This is the Price that Must Be Paid to Preserve Our Freedom

/8 Comments/in , /by

Dear Friend of Liberty,

Thomas Jefferson once exhorted that, “The price we pay for liberty is eternal vigilance.”

Never in recent history has there been a greater need to remember this truth as we observe the actions of this Administration and its allies in Congress. 

A core understanding of these ideals formerly knew no party lines. It defined us as a nation.

Both John Kennedy and Ronald Reagan could agree that securing the God-given rights of Americans was the central purpose of government, and resisting the central top-down tyranny manifested in the communist/socialist worldview was a virtue. 

In our day, it is abundantly clear that Barack Obama and the Democrats think the primary purpose of the federal government is a “fundamentally transformed” America that our Founders would not recognize, where socialism reigns. It is our duty to ensure future generations experience the same promise and opportunity that we were given.
 
For the last five years, Mark Begich has been a virtual rubber stamp for Barack Obama’s left-wing agenda. Now he and Harry Reid have broken with long-standing Senate tradition to shove the president’s radical activist judges down our throats.
 
The minority party’s right to filibuster Presidential nominees who lack the qualifications, temperament or respect for the liberties of all Americans, which dates back to the mid-19th century, is no more with regards to most judicial and executives appointments. 
 
While Mark Begich talks a good game when he’s back in Alaska, we know he does the bidding of his party bosses when he’s in Washington. 
 
The truth is, according to The Washington Post, he votes with Barack Obama and Harry Reid 91% of the time. So much for independence!
 
Just like the junior senator was the 60th and decisive vote to pass an Obamcare law that Alaskans didn’t want, couldn’t afford and clearly doesn’t work, he continues to drag us down the road towards the President’s socialist utopian dream, which history clearly teaches leads to shared scarcity, rather than the shared opportunity to live the American dream.
 
When I’m elected to the United States Senate, you won’t have to worry about whether I’ll represent Alaska’s interests or stand up for the constitutional principles that made our nation great. I’ll lead the charge to confront this lawless administration and its liberty stealing agenda.
 
But I can’t do it alone. Together, we can roll back Barack Obama’s radical agenda and restore America. Thanks for your friendship and support!
 
In the Fight,

Joe

Why is Thanksgiving Celebrated?

/9 Comments/in , /by

More than three hundred and ninety years since the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock, their example has not been forgotten. For etched in the collective memory of America is the truth that, from those first settlers who fled Europe in quest of religious freedom to those today who seek refuge within our borders from oppression the world over, we owe praise to “the Power that made and preserved us a nation.”

While modern life often crowds out reflection of the past, it is imperative that we remember who we are as a people, and why we celebrate.

Our first President, George Washington proclaimed our first National Day of Thanksgiving in 1789:

Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor– and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness. Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be . . . [Read more from this proclamation HERE]

As we gather with friends and family to celebrate God’s many blessings, may we be mindful not only of the blessings we enjoy, but of the price paid by others to secure them. And as the ancient English prayer implores, may we offer thanks “not only with our lips, but in our lives.”

Happy Thanksgiving!

Joe and Kathleen Miller

Joe Miller: Begich Empowers Washington, Blames Alaskans

/8 Comments/in , , /by

Photo Credit: SenateDemocrats U.S. Senate candidate Joe Miller today called into question Senator Mark Begich’s “independence” for engaging in hyper-partisanship in Washington and, through his actions, undermining our republic.

In a naked power grab last Thursday Democrats broke with a long-standing Senate tradition requiring a 60-vote majority in order to confirm judges. In so doing, Democrats have abandoned all pretext of governing by consensus, instead seizing more power for unelected government bureaucrats and judges who regulate, tax, and wield arbitrary power over Americans lives.

And what did Senator Mark Begich do? He abandoned bi-partisanship to carry the water for those he truly serves in Washington–Barack Obama and Harry Reid–and then had the gall to blame his constituents for his own outrageous actions. The Los Angeles Times quoted the senator as saying, “. . . the American people are asking us to fix this system.”

