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Immigration and the Local Option Enforcement of Our Laws

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Wilson

on October 28, 2008

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In all the presidential debates, in all the political commercials, in all the talking points, you don’t really hear much about immigration, or more accurately, the issue of illegal aliens and what to do about the flow of people across our border with Mexico. You may hear a soundbite here or there. Just about every candidate will use phrases like “immigration reform,” or “secure our borders” or a dozen others. What you won’t hear is in-depth, detailed discussion of what this really means? You won’t see finger pointing because the fingers point to everyone. You will not hear anyone say that if elected they will get the fence built. You will not hear national politicians pledge to enforce our laws, punish employers who break it and deport illegal aliens.

The reason you won’t hear much about these issues is because no one wants to lose the Hispanic vote. You won’t hear much because everyone’s position, on the national level, at least, is basically the same: amnesty (code word: immigration reform) is coming, so do not fight it too hard!

Well, that ain’t necessarily so. Last year, a grassroots uprising stopped a bipartisan effort to grant amnesty for illegal aliens. That uprising convinced our Georgia Senators Chambliss and Isakson to change their position from one of support to a vote against the legislation. which side of the issue they had better be on if they wanted to get re-elected. Both of them had supported the Bush Administration and the Republican plan for amnesty.

There are those for whom the fight goes on daily. It will go on every year in Congress until one side or the other is the victor. D. A. King is one of those determined to win. D. A. founded The Dustin Inman Society after a 16 year-old boy, Dustin Inman, was killed in a automobile accident with a driver, an illegal alien, who had legally obtained a North Carolina driver’s license, even though he was here illegally. Sure, similar accidents occur every day that do not involve illegal alien drivers. Nevertheless, it is equally true that if an illegal alien could not get a driver’s license, Dustin Inman would not have died on the day he did.

If the issue on the national level is on hold until after the election, the fight on the local level only intensifies. The fight has become a grassroots effort to do what the national government won’t do: enforce our immigration laws. In this interview D. A. King emphasizes the effort in Georgia and elsewhere to get local law enforcement agencies to enforce immigration laws and undertake efforts to deport illegal aliens.

In 1996 Congress passed Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act which allows the authority to enforce our federal immigration laws to be formally delegated to local law enforcement agencies. Thus, if the federal government won’t enforce the laws, communities that want to do so can obtain that power by compliance with Section 287(g).

Not all communities and law enforcement agencies participate in the 287(g) partnership with the federal government. Some have tried, without success, which is difficult to understand. The Cobb County Sheriff’s Office does.

On the state level, in 2006 the General Assembly passed the Georgia Security and Compliance Act. The Act requires Georgia employers working on public contracts to verify legal status of applicants using the E-Verify database provided by the federal government. It requires the Georgia Commissioner of Public Safety to establish a 287(g) program for Georgia, requires law enforcement officers to make a reasonable effort to determine immigration status of individuals in their custody and to report problems to Homeland Security, and a variety of other requirements intended to deal effectively with the issue of illegal aliens in Georgia.

Some of you may not agree with D. A. I didn’t–at first. In fact, the reason I first interviewed him was to tell him that I thought it was an exaggerated, inflammatory issue, inspired by Republican conservative to get out the vote in 2006.

Well, D. A. changed my thinking by giving me facts, not soundbites. It is not a racial issue, it is an economic issue, and more importantly an issue of law and sovereignty. As D. A. points out, Mexico enforces its immigration laws to the maximum. Why don’t we? For that you will need to think and do some research if you want to find the answer on your own. Check out Numbers USA, GrassFire.org, and The Dustin Inman Society.

If you don’t have time to do the research, I will tell you the simple answer: Corporate power and cheap labor. It is the business community that wants what illegal aliens have to offer, unlimited cheap labor, at the expense of the American worker. The ultimate goal is the free flow of labor across our borders. In the 1990s NAFTA exported our manufacturing plants, leaving us with jobs that could not be outsourced. In this decade the effort has been to outsource the labor, though illegal employees, for the remaining jobs.

