Miller Raises Over $1 Million Online

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Demonstrates Grassroots Campaign’s Continuing Momentum

Anchorage, Alaska. October 22, 2010 — Joe Miller, the Republican Nominee for the U.S. Senate, released the following statement today as his campaign raised over $1 million in online donations since Senator Lisa Murkowski broke her word and announced she was running as a write-in candidate:

“$1 million from over 12,000 small contributions online reinforces our message that our grassroots campaign is continuing its momentum. The online donors share my concern that our nation is headed in the wrong direction and Lisa Murkowski has been a large part of the problem in Washington, D.C. Alaskans are sick and tired of the out-of-control spending, borrowing and bailouts, they want real change. In the Senate I will work to see that the Alaskan taxpayers are not put on the hook for more wasteful spending and that much needed jobs are brought back to the state.”

Click here to make a donation to the campaign today and be part of momentum building to victory.

Murkowski Bailout of Fannie and Freddie Could Double

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Lisa Supported Bailouts Could Cost Taxpayers More than $1 Trillion

Anchorage, Alaska. October 22, 2010 — Joe Miller, the Republican nominee of U.S. Senate, made the following statement today in response to media reports that the latest projections by the companies’ regulator that the bailout may be $363 billion, more than double what the Treasury has injected into the companies.

“Lisa has supported bailouts (TARP, Fannie & Freddie) that could cost the American taxpayers more than $1 trillion. I’m sure those votes made Lisa very popular with her lobbyist friends and bankers on Wall Street, but voters here on Main Street know that it’s our children and grandchildren who will be paying for this for generations to come. In the 8 years that Lisa has been in the Senate the national debt has more than doubled. It’s time for Lisa to come back to Alaska before she does any more damage to our economy and our future.”

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Miller Invites Murkowski to Join Call to Pull “Alaskans Standing Together” Ads

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Republican nominee to ask stations to pull ads paid for by illegal federal contributions
Anchorage, Alaska. October 21, 2010 —  Republican nominee for U.S. Senate Joe Miller invited U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski to join him in calling for Alaska television stations to pull the ads paid for by “Alaskans Standing Together” (“AST”), in light of a complaint filed to the Federal Election Commission, and details that federal contractors likely violated federal election law in laundering millions to prop-up Murkowski’s write-in bid.

In his letter to Senator Murkowski, Joe Miller said:

“Since ‘Alaskans Standing Together’ exists for the sole-purpose of supporting your candidacy, I am sure that you are disgusted and appalled that they would undermine the integrity of your campaign and this election by acting in violation of federal election laws and federal laws prohibiting the use of federal tax dollars for political purposes.

There is simply no place in our elections for this type of fraudulent and illegal activity. As the candidate who stands to directly gain from these, I’m sure you do not want your candidacy tainted by this scandal.”

Miller also released the following statement, “Contrary to the statements made yesterday by ‘AST’, federal law is clear on the prohibitions against contractors participating in federal elections and Lisa has a choice to make. With her earlier protests against ‘outside’ influences in this election, she can take the principled stand for the law and the integrity of our election. Or, Lisa Murkowski can do what she and so many other politicians in D.C. have done for years. She can turn her back to corrupt and unethical behavior or let self interest be her moral guide.”

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ICYMI – National Review: “Murkowski’s Quid Pro Quo” with Corporate Front Group “Alaskans Standing Together”

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Joe Miller would reform a federal contracting program. Lisa Murkowski thinks Alaska is just getting its fair share.

“Joe Miller has a plan for Alaska,” begins a commercial supporting Sen. Lisa Murkowski, which a new group called Alaskans Standing Together (AST) is spending nearly $600,000 to air in the state. The ad continues, “It erases our fair share of federal dollars.”

What’s not stated explicitly in the ad is that the Alaska Native Corporations (ANC), which are backing AST, are facing prospective legislation that could end the privileges they currently enjoy. Those privileges, which the late senator Ted Stevens (R., Alaska) helped shepherd into law, allow the ANCs to enjoy no-bid federal contracts. That’s proven a boon for ANCs, which have racked up a “fair share” of $29 billion in contracts from the federal government over the past decade.

That haul — and the minimal amount trickling down to the intended Native American beneficiaries — concerns Sen. Claire McCaskill (D., Mo.), who announced in early October that she planned to introduce legislation that would alter the contracting preferences. “We’ve seen that a very small portion of these companies’ profits are reaching native Alaskans, so it’s time to acknowledge the fact that this program is not effective for either native Alaskans or taxpayers,” she said in a statement. Miller supports this kind of reform, which needless to say has something to do with the big — by Alaskan standards — ad buy against him.

Currently, the ANCs are classified as 8(a)s, which means they are considered small, disadvantaged businesses that are eligible for preferential treatment for federal contracts. To become an 8(a), a business is required to prove economic or social disadvantage (usually meaning that is has been harmed by racial or ethnic prejudice). If approved, the business is eligible to receive no-bid federal contracts amounting to up to $3.5 million in services or $5.5 million in goods.

