Miller Says Shell Withdrawal Underscores Need for Change

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Photo Credit: NewscastUS Senate Candidate Joe Miller says yesterday’s announcement of Shell Oil’s intent to withdraw from Alaska due to the adverse ruling passed down from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals last week is further evidence of the failed Democrat agenda.

“This latest blow to Alaska’s economy is a testament to the fact that elections have consequences,” said Miller. “Returning Mark Begich to the US Senate will only ensure that we get more of the same: more moral support for Barack Obama; more power grabs by Harry Reid; more activists confirmed to the federal bench; and more anti-development appointees leading the federal bureaucracy. It’s time to make a change.”

Just yesterday, it was revealed that Mark Begich has collected nearly $20,000 in campaign cash over the last two cycles from board members, executives, and associates of the plaintiffs who sued to stop drilling in the Arctic Ocean. These plaintiffs included the Alaska Wilderness League, Pacific Environment, Defenders of Wildlife, the Village of Point Hope, Oceana, and EarthJustice.

And that doesn’t include other affiliated groups and non-profits who account for thousands more. And who knows what their donors are doing?

It’s time to send a senator to Washington that folks can trust to put principle over party. Alaskans deserve a leader that they know won’t be cheating on them with Barack Obama and Harry Reid’s environmentalist friends.

Why Are Anti-Development Environmentalists Funding Begich?

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Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

Fairbanks, Alaska. January 30, 2014 – While Mark Begich professes to be an advocate of off-shore drilling, US Senate candidate Joe Miller isn’t so sure Alaskans are getting the whole story.

“Mark Begich promised to be an advocate for resource development,” said Miller. “But given the results, coupled with his behavior in the senate, Alaskans are having their doubts.”

In his latest radio ad, Begich takes credit for the return of Shell Oil rigs to the Chuckchi Sea. There’s only one problem. Last week’s Ninth Circuit Court decision to suspend permits resulted from litigation brought by some deep-pocketed friends of the junior senator.

Begich has collected nearly $20,000 in campaign cash over the last two cycles from board members, executives, and associates of the plaintiffs who sued to stop drilling in the Arctic Ocean. These plaintiffs included the Alaska Wilderness League, Pacific Environment, Defenders of Wildlife, the Village of Point Hope, Oceana, and EarthJustice.

That doesn’t include other affiliated groups and non-profits who account for thousands more. And who knows what their donors are doing?

“It all adds up to a rather disturbing pattern,” Miller concluded. “When seen through the purview of his party’s stance on development issues, his support for Obama and Reid, votes to confirm radical environmentalists to cabinet-level positions in the Department of Interior and at the EPA . . . I have to scratch my head. Do Mark’s big government friends know something that Alaskans aren’t being told?”

It’s time to send a senator to Washington that folks can trust to put principle over party. Alaskans deserve a leader that they know won’t be cheating on them with Barack Obama and Harry Reid’s environmentalist friends.

Joe Miller is a husband, father, combat veteran, businessman, and advocate for constitutional liberty, who believes in limited government, the Right to life, individual rights, private property, and free markets.

Mark Begich Not Interested in Campaigning In Alaska with his 93 Percent Friend

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Screen Shot 2014-01-30 at 2.44.55 AMJoe Miller is not surprised that Mark Begich does not want to campaign with Barack Obama and questions the senator’s commitment to opening ANWR and other federal lands to resource development, given his voting record. 

Asked by CNN following the State of the Union Address earlier this week whether he wanted Barack Obama to campaign with him in Alaska, Begich said, “I’m not really interested in campaigning. What I’d like him to do is see why his policies are wrong on ANWR for example. He opposes oil and gas development.”  

Recent polling indicates a good reason the senator does not want to campaign with the President. A Gallup Poll released this week found Barack Obama has a 33.5 percent job approval rating in Alaska, while a recent poll found a 39 percent approval rating for the state’s junior senator.

