Teabagger Blows Big Lead - Alaska

Teabag Miller, that little northern wingnut has managed to open things up for Murkowski and McAdams.

For Alaskan voters, this year's Senate election is venturing into unexplored territory.

The three-way contest features a rematch of the bitter Republican primary, a rising Democrat who is moving from spoiler to contender, and even a voice from the grave. With millions of dollars flowing into the state to help fuel nonstop TV and radio ads, the scope of outside interest in the election is virtually unprecedented.

Don't count on a quick resolution to the drama on Election Night. If the race turns out to be as tight as polling suggests, write-in and absentee ballots could come into play. That could put off a final tally â?? and the determination of the winner â?? for weeks.

Republican nominee Joe Miller is courting the conservative vote and seeking to draw Republican support away from Sen. Lisa Murkowski, whom he defeated in the primary. Democrat Scott McAdams is competing for on-the-fence Democrats and moderate independents. Campaigns say many voters are still undecided.

"I'm hopeful what we see thrown out at the end in desperation doesn't disillusion the voter out there," said Murkowski, who is running as a write-in candidate. "But we shall see what the next week holds."

If these last days are a repeat of what was seen before the primary, she added, "It's bound to be ugly."

Miller, 43, has been working to regain focus and overcome a series of missteps. The fiscal conservative has acknowledged that he or members of his family received Medicaid, unemployment and farm subsidies in the past â?? government largesse he's criticized as a candidate â?? and his security detail was criticized for handcuffing and detaining a journalist after a town hall meeting.

Miller fought release of his personnel file from his time as a government attorney with the Fairbanks North Star Borough, admitting only that he had violated office policy and refusing to provide details. After a judge ordered the release of the personnel records, Miller said during a debate Sunday night that he had been disciplined for participating in a private poll during his lunch hour. He called it a mistake he's learned from.

Earlier in the campaign, Miller said he'd be transparent and honest with the public. But shortly before the judge's ruling, Miller, an attorney who's never held elected office, declared his personal life off limits. He accused his opponents of trying to divert voters' attention to "petty" issues from his past and said he intends to spend the final days of the race talking about issues that really matter.

He's focused almost exclusively on Murkowski, whom he's branded as part of the problem in an out-of-control Washington. Murkowski, criticized after her primary loss for not responding to Miller's claims, hasn't made the same mistake this time, answering each charge and pouncing on his every misstep.

The race turned personal a long time ago. In the debate Sunday night, Murkowski accused Miller of telling lies about her record and misusing government computers while a borough attorney. She asked him whether he believed his instructors and classmates at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point would say he has lived up to the code of honor.

That drew former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, a Murkowski foe and Miller supporter, back into the race. On Facebook on Monday, Palin wrote, "I find it astonishing that a sitting U.S. senator from Alaska would challenge the honor of a decorated combat veteran."

Murkowski, 53, is trying to do what no Senate candidate has done since 1954: win as a write-in candidate. Since re-entering the race last month, she has balanced her Miller attack ads with ones educating voters on the write-in process and trying to sell herself as a moderate candidate.

McAdams, a former local school board member and Sitka mayor, has been cast by Murkowski as too inexperienced and by Miller as being of the same "liberal" ilk as Murkowski. Murkowski's gone so far as to suggest a vote for McAdams is akin to a vote for Miller.

But McAdams has proven to be a tireless campaigner, filling town hall meetings, working the phones with potential donors and proving to many Democrats â?? lukewarm about Murkowski but frightened by what a Miller win would mean â?? that he's not a token candidate.

McAdams, 40, has called Murkowski's run a lost cause and himself a "safe" vote, since his name is on the ballot and immune to the kinds of challenges a write-in will likely incur.

Each of the candidates has raised at least $1 million â?? parlaying that into near-constant ads on TV and radio â?? and each has gotten help from outside sources, too.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee has pledged at least $212,000 to help Miller, and Palin has given him $10,000. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has promised $42,000 to McAdams. And Alaskans Standing Together, a so-called "super PAC" formed by Alaska Native corporations, has spent more than $1.2 million in the last month for Murkowski.

Murkowski has gotten help, too, from the late Sen. Ted Stevens, beloved in this state for bringing home billions of dollars in federal aid during his 40 years in the Senate. Ads he filmed 10 days before his death in a plane crash are now running with the blessing of his family.

The Senate race is the main event of the election expected to draw at least 51 percent of eligible voters to the polls, if past trends for general elections hold. But this election lacks any ballot initiatives that could draw social conservatives to the polls. The Republican primary, which Miller won by 2,006 votes, also included an abortion notification measure.

"It's all about timing," said longtime Alaska pollster Jean Craciun, who sees movement away from Miller and toward McAdams and Murkowski. "The question is, on Election Day, where will that movement be?"

Another Alaska pollster, Dave Dittman, sees Miller holding fairly steady.

Craciun believes the winner will need at least 100,000 votes, and will have to pull from independents â?? Alaska's largest bloc of registered voters. Both McAdams and Murkowski are focusing extra attention on these voters.

State election officials say they won't even count names on write-in ballots unless they make up the most votes in the race or the difference in their number and the highest voter getter is less than half a percent. Absentee ballots will be accepted up to 15 days after Election Day, so if the state does count the write-in ballots, it probably won't start until Nov. 18.

Joe Miller was hoping this wouldn't come out but alas it did.


Amid a political firestorm of controversy surrounding Alaska Senate candidate Joe Miller's ethics violations while working as a government attorney in 2008, new details emerged on Tuesday night revealing that the Republican hopeful himself admitted to lying about his complicity in the matter.

