The issues below are the basic issues that I have included in a new foldout "brochure" that I will be handing out. The Republicans mostly tell you they have Christian Values, love children and support the traditional family. The two Democratic candidates running against me in the primary, take a much softer approach on these issues than I do - telling people how Christian they are, even though they couldn't support anti- abortion legislation. Their position on Iraq is basically, "Now that we're there, we have to stay the course," which is basically the Republican's postition here.
I recently stated at a debate, "That I would support a Republican who was opposed to contnuing the fighting in Iraq, before I would support a Demcocat who supported staying there."
IRAQ & AFGHANISTAN- Support our troops - End the war in Iraq and bring them home with all deliberate speed. Reestablish Afghanistan as our military priority and announce what our ultimate goal is in Afghanistan. Surely, we did not send our troops there merely to support drug lords.
LIBERTY- Without liberty, there is no America. Unconstitutional restrictions or infringements on personal liberty, e.g., unauthorized Government interception of private conversations and communications, must be stopped.
TAXES - Current tax policy favors our richest citizens, e.g., the Bush tax cuts for capital gains and dividends - a $70 Billion dollar package mainly benefits those with incomes over $200,000. People in the lowest 20% of income enjoyed a 0.4 % increase in income thanks to the tax cuts - upper 20%, a 3.8 percent -the very rich, (top 1%) a 5 percent raise, and the top 0.1 %t got 5.9 %. There is no free lunch! What is irresponsibly given today as a tax cut further adds to the $8.4 Trillion debt to be paid by our children. Every $1 trillion in tax cuts adds $830 billion to the national debt. We need true tax reform!
BUDGET & DEFICIT SPENDING- See Also Taxes above. Government budgets that leave major expenditures "off budget" and ignore accrual accounting principles are a sure path to economic disaster. The "Cut Taxes & Spend" policy has made us a debtor nation. The Fiscal Year 2005 true deficit of $750 Billion alone amounted to $156,000 of debt for every man, woman and child in America.
HEALTH CARE- I support guaranteed national access to affordable health care. I do not favor a single payer program. The Federal Government should use its unique position to establish a "membership" program, available for all Americans, through which the individual can purchase medical services and prescription drugs at a discounted rate with participating physicians. Part D of MEDICARE must be improved.
SOCIAL SECURITY- This safety net for seniors must be preserved with real actions taken to prevent hitting the brick wall of payments exceeding collections, as well as the increase in deficits that will be caused by the Trust Fund calling in the Treasury bonds. I totally reject the risky concept of diverting funds from Social Security collections to finance a "private" investment scheme.
ENERGY- There is much work to be done in Washington to coordinate an effective energy policy. As a private citizen and a member of the Citizens Advisory Committee to the Regional Planning and Transportation Office I am spearheading an initiative to create a state / federally funded Bio-Fueled Mass Transit Demonstration Project.
VETERANS- Regardless of my position on the Iraq invasion, our troops serving there deserve the best and must not be forgotten once their service has ended. Those wounded deserve continuing support as long as needed, even for life. The VA has not yet been adequately funded to support WWW II veterans, much less these newest veterans. This is true national security. Veteran's identity privacy must be protected by adequate policies and procedures.
RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS - I support this fundamental American right. Firearms carry permits should be based on knowledge of the laws regarding the use of firearms for self-defense and one's skill in their use. I have been a licensed gun dealer and an NRA certified firearms instructor.
IMMIGRATION POLICY- The U.S. borders must be secured and our neighbor countries made to accept their responsibility to help us stem the tide of illegal immigrants. A guest worker program should be considered, allowing those who are already here and have jobs to remain for a limited time.
EMINENT DOMAIN-The right to own and use personal property is inclusive within the basic concept of American liberty. Adding tax dollars by raiding the private possession of individual citizens is violative of the concept of American Liberty. There is a great distinction between the need to remove a home because of the need to put a road in its place and removing a home to generate taxes for the general treasury. The use of eminent domain for this purpose is nothing short of government armed robbery.
DEFENSE SPENDING- General of the Army and President Eisenhower, in his farewell address to the nation, very clearly warned us about the dangers of being beguiled by the military/industrial complex . The priority of military expenditures should be to promote the effectiveness and safety of the troops and military forces. The military budget has items such as SDI which can be eliminated. SDI will be ineffective and cost many billions of dollars to deploy. Merely using the label of "national security" for any proposed expenditure should not automatically legitimatize it. The National Guard and Reserves must be adequately funded, not ignored.
EDUCATION- Public education has my full support. I oppose a voucher system which drains funds from the public schools and does little to benefit those who need help the most. I oppose national intervention in local schools, to include the so-called: No Child Left Behind" program.
CHURCH AND STATE - When the colonists rebelled against the King of England, they also rebelled against the Church of England, which at the time were one and the same. After their victory, the Americans were adamant that government and church would never again be combined. I concur in this very dominant piece of the American creed
ABORTION - The abortion issue is a mix of questions - of religious beliefs, social mores, medical and health considerations, and individual rights to privacy. No answer should be imposed by government - anyone should likewise be free to express an opinion and have their views heard.