Joe Miller

                I went into the Primary election with the intention of voting for any Republican but Lisa Murkowski for the U.S. Senator from Alaska. I think I marked the first name on the list even though I knew nothing about the person. I could not vote for Murkowski because she is a Republican-In-Name-Only and the most liberal of all Republicans running for re-election. She votes with Barack Obama 72% of the time, second only to Senator Susan Collins of Maine. Republicans in Alaska wanted to replace her in 2010, but Democrats – mostly Alaska Natives living in the Bush – put her back in office. I believe they voted for her simply to protect their handouts from the federal government.

                A notice published on September 6, 2016, announced that Joe Miller would run against Murkowski as a Libertarian. The notice said, “With a near-historic low of 15.4 percent turnout and only 7.7 percent of Alaska’s registered voters casting a vote for our incumbent senator in the primary, it is obvious that Alaskan voters wanted another choice.

                “Due to Libertarian candidate Cean Stevens’ withdrawal from the race and a unanimous vote of the Alaska Libertarian Party’s board of directors, Joe Miller will appear on the November ballot as the Alaska Libertarian party Nominee. Miller seeks to be the first third-party nominee to win a federal seal in decades.”

                Miller states, “Alaskans deserve a real choice…. The choice between a Democrat, a Democrat-backed independent, and a Republican-In-Name-Only – who has been one of Barack Obama’s chief enablers – is no choice at all.”

                Murkowski calls herself a “conservative,” but she “ranks near the bottom of the American Conservative Union scorecard for GOP senators; was given an `F` grade by the Conservative Review for her voting record, and scores just 36 percent with the Heritage Action Committee ratings this session of Congress (34 percent lifetime), well below the 58 percent average for Republicans.”

                Murkowski’s record was compared with Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) who “scored 97 percent for his senate votes with Heritage Action” and Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) who “earned a 100 percent score.”

                Miller pledges to caucus with the Republican Party but be a voice for reform. The notice ends with this statement: “Joe Miller is a limited government constitutionalist who believes government exists to protect our liberties, not to take them away. He supports free people, free markets, federalism, the right to life, religious liberty, American sovereignty, and a strong national defense.”

                If Joe Miller is truly the man that he says he is and has the principles that he says he has, Alaska will be better off with him than Murkowski. We need more conservative Senators, men or women who will stand with the likes of Mike Lee and Ted Cruz in defending our Constitution. I will most likely be voting for Miller because I want to replace Murkowski and am willing to give him a chance.