US Senate candidate Joe Miller responded:

“The fact that Mark Begich is continuously pushing his ‘independence’ in Alaska, while at the same time engaging in hyper-partisanship back in Washington is bad enough,” said Miller. “But to go a step further and blame his constituents for this naked power grab is, in my opinion deeply cynical.”

Senators Chuck Grassley and Orrin Hatch, who are both longstanding members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, note there are far more pressing vacancies in the other federal courts nationwide. The DC Circuit has the lightest caseload in the country, and filling its vacancies is simply unnecessary. Incidentally, Democrats made similar arguments in opposition to President George W. Bush’s appointees to the same court.

The junior senator’s move is all the more troubling when one considers the fact that the impetus behind the rules change appears to be an attempt by the White House to stack the DC Appellate Court in hopes of saving the Obama agenda, including Obamacare – a bill Begich was the 60th and deciding vote on.

In recent days, Begich has feigned outrage over the failed healthcare roll-out, even engaging in faux attacks on the White House in an attempt to distance himself from political fallout. But Alaskans can now see to what lengths he will go to save the president’s failed socialist experiment.

While Begich has voted for the Obama-Reid agenda 91% of the time during his tenure in the United States Senate, Joe Miller will work tirelessly to repeal Obamacare, and fight every day to restore our liberties and keep Washington outsiders from meddling in our lives.

Joe Miller concluded, “Mark Begich’s ridiculous claim that there is some public consensus out there to justify his vote to give unaccountable judges more power over our lives is disingenuous in the extreme, and it’s anything but independent. It is partisan, divisive, and deeply troubling for the future of liberty in America.”

This is How Liberty Ends

/18 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: Susan Walsh/APDear Friend of Liberty,

Earlier this week, the Senate, in almost a straight party line vote, chose to end the filibuster with respect to most Presidential nominees. 
 
This shocking power grab strips the ability of the minority party to provide a check to elevating those to places of authority in the executive or the judicial branch, who lack the qualifications, temperament or respect for the liberties of all Americans to hold such positions of trust. 
 
Though voting to end this right of the minority, which dates back to the mid 19th century, is deplorable, no one should be too surprised given the unprecedented pattern of the abuse of power seen under this Administration with its willing accomplices in the Democrat controlled Senate, Harry Reid and Mark Begich.
 
Where will this end? Will Congress hold those responsible to account?  

If the past is any indication, we can say with confidence that the Washington establishment will once again turn a blind eye to the blatant and systematic abuse of power.

At the IRS, many of those responsible for political profiling have not only kept their jobs, they have been promoted. Crickets on the Justice Department’s illegal monitoring of the press.  
 
Congress has yet to get to the bottom of the debacle at Benghazi, as this Administration stonewalls efforts by House Republicans. Meanwhile, the NSA continues to trample on the rights of ordinary Americans.
 
Not to mention . . . Obamacare!  We were lied to. Period.
 
It is time to hold this Administration and its shills in Congress accountable! That’s why I’ve filed to run for US Senate in 2014.
 
Senator Mark Begich may grandstand during an election cycle, but he’s never going to hold this administration accountable. Let’s face it, he is part of the problem. He was the 60th and deciding vote on Obamacare, and frankly, he sold us a bill of goods.
 
One thing we know, Mark Begich will keep carrying the water for Barack Obama and Harry Reid.
 
Enough is enough. Alaskans deserve better. Let’s give our junior senator his pink slip before he does any more damage.
 
In 2014 we’ll have a chance to replace liberal Democrat Mark Begich and rein in Barack Obama’s failed socialist agenda. But it is not going to happen if we replace him with another “me too” Republican. We’ve already tried that brand, and it’s not working out so well.
 
We need a fighter in Washington who will confront this lawless administration, and work tirelessly to restore liberty and economic prosperity. With your support, that’s exactly what I intend to do.
 
This week we celebrated the immortal words of our nation’s first Republican President Abraham Lincoln. At Gettysburg 150 years ago, he eloquently re-stated the vision and mission of the United States of America. 
 