But unlike other businesses, the ANCs are automatically considered disadvantaged — and their contracts are not subject to any caps. It’s a lucrative exemption: Many no-bid contracts that exceeded $3.5 million, collectively worth $6.6 billion, were granted to ANCs from 2000 to 2008.

McCaskill believes the ANCs should be subject to the same caps as other 8(a)s and should be required to prove disadvantage. Joe Miller agrees. “There is not proper oversight of these corporations,” he told NRO, “and much of the taxpayer money being poured into the ANC’s does not accomplish the mission of the 8(a) program. No-bid contracts, coupled with a lack of oversight, have created an environment that lends itself to corruption, and does not serve the interests of the shareholders for whom it was created.”

Murkowski has already come out in opposition to McCaskill’s proposed bill. “I would oppose and fight any legislation that strips Alaska Native Corporations, Indian tribes, and native Hawaiians of the contracting preferences afforded to them,” she said. “We must reform the program to ensure it works the way it was intended. Completely removing these contracting preferences would set back the progress we have made to address the poverty experienced by our nation’s first peoples.”

A request to the Murkowski campaign for clarification on what reforms the senator would support was not answered.

While it’s true that the ANCs were originally granted those preferences in order to help native Alaskans, it’s unclear how helpful the program has been. Out of the $23 billion received from federal contracts from 2000 to 2008, about $720 million (or $615 per person per year) went to native Alaskans, in the form of cash, scholarships, or other benefits.

Speaking about the AST ads, Miller argues that they give an “appearance of impropriety,” and look “a lot like quid pro quo.” “The concern is that Murkowski is protecting the 8(a) program,” he says, “and in turn the regional native corporations are taking money that should be going to help disadvantaged shareholders and using it to advance her personal political agenda and their own business interests.”

It’s not clear if Murkowski can halt the legislation. But if she can, that nearly $600,000 in advertising will be a drop in the bucket compared to the billions the ANCs will continue to rake in from the nation’s taxpayers.

— Katrina Trinko writes for National Review Online’s Battle ’10 blog.

Read article here:  https://www.nationalreview.com/articles/250112/murkowski-s-quid-pro-quo-katrina-trinko

Federal Deficit Skyrockets – Lisa Murkowski Part of the Problem

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Anchorage, Alaska. October 16, 2010 — Joe Miller, the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate, released the following statement in response to recent news reports that the federal deficit will surpass $1 trillion for the second year in a row:

“Burdening our children and grandchildren with a $1.29 trillion deficit is reckless and irresponsible. Wasteful government spending has moved our nation in the wrong direction and Lisa Murkowski is part of the problem. Instead of voting for massive spending proposals that increase our deficit like Senator Murkowski, I will fight for fiscal discipline and work to see that Alaskans are not forced to pay for more out-of-control spending.”

Not only did Lisa Murkowski vote for the $700 billion TARP bill but she also supported the $160 billion bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and President Obama’s second so-called stimulus package. Over the past two years, Murkowski also voted for six out of the seven Obama-Pelosi-Reid appropriations bills that a majority of Republicans voted against, adding billions more to the national debt.

Getting Their Money’s Worth in the Senate?

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Corporate front group pouring millions into Murkowski write-in campaign stands to make millions more from legislation

Anchorage, Alaska. October 15, 2010 — The Senator has sponsored at least two pieces of legislation that would directly benefit the native corporations. One of Murkowski’s bills was even attached in an unrelated oil relief bill after her legislation failed to make it out of a U.S. Senate committee. Murkowski is also on the record in opposition to reforms to the “disadvantaged business program,” which provides billions of dollars in no-bid contracts to native corporations. Those reforms have been proposed by U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill (D-Missouri).

Republican nominee for U.S. Senate Joe Miller said the following:

“Some may call this business as usual in Alaska and Washington, D.C. I call it corruption as usual. I am the only candidate calling for comprehensive reform of the ‘disadvantaged business program’ and now we know why. The Alaska Native Regional Corporations have ‘their’ Senator in D.C. who is bought and paid for and, in some cases, using the very federal funds that she guaranteed to them through no-bid contracts. As long as Senator Murkowski and the Alaska Native Regional Corporations engage in these insider deals, Native Alaskans — especially in the rural areas — will continue to lack better opportunities and their communities will see fewer jobs. I’m going to be the voice of all of the people of Alaska, including those in rural Alaska who are not being very well served by Lisa, the corporations or the programs.”

Recent news stories have shed light on the forming of the SuperPAC, Alaskans Standing Together, and their use of unlimited funds to prop up the Murkowski write-in campaign.

Corporate Front Group “Alaskans Standing Together” Trying To Buy US Senate Seat

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Member companies get billions in federal contracts, use funds to support write-in candidate Murkowski, Senator opposes changes to the ‘disadvantaged’ program
Anchorage, Alaska. October 14, 2010 — Media reports yesterday revealed that several Alaska Native Corporations have already spent approximately $600,000 in support of Lisa Murkowski’s write-in campaign for U.S. Senate in apparent contradiction to the Senator’s own protests about the influence of ‘outside groups’ in this election.

