The great 2008 'Paper Debate' --
Featuring Third District Congressional candidates Paul Stark and Ron Kind
Sunday, November 2, 2008 7:08 AM CST
The Questions
1. What are the top three concerns you’re hearing about from voters? And how do you think they can best be addressed?
2. What do you think the state of Wisconsin can do to help its citizens during these difficult economic times?
3. What other issue(s) do you think the legislature should be addressing at this time?
4. What makes you the best candidate for the office you are seeking?
Representing the Republican Party
Name: Paul Stark
Age: 47
Home: Eau Claire
Family: Married; two children
Education: BBA in accounting from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee; MBT (Master of Business Taxation) from University of Minnesota
Occupation: Owner, Starkraft Homes, LLC
Political experience: None
1. Top three concerns:
I. The financial bailout of Wall Street.
Congress spent $300 billion of our hard-earned money last summer for financial bailouts; $700 billion more in bailouts, plus another $150 billion in earmarks (pork) this fall. In the last six months, our government has cost you and me $1.150 trillion. Incumbent Ron Kind has said he did not like the bailout, yet he voted for it. Last spring, he voted for the economic stimulus bill while saying he did not like it.
If he doesn’t like it, why does he vote for it? Kind also publicly stated that of those who contacted his office about the bailout “50 percent said no and the other 50 percent said hell no!” Yet he still voted for the bailout.
Is it any wonder why he would vote against the will of the people after accepting over $185,000 in campaign contributions from the banking and insurance industries? We need representation from someone who will respect the will of the people.
II. Enact HR 25, the Fair Tax.
Our nation’s financial crisis was created by Washington with their lack of leadership and/or foresight. The Fair Tax would bring instant liquidity to America by bringing trillions of dollars parked off shore to our markets in a matter of months. This would be a “free market” solution that would work.
Government caused this “crisis” and we, the people of America, can fix it. The Fair Tax does not tax income, it taxes consumption at the final sale of goods and services. You would decide when to pay the tax and how much, depending on what you purchase and the cost of that purchase.
All households would receive a “pre-bate” to compensate them for taxes paid for the general necessities of life. For instance, a family of four would receive a pre-bate of $537 each month. Imagine, keeping all the money you earn and not paying any taxes up to the poverty line. This is a plan that would be good for all of America.
III. High gas prices.
We need to drill for oil and natural gas in America. We have vast reserves of oil and natural gas in the U.S., but the Democrat Congress has created road blocks every step of the way.
Ron Kind recently voted yes to legislation that would exclude drilling for oil off-shore within the first 50 miles. This is totally absurd as 88 percent of all our oil and natural gas is located within the first 50 miles of our coast lines.
Our nation has vast reserves of oil and natural gas that we could be using right now, but our Congress has blocked all legislation that would allow it.
Section 10-02 within ANWR has billions of barrels of oil and hundreds of trillions of cubic feet of natural gas. The National Petroleum Reserve Alaska has the same. Both are within 50 miles of the Prudhoe Bay oil facilities that have over $30 billion of infrastructure.
The Trans Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) can handle up to 2.1 million barrels of oil a day at full capacity, but it is only producing 750,000 barrels of oil a day currently, about one-third of its capacity. It is the height of foolishness not to utilize the oil and natural gas reserves we have at our disposal right now and allow TAPS to operate at full capacity.
It is also foolish not to use our resources off-shore so our nation can have a safe and affordable source of energy to power our economy into the future. This would mean lower gas and heating prices for us very soon, as soon as 2 years. The problem is, Ron Kind has fought against this for 12 long years and will continue to do that if re-elected.
2. Help citizens: As a nation, we the people need to take a much closer look at who is representing us and how they are voting. If you look at Ron Kind’s voting record, you will see that he represent those who give him the most money. The banking and insurance industries have given him over $185,000 and he just voted yes to the bailouts.
The number one thing we can do as a nation is elect new representatives who will listen to the people and actually represent them in Washington.
If our representative would have opened up known sources of oil and natural gas for America long ago, we would not have exceptionally high gas prices and a sluggish economy that began last spring. If our Congress would have enacted the Fair Tax long ago, we would not have lost so many jobs that went overseas due to the worst tax system in the world and the second highest corporate tax rate in the world.
If our representative, Kind, would have given us warnings long ago about the oncoming economic train wreck of our banking system we could have made changes to avert the crisis.
Ron Kind is part of the problem. We need to elect people who will do the will of the people, not special interests. We need people who have solutions that would be good for all of America, not just a political party.
Kind has voted his party line 98 percent of the time. No political party is correct 98 percent of the time. I will vote for what is good for Western Wisconsin and America, not for what is good for a political party.
Given the above, the two best things our Congress should do right now is drill for American oil and enact the Fair Tax. Drilling for oil would mean many new jobs for America and money staying here at home. Why are we sending so much of our hard earned money to foreign nations when we could keep our money here working for us?
The Fair Tax would grow our economy 100 percent over 10 years because we would be the best place on earth to do business. This would mean good jobs paying good incomes to the American people, not people in other countries.
3. Other issue(s): Our government has trampled on our rights for too long. The federal government has taken on more power than granted in our Constitution. The states have lost much of their power granted by that document and so have we as individuals. We need a Congress and a Supreme Court that respects the Constitution as the founders intended.
An example of individual rights that are not respected, the First Amendment states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” No where do you see a “wall of separation.”
God has been removed from the public square against the will of “we, the people.” Public schools no longer allow Christmas or Easter to be observed. They now have a winter and spring holiday.