 
Miller stated, “I’m not surprised Mark Begich does not want to campaign before the people of Alaska with the man he has voted with 93 percent of the time back in Washington, D.C. The President and his policies are even less popular in our state than the senator’s. Whether it is ObamaCare, blocking the development of ANWR, or the profligate tax and spend policies that are stymieing job creation and stealing our future, Alaskans know our nation is currently on the wrong track.” 

Begich insists he is a strong proponent of opening ANWR, but his vote last summer to confirm Sally Jewell as Interior Secretary, who is an outspoken opponent of such a move, makes the senator’s pronouncements highly suspect. He also voted to confirm Regina McCarthy to head the EPA, who opposes opening ANWR. 

“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,” said Miller.

Joe Miller: The President’s Divisive Remarks

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Screen shot 2014-01-29 at 2.02.51 AMThe agenda outlined by President Obama last night can best be described as willfully divisive. Rather than look for common ground, he offered only more controversial proposals like amnesty, climate change, higher taxes, and back-door gun control. And to make matters worse, he again threatened to indulge his totalitarian instincts by circumventing Congress, should it fail to submit to his agenda.

It’s very unfortunate that this president is so resistant to the evidence of his failed economic policies that his only response after five years of stagnation is to double down on redistribution, crony capitalism, and more government intervention. Nothing was more telling than his glowing words for Obamacare, without so much as an acknowledgement of the hardships it has forced on millions of Americans.

And what should be particularly concerning to Alaskans, is the President’s threats to set more land aside as designated wilderness. It’s not hard to see where that is going: more federal control, less development, fewer jobs, and even less revenue for State priorities.

It’s time to return to fiscal sanity, get government out of the way, and offer Alaskans real opportunity by returning to the time-tested free-market principles that built the world’s largest economy over the last 230 years.

Miller Questions Opponents’ Willingness to Take on Federal Spending Crisis

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Joe Miller speakingJoe Miller questioned the willingness of his opponents to truly take on the budget crisis facing this nation when their actions are considered in light of the passage of the $1.1 trillion Omnibus bill. President Obama signed the bill into law over the weekend, which implements, in part, the agreement laid out in the Murray-Ryan budget last month. 

The Murray-Ryan budget plan rolled back the budget cuts made under sequestration and increased spending by $63 billion. Unbelievably, while the agreement called for increased spending throughout the federal government, it cut military veteran retirees’ pay by $6 billion. The $1.1 trillion measure, over 1500 pages long, began implementing this agreement, which included keeping the pay cut for the majority of retired military veterans. The Alaska delegation, Republican and Democrat, voted for the bill. Joe Miller was the only Republican candidate for U.S. Senate to come out against Murray-Ryan. 

“That a $1.1 trillion dollar spending bill, laden with pork and breaching our commitments to our military veterans, would sail through Congress with substantial Republican support is a source of amazement and disappointment to me,” said Miller. 

A review of the Omnibus spending bill reveals an astounding level of wasteful and even immoral use of American taxpayers’ money, including: taxpayer-funded abortion, billions in green energy projects, massive transportation boondoggles, unrestricted money to the Justice Department, and – unbelievably – funding for the continued administration of TARP.

Joe Miller stated, “The Omnibus spending bill highlights everything that is wrong with Washington right now. The ‘go-along to get-along’ mentality that allowed its passage is the same mentality that is bankrupting America.” He concluded, “At a time when big government is seen as the top danger to the future of the nation, this vote only validates the people’s worst fears. It is clear the only way this issue will be addressed is with bold, new leadership, unafraid to take on the political establishment.” 

Joe Miller is a husband, father, combat veteran, businessman, and advocate for constitutional liberty, who believes in limited government, the Right to life, individual rights, private property, and free markets.

Press Release – Combat Veterans for Congress PAC Endorses Joe Miller for U.S. Senate

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Picture_Joe_Standing_By_Tank21c4daFairbanks, Alaska. December 23, 2013 – Joe Miller, candidate for U.S. Senate is proud to receive the endorsement of the Combat Veterans for Congress PAC.