The Alaskan Native Corporations who make up the “Super PAC” are classified under an “economically disadvantaged” status and are thus eligible for millions of federal taxpayer dollars in the form of no bid contracts. The no bid contracts to the Alaska Native Corporations have been under investigation by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. The Government Accountability Office found that “there is clearly the potential for unintended consequences or abuse.”

Joe Miller, the Republican Nominee for the U.S. Senate, released the following statement today in response to recent news stories about Alaskans Standing Together using unlimited funds to make sure Murkowski is re-elected:

Only in Washington DC could companies considered ‘disadvantaged’ and receive billions in no-bid contracts and turn around and commit to spending millions of dollars trying to buy an election. This is business as usual for the corporations and for Senator Murkowski. She has opposed changes to the disadvantaged business program and she is getting ‘rewarded’ for that opposition.

In a recent article by the Associated Press, U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill (Democrat – Missouri) was quoted as saying “We’ve seen that a very small portion of these companies’ profits are reaching native Alaskans, so it’s time to acknowledge the fact that this program is not effective for either native Alaskans or taxpayers.”

The same article has Senator Murkowski coming out against changes to the program despite the fact that a “Senate subcommittee hearing and investigation found that almost 95 percent of corporation employees are not shareholders” and “shareholders have averaged about $615 in benefits out of the more than $23 billion in federal contracts to ANCs over the past nine years.”

Murkowski Takes Money from Cap and Trade Heavyweights

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Anchorage, Alaska. October 13, 2010 — Joe Miller, the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate, released the following statement today in response to pro cap and trade corporations donating money to Lisa Murkowski:

“Alaskans cannot afford to face higher energy costs; many are struggling to make ends meet as it is. Unfortunately, the misguided cap and trade legislation that Lisa Murkowski has supported will do just that. I find it troubling that cap and trade heavyweights like Duke Energy and General Electric have given money to the Murkowski campaign. The last thing our state needs is reduced employee wages and less jobs. When elected to the Senate I will fight against the national energy tax being pushed by Washington Democrats and Lisa Murkowski.”

According to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, a cap and trade system would force employee wages to fall and be a catalyst for job loss. Industries most affected by this tax would be oil and gas production, manufacturing, transportation and mining. Specifically for Alaska, this could affect the construction of the proposed natural gas pipeline. On her Senate website, Murkowski states, “we must look to all possible options for regulating climate change, from carbon tax to cap and trade….”

Public records indicate that Duke Energy and General Electric gave money to Lisa Murkowski. The most recent donation was only a few months ago.

Murkowski Names Democrats As Those She Most Admires in Senate

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Anchorage, Alaska. October 12, 2010 — Joe Miller, the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate, made the following statement today in response to Lisa Murkowski’s recent comments on admiring Democrats in the Senate:

“Washington Democrats have moved our nation in the wrong direction. Instead of listening to the American people Democrats have passed massive spending proposals, government run health care, and bailouts that burden our children and grandchildren. This is unacceptable. I find it unfathomable that Lisa Murkowski would look to the misguided Democrats of Washington, D.C. for leadership.

“The people of Alaska have a simple choice on November 2nd. They can re-elect their current Senator who represents more of the same or they can elect someone that will fight the Washington establishment to cut spending and bring much needed jobs back to Alaska.”

When asked at the Anchorage Chamber Forum Debate yesterday who she admires most in the Senate, Lisa Murkowski named Democrats Sen. Tom Carper and Sen. Jeff Bingaman, both of whom voted for the TARP bailouts, last year’s $787 billion stimulus bill, and ObamaCare earlier this year.

College and Young Republicans Endorse Joe Miller

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Anchorage, Alaska. October 11, 2010 — Joe Miller, candidate for U.S. Senate, recently picked up the endorsements of the national College and Young Republicans, as well as the Alaska College Republicans and the Young Republican Network. Their official statement reads in part: “Regardless of Lisa Murkowski’s decision to run as a write-in candidate, the Alaska College Republicans and Young Republican Network will stand strong behind the elected Senate Republican candidate Joe Miller.

“‘Joe Miller has continually articulated a vision for a stronger future for our state and country,” said Alaska College Republican Chairman Ryan McKee. ‘As the Federal Government continues to burden our generation with crippling national debt, we are proud to have endorsed a candidate who isn’t interested in ‘putting it on our tab’. ‘With this endorsement we affirm our commitment to assist this campaign with social media help and promote the campaign’s events and fundraisers,’ said YRNetwork Endorsement Committee Chairman Moshe Starkman. ‘We will serve as volunteers, staff, and consultants while assisting with volunteer recruitment and providing essential GOTV manpower and resources throughout the election process.'”

Miller also picked up the endorsements of the national College and Young Republicans. Miller responded, “I am grateful for the College and Young Republicans’ endorsements. This upcoming generation of Americans, now in their early adult years, has already shown itself ready to defend our nation against threats we face from abroad. They also are recognizing that we are on an unsustainable path here at home and must act. They are a crucial part of the election this November.”