Thursday, August 21, 2008

Paul Broun for Congress?

The Candidate

Whenever the neocons at Red State sends me an Action Alert (or whatever they call it) and I see their logo at the top of the email with the name “Red State” in red with gray letters, I can’t help but think of Communism--not just because of the name, but also because they are ardent supporters of George W. Bush, John McCain and of all those other socialist, NWO traitors in the Republican Party. So I was somewhat surprised to find that one of the candidates they urged me to support is also on Ron Paul’s official list of endorsements for Congress. In this “alert” they said that Broun would legalize drugs, but also warned about how Broun’s other two opponents in the Republican primary would be worse because they were so liberal and self-seeking. They said Broun was “like Ron Paul without the crazy”. So what is the “without the crazy”?

Speaking of our troops fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, Broun says, “…I support them and their mission.” (He doesn’t say what that mission is and I’m still waiting for these neocons to give me a satisfactory definition and exit strategy of the mission in Iraq.) He is against an “arbitrary timetable for withdrawal”.

Broun does favor getting rid of the IRS, but unlike Ron Paul, he would replace it with a Fair Tax. Ron Paul is wise in saying that income taxes are the worst way to tax Americans, but this Fair Tax also has obvious drawbacks. The Fair Tax is basically a 23% national sales tax. This would give people strong incentives to barter rather than buying. Corporations would also take this tack and would be more successful at it. Therefore, more of the tax burden would be shifted to hardworking families. The Fair Tax would also give people and corporations incentives to make purchases under the table to avoid paying such a high tax. This would be hard to enforce against without imposing a police state. It would also give the feds more incentives to crackdown on honest people like children running a lemonade stand or your neighbor having a yard sale. Evidence of this can be seen in states which have high cigarette taxes and have to deal with people selling illegal untaxed cigarettes. There just isn’t any substitute for less spending, and the $1+ trillion dollar war in Iraq is a big part of the problem.

However, there are plenty of good things to say about Paul Broun.

He introduced legislation in the Congress to define life as beginning at fertilization. Ron Paul cosponsored this bill.

He would impose heavy fines on corporations which employ illegal aliens, make English the official language of the United States, strengthen border security, and end birthright citizenship for children of illegal immigrants.

Paul Broun recognizes that the United States was founded on Judeo-Christian principles, such as the Ten Commandments. He also recognizes that Congress has the constitutional authority to overrule the federal judiciary (Article III section 2).

He supports the right to bear arms.

The Opposition

His opponent, liberal Bobby Saxon, believes that abortion should be legal within the first trimester and when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape. He supports federal funding the use of new embryonic stem cell lines in research.

Bobby Saxon supports McCain-Feingold-like, free speech limiting campaign financing legislation, which has already passed but the portion which restricted ads containing candidates' names was struck down by the Supreme Court.

He supports hate crime legislation and would include sexual orientation in federal anti-discrimination laws.

Saxon compromises on the war Iraq, saying “We should begin a responsible reduction of troops in the quickest, safest way possible. We cannot advertise withdrawal dates, but we must bring our soldiers home as swiftly as the conditions allow. We should maintain a small force to provide security to the Iraqi government, train the Iraqi Army & Police force, and to provide logistical support to the Iraqi military. We must demand that the Iraqi Government show steady and sustainable success in return for our protection and our support.” He doesn’t say what “steady and sustainable success” is, nor does he say exactly what he would do if they don’t show it. He answered yes to the question, “Do you support pre-emptive military strikes against countries deemed to be a threat to United States national security?” No real peace candidate here either.

The Conclusion

Being against the war in Iraq, who would I vote for, then? I am not going to vote for someone just because Ron Paul endorses him, and certainly not just because he is a Republican. But I don’t have to decide that, because I don’t live in Georgia's Tenth Congressional District. Since there are a lot of other congressional candidates who are in closer agreement with my views, I will financially support them over Broun. I leave it up to you to decide for yourself if this is a candidate that you think is worth supporting.

9 comments:

  1. As the Director of Operations for Bobby Saxon's campaign, and also as someone who was intrigued on several of Ron Paul's ideas, I think it would be great for you to take some time and talk to our candidate.

    We think that there are lot of reasons why a good civil libertarian like yourself would be farther in Bobby's camp if you had a chance to talk to him.

    At your earliest possible convenience, feel free to give me a call.

