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Wednesday, October 06, 2010

If we could all just agree that Republicans and teabaggers are a bunch of self-righeous hypocrites, we could save ourselves a lot of time
Posted by Jill | 5:11 AM
Just think....if we could all agree on this, how much effort would be saved. After all, time and time again, we see so-called conservatives and their religious nutball friends not practicing what they preach. Whether it's George Rekers running gay "cures" while paying rentboys, or Republicans in Congress railing against pork while bringing the bacon home to their own states, or women who have had abortions who want to take that choice away from others, it seems to be at the very heart of what passes for contemporary conservate "thought" to feel that you are entitled to do the very things for which you excoriate others.

The latest example of this is none other than Alaska teabagger Senate candidate Joe Miller, who feels that unemployment compensation is unconstitutional -- unless it's being paid to a member of his own family:

U.S. Senate candidate Joe Miller confirmed Monday night that his wife -- once hired to work as a part-time clerk for the same Alaska court in which he was serving as a U.S. magistrate judge -- went on unemployment after she left the job.


Miller is running on a self-described constitutional conservative platform, arguing that the nation must return to the principles and powers penned by the founding fathers to save it from bankruptcy. Putting an end to entitlements on a national level and empowering states has been a key message in his campaign.

In the weeks leading up to the admission about his wife's unemployment history, Miller has finessed his message on unemployment benefits, saying he's not opposed to them but that they should be managed by the states -- not the feds.

On Monday, in response to a blogger's post and questions from reporters, the Miller campaign issued a statement detailing how his wife -- Kathleen Miller -- worked for him while he was serving as a part-time U.S. magistrate judge in Fairbanks. Prior to moving to Fairbanks, the couple lived 200 miles away in the rural Alaska town of Tok where Miller worked as magistrate for the state court system. (Clarification: A prior version of this story incorrectly stated that the Millers' federal court service took place in Tok.)

Miller held the magistrate position for the District Court out of Fairbanks from June 21, 2002 through June 1, 2004, earning a total of $71,418. Kathleen Miller worked as a part-time clerk for him from June 2002 to December 2002, according to a resume she submitted to the state last year when she pursued an appointment to the Alaska Judicial Council.

After she left her clerk job, she briefly went on state unemployment, Miller acknowledged in a statement:


My wife, Kathleen, did work for me as a magistrate judge clerk/secretary while I was a part-time Federal Magistrate judge from 2002 to 2004. Before 2004 there was a long-standing practice, both in Fairbanks as well as other areas in the United States, that due to the time commitments of being a lawyer and a part-time Federal Magistrate judge the same individuals that worked in your private law offices also worked in your federal magistrate office - many of those being family members. Before even applying for the Fairbanks Magistrate judgeship I spoke with members of the federal court concerning the employment of Kathleen. It was confirmed that she could work for me in my office. After leaving my office Kathleen did receive unemployment benefits for a short period of time.



In Joe Miller's world, it's a bad thing for someone who's been working consistently for 34 years to collect unemployment, but it's OK for his own wife to game the system by working FOR HER OWN HUSBAND for six months and then collect.

Again -- hardly a surprise, but nonetheless -- why is anyone actually planning to vote for these people?

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2 Comments:
Anonymous Anonymous said...
It's not just that she collected unemployment --- she collected unemployment because she was fired by her own husband !
10/6/10, 12:29 PM  
Blogger casey said...
Hello Jill,

I have two possible explanations. One is that they are pod people from "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" easy to spot as they lack emotions. Two they were changed by the "Invaders from Mars" and we need to check the back of their necks for unusual marks.
10/6/10, 5:52 PM  
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