Warren Stone, Construction Contractor and former Republican Candidate for Congress in KY-04, Endorses Michael Kelley MD (crossposted from bluegrassroots.org)
Today I am announcing my support for Dr. Michael Kelley, the Democratic Party nominee in Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District election.
Michael Kelley is a family doctor from Oldham County. I first became aware of Dr. Kelley when he contacted me after the Republican primary debate on KET – yet another debate in which Geoff Davis chose not to participate. Dr. Kelley watched the debate and he congratulated me on some of my ideas. We exchanged correspondence and I was pleasantly surprised at his courtesy and judgment on the issues. I discovered that we had much in common, including our deep concern about the direction of the nation that we love, and the future of our children and their children.
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I began to read Michael Kelley’s positions on the issues, and observe his interviews in the media. While I do not agree with every position held by Dr. Kelley, I have concluded that he is a thoughtful man and an independent thinker who is seeking public office for the right reasons.
It is a political tradition for defeated candidates to endorse the winner of their Party’s primary, and to support that winner in the general election. However, I believe that these are drastic times which call for me to break with this tradition. Like Colin Powell, who recently endorsed Barack Obama, I have strong concerns about the direction that the Republican Party – my Party – has chosen to take our nation.
The Republican Party seems to have abandoned the principles of fiscal responsibility. When George W. Bush took office he inherited a five trillion-dollar debt, a budget surplus, and a Republican-controlled House and Senate. We Republicans kept complete control of government for 6 years. During that time George W. Bush did not seem to know the veto existed. Spending skyrocketed and now we face a national debt of more than ten trillion. It deeply saddens me that my Party is largely responsible for doubling our national debt and saddling our children with such a heavy burden.
The Republican Party also seems to have abandoned the ideal of independent, reasoned thought. Representative Geoff Davis, who I opposed in the primary, has voted with a majority of his Republican colleagues 94% of the time during the current Congress. This lock-step Party discipline has left no room for principled, independent action among Republican elected officials.
Here are examples of the specific legislation on which Davis voted incorrectly, and in lockstep with his Republican colleagues. Davis voted against HR976, a bill which would have expanded healthcare for children. Davis voted to allow our government to spy on us without oversight (S1927). Davis voted repeatedly against a timeline to withdraw our troops from Iraq, even though Iraq has been a disaster. Davis voted against allowing the government to negotiate directly with drug-makers for lower prescription drug prices for individuals using Medicare (HR4). Davis also voted against implementing the remaining 9/11 Commission recommendations, such as funding first-responders and improving cargo security (HR1). All of the above were party-line votes in which the Republican leadership was wrong. Davis should have shown independence and served the people of northern Kentucky instead of his Party leaders.
Dr. Michael Kelley and I have both voiced our concerns about the reckless spending and lack of restraint in Washington. We both believe that much of this spending is propelled by the political action committees which largely finance electoral campaigns, and which by proxy are running our country. This Big Money system corrupts members of both parties, Democratic and Republican. Dr. Kelley is supporting a possible fix for our broken political system – the bipartisan Fair Elections Now Act. This legislation would create an opt-in full public financing system for elections. Such a system would mean that "we the people" would own our elected officials, rather than the Big Money special interest groups that currently control our officials. We currently have a system in which contractors donate thousands to politicians in both parties and reap millions in unsavory contract deals. Fair Elections is a fiscally-responsible bargain in comparison. I cannot stress enough how critically important this is. Unless we change our corrupting system, I fear we will not be properly represented by elected officials of either political party.
I believe that Geoff Davis has fallen prey to the Big Money pay-to-play atmosphere that is poisoning our government. Rather than use his power on the House Financial Services Committee to help avert the recent Wall Street disaster, Davis used his power to shake down Wall Street lobbyists for campaign cash. This shameful abuse of power was recently documented by the Lexington Herald-Leader. The article reveals that in recent months Congressman Davis has been sending out fund-raising invitations to Wall Street firms such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, promising lobbyists "intimate" meetings in exchange for thousands of dollars in suggested campaign contributions. Congressman Davis, one of the Representatives responsible for overseeing Wall Street on our behalf, was instead busy trading access for cash. The Center for Responsive Politics reports that Davis has raised around 1.5 million dollars from the financial industry in the last three years. Taking special interest cash to look the other way is not a shining example of the ideal American values in which I believe. Michael Kelley agrees with me.
I am a social conservative, and I find much to admire about Michael Kelley’s values. He is honest, thrifty, and hard-working. He believes strongly in good stewardship. He married his college sweetheart and they have four lovely children. Dr. Kelley supports a common-ground plan to reduce abortion. Even after six years of complete Republican control of the U.S. government, abortion is still legal. Meanwhile, abortion rates have actually increased under Republican control. The abortion debate has become unproductive. No one in America is anti-life; we all want to see the abortion rate decrease. Dr. Kelley offers a common-ground approach to reducing the abortion rate by investing in adoption, affordable daycare, and pre-K education. We should also invest in comprehensive, medically-accurate sex education which has been proven to be far more effective at preventing unintended pregnancy than abstinence-only methods. This is common ground we can all stand on.
Geoff Davis has been in office for four long years. Four years during which he failed to stand up to a failed Administration. Four years during which he failed to step up as an independent thinker and lead the Republican Party in the right direction. Four years during which he chose to use the power "we the people" gave him to shake down lobbyists for special interest cash. It is time for principled change. I am voting for Michael Kelley, and I hope you will join me.
Sincerely
Warren Stone