    Thanks for working hard to sort out America,
    Tommy

    --
    Tommy Valentine
    Director of Operations, Saxon for Congress
    cell: 706.296.3583
    office: 706.549.2862
    tommy@bobbysaxon.com
    www.bobbysaxon.com

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  2. Anonymous11:13 PM

    I would much rather trust someone with their views Afghanistan, who has actually served there, than the armchair generals at home.

    I find ignoring the advice of soldiers on the ground mind-boggling, just because you view them as liberal.

    It must be gratifying to those in the field, that do not share the same political views as you, but unlike yourself are willing to give the ultimate sacrifice for their country, so you can accuse them of compromising on the war in Iraq.

    It is thanks to people like General Petraeus, that the United States, is in a much better position than it was, due to the soldiers being allowed to get on with their jobs, rather than having to deal with either incompetence or carping back home.

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  3. Anonymous12:09 AM

    Isn't Paul Broun the guy that spent so much of his office budget on thinly veiled campaign mail that he now has had to reduce his staff by over 50% just to keep from running out of money? Yeah, real ethical guy.

    http://www.ajc.com/search/content/metro/stories/2008/08/19/broun.html
    http://news.mywebpal.com/partners/680/public/news920814.html
    http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/082108/met_470192.shtml
    http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/082008/news_2008082000519.shtml

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  4. On Iraq and Afghanistan- Major Bobby Saxon has served us in both of them, receiving a Bronze Star as well as almost a dozen other medals. When he speaks on the war, it is from direct experience. Advantage-Saxon.
    Democrat is not synonymous with liberal. Broun talks conservative but walks real funny. Bobby Saxon walks as he talks. He has earned the right that we look into his campaign.

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  5. I have traveled with Bobby over most of his district and he has been very well accepted by everyone he has met.

    Having heard Bobby and Dr. Broun answer questions during meetings, I would prefer to be in a fox hole with Bobby than in a fox hole with Dr. Broun. Our economic future will be more secure with Bobby in office than "budget busting" Broun continuing as our Congressman.

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  6. Thannks all for your comments.

    I cannot support Bobby Saxon's campaign as long as believes that some abortions (murders) should be legal. (The ectopic case isn't murder.)

    I will never support any candidate who believes in giving homosexuals legal protection against discrimination. This promotes a sinful lifestyle.

    So unless he has completely changed his mind on these issues, there is no point in me talking to Mr. Saxon.

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  7. Chris,

    About receiving a bronze star and having experience, so what? John McCain has experience in war and I'll be damned if I'm going to vote him.

    You say, "Broun talks conservative but walks real funny."

    Be more specific. What exactly has he said differently than what he has done? If Bobby Saxon really believes what he says then I can't support him (refer back to the previous comment and the original post).

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  8. Broun 'walks' funny as in spending a half million of taxpayer's money on his own campaign while talking as if he were fiscally conservative. Furhter, Broun was pro-choice several elections ago, till he figured out it wasn't expedient to getting elected- (1992, July 3). The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
    (1992, July 16). The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
    I cannot argue your conclusions on abortion, if you have determined life begins at conception. If I believed that premise, I would come to the same conclusions as you I am sure. But, nothing I've found in the Bible says life begins at conception. Beliefs of that region, of that time, was that life began, i./e. the spirit entered the body at the 'quickening', about 100 days. It does say eating shrimp is as much an abomination as homosexuality- are you a prawn eater?
    Seriously though, Jesus tells us 'you who make such judgement, are guilty of just as much sin'. Being righteous, i.e. how you carry your self, and being self-righteous, i.e. how you judge others, are two different traits. One is an abomination. Which of these candidates is righteous, and which one self-righteous?

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  9. Chris,

    Of course there is nothing wrong with “judging” someone as to law. Otherwise you would have anarchy. Matthew 7:1 is misinterpreted--read the context.

    Life begins at conception. Deuteronomy 1:17, Job 3:2-3, Luke 1:36. There is nothing about a quickening at 100 days in the Bible. Saying that an unborn baby at that age had no spirit is like saying, for instance, that black people have no spirit. If the Bible doesn’t specifically say that they do, then how do you know? Of course, this is foolishness. I suppose you believe that God doesn’t put spirits into babies that were conceived by rape or incest.

    As for the shrimp comment, you know that dietary laws were done away with old covenant. But principles of murder and equal justice for all are everlasting and universal.

    Incidentally, I can’t endorse Paul Broun because he cosponsored H CON RES 362. This bill would set up a blockade of Iran, likely provoking them to war. So my advice for Georgia's Tenth Congressional District voters is to STAY HOME.

    http://agoodchoice.blogspot.com/2008/07/imagine-that.html

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