Don’t believe me? Your problem, not mine.

D. A. King, Founder, The Dustin Inman Society [29:28m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (19)

Savannah Daily News Endorses Barrow and Gillespie for Congress!

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Wilson

on October 27, 2008

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The Savannah Daily News has made its endorsements for Congress in the 1st and 12th District. Their selections:

Bill Gillespie for the 1st District.

John Barrow for the 12th District.

This is the first time SDN has not endorsed Jack Kingston. The edorsement explains why:

……It is painful to no longer endorse our friend, Jack Kingston. Many of us know Jack and his family personally and cherish their friendship and their public service. Jack Kingston is a good man, personally, but he has never had a viable or credible Democratic opponent to truly consider.

And these times force us to step back, and take a hard look at his actual voting record on critical issues including fighting all measures to set a timeline to get out of Iraq, his failure to fight runaway Federal spending as a member of the House Appropriations committee that develops the budget, his leadership in defense of Tom Delay and President Bush as well as Republican party smear campaigns this election cycle, and his failure to file his personal financial disclosure information due last May 15 even though he was up for re-election. These votes and others lead us to believe that it is time for a change in 1st District representation.

Frankly, Jack began to lose our support last Feb. 27 when he appeared on the Dan Abrams show and said it was okay to “question Sen. Barack Obama’s patriotism because he doesn’t regularly wear an American flag lapel pin.”

Problem was, sitting there on the TV set with the cameras rolling, Jack wasn’t wearing a flag pin. These types of smear tactics are repugnant and demean elected officials in an era when voters are begging for straight talk on the issues versus old-style personal attack politics.

Yet, he continues to try to use such tactics, seeking to smear his opponent Bill Gillespie in this race, accusing him of lying about his educational degrees and other achievements, despite two news organizations having confirmed that Gillespie’s resume is accurate………

And its reasons for endorsing John Barrow are:

John Barrow deserves our support for another term as the Congressman from Georgia’s 12th District.

While his voting patterns may not be liberal enough for some in the 12th District, particularly in the Savannah area, his legal mind continues to serve us well, demonstrating a pattern of pulling apart legislation and voting on the quality of a bill and its intention versus just following a straight political party line.

He voted against the bailout bill because there was “too much downside for the taxpayer. There were specific areas of fraud and abuse that were skillfully manipulated out of the final product,” he says. That approach to in-depth study is what we depend on from our elected representatives.

And we must send representatives to Congress who will take tough stands on the legislative issues ahead for the 111th congress, issues in addition to current financial crisis matters. One of those issues for the 12th Congressional District is needed reform of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation, up for renewal in the next session. Improving public schools and developing a more qualified work force are seismic issues for the district.

Barrow shares our views, believing that NCLB was a good idea that “got hijacked from how it was designed. There is nothing wrong with standards, nothing wrong with being sure that Georgia is getting the same bang for its educational buck as Texas, but the Bush administration failed from the beginning to fund the bill, which is exactly what they promised they would not do if it was enacted,” he states. “So we’re raiding the local tax base to continue to fund federally mandated educational programs.” We couldn’t make these important points any more succinctly than John’s own words.

A 2008 study from the U.S. Department of Education, in the recently released “Reading First Impact Study: Interim Report,” states that the performance of students in 12 states who were in grades one to three during the 2004-5 and 2005-6 school years and completed the Reading First Program, a major billion dollar a year NCLB effort, had proven “ineffective.” A final report on the impacts from 2004-2007 (three school years with Reading First funding) and on the relationships between changes in instructional practice and student reading comprehension is expected in late 2008. It’s an issue ahead that needs tough analysis, and tough stands to ensure funding in a time when there will be little money to spare.

His opponent, John Stone (R), represents the old school party politics of big lobbyists and insider power players. He has spoken out on few issues in this campaign with the exception of his recent one-day media event in Savannah to propose his solution to the U.S. economic crisis, including ideas that cannot be enacted, such as imposing a moratorium on home mortgage foreclosures.

