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.

Alaskan Politics

Alaskan politics made national news this past week when Joe Miller, a little-known, courageous conservative, received more votes than Senator Lisa Murkowski in the Republican primary election. Miller has an awesome resume that includes being a combat veteran and former federal judge. With 99 percent of the precincts reporting, Miller was miraculously ahead of Murkowski 51-49 percent on election night. Thousands of absentee ballots were counted today, closing the gap between Miller and Murkowski a little but leaving Miller too far ahead to catch. Murkowski conceded the election tonight. I think that I can safely say that Murkowski was blindsided by Miller because recent polls had her leading Miller by 30 percent. Few people really expected Miller to win, but he kept quietly working to win the nomination and pulled out a victory. Senator Jim DeMint wrote, "Despite what the liberal media and Washington establishment may say about Joe Miller, he is a rock-solid conservative who believes in balanced budgets, constitutional limits, and individual liberty…. Joe Miller supports a Balanced Budget Amendment, he opposes earmarks, he opposes corporate bailouts, he will fight against amnesty, he's pro-life, pro-Second Amendment, and will be a breath of fresh air in a Senate that is filled with career politicians who go along to get along." Alaskans, like most Americans, recognize that something needs to be done to change the course of our nation, but I personally had to seriously consider the two candidates before deciding how to vote. I then sought confirmation from God if my decision was the right one. I don't think that I would have been too upset by a Murkowski win, but I decided to vote for Miller because he was the more conservative of the two. I know that our leaders in Washington need to start making difficult decisions with wisdom in order to bring the spending under control, and I think Miller is more capable of the hard votes than Murkowski is. I believe that Miller's win should be a wake-up call to Republicans: Even though Alaska's Congressmen have brought home much pork over the years, Alaskans understand that we can't bankrupt the country to benefit ourselves. I also believe that Miller's win should be a wake-up call to all Alaskans: Only those who vote have the power to decide who our representatives will be. About 27 percent of registered Alaskan voters bothered to go to the polls to vote, and they were probably the more conservative voters. There was a proposition about abortion on the ballot with the conservative side being just a little ahead of the more liberal side. If you didn't bother to vote, you have no room to complain about the results! Joe Miller has been endorsed by the Senate Conservatives Fund organized by Senator DeMint as well as the Tea Party Express.