Alaska Senator to Sarah Palin: Whine to John McCain

Mark Begich delivered a sharp jab at Sarah Palin yesterday, saying, in effect, that he didn’t consider her an Alaskan anymore. Asked about Palin’s insistence that he push to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling as part of a debt ceiling deal, Begich replied, “Someone who quit Alaska is not someone I look for to get Alaska policy decisions on.”

The weird part: Begich and Palin don’t actually disagree. Begich already supports drilling in ANWR, Politico reports. “I would encourage her to talk to her senator … I know she’s talked to McCain, who is her new senator, where she lives. He hasn’t supported ANWR in the past, hope he will.” Begich was referring to Palin’s recent purchase of a home in Scottsdale, Arizona. (More Mark Begich stories.)