Joe Miller is running as a libertarian in the hope of unseating incumbent Senator Lisa Murkowski. The two-time candidate attended Sitka’s Chamber of Commerce luncheon last week (10-12-16). (Emily Kwong/KCAW photo)
Two-time U.S. Senate Candidate Joe Miller made a pit-stop in Sitka last week (10-12-16). The libertarian nominee is voting for Donald Trump for president. While speaking with the press before the Chamber of Commerce lunch, he called a Hillary Clinton presidency “disastrous for the State of Alaska.”
“She’s anti-development. You look at what’s she’s supported over the years and what her husband has supported over the years, with international trade agreements, things that have harmed the manufacturing base of the country, efforts to impose carbon taxes, things that expand the role of the federal government rather than shrink it…all those things are bad for Alaska,” Miller said.
Miller also spoke critically about Clinton’s foreign policy, particularly her role in the Benghazi attack and the Syrian War, saying that she’s playing a “playing a game of Brinksmanship with Russia.”
Regarding a recent video leak, which recorded Trump making lewd comments about women, Miller called the behavior “reprehensible.” But, Miller is also suspicious of media bias that favors the Clinton campaign.
“If you don’t think Hillary has said stuff that is outrageous and racist and sexist, then obviously you haven’t done your homework because those statements have been made and there’s plenty of print about them. The question is what has the media decided to focus on?,” Miller asked. “Do they focus on the extreme comments made by one candidate or do they focus on the extreme comments made by all candidates?”
In 2010, Miller was nominated by the Republican Party for U.S. Senate, but Lisa Murkowski mounted a massive write-in campaign and won the seat. Miller is running as a Libertarian this time in the hopes of unseating her. If elected, he wants to apply political leverage to Alaska’s oil industry regardless of the declining barrel prices.
“I’ve been interviewed across the state and one of the comments I hear very frequently is, “Joe, what are we going to do in a post-oil Alaska?” And I think the white flag of surrender on that issue is the wrong approach,” Miller said. “I think we have to approach the state for what it is. It’s an extraordinary gift to the people that live here. It’s an extraordinary gift to this nation. We can responsibly tap the resource base and make sure that we have the ability to go forward and create jobs for our kids and grandkids. I have eight kids and many of them are out of state right now. In part because they want to explore but in part because of opportunity that’s not present here.”
After the luncheon, Miller paid a visit to Mt. Edgecumbe High School. Senator Lisa Murkowski will reportedly be in Sitka this week.