Barrow has high marks and endorsements from business organizations such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. And his position on immigration is realistic in light of the needs of Georgia and the 12th District. He supports securing the borders and enforcing the laws we have but without dramatic measures supported by many.

Most importantly, John Barrow is accessible and in the district often, spending endless weekends in its small towns, meeting face-to-face with voters, versus leaving all the constituent work to paid staffers.

John Barrow is a Blue Dog, fiscal conservative Democrat in an era when we’re all feeling pretty blue about the economy, and we need his take on the solutions

Counting It Down! GriftDrift on the Election!

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Wilson

on October 23, 2008

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Once again James Williams (GriftDrift) and I, engage in vain musings about the ups and downs of politics, national and state. If our predictions turn out to be correct, America will be as surprised as we are! But there is hope, hope this will all be over in 12 days.

Summarizing an interview with James is like walking through a chicken coop, there is just too much stuff out there to see it all. Thus, I suggest you listen to this one, if you really want to get the flavor of James’ keen insight into all things political. Me? I am just there for the ride, mostly.

We do cover the implosion of the McCain/Palin campaign, if it can still be called a campaign. It’s just too bad that somewhere between this year and last year, McCain lost his mind. The interview with Brian Williams ought to be interesting.

And then there is the Georgia political scene with hints of a massive voter turnout. Everyone reports that early voting lines are heavy and seem to favor the Democrats. Obama has a chance to carry Georgia, but McCain still leads in the polls. The question is how accurate are the polls this year? It may all depend on voter turnout and the under 30 voters. At least Georgia is not a “red” state. On most maps we are now pink, which doesn’t exactly please any of us.

James thinks Jim Martin has a slightly better chance to beat Saxby Chambliss than Obama has to carry the state. James commented on Martin’s aggressive campaigning this time around, something that he has not been know for. According to Pollster.com, it is dead even. It is just too close to call.

And then there are 3 Congressional races: Jim Marshall (D), the incumbent, went out on a limb when he voted for the baleout. His opponent, Rick Goddard (R), made it a big issue in their debate. James attributes Marshall’s vote on the baleout as a vote of consceince, something he thought was best for the country even though he might suffer for it in the election. I regret that I was not able to get interviews with either Marshall or Goddard.

In the 10th we have Republican incumbent Paul Broun, whom James believes will win against his Democratic challenger, Bobby Saxon. I interviewed both Broun and Saxon. Broun is a sound bite Republican, who does not, in my opinion, understand the function of government.

James did not have much to say about the 12th Congressional District. He believes that John Barrow, the Democratic incumbent (who voted against the baleout), will prevail over challenger John Stone in a “not as close as last time” race.

There is plenty more in the interview, but in an effort to get this posted timely, I will just have to let you listen for yourself.

James Williams, GriftDrift Blogger [30:47m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (54)

John Stone, Candidate for Congress, GA 12th

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Wilson

on October 22, 2008

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John Stone is excited about his opportunity to unseat incumbent Democratic Congressman, John Barrow. That is going to be a hard job, since Barrow is one of the most conservative Democrats in Congress.

John is expecting a heavy voter turnout, maybe as high as 80%. According to John, the race is neck and neck. He claims that in a recent poll he is a percentage point ahead of Barrow. He also chastises Barrow for not debating him on several occasions.

John doesn’t appreciate the current trend of blaming the Republicans for the economic woes of America. He thinks the Democrats deserve some (maybe a lot) of the blame as well. While I agree that the current woes go back decades and encompass both Democratic and Republican administrations, I believe the party that has been in power for almost 8 years, that has cut taxes, while spending spiraled out of control has to be responsible for what occurs on their watch.

Having said that, I should say that John Stone is not fan of the Bush administration and acknowledges that it has been disastrous.