In our day, “this nation, under God” must have “a new birth of freedom” once again so that “government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
 
Together, we can begin to make that happen.
 
Thank you for standing with me and your financial support during this crucial hour in our nation’s history.
 
In the Fight,

Joe

Miller: I Cannot In Good Conscience Stand By and Do Nothing

/3 Comments/in , /by

Dear Friend of Liberty,

Democrat Senator Mark Begich is scared. Following the President’s ObamaCare press conference yesterday, Begich announced his support for delaying implementation of the law’s so-called “grandfather rule” for two years rather than one.

The provision has already caused thousands of Alaskans and millions of Americans to lose their healthcare coverage. This fits a pattern for the vulnerable first term senator, who also wants to delay the employer mandate for another two years.
 
The reason is perfectly clear: he does not want the bad news of cancelled policy notices, dropped employer coverage and lost jobs to be hitting Alaskans as they head to the polls next fall. This is the DC establishment at its self-absorbed worst.

Rather than truly fixing the problem by repealing ObamaCare, Mark Begich stands by his 60th and deciding vote and seeks to delay some of its gravest consequences just long enough to somehow get re-elected. We know if he is successful, he will spend six more years whole-heartedly supporting liberal policies that rob our freedom and take this nation inexorably down the road to financial catastrophe. 
 
These are perilous times for our country. Nothing else could induce me to venture back onto a battlefield that I know is bound to exact a high personal price, not just for me, but also for my family. But I cannot in good conscience stand by and do nothing while the political establishment puts their own self interest above the best interest of the American people.

 
You know where I stand. Constitutional government is the only answer to the challenges we face as a nation. It is time to stand up and fight for the things we hold dear: individual liberty, private property, free enterprise, and self-determination.
 
Alaskans also know that we are a unique state with boundless resources, but we have a high level of dependency on the federal government. It is time to move away from centralized power, and back toward the model of federalism envisioned by our founders.  
 
The dysfunction of the central government – evidenced by the unmitigated Obamacare disaster, out-of-control deficit spending, and near-total disregard for the Bill of Rights – makes a return of power to the states not just a good idea, but one that could be necessary to our very survival as a free and prosperous society.
 
With the balance of power in the US Senate at stake, Alaska has become a battleground state in the 2014 election cycle. 
 
Already corporate and special interests are spending big bucks to help Democrat Senator Mark Begich retain his seat, and outside groups are organizing on the ground in an effort to gain a strategic advantage.
 
While this is a matter of some concern, it is not a reason for panic. We have no intention of playing the traditional establishment game, or allowing our opponents to dictate our mode of operation.
 
We have the most extensive grassroots network in the state of Alaska, but we need your help to mobilize and spread our message of reform.
 
While we have not yet announced our official campaign kick-off date, I can assure you that we are already hard at work, and meeting with key allies from around the state and the nation to lay the necessary groundwork for a successful run. And in the meantime, we will continue to provide accountability for our sitting senator.
 
Let’s keep our eye on the ball. This isn’t a race merely about partisan advantage, it’s about saving the country we love.
 
Without a doubt, we are already watching candidates posture for political advantage. This week Mark Begich engaged in political theatrics playing the part of the outraged Senator who is shocked to learn that Obamacare is causing thousands of Alaskans to lose their healthcare plans and thousands more to see their premiums increased significantly. But we know it is not about what this or that candidate has to say during an election cycle that matters. We have heard that song and seen that dance before.
 
The question before the voters of Alaska will be one of who can be trusted to confront this lawless administration and to advocate for real reform in Washington. 
 
My positions haven’t changed. I will fight tirelessly to dismantle the Washington bureaucracy and return government to the people.
 
Please help make reform a reality by making a generous donation today! I cannot win this battle without your generous financial help.
 
Together, we can return American values to our nation’s Capitol, and return power to the people.
 
Thanks for your friendship and support!
 
