When I asked Rand Knight why he was running for US Senate, his reply was he was fed up. Fed up with Saxby voting against the middle class. Fed up with exporting jobs over seas. Fed up with the government taking care of the top 1% of society while the rest of us that work every day for a living are left without health care and our kids don’t have a decent education.
What can I say? I am fed up as well, but fed up is inadequate to describe my disgust at politics in general and the Republican horde in particular. While I am glad that the 2008 presidential race stands to make history with the election of either the first woman or the first African-American, I would much prefer it if people were voting for candidates that are fed up, candidates that are more than a little mad. I want to vote for candidates that are truly, passionately fed up. When we, the people, are fed up enough to elect candidates that are fed up (and I mean really fed up), maybe we can eventually get enough of them in Washington to actually change something.
Rand sounded like he was a little mad, as well as fed up. As he points out, there is a lot to be fed up about. How about the soldiers that have had to do 2 or 3 tours in Iraq? Or maybe, its the fact that we are building colleges and roads and hospitals in Iraq, while ordinary folk in America can’t afford to take their kids to the doctor, even though they work more than one job. And let’s not forget the drug manufacturers and health insurance companies that are making billions in profit while everyone else in the healthcare morass is overcharged and underpaid. On top of that, our government gives the drug companies billions of dollars in subsidies so they can charge Americans more for their drugs than they charge other countries like Canada.
In particular, Rand is fed up with Saxby Chambliss’ whom he says is too busy doing the bidding of the major oil companies to do anything about the high gas prices at the pump. Rand points out that Saxby always supports tax breaks (corporate welfare) for these rich, multi-national corporations, while opposing the farm bill provisions that would afford some protection to our family farmers.
According to recent polls, Saxby’s approval rating is about 38%, the lowest of any other US Senator.
Rand appears to be a Southern Democrat in the mold of Richard Russell and Sam Nunn, politicians who understood the meaning of bipartisanship, and fiscal responsibility. Rand does not favor raising taxes, but neither does he favor giving tax breaks to the richest 1%. He points out that while the Bush administration is spending billions on the war in Iraq, it is neglecting the basic infrastructure of our armed forces. For example, the navy has fewer than 4oo ships today. Ten years ago it had 1200 ships and 20 years ago it had 2000 ships.
As a fiscal conservative, Rand believes in a balanced budget. One aspect of fiscal responsibility is becoming energy independent. Rand has a Ph.D. in Ecosystems Analysis and is eager to push alternative energy sources. He believes that with planning and foresight Georgia can become the biggest exporter of energy on the east coast.
As for the war in Iraq, Rand says that he talks to a lot of people coming back from the war, and that most all of them say that having troops on the ground in Iraq generates a lot of hostility toward America and increases terrorism.
Rand’s mother was a teacher, a member of the teacher’s union, and he is a supporter of organized labor.
Rand points out that on Super Tuesday more Democrats voted in Georgia than Republicans. If that happens in November, Saxby could be gone. He has been to 60 Georgia counties in the last 4 months trying to get his message out.
Only 99 more to go, Rand!
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