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Begich Ad Highlights Treadwell and Sullivan's 80% Problem

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Joe Miller weighed in today on Senator Mark Begich’s latest ad touting his ties to Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski. In the ad, a supporter of both senators claims that Begich and Murkowski vote together 80% of the time.

“As I’ve been saying for months, there is likely to be a significant issue in November if Republicans put forward a nominee who fails to provide significant contrast with the incumbent,” said Miller. “How, for instance, do Mead Treadwell and Dan Sullivan make the case to Alaskans that they should give up power and seniority when the wouldbe senators have already demonstrated that they’re alright with Mark Begich 80% of the time? I think it’s going to be a hard sell.”

When asked by Politico Magazine shortly before announcing his candidacy last year, Treadwell said, “I voted for Lisa Murkowski in the primary and in the general, and I think Alaskans made the right decision.”

And just a few months back Sullivan reportedly claimed in the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner that, acting as Attorney General, he spearheaded the effort to assist the write-in candidate by arguing in clear violation of State Administrative Code that lists of write-in candidates should be allowed polling places.

United Press International also reported that the non-statutory standards deployed during the 2010 vote-count in Juneau, in direct violation of Alaska Statute, came at the advise of then-Attorney General Dan Sullivan.

With Congressional Quarterly reporting earlier this year that Mark Begich voted with Barack Obama 97% of the time last year, and Murkowski 72% of the time, this new claim should come as no surprise.

Miller concluded, “I expect this to be an ungoing issue, because I just don’t believe that most Republican primary voters are going to buy my opponents’ conservative schtick when they have no problem supporting someone who is 80% with Begich and has only a 26% rating with Heritage Action, the nation’s leading conservative organization.”

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See candidate comparison on the issues HERE.

Begich Earmarked Millions for Bankrupt Green Energy Company

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Photo Credit: APAs Sen. Mark Begich (D., Alaska) seeks to shore up his energy policy credentials, a now-bankrupt green energy company to which he steered federal subsidies could cloud his message.

Begich received campaign contributions from a lobbyist for an Alaska geothermal plant after helping the company obtain federal financing. The company is now bankrupt, but Begich continues touting his support for alternative energy.

The senator, who is facing reelection in November, will address the Alaska Wood Energy Conference on Wednesday. The conference brings together leaders in the state’s biomass industry.

He has also promoted fossil fuel development, including effort to open areas of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil exploration, and to approve the Keystone XL pipeline.

However, Begich’s critics are pointing to his involvement with a now-bankrupt Alaska utility as evidence of a troubling record on energy policy.

Read more from this story HERE.

Miller Questions Opponents’ Judgment Regarding Bergdahl

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Photo Credit: SenateDemocratsJoe Miller today questioned the judgment of Senator Mark Begich and GOP primary opponent Mead Treadwell regarding the prisoner swap of five top Taliban leaders for American defector Bowe Bergdahl. Primary senate challenger Dan Sullivan has made no known public statements concerning this egregious act by the Obama Administration.

Following a White House briefing about the prisoner swap last week, Begich told The Hill, “There are still some questions, but a lot of them are answered,” he said. “We don’t leave any of our military personnel behind.”

Miller responded, “How Mark Begich could side with the President regarding the release of five Taliban prisoners for one American soldier who deserted his post is unfathomable. The Obama Administration broke the law and has put American military personnel at risk around the world.”

Treadwell issued contradictory statements regarding the Bergdahl release. In the first, issued May 31, he praised “those who worked tirelessly to liberate” Bergdahl and thanked God for his safe return. In the second, issued Friday, he called the Administration lawless for making the swap, stating it “sets a dangerous precedent.”

Miller issued a statement last Monday condemning the Obama Administration’s lawless act as “white flag diplomacy” that will only embolden our enemies.

Miller characterized Treadwell’s initial statement as “dumbfounding.” “There was ample evidence at the time of Treadwell’s first statement that trading five senior terrorist leaders, handpicked by the Taliban, for an anti-American deserter was not in our national security interests,” said Miller.