Yours for Liberty,

Joe

Miller Calls Out Begich Duplicity On ANWR

/2 Comments/in , , /by

Photo Credit: SenateDemocratsFairbanks, Alaska. November 14, 2013 –  In response to the junior senator’s statement earlier this week on US Interior Secretary Sally Jewell’s Speech before the National Press Club, US Senate candidate Joe Miller today highlighted the duplicity of Mark Begich’s position on resource development in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
 
Interior Secretary Sally Jewell re-asserted her insistence that ANWR “should remain off-limits to development,” because “there are some places too special to develop.” In return, Senator Begich pledged to “fight any effort by the Obama Administration to make ANWR off limits.”

“I think it is worth noting that Mark Begich’s way of fighting for ANWR development includes voting to confirm Sally Jewell as Secretary of Interior.” Miller said. “It is a mystery to me how Mr. Begich can imagine that he has any credibility on this issue when he is, at least in part, personally responsible for elevating the very people to power who are blocking access to Alaska’s resources.”

Last year the state’s oil production hit a record low of 526,000 barrels a day, down from its 1988 peak when 2.1 million barrels of oil flowed through the Alaska Pipeline daily. Alaska has fallen to fourth in total oil production among the 50 states.

 
It should also be noted that Mr. Begich’s own party platform explicitly opposes ANWR development, as does his choice for president, Barack Obama, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Secretary Jewell, and EPA administrator Regina McCarthy, who Begich also voted to confirm.

Alaskans overwhelmingly support the development of ANWR, but what they are coming to realize is that, as in the case of Begich’s 60th and deciding vote for ObamaCare, the Obama-Reid agenda comes first.

Miller concluded, “Mark Begich runs ads in the state claiming to be ‘as independent as Alaska.’ What he apparently means is that his actions in DC are independent from his rhetoric at home.”  
 

Joe Miller Dismisses Begich Healthcare Move as ‘Political Theater’

/5 Comments/in , , /by

Fairbanks, Alaska. November 13, 2013 — This week Mark Begich announced that he has opted to sign up for Obamacare using Alaska’s federal exchange, purportedly to forgo the subsidy offered by the Obama administration that exempted Congress from the effects of the new healthcare law. He said he wants to “have the exact same experience and go through the same steps as other Alaskans.” 
 
Joe Miller wasn’t impressed.
 
“It’s all political theater,” said Miller. “Where was Mark a few weeks ago when an amendment was offered by Senator Vitter to remove the Congressional subsidy altogether? I don’t recall him jumping on the bandwagon.”

Miller added, “Having said that, the fact that Mark Begich ‘feels our pain’ is of little comfort to thousands of Alaskans who have lost their health plans, or the thousands more who will be paying significantly higher premiums due to Obamacare.”

Senator Begich was the 60th and deciding vote on Obamacare in 2010, and even refused to strike down one of the law’s most egregious regulations. In a straight party line vote, he supported the so-called “grandfather rule,” which negated his and President Obama’s promise that “if you like your healthcare plan, you can keep your healthcare plan.” So much for putting Alaskans first.

Alaskans know that he is responsible for the difficulties we are facing, and he’s not going to get extra credit for working to save us from the consequences of his own actions.

“Mark Begich has chosen to spend his years in the United States Senate carrying the water for Barack Obama and Harry Reid,” Miller said. “Unfortunately, his constituents have to pay the price. But if Mr. Begich is so keen on having the ‘exact same experience’ as the rest of us, perhaps we can send him to the unemployment line with the Alaskans who won’t have a job due to the economic fallout from Obamacare.”
 
Miller concluded, “Part of leadership is having the foresight to stop the train before it wrecks, and on that count our junior senator has miserably failed.”

Joe Miller is a husband, father, war veteran, businessman, and Constitutional conservative who believes in limited government, the Right to life, individual liberty, private property, and free markets.

