"Alaskans are prepared to enter a new era of politics -- an era of self-dependency"

Yesterday, we explained that Murkowski was likely heading to victory because the Tea Party and Palin-ism don’t have as much pull in Alaska as in other states; Alaska, after all, has benefited so much from federal spending. Well, you can now scratch that.
Check out what Miller told our affiliate in Anchorage last night: “Alaskans are prepared to enter a new era of politics — an era of self-dependency.” That is a full-fledged rejection of the “Uncle Ted Stevens” way of representing the state. MSNBC.com’s Vaughn Ververs (a one-time Alaska resident himself) reminds us that it didn’t help Murkowski that she was appointed to her Senate seat by her father. That’s obviously something that Alaskans still remember, and it looks like it came back to haunt her. Finally, for those making the point how Sarah Palin helped power Joe Miller, consider that the last GOP primary candidate Palin actually stumped for on the campaign trail — Karen Handel in Georgia — lost her run-off two weeks ago.