“INDEPENDENCE”


Other than the platforms that I have elected to run on please allow me to express my views of what I believe is probably the most important issue of our nation’s political venue, “INDEPENDENCE”.

I firmly believe that the first three words of the United States Constitution, “We the people”, clearly define of what our forefathers’ had in mind when they forged this great nation. As the years have gone by, these three words have been taken out of context, its meaning has been altered, and it appears to me that the words have been changed to, “We the politicians”. These three words will eventually become obsolete unless “We the people” take a stance and bring these three words back to their original context, as our forefathers had originally intended them to mean.

For many years, we the people have been catering to the two dominant parties that operate this nation, (speaking of the Democratic and Republican parties). It appears that these two parties’ have forgotten that they were elected to represent their constituents and not become an echo of the status quo of their party affiliation. It would appear that the Independent voices of and for the people have become lost in the shuffle of partisan squabbling.

This is why I have elected to run as an Independent candidate. I believe that a person should be elected on what they represent and not what party they represent. Far too many times campaigns have been filled with false promises, false innuendos, and whatever else needs to be said or done for an election to be won.

I believe the people of District 9, want a person who will bring about change, someone who will make a difference, someone who will listen to your concerns, someone who will not hesitate to speak the truth, and someone who understands how difficult it has become to keep a roof over your head, or feed your family, or to keep your job, and to keep your American dream alive.

This is why I have elected to choose “INDEPENDENCE” as the theme of my campaign. This is what I believe in and what I stand for. I would appreciate if you could put aside your political affiliation and keep an open mind while considering me as your choice for Congressman.


The Economy:

Our current economic instability is the result of our misguided leadership on the local and federal levels. It irks me, as I hope it does you, that we have reached a point to which American citizens are suffering a lingering economic downfall with no immediate remedy in sight.

Even though our current President has implemented a stimulus package for economic recovery, do you honestly believe that this is the solution to our economic turmoil? I would think not.

This economy has been declining for the past several years, yet it is only now, that our elected leadership is beginning to take notice. What were they thinking when:

•  Banking institutions were on the predatory rampage issuing sub-prime loans to individuals at an alarming rate.

•  Many billions of dollars are being spent every month to finance the war in Iraq while other solutions were not even considered.

•  Overwhelming increases in fuel costs which hinders everyone from a person commuting to work, to the tourist planning a vacation, which I would construe as price conditioning.

• Corporations that hire illegal immigrants in place of American workers to jobs at a lower cost as these corporations exploit a lower wage and take jobs away from American citizens.

• Corporate outsourcing for cheap labor out of country for jobs that American citizen should and can be doing, has been going on for decades.

The solutions to these economic problems can only begin to develop when first, the problems are identified. We need to work together as Americans, regardless of party affiliation, to implement a solution to rectify our suffering economy.


Illegal Immigration:

Illegal immigration has been a growing problem in our country for many years. It is time for a real solution to be implemented.

• Borders need to be secured to the North and South
•  Amnesty is not a solution
• Corporations need to be held accountable, suffering criminal penalties instead of civil penalties, for hiring illegal immigrants
• A reform act must be implemented for immigrants who are in the country to pursue the American dream, than those who are not
  
   

War on Terrorism:

My perception of the war in Iraq is not targeted against the people of Iraq, yet specifically targeted toward terrorists that want to do harm to the free world. Even though all Americans would want our troops to come home, I believe a complete withdrawal would not be feasible at this time.
What we as Americans need to do is:

• Our government needs to reiterate to the Iraqi government that it is time to step up and administrate their own country.
• We as a nation need to mend our relationship with the rest of the world. This is the only way that a world effort toward defeating terrorism can be accomplished.
•  We need to open up diplomatic dialogue with the United Nations, in order to fight and win the war on terror.
• This war on terror is not exclusive to the American people, but includes all free loving countries of the world and all must be involved.
• Therefore, there must be a distribution of responsibility of all free nations for the security of Iraq. Otherwise, if we withdraw our troops Iraq will become a brood’s nest for terrorists, and if we as American’s continues to be the sole caretaker of Iraq’s security, we will continue to deplete our economy even further and face the reality of sacrificing more American troops on a daily basis.
   

Healthcare:

Even though socialized medicine appears to be very appealing on the surface, when you peel away to the inner layers of this system, you realize it is not a feasible system for America. I also believe that a federally funded universal healthcare system would cost taxpayers billions and still not solve the real problems with the healthcare system. It is my belief that our current healthcare system is not in need of replacement, but repair.

A restructure of our current healthcare system, from hospital care, to insurance practices, to prescription medication, to medical lawsuits, is paramount to begin reparation of this damaged healthcare system. The problems with our healthcare system are multifaceted and are not isolated to any particular area, but all areas need to be addressed so that healthcare is affordable for all Americans.

• The cost of prescription medications needs to be equalized across the board so that Americans are paying the same price for medication as other nations as close as even Canada.
• Insurance co-pay rates could be moderately increased, which in turn should reduce the cost of healthcare insurance premiums.
•  An unbiased committee should be established to review all medical lawsuits to determine the validity of the allegations before any lawsuit can be forthcoming.
• A federal incentive for hospitals to open more walk-in clinics to reduce emergency room charges to insurance companies which should in turn decrease insurance premiums.
• The regulation of insurance company billing practices to be a more streamlined and efficient system, whereas to reduce the burden of billing costs to hospitals, doctors and any medical institutions.