Send DC a Message

/7 Comments/in , /by

As we saw on Tuesday, the Republican establishment is doubling down to defeat conservative candidates across the country. This is not idle conjecture. Here’s what the liberal Washington Post had to say about Ken Cuccinelli’s defeat in Virginia:

“McAuliffe’s victory comes after a strange political season in which the sitting governor stayed on the sidelines, the lieutenant governor refused to endorse his own party’s candidate, and Dwight Schar, once the finance chairman of the Republican National Committee, held a fundraiser at his McLean mansion for the Democratic candidate for governor, with Bill Clinton as his guest . . .

The Republican got no contributions from most of the major donors to McDonnell’s 2009 campaign. Some major GOP politicians also abandoned their party’s flagbearer, either sitting out the race or crossing the aisle to back McAuliffe.”

Further, it was reported that the Republican National Committee spent a mere $3 million in this vital swing state race versus the $9 million it invested in their favored establishment candidate in 2009. McAuliffe outspent Cuccinelli by $15 million to eek out his two percent victory on Tuesday.

Virginia will have massive implications in the 2016 presidential race, yet the establishment would rather see the Democrat win than support a true constitutional conservative.

Here in Alaska, my establishment opponents are raising big bucks with the backing of the permanent political class. “We the People” cannot let them squander yet another opportunity to save the country we love.

As 2014 approaches, the desperation of the establishment becomes more and more pronounced. The Washington pundits, and the crony capitalists who prop them up, know the jig is up.

That is exactly why they have stepped up their efforts to demonize ordinary Americans who seek to take ownership of their own government, and any politician who has the temerity to represent the interests of the individual citizen.

And never was there a more willing accomplice to the subversion of America than the institutionalized establishment media!

From Washington DC to Juneau, from the White House to Wall Street, from the halls of Congress to the K Street special interest lobbies that pay-to-play – America is broken!

Despite the fact that the country is teetering on the edge of bankruptcy, the institutions of civil society are being systematically dismantled, the economy is in disarray, and America’s standing in the world is greatly diminished, the permanent political class that got us into this mess continues to insist that we just trust them.

Well, common sense tells us that we simply cannot. Not if we would save our country. Not if we would preserve our liberty. Not if we would restore prosperity.

When the President of the United States compares us to suicide bombers and hostage takers, when the Senate Majority Leader and his minions call us “anarchists” and “knuckleheads,” when those in our own party refer to us as “wacko birds,” “extremists,” “absolutists,” and yes, “freaking retards” – there is little doubt that they are desperate.

And why all the incendiary rhetoric? We believe that the Constitution should be taken seriously, that the size and scope of government should be limited, that we should balance the budget and live within our means, that the Bill of Rights actually means that we have a reasonable expectation of free speech, the right to keep and bear arms, privacy, protection against unlawful search and seizure, habeas corpus, and the freedom to worship God according to the dictates of our own conscience.

There is nothing the establishment fears more than ordinary Americans taking ownership of their own government.

If you are ready to take back your government, help me take your message of reform to Washington. I cannot do it without you.

The Obama Administration’s fears have become so pronounced that it now seeks to turn our military men and women on the people.

Why else would military officials describe veterans and Christians and common folks who pledge allegiance to the Constitution as a threat to national security?

Further, why would the Department of Homeland Security stockpile weapons and ammunition while identifying patriotic and peaceful American citizens as the objects of their fear?

All this has created an environment of fear and suspicion and mistrust. That is not what America is about. Something is profoundly wrong when American citizens have reason to fear their government.

Thomas Jefferson was right: “When the people fear the government, there is tyranny.”

If the Washington establishment were acting in good faith, there would be no reason for these extraordinary moves. And if the politicians who have gone along were acting on our behalf, there would be no reason for them to loathe the people to whom they are accountable.

It’s time to send new leadership to Washington who will represent the people of Alaska, not the K Street lobbyists, crony capitalists, and permanent political class. We need Alaskan leadership who will join reformers like Ted Cruz, Mike Lee and Rand Paul to effect real change.

That’s why I have filed for US Senate. But I need your help today.

Washington DC isn’t listening to the people, but together we can make them listen!

Thanks for your friendship and support.