Stone accuses Barrow of “gaming” his votes, i.e., voting both ways on the same issue. I am not exactly sure how someone does that, but according to Stone, Barrow tells everyone he voted their way.

Stone is in favor of drilling more domestic oil. However, my understanding is that the oil companies are simply not drilling new wells, whether offshore or on land already approved for drilling. They aren’t drilling because they aren’t going to invest in a new well based on a temporary increas in oil prices. Look how the price has fluctuated in just the last few months. Our problems wanted be solved by drilling for oil offshore or in ANWR.

Stone supports alternative fuels and thinks we need to have a major effort to achieve oil independence in a decade or so. I wholeheartedly agree, but the question is where do we get the money? I asked John how America was ever going to raise the funds for these new programs without raising taxes. He said that he did not think we needed to raise taxes and would not have to raise taxes to do what we need to do. With all due respect to John and other Republicans who “believe” we can do more (develop alternative energy) without raising taxes, I can only say that doesn’t make sense. We have more than doubled our national debt in 7 years of Bush. We have had tax cuts after tax cuts. If tax cuts stimulate the economy, then why haven’t the tax cuts stimulated it enough to balance the budget. Why? Because tax cuts are a lie? You may get a dime of cut, but your kid ends up with a dollar of debt.

Until the Republicans and the Democrats have enough honesty to tell the American people that we have to raise taxes, I do not see much hope of ever doing what we need to do to put America back on the right path.

I must admit that John doesn’t sound like a Republican when it comes to talking about jobs. He thinks NAFTA was bad for American industry. He thinks we need to restrict imports and protect American jobs and products. I agree, but I am afraid that horse is out of the barn and I am not sure we can ever get him back in. The world is now flat! This idea of protecting American industry and jobs, sounds good but it certainly isn’t mainstream Republican policy. Hell, I am not sure it is even Democratic policy. Corporations, like Walmart, don’t want barriers to importing toys from China, even if they kill us.

John is also in favor of a national sales tax and/or a flat tax. This is my biggest disagreement with him. While I agree we need tax reform, I just do not understand how anyone can suggest a national sales tax to replace all other taxes is fair. The sales tax is a regressive tax. The poor and the middle class would pay much more of their income toward the tax than wealthy people. You pay sales tax on everything, including hospital bils, legal bills, etc. That may be fine for people with money, but people that spend 100% of what they earn will pay more because there are no exceptions, no deductions.

I also don’t understand how John can support the elimination of the income tax. It is like there is something inherently wrong with taxing income and inherently right in taxing sales. Both make sense to me and have their place in a broad based tax system. What we need is less loopholes and corporations that move their funds to other companies to avoid paying taxes.

Just remember, VOTE NOVEMBER 4th!!!!!

John Stone, Candidate for Congress, GA 12th [28:09m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (39)

Anna Bullard, Candidate, Toombs County BOE, District 6

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Wilson

on October 21, 2008

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Anna Bullard is an up and coming politician here in Toombs County. I have interviewed her many times about autism. Her daughter is autistic, which lead to Anna’s first-hand involvement in the benefits and deficiencies of special education in our schools. I am sure that most people who are exposed to the stress of dealing with the special education maze would support change, but Anna is not satisfied with sitting back and supporting someone else. She is an avid proponent of change and wants to bring change to the Toombs County Board of Education.

What you might not know is that Anna is the neice of Senate Majority Leader Tommie Williams. She grew up with my kids, same church and church school. Familiarity aside, Anna is full of the excitement of youth, the enthusiasm of a personal calling, the compassion of a person who lives their faith and the passion of a mother and citizen wanting the best for all children.

Anna takes education seriously. She knows it is work. She expects the system to work, but understands that parents need to be vigilant and persevere, if they are to get the full benefit of the programs that our public schools offer. Too often, our public school administrations erect obstacles for parents seeking information and services, particularly when it comes to special education kids.

