E Pluribus Unum

- a guest post by Abel Spark (not his real name), a member of our community in Anchorage, Alaska.

In case you haven't noticed, there is an election happening. The polls are open today and people are deciding who is most fit to represent Alaska in the US Senate. We have three choices this year. Well, really two. And for me, making this decision has required a great deal of emotional evaluation to determine who I will support.

I don't count Joe Miller a candidate. He is a palinesque joke and a thug.

This leaves Lisa Murkowski and Scott McAdams as the viable options. Being one who waits until he has as many facts as possible before making an informed decision, I really benefitted from the opportunity to listen, watch, and interact with them both at the same time.

He is well spoken, affable, and funny. She is smart and she is so kind. Really kind. She is no more a monster for being Republican than I am evil for being gay. And I challenge you to find any Alaskan who loves Alaska more. So this year's ballot has been a really difficult decision for me.

Lisa Murkowski is running on the proof of the record, while Scott McAdams is running on the promise of the future.

Joe Miller is an epic failure.

Lisa's best argument, and it is a good one, is that Alaska will become powerless, having the delegation with the least seniority in the Senate, a body in which seniority is everything. McAdams' argument is that he is not beholden to corporate interests and is best positioned to beat Joe Miller because his name is on the ballot. When Scott McAdams promises not to take corporate contributions I hear echoes of George Bush saying "read my lips." But I try never fault a person for optimism.

Joe Miller's best argument is that the Koch brothers thinly veiled as a populist movement want more control of the Senate.

Joe Miller? Lisa Murkowski? Scott McAdams? Yikes. This stuff is scary.

The America I was raised in told me that we are all due equal protection under the law. The America I was raised in showed me this is not the case. The Pharisees of today are leading a jihad against the LGBT community. They are making life so unbearable that young people are choosing to kill themselves rather than face the brutal reality of our culture. It has to stop. We must stop it. So which candidate is best prepared to join this fight?

On this point many votes will turn.

Joe, you are as bigoted an individual as they come. Your self-righteousness will prove its own reward.

Lisa, your record on LGBT issues reflects alignment with the forces that have allowed systematic demoralization of millions of Americans. You have disavowed the quote by the Lizard King Jerry Prevo that it is impossible to be gay and Christian. But last week you supplicated at his altar of bigotry. You have voted consistently against the LGBT community and in your response to their survey this summer, you promised nothing will change. It has been painful. You had many chances to help in the struggle. But you didn't. Here is what you told the Alaska Family Council; the Alaska version of Focus On The Family, a religious group with the blood of LGBT youth on its hands:

Scott, you have obviously not spent too much time contemplating the day to day reality of LGBT existence, but it is clear you understand the underlying issues. You unequivocally stated you support equality, that every citizen is sovereign, that no laws should be passed that create inequality in our system, and that we must do away with those that already do. I try never to fault a man for being an idealist.

I have a handful of LGBT friends who will disagree with me. There is only one genuine choice on this ballot for LGBT voters: Scott McAdams.

To those of you fearing change, I offer this. A long overdue generational shift is under way. An emerging generation of leaders now assumes its rightful place at the table. We are up to the challenges of the future with the same energy and acumen as those who crafted our state and those who have lived here for untold generations.

And to those who claim that Lisa and seniority are the only answer to the problems we now face, and that we are going to be the weakest Senate Delegation because our senior Senator will have only two years of seniority, I have a different perspective to offer.

When Scott McAdams is elected to the US Senate, Alaska might have the least seniority of any State delegation. But it will also be the youngest. In a body where seniority matters, perhaps Alaska is embarking on the first steps of a long journey.

Now for a little history lesson. The youngest and least senior delegation in Alaska history began on December 24, 1968. On January 3, 1969, Alaska enjoyed 11 days of seniority in the US Senate. Look at what Ted Stevens built: the most prosperous era of Alaskan history. Perhaps past is prologue.