From the "Will Wonders Ever Cease" file: Democrat Senator-Elect Begich (D-AK) comes out swinging to open ANWR.

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In spite of the overwhelming support that crosses all party and demographic lines, many of the fringe-left hang on to their bizarre but cherished idea that how 2000 acres looks to caribou up on the North Slope is more important then utilizing those fields as part of a comprehensive, long term, energy independence strategy.

Of course, there exists a large leftist segment that would put this country on it's knees in a heartbeat; they hardly have the needs of our Nation at the fore of their "thought process."

One of the many problems with large, elective government is that those senators and congressmen/women that don't live in a given region can cheerfully throw that region under the bus for purposes of polishing their enviro-cred. Thus, a Ted Kennedy (A rather hypocritical opponent of Nantucket Sound Wind Farms) may continue to vote "no" on opening ANWR, since he doesn't give a damn about the people that would benefit from such a move, and he would rather things "look nice" than do the dirty work of making our country energy self-sufficient, or as close to that standard as we can possibly become.

Initially, at least, Mark Begich appears to be cut from a different cloth. Time will certainly tell.

Begich ends low-key approach
Alaska's senator-elect says that he staunchly favors ANWR drilling.

By Kim Murphy November 20, 2008

Reporting from Seattle -- 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.

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