A Time for Choosing

Forty-five years ago this week, Ronald Reagan gave a speech for Barry Goldwater in which he appealed to the country to choose a conservative candidate who would lead with conservative values in 1964.

Some of the issues they faced were an ever expanding national debt, out of control spending, unprecedented growth of the federal branch, and an increase in funding for welfare programs. What Ronald Reagan outlined in his speech was a call to chose correctly – to chose a candidate based on conservative values, leadership, and principles the candidate would apply to the nations highest elected office, the office of the President.

Here is an excerpt of his speech in which Reagan outlines a story of what our country meant to an immigrant and his perspective on our great nation:

“Not too long ago, two friends of mine were talking to a Cuban refugee, a businessman who had escaped from Castro, and in the midst of his story one of my friends turned to the other and said, “We don’t know how lucky we are.” And the Cuban stopped and said, “How lucky you are? I had someplace to escape to.” And in that sentence he told us the entire story. If we lose freedom here, there’s no place to escape to. This is the last stand on earth.”

Reagan goes on to outline what he believed at that time, 1964, the election was about.  When you read this excerpt, I think you will believe, as I do, that our election in 2010 is no different:

“And this idea that government is beholden to the people, that it has no other source of power except the sovereign people, is still the newest and the most unique idea in all the long history of man’s relation to man.  This is the issue of this election: Whether we believe in our capacity for self-government or whether we abandon the American revolution and confess that a little intellectual elite in a far-distant capitol can plan our lives for us better than we can plan them ourselves. You and I are told increasingly we have to choose between a left or right. Well I’d like to suggest there is no such thing as a left or right. There’s only an up or down—[up] man’s old—old-aged dream, the ultimate in individual freedom consistent with law and order, or down to the ant heap of totalitarianism…”

2010 will indeed be a year, and a time, for choosing between taking our country back and putting it on track to prosperity for every American or for choosing to let our federal government continue down its path of nationalizing more and more segments of our economy and eroding the core of what has made America great and what America is, in the words of Ronald Reagan, “the last stand on earth.”

What is this nation worth to you and your family?  What are our freedoms, our liberties, and our constitution worth to you? Below is the full video of this great speech Ronald Reagan gave to the nation in 1964 where he made the case for a similar choice we are facing in 2010.  Some things have not changed in forty-five years.  The faces have changed; the words have changed; the intent remains.

It’s About Jobs, Mr. President

With weekly jobless claims remaining above 500,000 for the last several weeks, it’s a constant reminder that the single greatest problem right now in our country is the lack of quality employment.  The Obama Administration is doing everything they can to distract the American people from the real problem we face and it is time we confront the real issues we have and make it a priority to resolve those problems.

One example of this distraction is the Administration’s attempt to demonize Fox News and making the claims it’s not a news organization but rather an entity that is promoting a perspective.  They are also putting forth an all out attack on businesses in the form of Cap & Trade legislation.  These are just two examples of how the American people are being put to the side in an effort to further this Administration’s agenda.

What our President is not doing is addressing the calamity that is our job market.  The sentiment among private employers is cautious, at best.  They are not confident in what is going on or what is on the horizon for them and their companies.  And because of this they are not hiring for positions they currently have open and for jobs that would help them expand.  They are also cutting pay so they can lower overheard in order to buckle down and weather this storm in the hopes they will still be open a year from now.

If Americans were able to have good jobs I believe most of what we are seeing would correct itself.  If Americans were able to provide for themselves and their families, I believe you would see most of the major economic indicators show that our economy was back on track and improving.  As long as people have jobs, they can pay for services, products, and other items themselves.  When people have jobs, there is money flowing through the economy and a whole host of problems are usually corrected and corrected faster than what government spending might try to do.

It’s all about jobs, Mr. President.  If you are willing to do what you can to put Americans back to work at good paying jobs, many of our financial problems would correct themselves.  And it would not cost the taxpayer a single dime.

It is time for common sense and free market economic principles to show their faces in Washington among the mass dementia that is institutionalized politics.  As your next Representative, I will apply common sense and free market policies so we can get our economy back and put our country on a track to prosperity.

Getting Our Economy Back

What it will take to get our economy back

A major concern of my campaign is for people of the First District to have jobs that pay well.  Right now, people are concerned about losing jobs, finding jobs, knowing whether the paycheck will continue.  American business is under heavy assault.

It puzzles me why the Obama Administration, along with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, attack businesses mercilessly.  They do this in both rhetoric and legislation, ignoring the fact that we need businesses to be in business so people across the country can work to support their families.

I believe Washington wants the greatest possible number of people to be dependent on government support.  I do not believe most Americans share that vision.  In fact, I think the large majority of Americans want to support themselves and their families.  I believe the majority want the Federal government out of their back pockets.

