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Miller: Nation’s Military Preparedness in Peril

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Joe Miller near the Iraq Border, ’91I am deeply concerned about the future and the readiness of our military. Believe me, as a combat vet with a son at the US Military Academy at West Point, it’s not an abstraction to me, it’s personal.
 
What brings it all even closer to home for me is living in Alaska, which is now within striking distance of North Korean and Chinese missiles. And as Arctic neighbors, Russian aggression could be an existential threat to the State of Alaska in the future if we don’t summon the will to lead.

While Russia moves to reconstitute its Soviet-era control in Ukraine and solidify strategic assets in the Americas, our president is proposing a military draw-down to pre-World War II levels. This coming on the heels of cuts to our strategic missile defense, and a massive reduction in our nuclear arsenal.

Alaska’s geo-political significance could not be overstated. As General Billy Mitchell testified before Congress in 1935: “I believe that in the future, whoever holds Alaska will hold the world. I think it is the most important strategic place in the world.”
 
Alaska needs representation in the United States Senate with the knowledge and experience to address these national security concerns. In days to come, our national security may require it.

 
That’s why Combat Veterans for Congress has endorsed my run for United States Senate, and Gun Owners of America has rewarded my commitment to the Constitutional right to keep and bear arms against all enemies, foreign and domestic, with their endorsement.
 
Barack Obama’s irresponsible foreign policy has weakened America’s standing in the world and has put us on a dangerous path of appeasement. Make no mistake about it, the trajectory we’re on constitutes an imminent threat to our national security.
 
China now stands poised to rival the American military within a few short years. Rogue regimes around the world, including Iran and North Korea, are testing the limits of US resolve. And Islamic militants the world over are gathering strength.
 
History teaches us that weakness invites aggression. Ronald Reagan was right, “Peace through strength!”
 
We must project strength – if we are to maintain our leadership in the world and properly defend our borders in an increasingly hostile world.
 
As a veteran and as an American, I was outraged when Congress passed the Ryan-Murray budget which President Obama signed into law. I was the only U.S. Senate candidate in Alaska to stand against this horrendous piece of legislation. The measure would have cut some working age retirees’ benefits by as much as twenty percent. Collectively, the cuts purported to save six billion dollars. Yet Big Government politicians had no problem with a $63 billion spending increase in the bill.
 
After severe backlash, vulnerable Democrats like Alaska’s Mark Begich, who voted for the original cuts, pushed through a measure to restore benefits. Another election-year ploy by desperate politicians!
 
There is no doubt this President is out of control, and Congress is almost as bad. The former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff warned that our national debt is the most serious national security threat our nation faces. We are now four years and $4.5 trillion further in debt, since he made that statement.
 
To keep this nation secure, we must get the federal government back within its means and ensure our military remains second to none.

Tea Party Turns Five: How The Movement Has Changed America (+video)

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Half a decade later, the Tea Party is still going strong despite the concerted efforts of leftists determined to halt its growing influence on the nation. Joe Miller, who aligned with the Tea Party early and quickly became one of its most recognizable leaders, explained the importance of Rick Santelli’s 2009 impromptu monologue.

“He basically said, ‘This is America. President Obama, are you listening? It’s time for another tea party,’” Miller recalled during an address at the recent Western Conservative Conference.

Since then, he explained, “grassroots have become activated.”

Instead of wringing their hands and lamenting the direction of America, millions of concerned citizens were able to identify with the movement and find a way to become active in correcting our nation’s course.

“If you want to change the direction of this country and are willing to go outside of the box to make it happen,” Miller continued, the Tea Party presented such opportunities.

Read more this story HERE.

Video: Joe Miller Delivers Rousing Call to Action at Western Conservative Conference

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Joe Miller spoke at this year’s Western Conservative Conference in Phoenix. Introduced as the kind of candidate the Washington Establishment and RINO’s love to hate, Miller gave a fiery address to the large gathering of conservative activists.

Joe Miller spoke at the Western Conservative Conference in Phoenix on February 22, 2014. Introduced as the kind of candidate the Washington Establishment and RINO’s love to hate, Miller gave a fiery address to the large gathering of conservative activists.

Miller’s central message was that we all have to be engaged to take this country back and to bring it forward in the way it was designed by our Founders to be brought forward.

He warned that the fight will not be easy. Drawing from his own first-hand experience as a U.S. senate candidate in 2010, Miller noted, “When those in power saw that here was somebody that wasn’t going to be bought. They knew this was somebody who wanted to see the American dream preserved for his children and grandchildren. Those are the type of people that DC fears. Those are the type of people they will do everything to fight against.”

Miller elicited his strongest crowd reaction, when he exhorted, “Call President Obama what he is and take him to account. Here is a lawless leader that doesn’t care about the rule of law. Where are our leaders in the House of Representative filing articles of impeachment? This man needs to go!”

Miller concluded his remarks with his firm conviction that “We have enough people to change the political climate of this country. We can show leadership, and we can bring America back to what the Founders intended.”

