I came across a fascinating letter the other day, from Democrat Mike Miller to Governor Tony Knowles. Miller is perhaps most famous for inventing the "Annoy Prevo.. Think for Yourself" bumper sticker, and for his position as District Chair of District 19 (Lake Otis and Tudor area) for the Democratic Party. In the letter, he threatens to resign from the party and his committee posts because he believes the party is threatening freedom of speech by allowing bibles on state ferries.The letter reads in part, "Governor, you must realize that your decision regarding the continued sponsorship of the Gideon Bibles, while excluding all other literature, is unconstitutional. I assume you have withheld from doing the right thing for political purposes. It is unfortunate to see a Democratic leader more concerned for his own well-being than for that of his minority constituents... Over the last decade, political control by religion has brought more and more prejudice against me and other free-thinking individuals... If you are unable to rescind your decision...then you have lost a good Democrat. I shall resign my position as District and Precinct Chair; I shall resign as Secretary of the Progressive Democrats; I shall discontinue my attempts to bring more people to the party; and I definitely will not represent the Alaska Democratic Party with my candidacy in 1996, even after losing to Mr. Sanders by only a handful of votes."
I spoke with Chris Toal, Executive Director of the Alaska Democratic Party, about the letter, and to say he's pissed off at Mike Miller would be an understatement - he wants to see Miller on ice. "On paper he's the District Chair, but he doesn't do anything," said Toal, "You think by reading the letter that he's a powerhouse Democrat, but he hasn't done anything to organize his district, and he's done next to nothing for the Democratic party. He should have easily beat Jerry Sanders in the last election." When I asked Toal if he thought Miller would resign, he responded, "Who cares? What effect would it have? It's not something we're losing sleep over."
"[Miller's letter] is really sad, almost pathetic. The whole tone is offensive," said Toal, who maintains there was a legitimate Bibles on state ferries problem, where state employees were being used to distribute them, but it has since been rectified to the party's satisfaction. Not only did he, "resort to cheap shots at Tony Knowles without considering other options," he also "made a big stink about a minor issue," Toal told me. "[Miller has] important issues to deal with - the lives and welfare of tens of thousands of people in this state, and he shouldn't be wasting his time dealing with this. If I were the governor's people, I'd pay no attention to it."
"This is really going to discredit Mike in the world of politics," said Toal, "It's sad he would lower himself to this level." I was shocked by Toal's attitude. He was obviously on the record, and he was obviously saying terrible stuff about this Miller guy. I speculated about his motives, knowing they were carefully calculated to achieve a specific effect and wondered, Why does this guy have it in for Miller?
Miller agrees the letter may discredit him, but says he doesn't care because he has no political ambitions, merely a commitment to stand up for what's right. Expressing his belief that the Knowles Administration has sold out the Constitution to attract Christian voters, he said, "Democrats have come out and said they were for the working class, but PACs come in and manipulate both parties. These people are protecting their PACs and it comes down to how many Christians there are in the state. It's all a game to them - they don't care about lawsuits, because they can afford to defend them, and pro-Christian voters [support them.]"
It seems the Party is coming down hard on Miller, and would rather he leave. That works out well, because it looks like Miller may easily hit the road in disgust. He cites not only this incident, but also a strong resistance to criticism of the party, and a high degree of control over his personal campaign platform. He emphasizes that his letter is not a threat, just a statement of his intent, should the Governor not change his decision - which he almost certainly won't.
"I just get tired of people in my society saying I'm not as good as they are because I'm not Christian," he said, "But when people in government start making laws that violate the separation of church and state, I'm going to fight it."
"It doesn't matter whether my quitting the Party has any impact," said Miller. "Tony has hurt me, a fellow democrat and fellow voter, and has hurt me deeply... I've been a good democrat, not just someone with a 'D' after my name."