Ron Kind favors the separation of church and state, yet he and the rest of Congress had a two-day vacation for the Jewish observance of Rosh Hashanah and the Muslim observance of Ramadan.
Given the rules of political correctness, shouldn’t the Congress taken a “Fall Harvest Festival” for Rosh Hashanah and a “Summer Holiday” for Ramadan?
Our politically correct government respects other people’s religions, but they fall over themselves in disrespecting Christians and their holidays. Like it or not, we are still a Christian society and our laws are based on early English Common Law which was derived from the Christian religion and culture. We need a Congress that will respect the Constitution and not disrespect the religion of the majority of Americans.
4. Best candidate: I live in the real world with everyone else — not the “if only” world of Washington. I understand the financial difficulties facing the people of western Wisconsin. I’m one of them.
As a small businessman and trained in accounting and taxation, I am very qualified to bring economic reform to Washington. What we need in Washington is more accountants and fewer lawyers like Kind.
Washington must play by the same rules you and I have to. We have tightened our financial belts as tight as they can get. It is time for Washington to do their part and eliminate wasteful taxation and gross overspending.
I know how to get more work done with less money. It is time we put someone in Congress who understands this and insists on government doing more with less, like the rest of us.
We need leadership from someone from within our community who understands the needs of the people. I am prepared to go to Washington and actually represent the will of the people — unlike the incumbent who voted for $1.150 trillion (and climbing) in bailouts even though we told him not to.
Like most of us in western Wisconsin, I believe in common sense. Common sense is a commodity that is sorely lacking in Washington, and that is exactly what I will bring to the U.S. Congress.
Representing the Democratic Party
Name: Ron Kind
Age: 45
Home: La Crosse
Family: Wife, Tawni Kind; children, Johnny (12) and Matthew (10)
Education: B.A., Harvard University (1985); M.A., London School of Economics (England) (1986); J.D., University of Minnesota Law School (1990)
Occupation: Attorney
Political experience: First elected in 1996, I am in my sixth term in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing the Third Congressional District of Wisconsin; other public service includes: former La Crosse County Prosecutor and State of Wisconsin Special Prosecutor
1. Top three concerns: Our country faces some of the greatest financial challenges we have seen in a generation. Concerns about the economy, the cost of health care, and high gas and energy prices top the list of issues that I hear about from constituents.
I believe that this country is more than capable of coming up with solutions in all three areas — however, it is going to take bipartisanship and cooperation from both lawmakers and American citizens to get this country back onto its feet.
To fix our economy, we first and foremost must address our current banking crisis. We need to return to the days of responsible government regulation and oversight, and we must ensure that the laws on the books are enforced. For too long, government regulators have looked the other way or have not enforced the law. This has to change.
We also must look for ways to ease the burden on everyday small businesses, which employ the vast majority of Americans. I am committed to strengthening small businesses in Wisconsin and plan to reintroduce legislation next year that will help small businesses afford healthcare for their employees, by allowing them to pool together to reduce their costs and by reforming how insurance companies charge premiums.
Unfortunately, there is no simple solution to our nation’s energy woes; a stable energy policy will call for making use of all responsible options before us. Wind, solar, biomass, geothermal, methane from manure digesters, and nuclear power will power our future, and plug-in and hydrogen cars someday will replace the gasoline-powered vehicles of today.
Until that day, I also have voted consistently in favor of increased domestic oil production, because I believe our domestic reserves can act as a bridge until clean, renewable sources have been developed further.
I strongly believe, however, that a drill-only policy fails to address the underlying issue — our grave addiction to oil. Additionally, individual homeowners and businesses must also do their part to reduce consumption.
2. Help citizens: In western Wisconsin, we have been fortunate enough to live and raise our families in a community that values hard work and common sense family budgets. I know that most of us would much rather take care of ourselves and our families on our own without government help.
The fact is, however, there is a reason that we have government programs in place that provide a safety net so that in times like this, families who have fallen on hard times do not turn into families in poverty.
I have consistently supported programs such as temporary unemployment insurance, home heating assistance, and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), which all will help families weather the economic storm. In addition, entitlement programs such Social Security, which promises that Americans will have retirement assistance regardless of what happens in the stock market, are demonstrating their importance in these tough times, as well.
3. Other issue(s): I believe that education absolutely must stay at the top of our agenda in Washington, so that this country does not fall behind in producing smart, well-trained workers for the future. Manufacturers like Harley Davidson have been successful in Wisconsin because of our highly-skilled, well-educated workforce.
Career and technical education classes in high school and strong technical colleges, therefore, are essential to maintaining our adept workforce. In addition, strong federal funding for math and science education is critical, so that we can attract and train more American students in these fields and keep the technology-based, job-producing sectors of our economy thriving.
4. Best candidate: For the first time in memory, American families feel that they have lost control of their own future.
People are worried that the uniquely American promise — that through hard work, and perseverance, anyone can achieve a better life — is slipping away.
What I would like to say to voters is this: I know that times are tough. I know that most Wisconsin families are worrying about how to pay their mortgage, their gas bill, their food bill, or their tuition bill. But I believe better days are ahead, and I have committed my life and career to getting us there. I do not pretend that government has all the answers. However, working together — Democrats listening to Republicans, Wall Street listening to Main Street — we cannot fail. I have spent my time in Washington consistently reaching across the aisle to forge bipartisan compromise, because the only way we will be able to fix the economy, guarantee healthcare for all Americans, and find a solution for our energy crisis is if we stop wasting time and energy fighting each other and start fighting for our common future. |
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vanno wrote on Nov 2, 2008 4:48 PM: