Statement of Principles

Freedom - All people are equal, and therefore free. Freedom comes from equality because if one person or group can impose their will on another, then they become unequal. Freedom from the will of others is the only way to preserve equality. This is the core fundamental principle that defines just government. This is a principle that we can all believe and put into practice. We must hold our representatives accountable to the principle of equality and insure that the government never enacts policies that have unequal impacts on citizens, discriminate against any group, or impose an involuntary obligation on one group in order to benefit another.

Rights - It is important to understand what rights are. A right is something that is innate in oneself as a human person. Rights are not given to you by the Constitution, the government, or any other person. You have rights as a part of who you are. For example, you have the right to speak freely, you have the right to defend yourself, you have the right to contract freely, and you have the right to your property. Any attempt by government to deprive you of these rights is unjust and unconstitutional.

Empower People, Not Government - Those in power love for you to believe they are the only ones that can provide you with anything and that the voluntary production of goods and services is inadequate. It is not the job of government to give you anything. It IS the job of government to support an environment where you can fulfill your own destiny and provide for yourself and others without fear or interference.

Reject the Status Quo - Both Republicans and Democrats are responsible for selling out the American people to enhance their own power. The myth that they are polar opposites is ludicrous and only divides people. Republicans and Democrats both support wars and economic control. Both sell legislation to the highest bidder. Both serve the elite with protective regulations, subsidies, and bailouts. Both have abandoned the ideas of individual equality and individual rights.

Unite - We must join together and refuse to divide ourselves between two inconsistent baskets of issues deliberately presented by those in power. They feed on our contention over any given issue. We must unite ourselves around the one principle we all share and enjoy: freedom. The more we let others control us, the more we surrender to the whims of those who would do us harm.

More to come

War

Violence and hatred only breed more violence and hatred. Every nation, like every individual, has the right to defend itself. But occupying foreign nations and forcing democracy through the barrel of a gun are not defensive actions. Congress should never be complicit with undeclared war nor should it appropriate funds for such purpose. As your representative my first priority will to bring home our soldiers immediately from Iraq and Afghanistan. I will further propose that we begin plans to bring our soldiers home from the countless bases all over the world. Foreign intervention only breeds enmity among our neighbors and increases the risk of harm to our nation and our people. »

Financial Reform

The Federal Reserve, by controlling the money supply, is the single greatest influence over our economy. They have presided over every boom and bust for the last century, including the Great Depression and the current economic crisis. It has engineered the loss of 95% of the dollar's value during its tenure. If economic stability and preventing inflation are its goals, then the Federal Reserve is the worst failure in history. And yet somehow the free market was blamed and the Federal Reserve is to receive more power. Meanwhile large banks with insider access survived and swallowed up competing smaller banks and acquired their assets for pennies on the dollar. Ending or at least minimizing the subjugation of our economy to colluding private banks would seem like an obvious step, but instead the government creates a bailout program at the taxpayers' expense. My goal will be to provide congressional oversight of the Federal Reserve, end the bailout programs for banks and insurance companies, and tear down regulations that protect the largest banks»

Marriage

Why does this issue divide us politically? We have one side wanting to make gay marriage illegal, and another side wanting to make it legal. But the reality is that marriage is none of government's business. People do not have to ask permission to get married, it's their right to do so with whomever they please, whenever they please. When we surrender the power of marriage to government by asking for their permission, we give them the power to deny our rights, just as recently happened in Louisiana when a couple was denied a marriage license on account of their skin color. We should never give power over marriage to government. People are free to retain that power themselves.»

Health Care

There is absolutely no question that health care and health insurance are outrageously expensive. There is also absolutely no question that government intervention is responsible. The government blames insurance companies for high health care prices, and then what is the solution? To force everyone to buy their product, which is doubly crazy since insurance companies are middlemen, not providers of health care. Backwards government thinking strikes again as Congress prepares to manipulate markets and raise costs. The important thing to remember is that artificially lowering prices for consumers does not lower the overall cost to the country. Whenever intervention causes demand to balloon while strangulating supply, the cost must rise. They must make up the difference somehow, whether through rationing, taxation, or both. Regulatory roadblocks to competition do not protect the consumer. They only protect the largest corporations because the big guys are the only ones that can absorb the costs. The real solution is to remove barriers to competition, refuse to subsidize unneeded consumption of health services, and encourage additional supply of health care providers. »

Localize Most Government Power

A great deal of issues handled by the Federal Government should be handled by the States. In that way you are creating 50 petri dishes, where you can say "Look how this legislation has improved this state" or "see how their plan is bankrupting their state" as opposed to putting all our plans into a Federal Government Hail Mary Egg Basket, and praying for the best. "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.". Ideally this step allows people to understand that we should localize government as much as possible, all the way down to solely protecting the rights of the individual. »

Immigration

I believe because of the complications of today's world we can not have a completely "open" border, but immigration should be available to all of those who want to be a part of the American dream. The problems we have don't come from the immigrants, but from the services the government provides that should be left to the people in the first place. It makes no sense to offer every incentive to cross the border only to expend so many resources on controlling illegal immigration. We should limit immigration to those who truly want to work and prosper and not those who want to take advantage of an over indulgent system. We need to know who is coming through our borders, so we have to have increased security, BUT we should have a very open immigration system so we are fair and impartial regardless if people come from India, or Canada, or Mexico. »

War on Drugs

The federal government has unjustly abused the commerce clause by imposing a blanket ban across the country. The proof of this is in the fact that the prohibition of alcohol required a constitutional amendment, something Washington neglected when it started the war on drugs. The drug war has cost countless billions, harmed families, ruined lives, crowded our prisons, wasted police resources on victimless crimes, inspired violence, and failed to eliminate drug use. It is time to end prohibition and free ourselves from the harms it has caused. »