Joe Miller Airs Footage Showing Supposed 'Electioneering' By Federal Contractor (VIDEO)
share this story
Alaska's Republican Senate candidate Joe Miller, still awaiting the official results of his battle against write-in candidate Sen. Lisa Murkowski, has unveiled his latest weapon in battle that he is thought to be losing: a video that he says shows unlawful electioneering from a federal contractor.
In the video, which first played on Fox News's "Huckabee" over the weekend, depicts a man, supposedly a federal contractor, giving a speech on November 1 at a federal construction site.
During his address to employees, the man defends federal spending and explains Sen. Lisa Murkowski's impressive record of steering carve-outs to the state of Alaska.
"I don't know how many of you guys know that Lisa Murkowski was fortunate enough to get on to the Appropriations Subcommittee. That is very hard to get on to. Ted Stevens was on that committee for years and actually chaired it for years," the man says. "If her opponents win this election, I can tell you they will not get on that Appropriations Subcommittee."
Miller's campaign addressed the video in a recent release:
Such electioneering likely violates federal law. The employees were getting paid with taxpayer money to listen and be instructed how to vote. The location was federal property, also making this illegal. See 11 CFR Sec. 115.2. In short, the taxpayers were paying for a political rally on federal property, since the rally attendees were all on the clock.
"This raises still more concerns about the corrupting influence of federal contracting in Alaska and the role federal tax money illegally played in influencing this election," Joe Miller continued in his release. "Alaskans need to know the pervasive and illegitimate sway that federal dollars can have at the local, state and national levels."
The Miller campaign also criticized the actions of the Super PAC "Alaskans Standing Together," a group of native corporations that has channeled large sums of money to pro-Murkowski campaign efforts.
Miller's complaint against these corporate interests who appear -- whether directly or indirectly -- to be working against him is indicative of the highly contentious debate that a candidacy of his nature has sparked.
While it was fashionable to run on anti-federal government platforms this campaign cycle, it is hard to ignore that Alaska has a notorious love-hate relationship with federal cash. And many might say that the relationship, for the large part, actually falls more on the "love" side.
WATCH:
Loading comments… 
The Huffington Post Nick Wing First Posted: 11/08/10 08:26 PM ET Updated: 05/25/11 07:10 PM ET