid new reports that Murkowski has reached out to the Alaska Libertarian Party over a possible deal that could keep her on the ballot after her primary defeat to Joe Miller, Murkowski’s campaign manager John Bitney told RealClearPolitics on Tuesday, “If she wants to stay in the race, I’ll support her 100 percent.”

Reached by phone from Murkowski’s campaign office, which has remained up and running as staffers complete administrative tasks, Bitney sounded like someone who was itching to jump back into the fight.

“It is a campaign office that is just ready to launch at a moment’s notice,” he said…

Bitney indicated that he had been considering general election campaign strategies for Murkowski.

Ace thinks it’s no big deal if she runs since now Miller is famous and has grassroots buzz, but she can chip away with attack ads (which, famously, she mostly avoided during the primary) and by promising that she’ll keep the federal dough rolling into the state while Miller won’t. I think it’ll be a nightmare, although if you’re looking for silver linings, I’ll give you three: (1) The anti-Murkowski attack ads funded by the NRSC should be fun fun fun; (2) the DNC et al. will be even more tempted now to dump money into Alaska to boost McAdams, thus drawing cash away from other vulnerable Dems; and (3) the prospect of her rival stealing an eleventh-hour victory might force Sarahcuda onto the trail in Alaska, turning this into a true Palin/Murkowski war. It’ll be messy, but riveting.

Update: It’s not that she wants to run, mind you. It’s the people want her to.

A week after conceding the GOP primary, U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski says she’s not a quitter and is “still in this game.”

Murkowski told The Associated Press on Tuesday that she’s been inundated with calls and e-mails from supporters, asking her not to leave the race. She says she’s been humbled and is listening – and weighing her options.

She said that if this was “all about Lisa, certainly the easy thing for me to do would be to figure out what my next opportunity would be with my family and just settle in to a nice job.”

She also claims it was “friends” of hers, not her campaign, who approached the Libertarian Party — unbidden.

Update: You’ll find another job somewhere, Murky, I promise. Or … actually, maybe it’s not safe to promise that with Captain Stimulus in the White House for another two years.

Murkowski and Haase discussed the matter – and it appears the senator made some efforts to discuss some of her more Libertarian-leaning positions during the meeting.

Haase recalled that Murkowski told him that she has “reservations” about the Federal Reserve – a pet issue for the Libertarian nominee – and reminded him that she supported an amendment this year that would have called for an audit of the country’s central banking system.

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