"I lied about accessing all of the computers," wrote Miller in an e-mail to Fairbanks North Star Borough attorney Rene Broker in March of 2008 in the wake of allegations he used the office technology for political purposes. "I then admitted about accessing the computers, but lied about what I was doing. Finally I admitted what I did."

The remarks from Miller came to light in a 60-page dispatch of records released (PDF) by the Alaska borough after a judge issued a court order for the files to be made public.

Miller detailed the incident at the core of the controversy in the same e-mail to Broker disclosed in the documents:

Over the lunch hour this past Wednesday, I got on three computers (not belonging to me) in the office. All of them were on and none of them were locked. I accessed my personal website, for political purposes (participated in a poll), and then cleared the cache on each computer. I did the same thing on my computer. Jill asked the office what happened. I lied about accessing all of the computers. I then admitted about accessing the computers, but lied about what I was doing. Finally, I admitted what I did.
The Fairbanks News Miner reports:

The records corroborate statements made earlier this month by former borough Mayor Jim Whitaker who said Miller engaged in "proxy voting" in a failed bid to oust state GOP chairman Randy Ruedrich at the 2008 Alaska Republican convention.
In a curious move made by Miller, attorneys for the conservative candidate's campaign moved to take legal action against the former Mayor over the matter. The Anchorage Daily News reported last week:

The complaint, filed Wednesday by Anchorage attorney Thomas Van Flein, alleges that Whitaker violated Miller's constitutional rights and committed a misdemeanor offense when he told reporters last week that Miller was nearly fired from his borough attorney job for using borough computers in a failed bid to oust state Republican party chairman Randy Ruedrich.
In recent weeks, the controversy related to the two-year old ethics violation made by Miller has proven to be a significant stumbling block for his campaign. In the face of pressure from reporters to be more transparent about the issue, the Tea Party-backed hopeful made every attempt to downplay the matter by evading the press. He also has suggested the ordeal was at least in part fueled as a political attack from the campaign of incumbent Sen. Lisa Murkowski, whom he ousted in Alaska's GOP primary and is now pursuing a write-in reelection bid.

Story continues below
AdvertisementBelow, a copy of the letter sent by Miller in which he admitted to lying about his involvement of the controversy. Click here (PDF) to read 60 pages of documents in full released on Tuesday night:


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Joe Miller Elections 2010 Amid a political firestorm of controversy surrounding Alaska Senate candidate Joe Miller's ethics violations while working as a government attorney in 2008, new details emerged on Tuesday night reveal... Amid a political firestorm of controversy surrounding Alaska Senate candidate Joe Miller's ethics violations while working as a government attorney in 2008, new details emerged on Tuesday night reveal...
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Joe Miller -- fiscal conservative, budget balancer who doesn't live beyond his means.... and... (wait for it)... buried under mounds of credit card debt, and running a campaign more than $100,000 beyond his means?

AlaskaDispatch.com: Alaska Dispatch sues for release of U.S. Senate candidate Joe Miller's records


Alaska Dispatch sued the Fairbanks North Star Borough on Monday for the release of U.S. Senate candidate Joe Miller's employment records. The suit comes after...

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JoeSudbay RT @AMERICAblog: AK GOPer Joe Miller admitted lying after he was busted for ethics violations and he's a homophobe. AMERICAblog News: AK GOPer Joe Miller admitted lying after he was busted for ethics violation and he's a homophobe
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GottaLaff Miss this? Video- The Rachel Maddow Show: Hit and Run interview with Alaskaâ??s Joe Miller Video- The Rachel Maddow Show: Hit and Run interview with Alaska’s Joe Miller | The Political Carnival #TPC
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mediaite Rachel Maddow Interviews Alaskan Senate Candidate Joe Miller â?? While Walking To A Car (video) http://mediaite.com/a/td... CH
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adjoro Best part of Maddow interview w/Joe Miller? Cameraman survived. Bonus: Miller's accidental "straight" pun. Joe Miller's Extreme Views On Gay Rights (VIDEO)
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tbogg Douchey Joe Miller Was Not Having Any Fun In Anchorage So He Got Fired/Quit Douchey Joe Miller Was Not Having Any Fun In Anchorage So He Got Fired/Quit | TBogg from @firedoglake
8 hours ago from web


jonathanhsinger Lead story across Alaska's newspapers, television stations: Joe Miller's "I lied" POLISING: Joe Miller's Closing Message: "I Lied"
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WGRZ Via MSNBC Records: GOP's Miller lied about computer use: Alaska Senate hopeful Joe Miller admitted to improperly u... Records: GOP's Miller lied about computer use - Politics - Decision 2010 - msnbc.com
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aterkel Joe Miller's extreme views on gay rights. (interview by @maddow) Joe Miller's Extreme Views On Gay Rights (VIDEO)
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FOXNews.com - Murkowski Concedes Alaska Primary Race to Tea Party Candidate


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Think Progress » Joe Miller Received Medicaid Benefits He Thinks Are Unconstitutional

and he will still win over the other elitist Republican Murkowski. Soooooooo, thats a win win kinda....Murk is a entitlement woman who was given her position by her daddy. However, she isnt a Democrat vote for Obama.

You should worry about Delaware dude. Its real close.

Note Rand Paul pulling away from Conway now even after the paid protester got held down by someones foot and had her wig taken. Poor baby. Not exactly the curb stomp the liberal blogosphere tried to create.

What's wrong with tea bagging? It's not as gay as driving a Prius.