Anna would be a great asset to any organization, especially the Toombs County Board of Education. If elected, parents will find in Anna an advocate who is not afraid to speak up for what is right.

Anna Bullard, Candidate, Toombs BOE [29:54m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (67)

Allen Buckley, Candidate for U. S. Senate (GA)

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Wilson

on October 19, 2008

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Allen Buckley is a Libertarian running for U.S. Senate from Georgia. Sometimes Libertarians can go too far with the idea that things work better without government. While this is true in many instances, things work better without corporate greed and influence. That is what makes government necessary because nothing other than government can make the playing field level.

But, for what it is worth, when it comes to our economic woes, social security reform, health care insurance, everyone needs to give Allen a listen. As a CPA and an attorney, I think Allen understands both the law and balancing the books and he offers some interesting proposals to solve some of America’s most difficult problems.

One thing I like about Allen is that he doesn’t deal in soundbites. (How I hate people that answer questions in soundbites.) I have no doubt that Allen has a passionate concern for the economic future of America. When our elected officials have more concern for our economic future than getting re-elected, we might actually get some of these long term problems solved.

Allen took on Saxby Chambliss and Jim Martin recently at the debate in Perry, GA. Allen has no hesitation to call Chambliss a liar. According to Allen, Chambliss lies everytime he tells audiences that the Fair Tax is a viable solution to all our tax propblems. The Fair Tax is a sales tax on everything (or virtually everything) at a rate that brings in enough tax revenue to pay for government program. The rate is very much in dispute. Allen points out that the proposal Chambliss supports calls for an unrealistically low tax rate that even the President’s Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform considers to be about half the tax rate that would actually be necessary.

Allen says Chambliss is fiscally irresponsible, having voted for all the deficit spending federal budgets proposed during his time in the Senate. He is especially critical of Chambliss’ support for unrestrained, uncontrolled farm subsidies.

As for the difference between Democrats and Republicans, it is just a question of who gets the tax cuts, the wealthy (Republican) or the middle class (Democrat).

While Allen thinks the baleout of Wall Street and the banks is not a good idea, he makes it clear that $700 or $800 billion is not our biggest problem. He sounds the alarm loud and clear that if we do not resolve the social security and medicare budgetary problems in the next decade or so, we will simply get to the point that our debts bring government to a standstill.

If you think a vote for Allen is a wasted vote because a Libertarian may not win, Allen points out that if you really want change in Washington, a vote him is definitely a vote for change.

Allen Buckley, Candidate, U.S. Senate GA [31:35m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (52)

Perry McGuire, Candidate, Georgia Court of Appeals

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Wilson

on October 19, 2008

in Podcast

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I had a listener chastise me for having interviewed all the candidates for the Court of Appeals, except Perry McGuire. I plead innocent. I have been trying to interview Perry for months and the only reason it took until October 17th was simply Perry’s choice, not mine.

I am glad that I was able to finally interview Perry, because I think his interview is one of the most revealing of all the candidates. You may note, it lasted the longest, 38 minutes. Perry and I mixed it up a little bit, particularly when he made the statement that I represented injured people to make a fee! I represent people harmed by the negligence of others for the same reason Perry represents corporations. We both get paid, he just gets paid by the hour and I may or may not get paid a dime.

Perry’s qualifications to be a judge on the Court of Appeals are a little difficult to discern. He has never represented an injured person. He doesn’t handle divorce or property transactions. He certainly doesn’t do criminal work. (A lot of what the appellate courts deal with fall into these areas.) He has never tried a case in court in front of a jury. I am not sure he has ever tried a case period, even one in front of a judge. He has never appeared before the Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court of Georgia to argue a case. Perry does not consider such experience to be of any significant benefit in being a judge on an appellate court. I disagree with Perry on this. Courtroom experience and appellate experience are exactly the kinds of qualifications that we ought to want our judicial candidates to have. Without them, a candidate’s qualifications are essentially indistinguishable from those of anyone who holds a license to practice law.