In Liberty,

Joe

After ObamaCare, Barack Obama’s Encore Performance

/5 Comments/in , /by

While all eyes are on the Obamacare roll-out debacle, the establishment in Washington has been quietly working behind the scenes to cut a deal on amnesty for millions of illegal aliens.
 
The Senate measure passed earlier this year with the full support of Senator Begich is almost certainly dead in the House, but many fear that a deal is in the works to push a House bill through that will be gutted in conference committee and turned into an amnesty bill.
 
The Democrat machine is working overtime to create public pressure, while big business puts the full-court press on House Republicans to acquiesce.

Once again, just as with Obamacare, Senator Begich has chosen the agenda of the President and his party bosses over the interests of ordinary Alaskans. It’s time to hold him accountable.
 
And I intend to do exactly that! 
 
If you stand with me, I pledge to oppose amnesty and put Alaskans first.
 
Amnesty would be devastating to the American worker. With high unemployment, stagnant wages, and low economic growth, Americans seeking work can ill afford to compete with foreign workers who will undercut their earning potential and continue a long-term trend of wage suppression.
 
Amnesty also threatens the American economy by racking up more debt, overwhelming our social safety nets, and creating new demands on our already beleaguered health care system.
 
A study by the Heritage Foundation released earlier this year found that the net cost to the American taxpayers of granting amnesty to illegal immigrants would be a staggering $6 trillion. This figure is a conservative estimate, subtracting projected tax revenues from granting citizenship from the costs of Social Security, Medicare, Obamacare, food stamps, unemployment insurance, welfare, and other government programs. 

But that’s not all. There is a growing body of evidence that the porous southern border is being used by Islamic radicals and Chinese nationals who are a grave threat to our national security. The virtual open border policy of the Obama administration has imperiled the nation, and it is unconscionable to allow these dangerous elements permanent legal status, and even citizenship.
 
We must stop amnesty dead in its tracks!
 
It’s bad for American workers. It’s bad for national security. And it’s bad for the future of the country.
 
If you agree with me, I need your help today.

Together, we can save the country we love for future generations.
 
Yours for the Future,

Joe

Is Mark Begich Becoming a “Knucklehead?”

/4 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: APFairbanks, Alaska. — U.S. Senate candidate Joe Miller is pleased to learn that Senator Mark Begich has apparently changed his mind and now embraces delaying Obamacare’s individual enrollment mandate. According to news reports, Begich has joined with other “red state” Democrat Senators – who are coincidentally up for re-election next year – in signing a letter to Kathleen Sebelius calling for an open-ended delay in the deadline to enroll for Obamacare until the much-publicized website problems are resolved.

One of the Republican compromise proposals to fully fund the government earlier this month called for a one-year delay in the individual mandate. Senator Begich called those who offered this compromise “a small band of knuckleheads” who are “holding the country hostage over the health care law.”

Miller said, “I am happy to learn that Senator Begich has taken off his rose-colored glasses long enough to see one of the glaring flaws of Obamacare. Interestingly enough, the senator promised the people of Alaska that the healthcare exchange would function like buying airline tickets on Expedia. Well, let’s just say that was a little overly optimistic.”

Over two weeks after the launch of the exchange, not a single Alaskan had been able to sign up. Now after nearly four weeks, major systemic problems continue to plague the Obamacare website.

Miller opposed the passage of Obamacare because it created another entitlement program the federal government did not have the Constitutional authority to undertake. Further, with the nation already experiencing trillion dollar plus deficits, it could in no way afford the program. The so-called Affordable Care Act also did not address rising healthcare costs. Instead of introducing more free market principles into the heavily regulated health insurance industry, Obamacare does just the opposite, adding over 20,000 pages of new regulations to-date.

“If the federal government cannot even set up a website, why should the American people have any confidence it can oversee healthcare for an entire nation? Nobel prize winning economist Milton Friedman’s words come to mind: ‘If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in five years there’d be a shortage of sand,’” said Miller. He added, “Too bad Mark Begich could not have been more of a ‘knucklehead’ back in 2010 when he was the 60th and deciding vote for Obamacare’s passage.”