Miller: An Important Anniversary for the Tea Party (+video)

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CNBC It was five years ago this week that CNBC Newsman Rick Santelli made his fiery speech from the floor of the Chicago Board of Trade that helped launch a movement: “This is America!…President Obama, Are you listening?!…It’s time for another tea party.”

The answer five years later to Santelli’s question is a resounding, “No.” The President is not listening. It is clearly time to add some more tea bags to the pot and stoke up the fires.

Just this week an FCC Commissioner sent up a warning flare that the Obama Administration was once again planning to go after our constitutional rights.

Why in the world would our government think it is permissible to put “monitors” in newsrooms to determine how editorial decisions are being made? This is not the former Soviet Union, and Fox News is not TASS. The government should not have word one to say about what is the “news.”

Thankfully enough Americans in-and-out of the press, from all political persuasions, rose up and pressured the Administration that, at least for now, plans to introduce “monitors” into newsrooms have been put on hold.

All of us who love liberty are sick and tired of the Obama Administration’s complete disregard for our Constitution—NSA, IRS, ObamaCare, AP, Benghazi; all the while, Senator Mark Begich does nothing to prevent him from committing greater-and-greater abuses against our liberties.

You can be certain as the next senator from Alaska, there will be no one more zealous in defense of the Constitution. I swore to uphold and defend it several years ago as a newly commissioned officer when I took the oath at West Point.

I have never recanted that oath and carried it into my service on the judicial bench both at the state and federal levels. I cherish our freedoms as an inheritance from our Founding Fathers and an endowment from our Creator.

Together we can advance the work begun five years ago and start to write the next great chapter in the history of the American experiment: The restoration of the nation’s economic and political freedom!

Miller Calls Out Begich for Promoting IRS Tyranny

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Photo by Joshua DoubekJoe Miller called out Mark Begich today for the Senator’s support of new IRS rules that would grant the agency even more power to shut down the political speech and the political involvement of tea party and other conservative groups.

“After all we have learned about the egregious acts by the IRS against Americans’ First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and freedom of assembly, that Mark Begich would come out in support of granting the agency even more power to target political groups demonstrates he is no longer willing to offer even the pretext of protecting the rights of all Alaskans,” said Miller.

While President Obama initially labeled the IRS targeting of tea party and other conservative groups as “outrageous and unacceptable,” in a recent interview he stated there was not “a smidgen of corruption” found in the actions of the agency. However, the public learned that the subsequent DOJ investigation of the IRS is being conducted by a high-dollar campaign contributor to the President. Apparently, there is no known public record of any of the targeted tea party groups being interviewed in this supposed months long “investigation.”

“If Mark Begich is willing to not only condone, but advocate the use of the IRS in this capacity, he has shown he does not want to represent all Alaskans and no longer deserves to hold his office,” said Miller.

Miller concluded, “We have to ask ourselves, what kind of nation do we want to be? One in which the President unilaterally changes laws and uses executive agencies to spy on Americans and to shut down political speech, or one in which our constitutional liberties are secure and all are free to engage equally in the political debate? We must protect against this abuse of power, whether it is exercised against the political right or left.”

Miller Blasts Begich, Big-Government Republicans for Surrender on Debt Ceiling

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Photo Credit: APMark Begich and the Washington Establishment claimed victory after yesterday’s vote to raise the debt ceiling blocked a filibuster attempt by Senator Ted Cruz, who was hoping to gain some spending concessions in exchange for more debt authorization. 

“In the face our staggering national debt, it is simply unconscionable that Mark Begich and his big government friends continue to play politics with our future,” Miller said. “Washington is declaring victory, but unfortunately this is a zero-sum game. For Washington to win, America must lose.”

Some in the mainstream press are describing the bipartisan Senate vote to kick the can down the road until after the mid-term elections as part of the Republican Establishment’s war on the Tea Party. 

CNN quoted New York Senator Chuck Schumer as stating that the vote was a sign that “the American political world is moving in our direction. Republicans are trying to put Tea Party politics in the rear view mirror.”

Senate Republican leadership, along with senior Senator Lisa Murkowski who called the deal “a good outcome,” voted to allow Democrats to raise the debt ceiling while opposing final passage.

“Alaskans are sick and tired of this kind of duplicity,” Miller continued. “There’s a reason my Republican opponents have the blessing of the Washington Establishment. While they will criticize Mark Begich all day long for a vote like this, they’ll never take on the party bosses. Mr. Begich needs to be replaced, but the last thing we need in Washington is another feckless Republican.”

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.

Miller: Begich Voted for Cutting Veterans’ Pay, Twice, Before He Voted Against It

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Photo Credit: SenateDemocratsJoe Miller praised both houses of Congress today for voting to restore the cut to veterans’ pay enacted last month with the passage of the Omnibus spending bill, which implemented part of the Murray-Ryan budget agreement. He also noted Senator Mark Begich’s reversal on the issue, during this election year. Miller previously came out in strong opposition to the Murray-Ryan agreement and called on Senator Begich and the rest of the Alaska delegation to vote against it.