Treadwell’s statement raises serious questions about his capacity to make important decisions that will affect Alaska’s military community: (1) Is he prone to make hasty uninformed decisions in an attempt to curry favor with the public?; (2) Does he lack the judgment to deal with important national security issues?; (3) Does he have the integrity to admit when he is wrong and correct course?

“Both Mark Begich and Mead Treadwell have exercised poor judgment regarding the Bergdahl release, and Dan Sullivan’s views are still unknown in a matter with profound national security implications,” said Miller. “Alaskans deserve a senator whose judgment will be determined by principle not politics, and one who will not be afraid to speak out on issues that impact Alaska’s substantial military personnel.”

Joe Miller Says Begich Should Release Correspondence with IRS

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Photo Credit: SenateDemocrats

Responding to reports that the IRS is continuing to refuse disclosure of communications with Mark Begich relating to its discrimination against tea party and other conservative groups, Joe Miller is calling on the senator to release any and all correspondence or documents (electronic or otherwise) exchanged between himself, his staff and top IRS officials between 2009 and the present.

“I would think in an election year, especially, Mark Begich would want to clear his name of any wrong-doing with respect to IRS profiling,” Miller said. “He should see this as an opportunity to show Alaskans that there really is a difference between his mode of operation and that of the White House with respect to transparency.”

At issue is a FOIA request submitted a year ago that the IRS has still not complied with. In the request, the National Republican Senatorial Committee reportedly asked for all correspondence and documents that passed between Mark Begich’s office and top IRS officials between 2009-2013.

The IRS appears to be stonewalling, having asked no less than six times for more time to compile and go through the information, clearly implying that such documents exists. A FOIA request is supposed to be responded to within 30 days of receipt.

Earlier this year, Begich joined New York Senator Chuck Schumer and other vulnerable Democrats in calling for more scrutiny of certain issue advocacy groups that claim tax exempt status. He has suggested the tax code is being used for cover to engage in political activities.

Just this week, the junior senator boasted of calling the IRS Commissioner to his office, alleging unfair targeting of Alaska’s airline industry. Yet he has been strangely silent regarding blatant political profiling of Tea Party and conservative groups by the IRS, leading some to speculate on his personal involvement in encouraging potentially criminal activity.

Miller concluded, “I think Alaskans have a right to know if Mark Begich played a role in illegal activities at the IRS during the course of his public duties. If he didn’t, it should be a small matter to provide the records his office has of correspondence and other documents exchanged with top officials at the IRS.”

Miller: VA Scandal Part of ‘Pattern of Deceit’

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Photo credit: APJoe Miller today stated that the VA scandal is just the latest in a pattern of deceit emanating from the Obama Administration, and that U.S. Senator Mark Begich is part of the problem.

Reports recently surfaced revealing that certain Veterans Administration medical facilities around the country have been “gaming” the system to give the appearance that veterans are receiving better and more timely care than they are. Tragically, while VA officials have been propagating this false information, veterans have been denied the critical care they need, which, in several known instances, resulted in the loss of life.

“What we have learned over the last days and weeks about the unfolding scandal at the VA, fits a pattern of deceit that has permeated the Obama Presidency,” said Miller. “As a veteran who has used VA services and as a citizen, I am outraged that once again the actions of this Administration have cost American lives.”

The VA scandal does not reflect well on this President or Senator Begich, who want us to trust the federal government to continue to oversee the healthcare of our entire nation through ObamaCare.

From the IRS, to Benghazi, to the NSA, to Fast and Furious, to the AP wiretapping scandals, the President who promised to lead the “most transparent” Administration has instead led one that operates in the shadows.

Where has Begich been during the trail of scandals that have plagued the Obama Presidency? He has carried the water for the most lawless Administration in United States history, voting with the President 97 percent of the time last year. What is Begich’s answer to making the executive branch more accountable to the people? He voted for the “nuclear option” with Harry Reid and the Democrats, taking away a century-and-a-half precedent of the right of the minority to check overweening executive power.