Perry was a Republican legislator from Carroll and Douglas Counties for two terms, 1993-1996. He left the legislature to become a lawyer for Chic-fil-A from 1996 to 2004. In 2006, Perry was unsuccessful in a bid to become Attorney General of Georgia.

Perry obviously thinks that being a corporate attorney is somehow a special qualification for being a judge. Corporate attorney or not, my biggest concern about Perry is his obvious pro-business attitude. If you listen to all the other interviews, you will detect an appreciation by all the other candidates of the necessity for a judge to be fair and impartial, to apply the law equally, regardless of status. Perry, on the other hand, says the appellate courts need “business sense.” In fact, if you go to the bottom entry on his home page, you will find this statement: “Lawyer says he would bring business sense to court.”

One question: What the hell does that mean? Does it mean the current court and/or past courts have not had “business sense”? Does it mean that “business sense” is something that only a corporate attorney has? Does it mean that “business sense” is more important than being fair and impartial? Does it mean that “business sense” means that business needs some interpretation of the law that no one else needs.

Perry refused to sign the pledge proposed by the Committee for Ethical Judicial Campaigns in Georgia. The pledge says that instead of asking for contributions (money) directly, a candidate for the position of judge will form a campaign committee and let them solicit contributions. Perry says he thinks that is unrealistic. I don’t know why this should be true. I always thought it was a little humiliating to ask for money. Most judges don’t like to do it and most candidates for judge don’t like to do it. I guess Perry doesn’t mind asking for money. To each his own! But, I am still worried about any candidate for the position of judge that thinks it is too much to take a pledge to campaign ethically. It is kind of like your mother telling you to tell the truth and you just walk off, as if she has no business asking you that question. Dude, your mama wants to hear the answer!

While Perry would not sign the pledge on campaign contributions, he did fill out the “judicial questionaire” propounded by Georgia Right to Life. Perry says he has received the endorsement of Georgia Right to Life, but I could not find them listed on his website’s list of endorsements. I have no idea why he would not list such an organization, other than the fact that it would suggest to a lot of us that Perry was anything other than fair and impartial.

What is even more surprising is the fact that you cannot find anywhere on the Georgia Right to Life website any mention of Perry McGuire. He is not listed in their candidate endorsements. You can’t even find any reference to the Georgia Court of Appeals race. Hell, you can’t even find any mention of their judicial questionaire. Why go to all that trouble to send out a judicial questionaire and not reveal the results. Why does Georgia Right to Life tell us who they endorse for politicians seeking legislative positions, but won’t tell anyone who they endorse for judge? I am sure they told their members, whoever they are, but they just didn’t do it on their website. The did it privately. Why? Why? Why? Because it is a secret. A big, fat, Republican secret! Please don’t tell anyone!

I am sorry Perry, but I might as well go ahead and shoot myself if you are elected. Your interview has left me with a firm opinion about your qualification to be an appellate court judge. I should probably keep this opinion to myself, but I have one flaw. I say what I think, particularly when it comes to the courts, the law and our system of civil justice. Mess with that and I take it personally.

Perry, when I look at your list of endorsements, I note you are heavily supported by Republican legislators, most of whom voted for “insurance company liability reform” in 2005. Let me see, why would they so heavily support a corporate attorney who knew nothing about injured people? Could it have something to do with the fact that the appellate courts of Georgia have bravely declared many of their “insurance company free pass” legislation to be unconstitutional?

Perry, I enjoyed the conversation. I appreciate your frankness. I am sure you are a good person. I have no doubt that you are an honest and competent corporate attorney. But, when it comes to being a judge on the Court of Appeals, you have not come close to convincing me that you could be fair and impartial. The people that support you are not known for their sense of fairness or their impartiality. They are known for their “business sense.” They are certainly not accustomed to supporting people that don’t hold the same views they possess. I am concerned that their expectations of you would get in your way. I don’t want to put you in that position and I won’t.

I wish you the best in all your other endeavors.

