Murkowski Creates Firestorm of Boater Outrage

American boaters can't believe that they will be sacrificed for Alaskan fishermen's votes for Murkowski.

Our "Letters to the Editor" inbox was stuffed last
week by e-messages from boaters from around the country. Only one defended Sen.
Murkowski's blockage of the Clean Boating Act of 2008. Most of the letters were
well-reasoned, logical expressions of American boaters' disappointment and outrage
that they should become collateral damage in Sen. Murkowski's drive to help her commercial
fishing constituents. We have selected a few of the letters that make points that
we hope the Senator will consider before going on her much-needed August vacation.

Zealot for Re-Election



P. Becker: I have worked all my life paying taxes and getting permits for my chosen
profession and now I am going to have to get a permit for my recreation. Politicians
today are nothing more than self-serving zealots with their prime mission being
to get re-elected. I don't know of a politician that has not been either born with
a silver spoon in their mouths or become millionaires within a few years of being
elected. How does that happen? We let it happen. The only discharge off my boat
is my spit when I think of fuel prices, taxes and politicians who continue to punish
those who play by the rules with even more taxes to fund their re-election bids.
Alaska deserves better than this Senator and America deserves more than being dictated
to by our so called "public servants". Take a hike sister!!!!!!


Commercial Vessels are Different



J. Rosen: It seems to me that commercial vessels are used as a full time trade
- significantly more than a recreational user. Commercial also means "for profit."
As these boats operate for profit, their waste should be governed, and the expenses
associated with that are part of the costs of doing business. Please notice I said
"expense," which can be written off their taxes. Should all recreational boaters
in the U.S. be able to write off the expenses of operating their boat from their
personal taxes? It also seems Mr Allen's boat wouldn't be covered by this bill, so
that reference is irrelevant. I admire your effort to consider the 9700 commercial
fishing vessels in your state, and hope you can work on a bill in the future that
will benefit commercial fisherman. The end result is millions of Americans who enjoy
recreational boating will be penalized, and you will clearly be the one person responsible.
I urge you to reconsider your position on this bill for recreational boaters and
support it.


What is Her Intention?



A. Herskowitz: Sen Murkowski is an experienced congressional operator. Her letter
is wonderful sophistry but the plain and simple fact is that she has to know, as
an elemental matter of congressional fact, that her rider kills the chances for
the bill. Therefore one must assume that her maneuver is intentional - because she
is far too smart for the result to be an accident or a surprise and there is just
no way she could have come to believe that her rider had a snowball's chance in Florida
of passing.

B. Harris: Hammering the recreational boaters and industry
is total BS! If she wants to get a law passed for commercial fisherman, then that
should completely be judged on its own as a separate bill.  Her stupidity
and arrogance is going to put a lot of people out of business and cost far more
jobs across the U.S then ALL of the people in Alaska put together. I for one will
not pay for more government nonsense. Nor will I register for any more of their
BS! They don't have enough manpower or prisons to lock up everyone.

J. Karnitz: News alert for this woman...most recreational
boats are NOT Paul Allen's 414 ft yacht, and most boaters do not have Paul Allen's
finances. Commercial fishing vessels of all sizes are income-producing vessels,
many of which produce high incomes. Recreational boats are not income-producing,
they are for RECREATION.

A. Shevack: Sen. Murkowski, just who do you think will
fall for your scam? You had a done deal in front of your face to sign to exempt
17 million pleasure boaters from this law. You failed to act in your own self interest
to tie in a few thousand COMMERCIAL boaters? You are a real low life.

T. Keeton: This is a lot of political double-talk!!!
We may have been born at night, but NOT LAST NIGHT!!! I hope you are up for re-election
this year!! And by the way, aren`t the Native Americans exempt from these issues
(aka) Native Alaska Indians? You and other senators like you are what's wrong with Washington,
you look out for the Big Guys and screw the average American out of everything possible.

E. Booth: If she was so interested in these small
commerical vessels and recreational boats, WHY did she wait till the last minute
to spring her trap?