Sen. Murkowski fundamentally is a democrat with loyalty to oil and global warming. She had to vote with Democrats to get democrats to help re-elect her. Republicans are paying the price for not electing Joe Miller or the next one (who was that guy?), yet the media like her, legal dope, homosexual marriage, abortion and cold war with Russia too. She probably won't even protect the Yukon and Bering Sea from increasing nitrogen input and those dead zones for fish that follow. 

Tripling the V.A. from 9 million to 30 million Americans served and expanding federal support to community clinics for the poor (the latter was in the bill) is better for the poor than Obama-Nixon care. When Nixon suggested corporate health insurance back in the day, Demos wanted a British style universal hospital plan. Republicans in the Senate are likely to remember Sen. Murkowski's vote a decade or so. Bad timing for an era with Republicans in the White House and Congress.Pres.