I was perturbed enough by Markos Moulitsas' essay-poll or poll-essay on the two Alaska U.S. Legislative races, that I joined DailyKos as a diarist so I could address what has become a misperception as as result of the poll.The diary I wrote Monday and yesterday and posted yesterday evening, is called Kos' Trip Into the Wild. Go read it!
The misperception - I wrote about it last week as it became apparent - is that Ethan Berkowitz is running against Don Young, or as Kos put it, "Wow, wow, wow. Berkowitz is already running hard, and it's clear his will be a top pickup opportunity as Young is weighed down with his corruption."
As I stated in the article for DailyKos, "Ethan Berkowitz is running against Jake Metcalfe and Diane Benson and any other Democrat who files by June 1 of next year for a spot on the August 26, 2008 Alaska Democratic Primary. The winner of that late-season primary will have ten weeks to get his or her act together to face the GOP candidate, who will most likely not be Don Young."
Ethan is, as I've pointed out before, happy to be portrayed as the only candidate in the race. His web site now refers readers directly to Markos' misleading article, adding:
Ethan Berkowitz leads in new DailyKos poll
Berkowitz 49 — Young 42. That's the big news from the national political blog Daily Kos. They commissioned a poll and released its results on December 10. Ethan Berkowitz has a strong seven point lead over Don Young. Check out the results yourself here.
The numbers reveal a clear message: Alaskans are ready for a new direction.
I've asked myself "If Jake or Diane had been given this huge, but inaccurate advantage, how would they have portrayed it on their campaign page?" I suppose we'll never know.
