Claiming that one of the first things he'd do in office is support Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul's effort to outlaw abortion, Republican Senate candidate Joe Miller also told student groups at the University of Alaska Anchorage on Thursday that he'd work to get the federal government out of people's lives by turning over power to the states.
Talking with reporters and speaking in one of his first appearances after keeping himself "under the covers" for several months, Miller said he will announce his candidacy at the Wasilla Lake Resort the evening of April 21.
Why's he been lying low? No particular reason, he said.
But that's changing. His fundraising is up significantly from the last quarter, when he raised $30,000, much less than that raised by his two Republican opponents. Current Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell took in $228,000 in the quarter, and former Alaska attorney general Dan Sullivan took in $1.3 million. Miller said he'll release the new fundraising reports soon. His donations for latest quarter are mostly from the "little people," average donations of about $75, he said.
Answering questions from the audience, Miller said he plans to win the Republican primary and beat Democratic Sen. Mark Begich. But Begich isn't his target. It's a federal government on the verge of bankruptcy and rife with crony capitalism.
"My ultimate goal is not to get rid of Begich," he said. "It's to reverse the course of this country through proper representation of Alaska. That has got to be the goal. And where we're at today is the result of both parties. It's not the evil Democrats. It's not the evil Republicans. It's the evil Republicans and Democrats."
During his talk, Miller struck many of same Libertarian and anti-establishment chords that attracted the Tea Party's attention in 2010 -- and helped him oust Sen. Lisa Murkowski in the Republican primary. He'd shrink the federal government and start reducing the $17 trillion debt by cutting back in big ways.
The Department of Education? Goodbye.
The Internal Revenue Service? Adios.
Miller also expressed a strong urge to change the country's "surveillance state."
"I think we ought to abolish the IRS," he said, a line that drew loud applause from at least one person in the small conference room filled with about 30 people -- including a handful of journalists. The event, not publicized by Miller, had been organized by UAA's Political Science Association, as well as College Republicans and Young Republicans for Freedom.
Miller said he'd get rid of any government service that's not an enumerated power in the U.S. Constitution. He'd give those powers -- for example, deciding the issue of gay marriage -- to the states, which would shrink the federal government's excessive spending and help resolve the nation's growing debt.
Sporting his usual close-cropped beard and a blue suit, Miller said Sullivan and Treadwell supported Murkowski in 2010 after Miller had won the primary and Murkowski ran, successfully, as a write-in candidate.
Miller said there's a broad fracture in the Alaska Republican Party that's been created by the establishment, without naming names.
"They're there for one thing and that's crony capitalism," he said. "They don't care about the platform. They don't care about restricting the scope of government. They don't care about fighting for the people. They care about the rewards of office."
Miller said he opposes the U.S. Supreme Court's Citizens United decision because the nation's founding fathers never intended for multinational corporations, which can hide their sources of wealth and contributions, to be so empowered. On the other hand, although some wealthy individuals can greatly influence the nation's politics, they shouldn't be limited as long as their contributions are transparent.
"I'm not talking to you as a Republican; I'm talking to you as an activist that wants to change the direction of the country," he said.
Some of the audience members were impressed with his overall message. Calvin Henry, a 29-year-old political science student and the Anchorage field director for the Republican National Committee, said he agrees with everything Miller said and he hopes he wins.
"I hold the Constitution near and dear to my heart," Henry said, noting that his views supporting Miller were his own, unrelated to his role with the RNC.
Tyler Hunt, 20 years old and a marketing student who said he doesn't have a party, said he liked Miller's views noting that Republicans and Democrats are both part of the problem because power has become concentrated in the hands of a few, diminishing the voice of most Americans.
"There could be a million me's out there and my vote still wouldn't be heard," he said.