“I am very pleased that Congress has corrected the most egregious part of the Murray-Ryan budget agreement. It was unfathomable to me how Congress could vote to increase spending by $63 billion over ten years, while breaching trust with our veterans and voting to cut their pay by $6 billion,” said Miller. “I am glad Senator Begich finally saw the error in his ways, having voted twice for the cut to veterans’ pay before voting against it.”

Miller was the only candidate for the U.S. Senate in Alaska who came out publicly in opposition to the Murray-Ryan budget.

Miller: President Engages in Another ObamaCare Lawless Act

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Photo Credit: Fox News Joe Miller called Monday’s announcement by the Obama Administration of its decision to unilaterally grant medium-sized employers two additional years, rather than one, to comply with the Affordable Care Act’s employer mandate, yet another example of the lawlessness of this Administration.

“But for the November elections, I question whether we would see this decision by the President to delay some of the law’s most devastating impacts on job creation and job retention for yet another year,” said Miller. Just last week the CBO reported that the ACA will result in 2.3 million jobs being lost.

Today’s announcement follows several other unilateral acts by the Obama Administration to change provisions of the law without congressional authorization including: its earlier decision to delay the employer mandate for one year, delaying the individual mandate for one year, delaying the enrollment date, and delaying the requirement in out-of-pocket caps. In all, the Administration has changed at least sixteen provisions of the law without Congress.

“President Obama may find it inconvenient or messy to work through the legislative branch in order to change the law, but that is what the Constitution requires,” said Miller. “During the legislative process he may get more, less or none of what he wants, but this is the way the Founders intentionally established our government. That is the nature of separated powers.”

The Founders divided power between three branches of government with legislative elections falling every two years (including one-third of the senators) rather than four with the President, because they wanted a check against the abuse of authority by both the legislative and executive branches. The peoples’ representatives must stand up and be held accountable for their votes.

Although members of all three branches have an independent duty to uphold their oath to the Constitution in all their actions, Miller noted that “No authority is granted to the President to simply suspend or change laws temporarily, or otherwise make changes in the law that benefit those who support his policies. In America the law is king, and neither a king nor the President is the law.”

President Obama is clearly seeking to do everything he can to mitigate the damage caused by the Affordable Care Act so senators like Mark Begich, who voted for the law against the wishes of the vast majority of his constituents, can somehow retain power. Indeed, it was reported last week by Congressional Quarterly that Senator Begich votes with the President 97 percent of the time. Obama has a 33 percent approval rating in Alaska.

“Alaskans will not be fooled. They know Mark Begich was the 60th and deciding vote for ObamaCare, and they know he has been carrying the water for the President in the Senate since they both took office. The people will hold him to account in November for a record that is out of touch with our state,” said Miller.

Gun Owners of America Endorses Joe Miller

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Dear Friend of Liberty,

This week our campaign announced the endorsement of the Gun Owners of America Political Victory Fund. GOA-PVF raises funds to support the election of pro-Second Amendment candidates at all levels of government. I am honored that the GOA recognizes that my “commitment to the right to keep and bear arms is unwavering.”

The Founders believed it so vital to the maintenance of ordered liberty, they wrote it into the Constitution, so that their generation and the millions of Americans to follow would experience this freedom.

Mark Begich claims to be a supporter of this cherished right, but as is often the case, his votes do not match his rhetoric. He received a “D” rating from the Gun Owners of America.

The junior senator’s votes against our Second Amendment rights are shocking. Begich — “as independent as Alaska” — voted to confirm Eric Holder, the most anti-gun Attorney General in the history of the United States. For that matter, he has been a rubber stamp for Barack Obama’s nominees, including the new ATF director, Todd Jones, who refused to discipline any of the agents who orchestrated the infamous “Operation Fast and Furious.”

Begich also opposed the Mike Lee constitutional amendment, which would require a two-third’s majority in Congress to pass gun control legislation.

The senator opened the door to more anti-gun judges on the bench by voting for the so-called “nuclear option.” One of the main objects of that rule change by the Democrats was to stack the DC Circuit Court, the second most powerful in the nation, with three liberal justices, all anti-gun, all supported by Begich, potentially putting the landmark Heller decision in jeopardy.

Senator Begich voted to confirm Caitlin Hallagan to the federal bench, who as New York’s Solicitor General was one of the main litigators responsible for seeking to bankrupt the state’s gun manufacturers through frivolous lawsuits. The list goes on. He voted for ObamaCare with its gun reporting requirements and that information will be used to deny Americans their right to keep and bear arms, as over 150,000 veterans already have been.

Mark Begich does not support the Second Amendment.

Let’s send a message to Washington that we, as Americans, will preserve and protect our constitutional rights against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

In the fight,

Joe Miller, candidate
United States Senate

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.