The Combat Veterans for Congress enjoyed great success in the 2010 and 2012 campaign cycles seeing dozens of the candidates they endorsed elected to office. The group’s mission statement reads, “Combat Veterans For Congress Committee is dedicated to supporting the election of fiscally conservative Combat Veterans to Congress . . . who believe in limited government, will rein in the out of control spending of Congress, are committed to preserving and defending the US Constitution, and will support the independence and freedom of the individual as outlined in the Bill of Rights.”

In their endorsement, the Combat Veterans for Congress highlighted some of Miller’s achievements including being an honor graduate of West Point, holding a juris doctorate from Yale Law School and a masters in economics from the University of Alaska, being a veteran who was awarded the Bronze Star for his leadership in combat, as well as serving as a state and federal magistrate judge–the youngest then serving in those positions in the state and nation, respectively. Miller also had the distinction of being the only to serve at both the state and federal levels simultaneously in the nation at that time. Miller, in both the private practice of law and as a part-time borough attorney, has argued several cases successfully before the Alaska Supreme Court.

The group’s endorsement of Miller reads in part:

“The Combat Veterans For Congress PAC is pleased to endorse former Captain Joseph Miller, Esq., USA who will bring to Congress private sector skills and wisdom to better solve problems in government and represent the Alaska and the Republic…The military is one of the few remaining institutions producing the caliber of men and women needed to restore this nation to the greatness our Founding Fathers envisioned. We have endorsed another Combat Veteran For Congress that General George Washington would have approved of. He is a Veteran who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to ‘The United States of America’ for an amount up to and including his life.”

Miller responded to the group’s endorsement stating, “I am honored to receive the endorsement of the Combat Veterans for Congress Committee, and I am also proud to stand with my fellow veterans in defense of our Constitution. It is time to make America the land of liberty and opportunity the Founders intended, once again.”

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.

Miller Calls on Begich and Murkowski to Reject Murray-Ryan Budget, Support Military

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Joe Miller speakingAnchorage, Alaska. December 16, 2013 – Joe Miller today called on Senators Begich and Murkowski to reject the unsustainable Murray-Ryan budget, describing it as just another Washington gimmick.

“The latest budget gimmick is yet another sign that Washington is fundamentally unserious about the debt crisis facing the nation,” Miller said. “It’s simply unacceptable to continue down the road to fiscal insolvency and economic disaster with a ‘tax and spend’ deal that does absolutely nothing to address Congress’ spending addiction.” 

Not only does the budget deal result in a net spending increase of $63 billion over the next two years, it will also raise taxes and cut crucial retirement benefits for military veterans.

The deal cuts pension cost of living adjustments (“COLA”) by one percentage point per year for military retirees who aren’t disabled and not yet 62 years old. The vast majority of military personnel retire after twenty to thirty years of service at half their active duty pay level. Most under the Murray-Ryan plan will see a 20 percent or more pay cut in their COLA’s, which are linked to the inflation rate, so the salary maintains the same buying power. 

CNN Money reports, “The average cut in pension payouts, including compounding interest, for a retiring Army Sergeant first class, would be about $3,700 each year, according to the Military Officers Association of America. Over 20 years, the total losses could balloon to more than $80,000.”

Joe Miller concluded, “It’s just more political double-speak, and I’m sickened that Congress has so little regard for the sacrifice of our career military men and women, much less for the commitments that they’ve made. It’s classic bait-and-switch, a raw deal that should be roundly rejected by Senators Begich and Murkowski. I urge Alaskans to contact our senate delegation and tell them to reject the Murray-Ryan plan.”

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.

Joe Miller: Begich Empowers Washington, Blames Alaskans

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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.”

Miller Calls Out Begich Duplicity On ANWR

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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’

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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.