Rachel Maddow went to Alaska this week to talk to the candidates for the US Senate in the three way race there and managed despite his reluctance to talk to anyone besides Fox News to get Joe Miller to give her an interview even if it was a really terrible one where she was talking to him as he raced to his SUV to get away from her. Here's more from Amanda Terkel at the HuffPo - Joe Miller's Extreme Views On Gay Rights:
Alaska Republican Senate candidate Joe Miller gave some of his most extensive comments on gay rights in an interview with MSNBC host Rachel Maddow, with his views often confusing and contradictory. He came out in favor of a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage while extolling the virtues of issues being handled at the state level and said that being gay was an individual's choice. [...]
Miller has generally avoided talking about LGBT issues, but his campaign did pay veteran anti-gay activist Terry Moffitt as a consultant. Moffitt runs a website called HopeForHomosexuals.com, which argues that gay men and women can be "cured."
When Maddow asked whether he agrees with this belief, Miller replied, "Our perspective -- we've answered this question before -- is it really a state issue as to how those issues want be resolved. It should be handled at the state level." He refused to comment specifically on Moffitt's site.
Miller tried to avoid saying whether he believes homosexuality is a choice, confusingly stating, "I think that's up to the individual. The individual has to make that decision."
As Amanda noted, he then followed by saying this should be a state issue, then immediately backtracked and said he would back a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. These extreme candidates have all learned their lessons from Sarah Palin well haven't they? Avoid the media and play the victim when any real journalists try to ask you questions that you can't answer. I await Miller trashing Maddow as the "librul" media trying to attack him.
Here's a bit of the transcript from Amanda's post as well.
MADDOW: Is there a federal role in banning gay marriage?
MILLER: Well, I think there's the Defense of Marriage Act, which I support. But again --
MADDOW: But why should there be a federal role there if it should be a state issue otherwise?
MILLER: Well, my perspective is it is, at the core, a state issue. But there are federal issues obviously intertwined. You've got taxation policy and otherwise that depends upon certain status. And as a consequence of the taxation structure of the federal government, there clearly is a role. But I think that ultimately, as the country becomes more diverse, those decisions have got to be decided at the state level. ...
MADDOW: But you do want a federal role in restricting the states' ability to legalize gay marriage? But at the state level --
MILLER: That's not what I said. I said that there is a federal role, there are obviously federal decisions made based upon the status of marriage.
MADDOW: Do you think there should be a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage?
MILLER: That's up to the people. If you got a 3/4 vote ratified, I'd vote for it.
MADDOW: You would vote for it?
MILLER: I would, yeah.
I'm just grateful Rachel Maddow managed to ask Joe Miller a few questions without ending up in handcuffs from his security squad goons.
