I may get some hits for this diary, but it is heartfelt and sincere, and since it shares a heartfelt and sincere position with Jon Soltz of VoteVets.org, I feel good about it. I want to urge my fellow progressives to pull all stops out for Diane Benson, running for Congress in Alaska. Of all the candidates I have ever met, she is quite possibly the best. But precisely because she is from a working class, Native American background and has not been a part of the political game, she is the longshot, grassroots candidate. But from the point of view of the working class, our soldiers and veterans, she is one of the best candidates to come around in a very, very long time. If Diane Benson is the next Representative from Alaska, America will have a great deal to be proud of.

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Last week I had a huge influx of readers interested in my piece on Eric Cantor. Seems I'm not the only one thinking McCain might just pick Cantor. I think it's a longshot, but possible.

Things are getting very hectic personally. This may be the last newsletter for a few weeks or more. We will be on vacation in California for a couple of weeks and I will have Grand Jury duty after that. Plus work is exploding for me and Joy's dissertation is overdue. Even politically, I will need to put some extra effort into my friend, Devin Cohen's primary election September 9th. But this newsletter I cover some pretty critical stuff.

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Diane Benson, 2006 Democratic challenger to Alaska Congressman Don Young (she garnered 40% of the vote), commissioned a poll of the state (601 RVs, Oct. 27-11/2, MOE +/-4.9%) and the results are extremely encouraging for both Benson and her primary rival, Alaska House Minority Leader Ethan Berkowitz.

From Swing State Project:

Diane Benson (D): 45.3%
Don Young (R-inc): 36.7%
Undecided: 15.6%

Ethan Berkowitz (D): 49.7%
Don Young (R-inc): 35.1%
Undecided: 13.8%

Diane Benson (D): 45.0%
Gabriella LeDoux (R): 12.3%
Undecided: 38.2%

Ethan Berkowitz (D): 49.0%
Gabriella LeDoux (R):  13.8%
Undecided: 32.9%

You thought an incumbent below 50% was bad, this guy can't even rally 40%. Could Alaska have finally become fed up with corruption of its federal officials? TPM Muckraker takes us on a Don Young corruption trip down memory lane.

The feds are chasing Young for his ties to the corrupt oil company Veco (among other things), and he's already blown $450,000 in campaign funds on criminal defense lawyers. But it looks like investigators pulled out all the stops.

FBI agents recorded former Veco president Rick Smith's phone calls with Young, the AP reports today. In September, the AP reported that Veco's CEO Bill Allen had recorded his calls with Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK).

The Justice Department is investigating whether an Alaska oil contractor used golf tournaments to funnel cash to Rep. Don Young, people close to the corruption investigation said.... [T]he events at the Moose Run Golf Course just outside Anchorage were informal and the prizes were cash. There is no record of them on the campaign or personal financial reports that federal lawmakers are required to file.

And the list goes on.

As the noose begins to tighten and as more poll numbers showing Young vulnerable emerge, a Young retirement becomes more and more likely. Certainly Young is on everyone'sretirement watch lists but it's interesting to note that here the Democrats trounce the untainted Republican running against Young for the nomination. Is this really the state of Alaska's Republican bench? Assuming Young is the nominee, though, Charlie Cook calls the race to represent this extremely Republican state (PVI R+14) as "Leans Republican," one step removed from "Toss-up."

Who'll be running as the Republican nominee isn't the only uncertainty, of course. As for the race between the Democrats, Berkowitz currently leads Benson by about 8% with more than a 1/3 of Alaska voters undecided. No doubt we can expect AK-AL to be the home of one of the tighter primary and general election races in the country next year.

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