From Sean Cockerham in Anchorage –

Eddie Burke is hopping mad that the Conservative Patriots Group, Alaska’s most visible Tea Party outfit, endorsed his opponent Mead Treadwell in the Republican primary for lieutenant governor.

Burke considers himself the Tea Party guy in the race. He put out a statement last night saying Treadwell has indicated humans cause climate change, has been a supporter of Lisa Murkowski, and made donations in the past to Matt Claman and Sheila Selkregg, Democrats who were on the Anchorage Assembly.

“Alaskans have the right to know to whom their candidates are donating and Alaskans have the right to know why the Conservative Patriots Group chose to endorse a candidate who goes against everything their organization stands for,” Burke said.

The Wasilla-based Conservative Patriots Group did put an explanation on its website. The group said that, while Burke is a conservative, Treadwell is “the more electable of the two conservative candidates in the general election.”

“Mr. Burke has made uncomplimentary remarks on his radio talk show about individuals on several different occasions. CPG believes these remarks will be used by his Democrat opponent and the liberal news media in an attempt to discredit Mr. Burke should he win the primary,” the group said.

The Conservative Patriots Group said Treadwell’s position on global warming came up during the vetting process but he eased the concerns.

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Treadwell told the group he opposes cap and trade, carbon taxes and that the “climate science gaps are way too large – in observation, in modeling, in planetary physics – to support coercive governmental decisions, like the endangered species act determinations affecting Alaska.”

I asked the Conservative Patriot Group’s Frank Bettine about Burke’s objections.

“All I can tell you is that our vetting committee went through a process of looking at the candidates and they decided Mead Treadwell fit our conservative (criteria), at least 80 percent conservative, which is what our requirements are, we don’t expect the candidates to be perfect,” Bettine said.

The group's web site said Jay Ramras, the third candidate running in the Republican primary for lieutenant governor, is a RINO (Republican in Name Only).