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Law and Order
I have been a uniformed police officer since 1990, and I can assure you that in my entire career, I have never seen petty and violent crimes higher than they are now.
This is systemic across much of the nation where anti-police activists in city, county and state governments have worked to undermine and de-fund police departments resulting in all types of crime exploding.
Due to the lack of support, and often outright hostility toward police, staffing levels are so low that when people call 911, depending on the crime being reported, they may not get a police response.
There are also issues with “policing” at the Federal level with agencies like the FBI being politicized at the behest of politicians.
Being your advocate for law and order at all levels is of utmost importance for me. You deserve to feel safe in your home and community.
Parental Rights
Over the last few years, the fact that parental rights are under assault has come to the forefront of many news stories.
Parents have started asserting their rights against districts, schools, and teachers telling them what, and how their children will learn.
Subjects like “Critical Race Theory” (CRT) which are essentially teaching our children to be racists will never heal the racial divide that has been growing again in our country over the last decade.
Additionally, extreme “sex education” lessons include pornographic type materials and are being taught to children as young as five.
It’s time to put parents back in charge of what their children are being taught.
Homelessness
Homelessness
The homeless crisis is made up of multiple factors. This includes people dealing with addictions, economic factors that make it hard to get into housing, and people with untreated mental illnesses, including veterans who have had challenges with leaving the battlefield behind.
By and large, the two largest groups of those who are homeless are drug addicts and those with mental illnesses. For the addict, it’s all about the next high and they will do whatever is necessary to score the drug or alcohol to get them there. For those with untreated mental illness, it isn’t “loving” to leave them in their circumstances without getting them into treatment.
In both of those cases, a measure of “tough love” is what is needed. If a crime is committed, no matter how small, the person needs to be arrested. From there, experts can determine if a treatment facility will be able to provide the help that they need.
While this crisis isn’t really a federal issue, and shouldn’t be, as it can be handled better on the local level where immediate needs can be quickly assessed, there are federal programs that can assist local efforts. I’m committed to finding the right solutions to help get people off the street.
Border Security is National Security
A nation without secure borders isn’t a nation. We must secure our borders and build a physical barrier on our southern border to curtail the influx of illegal immigration, drugs, human trafficking, and other criminal enterprises.
Last year over 100,000 Americans died of drug overdoses. Drug cartels are bringing tons of heroin, methamphetamines, cocaine and fentanyl through our porous borders. They deliver it throughout the United States. Most of the drugs come across our southern border. Violent cartels have infiltrated every state, and more of them come through each year.
In 2021 over two million illegal aliens crossed the border and have since disappeared. It’s imperative that we know who’s coming to our country, and why they’re here.
Tax Cuts Benefit All Taxpayers
We need to make the current tax cuts permanent and work towards a system that’s fairer for taxpayers; while at the same time, drastically cutting out-of-control government spending.
The “roaring 20’s” came about when President Calvin Coolidge informed all agencies that they would need to cut their budgets in half.
Once that was accomplished, he and Congress worked to develop sweeping tax cuts that ushered in an era of great prosperity for the U.S. and the world.
Tax cuts alone, while good for the average citizen, are only one part of the equation if we want to get this country back on the right footing.
For too many years there’s been a game of “kick the can down the road” when it comes to government waste, and it’s beyond time that we elect people who will have “the buck stops here” attitude necessary to turn things around.
Congress must work on a sweeping overhaul of the tax system that ensures everyone has skin in the game. I support a flat tax rate of 12% across the board.
The Second Amendment “Shall Not Be Infringed”
The Second Amendment was specifically written to keep an overbearing government from being able to disarm us and impose its will on the citizenry.
The founders had some experience with this, which is why this is the only right in the Constitution which says, “shall not be infringed.”
There’s no ambiguity there.
The Second Amendment, like the Constitution as a whole, is unique in history. Never has another government recognized the right of the populace to defend itself against all enemies, foreign, or domestic.
I am a lifetime NRA member, a lifetime member of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms and other gun rights advocacy groups.
The founders didn’t write the Second Amendment just to mean that we’d be able to hunt and protect our family from a burglar or robber. That was a given.
Self-defense – from anyone or anything – is a guaranteed protection in this country.
Energy Independence is National Security and Provides Thousands of Jobs
Since the Biden administration has taken office, gas prices have increased almost 60%. Democrat fuel policies are crippling the poor and middle class.
The average gas price in the 10th District is well over $4.00 a gallon, and the price is predicted to continue to increase.
You deserve to have reasonably priced fuel.
The U.S. has enough natural resources to be energy independent, as well as become one of the world’s top energy exporters.
I believe in a combination of oil, clean coal and renewable energy sources (including nuclear) will ensure our nation remains self-sufficient.
The connotation that any kind of energy production will always be unsafe and “dirty” is a misnomer. We can do it safely, and it will benefit national security and our economy.
We no longer need be at the mercy of foreign dictators that abuse human rights and don’t have our best interests at heart.
We Need to Rebuild a Strong Military for National Security
We’ve allowed career politicians and special interests to badly bungle our national security operations and we’re reaping the deadly consequences.