If elected, I will work with other legislators to enact some simple measures that will spur economic growth and promote jobs that pay well.  At the same time these jobs will not cost taxpayers a single dime.

• King Dollar:  We must enact fiscal policy that keeps our dollar strong.  This means more than just keeping the American Dollar atop the list of reserve currencies.  It would mean that our currency, and economy, are strong and the value of the investment of foreign countries will pay off and help to keep our economy growing and thriving.
• Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR):  For future generations to enjoy an America that has a sound underpinning financially, we have to put the brakes on federal spending. No family in America can afford to spend more money than it has.  The same goes for any successful business.  The Federal Government should also spend no more than it collects.  With a Taxpayer Bill of Rights, I would work to limit federal spending growth to the percentage in population growth plus the rate of inflation.  I would also work to provide taxpayers the option of filing a post-card sized return using a low, flat tax rate of 15%.
• Empower American Businesses:  In a time of economic strife, a company looks to cut costs in order to maintain profitability and in most cases, to preserve employment.  But, in the current economic environment overhead has to be cut just to keep the doors open.  Something that would almost instantly cut costs for businesses is to cut their tax burden.  I would work with other legislators to slash corporate tax rates to 15% and eliminate the capital gains tax altogether.  Doing so would mean companies would have more money to hire again. More jobs would be created, more people would be employed.  Eliminating the capital gains tax would also help drive business investment by allowing people and companies both to realize income they earned and keep it out of the hands of the federal government.  Currently under President Obama’s budget announced earlier this year, he is calling for the capital gains tax to increase to 20%.

The fallacy in Washington is that somehow the economy, and the profits realized, belongs to Washington and its spending priorities.  In reality, our economy belongs to the people of this great nation. The people of our great country work hard and should be rewarded with the fruits of their labor. Government meddling in and overtaking the private sector stifles incentive and American ingenuity is lost.

The Washington elites seem to believe they know how to spend our money better than we do.  As a conservative small business owner, I believe that I know how to spend my money better, as well as manage it better, than the federal government.

It is time we take our economy back and put our trust in the hard working Americans who brought our great nation to this point with their skill, their abilities, and their hard work

Moral Leadership in Washington

From record deficits in our Federal budget to the onerous economic policy being enacted by both Houses of Congress in the form of bailouts to the Federal Reserve devaluing our currency – all this raises a significant question for me.  That question is, “Where is the moral compass used by legislators and federal employees when enacting policy and legislation that impacts lives of people both here in the United States and across the world?  Where is that compass?

When our forefathers were crafting our Constitution, and even before that with the Declaration of Independence, they based their entire process on seeking guidance from God because they wanted to ensure moral decision making.  They also wanted to ensure the process would benefit all Americans and would create a limited government that would provide checks and balances to ensure our Republic would not become what they had fled from in Britain.

What they wrote – the laws and founding precedents — were set forth in our Constitution.  And within our Constitution lies a moral compass that all three branches of our government are required to follow.  That moral compass continues to offer direction in the articles and amendments of our Constitution. However, it would seem that lately even those time-tested elements of our government have been tossed to the side for both political expediency and gain of those in office.

If our current group of elected officials do not hold to a high standard in everything they do legislatively, what kind of government will we have?  What legislators do in Washington requires moral decision making.  What they do, with the stroke of the legislative pen, impacts the lives of every single American. That significant impact should compel our leaders to make moral decisions in every case and especially in regard to the costs it will inflict on us, the people.

Our leaders in Washington have a moral obligation to be fiscally responsible in everything they do.  Our elected officials in Washington should faithfully adhere to our Constitution. We do not want tyranny from either the legislative branch, nor from our financial systems.  These issues plagued our founding fathers and moved them to found our great nation.  Our founding fathers had a vision of a country with limited government and the liberty of every American being preserved.  They had a vision that put the people ahead of the government.  They had a vision where a limited government would be the catalyst to prolonged prosperity and longevity.

It is no mistake that the creation of our Constitution has led to our high standing in the world, and that it has led us to become a shining city on a hill.

Our liberty, our freedom, and our future is being challenged in Washington by legislators who hold no regard for their moral obligation to our nation’s future.  And, more importantly, the future of our children and grandchildren is at stake if we stand by and do nothing.

I am a traditional American who believes that you can not spend money you do not have.  I am a traditional American who believes what is outlined in our Constitution should be both our moral and legislative compass for what is done in Washington.  As your next Representative of the First District, I pledge to every resident that I will reference our Constitution in all that I do with each proposed piece of legislation and will grade the legislation according to the articles and amendments in our Constitution.

Its time to make a change in Washington! Together we can put our country back on track where every American can enjoy what this country is capable of providing – freedom to have prosperous employment, limited government, and the promise of a better future.