“President Obama and Mark Begich’s five years in office have undermined the Constitution and further eroded the faith and trust of the American people in their government. As Alaska’s next United States senator, I will do whatever it takes to get to the bottom of the VA scandal and support my fellow veterans. It is imperative that the next Congress begins the hard work of restoring the faith and trust of the people in their government,” said Miller.

Joe Miller is a husband, father, combat veteran, and advocate of Constitutional liberty who believes in individual rights, private property, free markets and the sanctity of human life.

Sullivan, Begich Funding Sources Raise Red Flags

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US Senate Candidate Joe Miller warned today of dire consequences should Alaskans reward powerful outside special interests by cooperating with their designs to buy Alaska’s senate seat.  

“It is instructive to look at where the money is coming from,” Miller said. “If money talks, as they say, Alaskans should be concerned. Any time you have powerful outside special interests lining up to give millions of dollars to candidates who claim to disagree with them, there ought to be some red flags going up.”

Both Democrat Mark Begich and Republican Dan Sullivan have donors and Independent Expenditure groups supporting them that have policy objectives contradicting the candidates’ rhetoric.

Dan Sullivan is running as a small-government fiscal and social conservative. In fact, last Friday on Anchorage talk radio, he went so far as to claim an allegiance to Tea Party principles. Yet many of his most prominent donors are card-carrying members of the Republican Establishment and long-time advocates of big government crony capitalism and socially liberal policies. 

For instance: 

•    Dan Sullivan has claimed to support traditional family values, yet his campaign is funded by Paul Singer and Friends for an American Majority to the tune of more than $150K to date. Singer has openly pushed for fundamental changes to the Republican Party, to include embracing gay marriage and amnesty for illegal aliens. He is reported to have funded LGBT efforts with more than 10 million dollars in recent years. In addition, three of the corporate executives numbered among Sullivan’s personal donors put their names to an amicus brief submitted in a February case before the Supreme Court advocating for gay marriage. Are we to believe that these folks are supporting Sullivan because he will be an advocate for traditional family values?
•    Sullivan claims to stand firmly against the Surveillance State, yet one of its architects is a personal donor – John Negroponte, George W. Bush’s first National Intelligence Director, who oversaw the integration of all sixteen intelligence agencies (both military and civilian, foreign and domestic), inclusive of the modern-day NSA.
•    Sullivan claims to be aligned with the Tea Party, yet he is endorsed by the US Chamber of Commerce that has pledged no less than 50 million dollars to defeat Tea Party candidates across the country. He is also backed by Karl Rove’s American Crossroads SuperPAC, and has the strong backing of Lindsey Graham and John McCain’s Political Action Committees. In Alaska, he counts among his supporters infamous former ARP Chair Randy Ruedrich and current Party Vice-Chair Frank McQueary, both of whom have been at war with the conservative wing of the state party for years. 

•    Sullivan claims to be a fiscal conservative, yet counts among his personal donors many of the architects of the bailouts – Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the Big Banks, Wall Street and the IMF – and numerous other magnates of international finance. These include: former President of the World Bank, Robert Zoellick; President and CEO of the Institute of International Finance, Timothy Adams; Goldman Sachs Executive, Faryar Shizad; former Chairman of the Board of the New York Federal Reserve, Stephan Friedman; Rockefeller and Co. CEO, Reuben Jeffrey III; the wife of former Bush Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson; and former Bush Chief of Staff Josh Bolton of Rock Creek Global. 
•    Sullivan claims to want to “fight for Alaska,” but his campaign is funded in large part by lobbyists, attorneys and executives from multinational corporations such as General Electric, Time Warner Cable, Facebook, Abercrombie and Fitch, Exxon Mobile, BP, Rio Tinto, Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, The World Bank, The Institute of International Finance, JH Whitney and Co., Boeing, Microsoft, IMB, and more. When tough choices come regarding America’s financial future, who do you think he’ll listen to?

Senator Mark Begich, on the other hand, is circulating a petition on social media decrying the effects of the Citizens United decision on politics. 

