Lisa Murkowski just betrayed the people of Alaska and the American people.

Courtesy of Politico:  

Sen. Lisa Murkowski says she supports GOP efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate, the Alaska Republican wrote in an op-ed for a local newspaper Friday. "I have always supported the freedom to choose," Murkowski wrote in her op-ed for the Daily News-Miner, an Alaska newspaper.

 "I believe that the federal government should not force anyone to buy something they do not wish to buy, in order to avoid being taxed." 

Murkowski's renewed support for repealing the mandate � after repeatedly opposing her party's Obamacare repeal bills this year � may be a boon for Senate Republicans' tax legislation, which includes mandate repeal and is expected to be taken up on the Senate floor next week. 

A spokesperson for Murkowski told POLITICO that the comments should not be construed as support for the tax bill, which does not yet appear to have sufficient support to pass the chamber. 

�Senator Murkowski said on Friday that she will be reviewing the work of the Finance Committee over the Thanksgiving holiday and plans to look at the entire package before coming to any conclusion on the legislation," the spokesperson said.

Murkowski gained some national prominence, and the undying support of the Alaska people, when she was a "no" vote on the GOP plan to repeal and replace Obamacare.

However this time around apparently she is choosing oil over healthcare.

Courtesy of Think Progress:

Murkowski was a key vote in stopping repeal of the Affordable Care Act earlier this year, but there�s one crucial difference this time around: repealing the individual mandate is tied to the Republican�s tax bill, which also includes legislation opening up the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for drilling. 

Murkowski has supported opening portions of the refuge to development for years, though her efforts have been met with little success. This most recent push � which would require only a simple majority to pass � might be Murkowski�s best chance to accomplish a long-held goal.

Murkowski knows full well that doing away with this mandate would undermine the solvency of the program, and result in higher premiums and fewer people being insured.

Courtesy of HuffPo: 

By 2027, absent a mandate, the number of Americans without coverage would rise by 13 million, while premiums would be up an additional 10 percent, according to the most recent assessment by the Congressional Budget Office ? although the CBO is currently re-evaluating its model, and Republicans say the agency wildly overestimates the mandate�s effects.

Senator Murkowski made a promise to the people of Alaska, and whether she admits it or not, she just broke it.

And she has just now made herself vulnerable in the next election cycle.