The Biden administration’s humiliating retreat from Afghanistan was an unmitigated disaster that continues to have tragic consequences on the world stage, likely costing hundreds of thousands, if not millions of lives in the long run.
Giant strides must be made toward rebuilding a strong military—before it’s too late.
Bringing the Armed Forces back to full strength and restoring America’s respect and standing is imperative to ward off threats from hostile foreign powers.
Additionally, the Biden administration is compromising our military readiness with politically correct “wokeism”.
Being politically correct won’t win any wars. Terror groups and dictators like Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping will continue to laugh at us and take advantage of these weaknesses.
We need a strong military that’s the most powerful in the world.
Peace through strength.
Healthcare
A hot button issue has been government intrusion, backed by special interests, into healthcare; particularly after the passage of the Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. Obamacare) effectively took over one-sixth of the nation’s economy.
There’s a new threat to the individual’s right to make their own medical decisions, and that is medical mandates surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the “scientific” consensus seems to have centered around mandating people wear a mask and, after its release, the only approved treatments were the shots.
In recent days and months, the CDC and NIH have finally admitted that the cloth masks worn by most people don’t work to prevent the spread of the disease; and, as has been widely reported, the “vaccines” don’t prevent an individual catching or spreading the disease.
I’ll push to remove the anti-scientific stigma on therapeutics that can be prescribed to reduce symptoms and stop strains on hospital resources.
President Biden’s unconstitutional executive order that all businesses with over 99 employees prove they were “fully vaccinated” or potentially lose their job was rightfully overturned by the Supreme Court.
It's time for Congress to step up and make such medical mandates illegal under federal law. I’ll work to ensure the government and special interests can no longer dictate what you must put into your body in order to provide for your family and participate in society
Our Veterans Need to Receive the Benefits They’ve Earned
I am a veteran and I support veterans.
Unfortunately, I have first-hand knowledge of abuses and problems within the Veteran’s Administration.
It seems that the VA went from denying benefits to veterans that deserve it, to denying benefits to those who deserve benefits, and allowing benefits to those who may not.
The VA seriously needs to be overhauled and monitored with very strict oversight.
There’s too many of my fellow veterans falling through the cracks.
A strong VA that does its job and fulfills our promise to veterans ensures our military ranks aren’t depleted when people lose faith in this system.
I’ll do what’s needed to make sure we’re not leaving our veterans behind.
Protecting Our Freedom
I enlisted in the Army and became a police officer to protect your right to live freely and in relative safety in our society.
Unfortunately, our federal and local governments have been all too eager to take away many of our freedoms.
Some people agree with the government mandates and shutdowns we’ve been experiencing, but that’s a dangerous slippery slope.
I believe that most people have a “line in the sand” when it comes to freedom.
We can’t let the government and special interests pit us against each other. We must respect each other’s freedoms.
If elected, I’ll support further protections to the Bill of Rights to ensure we continue to live freely.
Additionally, I’ll vote against any legislation that further erodes your rights.
Inflation
Inflation is at an all-time high. Inflation through the printing of more money is essentially a tax increase without any return on investment.
According to the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania: “We estimate that inflation in 2021 will require the average U.S. household to spend around $3,500 more in 2021 to achieve the same level of consumption of goods and services as in recent previous years (2019 or 2020).”
That number doesn’t count big ticket items; only everyday items such as groceries, gas, heat, etc.
Inflation is continuing to rise, and the out-of-control spending in Washington, D.C. is only making it worse.
In Congress, it will be a top priority for me to work with other members to get government spending under control.
ELECTION INTEGRITY
The foundation of a Constitutional Republic is confidence in free and fair elections.
If the public doesn’t believe that elections are conducted without bias, and that only those legally eligible to vote are casting ballots, the system will break down.
Throughout history, there has always been some element of the “losing side” questioning the integrity of an election.
However, in the last 20+ years, there have been more questions about the machines used and the process to take and tabulate votes. Election offices “finding” votes that favor one candidate over another during recounts and suspicious activity on election night in swing counties arouse distrust of our elections systems.
Like most of the public, I also support Voter I.D. laws as a safety measure to help ensure election integrity. We show proof of identification to get on an airplane, cash a check, get married, and hundreds of tasks that take place in most people’s lives daily.
I support limiting the use of mail-in ballots and early voting – both of which can increase opportunities for fraud. Elections were never meant to go on for weeks at a time.
Voting should be open for a full 24 hours on election day, which allows those working “off shifts” the time to vote.
We can also provide a “Voting Day” holiday by creating tax incentives for employers to provide paid time off. Mail-in ballots should be made available for those who are physically unable to make it to a polling place, but they should only be requested by the voter.
One other important element is the technology used to receive and tabulate votes. As with any electronic technology, the ability to “hack” the data and manipulate it to the benefit of one candidate is always possible.
A return to “old school” paper ballots is also in order. While they do take longer to count, and are open to human error, there’s an audit trail and it’s significantly harder for fraud to take place.
Will elections ever be completely “fair”?
Probably not entirely, but there are measures at the state and federal levels that can be taken to move us closer to it, and I believe it would be my duty to explore those measures and fight for the ones I believe will make a positive difference.[6]
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