Where do they find these people?....AK Sen. candidate calls unemployment benefits "unconstitutional"

[marmar]

from HuffPost:




In an interview today with "Fox News Sunday," Alaska GOP Senate nominee Joe Miller had trouble explaining how he would help the 43.6 million Americans in poverty, even as host Chris Wallace repeatedly pressed him for more than conservative talking points.

Wallace asked Miller about his assertion in August on CBS's "Face the Nation" that unemployment benefits are unconstitutional, noting that without them, many more Americans would be in poverty. "What would you do for them?" asked Wallace.

Miller, however, struggled to come up with an answer, and instead shifted to talking points about reducing the size of the federal government. Wallace repeatedly pressed him on the issue, without ever receiving an actual response:

MILLER: I think the question is what is the role of the federal government? Right now we've grown the federal government into such a size we have, I think we have, what -- in absolute terms now, $13.4 trillion in debt. If you look at the future unfunded obligation, a lot of those are the entitlement programs, by some estimates $130 trillion. That is unsustainable. That's just the facts. And I think Americans recognize that those are the facts. The exciting thing is Americans are looking for answers. Alaskans are looking for answers. Here in Alaska, 40 percent of our economy in Alaska is somewhat derived from the federal government. If we continue say things have to continue the way they are, the expansion from the government which is unconstitutional in many ways is the future, it's a dead-end road. Particularly for this state, because of the impending bankruptcy --

WALLACE: Mr. Miller, if I may, I'm not sure you answered my question. Why are unemployment benefits unconstitutional? In the time of a tough economy, recession, and now kind of a jobless recovery, what are you going to do for the 44 million people who are living in poverty?

MILLER: I think what you need to look at is the context. We had an extension of unemployment benefits several weeks ago, which is beyond what we had in the past in this country. What we have in this country is an entitlement mentality. Entitlement, not just as individual but even at the state level. If all goes wrong, it's the federal government's role to get in there and provide for the general welfare and provide for solvency; particularly, of states and the auto companies, and the banks. Everything else that fails, the government should be involved in bailing out. The Constitution provides enumerated powers. I guess my challenge is to anybody that asks, show me the enumerated power. And then look at the 10th amendment that says if it's not done in the Constitution, it's a power that belongs to the state and the people. And I think we as a people need to stop being disingenuous about what the Constitution provides for. It does not provide for this all-encompassing power that we've seen exercised for last several decades. It's what got us in the bankrupt position.

Miller's views on unemployment benefits are further to the right than the positions of many Republicans in Congress, who oppose extending them if they aren't paid for, but haven't gone as far as to say that they're unconstitutional. ...........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/19/joe-miller-alaska-poverty-unemployment-unconstitutional_n_730710.html

[golddigger]

1. Big oil found him.

[truebrit71]

2. Um..Hello, Dipshit..we PAY for that out of payroll taxes...

..what a stupid fuck-stick this guy is..

[ladjf]

3. It's difficult to understand what motivates crazy people. nt

[NewJeffCT]

7. Greed - every Republican ever has pulled themselves up

by their own bootstraps and had to work harder than everybody else just to get ahead, so they think everybody else should have to do the same - just like George W. Bush... and George H.W. Bush... and John McCain all did.

[ladjf]

13. Are you joking? Both of the Bushes and McCain come from

very wealthy and prominent families.

[NewJeffCT]

14. Sorry

forgot it was the internets, but I should have included the "sarcasm" tag with that. Yes, I know many Republics are children of privilege.

[ladjf]

16. Believe it or not, McCain's family owned a large plantation in Mississippi

during the 19th Century. He came by his "plantation mentality" naturally.

[randr]

4. According to the logic presented by these wackos

the highway system would be unconstitutional.
Anyone building a house or business they should be required to build their own roads to and from everywhere.

[NewJeffCT]

6. They don't think these things through - About once a week, I see this BMW

on the way to work with a bumper sticker that says, "This is America, we don't redistribute wealth, we earn it" or something like that. I almost feel like telling the woman that drives the BMW to get the hell off of my taxpayer funded road.

[NewJeffCT]

5. Doesn't Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution give Congress that right?

Or, am I missing something in the phrase - "The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States"

[wtmusic]

8. Anyone else know Republicans who are currently collecting unemployment

while railing about entitlement out the other side of their mouths?

I've met two in as many months.

[NewJeffCT]

10. Rush Limbaugh collected unemployment benefits years back

Of course, Republicans deserve these entitlements - it's everybody else that is cheating the system.

[woodsprite]

9. That's pretty much the line that Rollins was spouting in DE

She was saying that the reason so many people were out of work in DE was that they were making a 'comfortable' living on unemployment and had no reason to look for jobs. She didn't win the repub primary. She might have been the better one to win than Urquhart. Not sure where he stands on issues, but I know he's courting teabaggers.

One of the requirements to be a current day repub must be to have a disconnect with reality.

[OHdem10]

11. Come on, my DU Friends. What do you think the GOP means

by Limited Government????? Miller is more mainstream
Republican than you realize, apparently. He just says
openly and honestly what the DC Republicans tend to
hide. Good Old Fashioned Federalism. It is up to
each State to determine how they will handle such matters.

This is how you need to attack it.

[Iterate]

12. Breaking:Erie Canal Declared Unconstitutional

The first dozen or so attempts to build it were made by private concerns, all of which failed miserably. The project was rescued by Governor DeWitt Clinton, nephew of George Clinton, who was the first Governor of New York and Vice President to both Jefferson and Madison. I guess that would make him a founder.

Jefferson thought it a good idea, but couldn't come close to putting up the cash, so Governor DeWitt Clinton got the New York legislature to back it for the outrageous sum of $7 million. Now we call it a National Heritage Corridor.

"If we continue say things have to continue the way they are, the expansion from the government which is unconstitutional in many ways is the future, it's a dead-end road." says Mr. Miller.

I don't understand any of that. It looks like english. I think he's saying the canal is a unconstitutional dead-end.

[Blue_In_AK]

15. We're kind of wondering where they found him, too.

Oh, THAT'S right. He's Sarah's b***boy.