However, just this week “Put Alaska First PAC,” a “dark money” group working for Begich’s re-election, transacted a $4 million media buy, a unprecedented amount for a small market like Alaska. The very next day, the Democrat Senatorial Campaign Committee announced that it had bought $3.5 million in advertising. When combined with Begich’s reported $2.8 million on hand, the junior senator already has more than $10 million dollars committed to his re-election.

Mark Begich’s hypocrisy in this regard is staggering. 

He has taken millions in PAC money from multinational corporations and big labor already, and it’s only May. Undoubtedly there will be more independent expenditures to come, as Barack Obama and Harry Reid pull out all the stops in an attempt to hold a Democrat Majority in the US Senate.

Joe Miller concluded, “There’s a lot of cognitive dissonance out there. But at the end of the day, whether one is propped up by big multinational corporations, big government crony capitalists, big labor, or other Washington special interests, what Alaskans want to know is who will stand and fight for their Constitutional liberties. It is apparent that the big-monied Washington interests believe they can buy Alaska’s senate seat. The consequences of that would be catastrophic. I don’t believe Alaskans will cooperate.”

Miller Blasts Begich for Climate Change Deception

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Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

Joe Miller today blasted Democrat Mark Begich for his full-on embrace this week of Barack Obama’s newly released Climate Change Assessment. Begich is calling for an end to scientific debate and for immediate action. 

“Mark Begich wants to have it both ways,” Miller said. “On the one hand, he uncritically accepts this administration’s alarmist conclusions and demands action. But on the other hand, he’s trying to distance himself from Obama’s proposed agenda, even to the point of disavowing ‘solutions’ he advocated for when it wasn’t election season.”

Mark Begich signed a 2010 letter to Harry Reid urging decisive action on climate change, stating, “We believe the scale of this challenge dictates the need for a comprehensive solution that includes making polluters pay through a price on greenhouse gas emissions.”

Apparently, our junior senator is unaware that there are good reasons to doubt the alarmists’ conclusions. For instance: 

•    A recent study conducted by the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks concluded that the average temperature in Alaska declined by 2.34 degrees between 2000-2010.

•    A Fox News story last fall cited a National Snow and Ice Data Center report of a 60% increase in Arctic sea ice just between 2012-2013.

•    In a CNSNews article this spring, a Canadian evolutionary biologist warned that Arctic polar bears could be threatened by too much sea ice.

President Obama and Mark Begich’s pronouncements of an end to the scientific debate regarding climate change are based not on any new or conclusive findings of the scientific community, but on a willingness of ideologically driven politicians to exercise raw power to move their agenda forward.

Miller concluded, “What’s important is not what Mark Begich says this year, it’s what we know he will do next year if we give him another term in the United States Senate. We have watched him carry the water for Barack Obama and Harry Reid for five years now. Last year alone, he voted with the President 97% of the time. If Mark Begich is not in agreement with Barack Obama’s policies, why has he not put up a fight against this administration’s enactment of its anti-development climate change agenda through unlawful executive actions and bureaucratic fiat?”

No to Political Primogeniture

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murk_begichOn one level, it’s not fair to say that children of successful politicians shouldn’t enter politics themselves. In a just world, the sins of the father really should not be visited upon the sons; so too should the successes of fathers not prohibit their sons and daughters from seeking similar success.

But . . . but . . . but, insists something from the core of my being. There’s something deeply unsettling, in a nation founded with a hearty disdain for hereditary emoluments, about a national political class that consists of the same names for generation after generation. Aside from the Adamses and perhaps the Livingstons, America’s Founders did not establish anything approaching political dynasties. There’s something innately healthy about public office as a meritorious call to service rather than as a birthright.

Now, though, the Republican donor class seems increasingly likely to lure yet a third Bush in three decades into the presidential arena, with a prior Bush serving as U.S. senator a generation before. Furthermore, reports CBS’s Bob Schieffer, Mitt Romney may be inclined to make a third run for the White House (a fourth Romney run in 50 years, after his father’s 1968 effort) if an increasingly arrogant Jeb Bush somehow decides not to run. And on the donkey side of the fence, of course, Hillary Clinton is the frontrunner to make hubby Bill the first former president to become First Gentl . . . , er, First Straying Husband.