Perry McGuire, Candidate, Georgia Court of Appeals [38:15m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (179)

Bill Gillespie, Candidate for Congress GA-1st

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Wilson

on October 11, 2008

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Bill Gillespie is a Democrat seeking to replace Jack Kingston in Congress on behalf of the 1st District.

What might be impossible in normal times (unseating an incumbent), just might be possible this year. Obama has energized a lot of people. There are 45,000 newly registered Democrats in the 1st District. And then there is the economy, which has certainly proven that Republicans must be doing something wrong.

Bill Agrees reluctantly with Congress’ decision to baleout Wall Street.

The 1st District has lost a lot of its manufacturing business. In 19 of the 25 counties in the 1st the county government is the largest employer. Bill is ready to ready bring alternative energy business and jobs to Georgia and the 1st District.

According to Bill, Jack Kingston is more concerned about supporting the agendas of the oil companies, like Chevron, rather than promoting alternative energy businesses.

Bill is dissatisfied with the way the Iraq War has been handled. He points out that America has trained 800,000 Iraqi soldiers and 200,000 Iraqi police, and still they are not able to provide the security Iraq needs. Something is wrong here.

Bill also doesn’t like the prevalence in Iraq of the private security forces, like Blackwater, that operate outside of the normal chains of command and control. Who would have thought that American would have ever used mercenaries!

As a veteran who is 30% disabled himself, Bill thinks we need to do a better job of taking care of our veterans. It seems the spresent ystem tries to make it harder, not easier, for veterans to receive good, available health care. Veterans aren’t like the rest of us. They can’t go to the local doctor. Instead they have to make an appointment at a VA facility which may be hundreds of miles away. Bill supports giving veterans the right to be treated by local doctors and hospitals and the government pick up the tab.

Listen to Bill’s interview and see if he fits your idea of the kind of Congressman the 1st District needs in Washington

Bill Gillespie, Candidate for Congress, GA 1st [30:44m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (63)

John Barrow, Congressman, GA 12th

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Wilson

on October 11, 2008

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I guess you could call John Barrow a maverick. He was first elected to Congress in 2004 and since that time has voted contrary to the Democratic leadership on things like immigration. Most recently he voted against the baleout of Wall Street. As John explains in this interview, the Bush Administration pushed fast and hard to get a $700 billion baleout for corporate business, but failed to provide adequate consideration and protection for the homeowners. Further, John, and others, were not satisfied with what appeared to be a blank check for the Bush Adminstration. For example, they wanted to approve the baleout in stages, rather than all or nothing. As it is, the Bush Administration could conceivably get control of all $700 billion before they leave office.

Another issue was the “golden parchute” for Wall Street executives. John says the attempts to impose restrictions on executive compensation were so watered down as to be meaningless.

Of course, the economy is the issue that is on everyone’s mind. When Bush took office the national debt was about $4.5 trillion. Today, it is over $10 trillion. When Bush took office I was a Republican, but it took about 2 years to convince me that he wasn’t a Republican. Oh, Bush and his cronies, say they are Republicans but they do not have a clue about the Republicanism of Barry Goldwater.

John believes it is time to start protecting the American economy. While it may be important to open up foreign markets, if doing so destoys the American industry and workers’ jobs, it is not worth it. For that reason, John has voted against several trade bills.

When it comes to energy, John favors an all out effort to achieve energy independence. We should have learned in the 1970s that our energy policy should not be tied to the price of oil. If we only focus on energy issues when the price of oil is high, all the oil producing countries have to do is to lower the price and we forget about it until the next crisis. What we have needed for 30 years and not had, is leadership. Leaders see the future, think about what is coming and steer the country on a safe course. Politicians put tomorrow first, because tomorrow they are up for re-election, tomorrow they have a fundraiserm, and tomorrow they can hide behind something else to cover their sins. Tomorrow is already too late!

Leadership is non-partisan.

John Barrow, Congressman GA 12th [30:37m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (50)

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