Dan Fagan Endorses Joe Miller

Dan Fagan

Anchorage, Alaska. August 23, 2010 — Radio talk show host Dan Fagan formally endorsed Joe Miller for United States Senate today. He said in part, “I have a message for my fellow conservatives. Lisa Murkowski is now so desperate that she’s playing a clip from my radio show for one of her ads without my permission. Let me make one thing clear, I believe Lisa Murkowski is a liberal. She co-sponsored cap and trade legislation that would devastate Alaska’s economy. She voted in favor of anti-gun rights Attorney General Eric Holder and she voted for Obama’s so-called 2nd Stimulus Plan, but the main reason I cannot support Liberal Lisa is she’s pro-abortion. In fact, she insists that you and I give some of our money to the government to pay for abortions. Joe Miller and I have disagreed on some issues during the campaign, but I know this, Joe Miller on each of these issues is a true conservative, and when the tough votes comes, we don’t have to wonder where Joe Miller stands.”

Miller thanked Fagan for his endorsement saying, “Dan took the time to get to know me and where I stand on the issues. When he realized we were on the same team in the fight to rein in an out-of-control government and restore personal freedom, he gave his unqualified support to our campaign. I thank him for his willingness to help get the word out to Alaskans about the issues in this race.”

Miller and Fagan differed on where Lisa Murkowski stood on the repeal of ObamaCare. After further weighing the evidence, Fagan apologized to Miller for saying the candidate was misrepresenting where Murkowski stood on government run healthcare and the repeal of ObamaCare. Miller asserted Murkowski was against the repeal of ObamaCare based on her statement to KTUU News on March 30, 2010: the day President Obama signed the final provisions of the Obamacare into law. Murkowski told KTUU’s Rhonda McBride, “Repealing this is not the answer in my opinion, because if you repeal it and do nothing, you will not have addressed healthcare reform.”

On air today Fagan stated that “I apologized to [Miller] in person, and I apologized to him on the air.” Fagan, referring to a clip from a healthcare town hall last summer, noted that Murkowski, “clearly states, no wiggle room, no guessing room, ‘I think it’s good to have the government take over the healthcare as long as they do it right.’ When I heard that in light of the [KTUU interview], I think what Joe was initially asserting was accurate. I believe I was wrong at that point. I got carried away. I was wrong.” The healthcare town hall meeting was held on August 20, 2009 and Murkowski’s precise words were, “It’s not so much that the government-run plan is in and of itself a bad thing . . . what we have to have is a government-run plan that actually works.” (See video starting at 0:29:50.)

Murkowski was late to the party regarding signing on the “Repeal ObamaCare Bill.” She waited until July 29th, 2010, during the heat of this campaign, to finally co-sponsor the bill. That was four months after the passage of ObamaCare, and three months after the last of the 21 other co-sponsors, including Senator John McCain, put their names to the bill.

Miller fundamentally disagrees with Murkowski on whether the government should be taking over 1/5 of our economy, even if it “works.” Miller said, “We need a Senator who will stand up and fight the Statists in power, not negotiate the terms of our surrender. It is time for a return to limited government. It is the only answer to our economic woes, and to a deeper financial crisis looming on the horizon, if we continue down this path. We can turn this thing around and get this nation back on the right track, but we’ve got to act now.”