Meanwhile, in 2014, Jimmy Carter’s grandson and Sam Nunn’s daughter are running statewide in Georgia, while a who’s-(father is)-who of second-generation politicos fight not just for election but for reelection to the U.S. Senate. Mark Udall, son of former presidential contender Mo, is in a tight race in Colorado; Mary Landrieu, daughter of former New Orleans mayor and HUD secretary Moon, is in one in Louisiana; Mark Begich, son of tragically killed former U.S. representative Nick, battles in Alaska; likewise in Arkansas with Mark Pryor, son of former senator and Arkansas governor David. Firmly ensconced in the Senate are, from Pennsylvania, gubernatorial son Bob Casey Jr., and, from Arizona, top admiral’s son John McCain.

Lisa Murkowski holds down her father’s seat in Alaska; Rand Paul rode his father’s name ID to a Senate perch from Kentucky; West Virginia’s retiring John Rockefeller is, well, a Rockefeller; and New Mexico’s Tom Udall is a cabinet secretary’s son and presidential candidate’s nephew. Back to Senate candidates: In Georgia, David Perdue is a gubernatorial cousin; in West Virginia, Shelley Moore Capito is a governor’s daughter.

Read more from this story HERE.

Republican Odds of U.S. Senate Takeover Rise as Turnout Shrinks

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Photo Credit: Bloomberg

Photo Credit: Bloomberg

National Polls
Obama’s approval rating has run at an average of 42.9 percent in eight national opinion polls conducted since March 20, matching former President George W. Bush’s standing in early 2006, when Republicans lost control of both the House and Senate in midterm elections that he called “a thumpin’.”

Jennifer Duffy, senior editor at the nonpartisan Cook Political Report in Washington, has raised her estimate of Republicans taking control of the Senate from a 25 percent chance last fall to 50 percent today. The tilted turnout of midterm elections is only part of her calculation.

“We are weighting environment much higher — the president’s approval ratings, the generic congressional ballot, just basically what Americans are thinking,” Duffy said in an interview. “The Republicans have been able to expand their own playing field, putting races on the map that weren’t there.”

Toss-Up Races
Republicans need to gain six additional seats to take control of the Senate, and Democratic incumbents are defending most of the hotly contested seats. The party’s chances of retaining seats it now holds in Louisiana, Arkansas, Alaska, North Carolina and Michigan are all rated toss-ups by the Cook Political Report. The report rates two other Democratic seats — in West Virginia and Montana — as leaning Republican…

With ads hammering Democrats for support of the president’s Affordable Care Act, the Koch-backed group has targeted nine Senate races where Democrats are defending seats. Its four top targets: incumbents Pryor, Kay Hagan of North Carolina, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Mark Begich of Alaska.

Read more from this story HERE.

5 Democratic Senators Facing Uphill Battles for Reelection

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Photo Credit: Thinkstock

Photo Credit: Thinkstock

With Congressional elections growing closer, some Senators will be facing a more difficult road to reelection than others. Incumbency is often an advantage, but after the year we’ve had, some will be struggling to get the votes they need. Democrats historically have struggled in midterm elections, something President Barack Obama pointed out in early March, reminding Democrats in Congress of how much they have riding on the election. In the Democratic party, there are five that stand out more than the rest as having their work cut out for them. Let’s take a look at the specific political challenges headed for to this group.

1. Senator Mark Begich (D-Alaska)

Senator Begich is likely feeling especially blue in his red state this year, with increasing pressure from Republicans hoping to exploit voters’ frustration with President Obama and Congress’ inactivity as a whole. He said, according to The Washington Post, that he doesn’t “care to have [Obama] campaign for” him. As a result, Begich — like many other Democrats — is putting some distance between himself, his party, and the Obama administration. His ad campaigns use rhetoric like “standing up to the Washington Bureaucracy,” and “Begich has fought to cut wasteful spending and government red tape,” revealing the extent to which frustration with Congress is influencing many Democrats’ campaign strategies. His ads also focus on his father, his family history in the state, oil drilling successes, and anti-Koch brother sentiment.

Read more from this story HERE.