Don't credit Sarah Palin: Bird, Bird, Bird. Bird was the early word that predicted the close primary results between Joe Miller and Lisa Murkowski for any Alaskan who paid attention. When Ted Stevens lost in 2008, Alaskan journalists ignored Bob Bird's role in the affair. I didn't. See: "Bob Bird (Who?) and the crazy fringe party (that) Palin trashers just love(d) to hate, end Ted Stevens' reign in Alaska," posted on Dissident Voice back in November 2008. Those angry independent socialists in denial, now called Tea Partiers, didn't leave town. The economy is fine and the perks of being an Alaskan just keep on coming. So they hang around, get their PFDs, their moose and their fish, and continue to vote

Now we have another political unknown, Joe Miller, chasing down incumbent, Lisa Murkowski. I attended Lisa's appointment by her dad because A. just "being there" is part of the fun in Alaska and B. she was the first female senator from Alaska and C. Murkowski, unlike her dad who assumed, as a former senator, the hoi polloi should kiss his boots, had been a friend of Alaskan consumers in the state Legislature. Don't make the mistake of crediting Sarah Palin or the Tea Party for this close race. Lisa has had a hard time shedding the animus generated by her dad's reign as governor. Daddy brought his senatorial demeanor back to Juneau and wore it like a crown.

How will the final race turn out? Who knows? But, for the winner, given Alaskans' penchant for belief in states' rights while living in a socialist wonderland, here's a great new issue:

Press the Congress to repeal Section 10 of the Statehood Act -- the one that allows the president, on his own prerogative, to withdraw vast rural stretches of Alaska for national defense and to reassert federal jurisdiction. Don't believe this law is on the books? Check it out. Who put it there? Stay tuned.

In the Lower 48, they fight about how many city blocks from the World Trade Center attack site to place not a strip joint, but a mosque. In Alaska, things are always more interesting.

Steve Conn, a former professor of justice at the University of Alaska, lived in the state from 1972 to 2007. He currently resides in Point Roberts, Wash. and Las Cruces, N.M.

Alaska Dispatch features commentary by Alaskans from across the state. The views expressed are the writer's own and are not endorsed by Alaska Dispatch. We welcome a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, e-mail editor(at)alaskadispatch.com.