Issues

Once again the US military has proven that they can accomplish the mission no matter how difficult. Also once again we find our political leaders to be less than up to the task. From choosing the wrong mission, not funding the mission and not planning for anything but pipe dreams. When reality comes knocking our current administration hides. They hide the evidence, exaggerate the evidence and bully anyone that questions there conclusions. Thoroughly displaying a lack of understanding that would be pathetic if not so tragic.

I think we understand the danger now, a clear and present danger which lies in the policy of the extreme. For six years now we have lived in a world of extremes. Not just from places like Iran, Afghanistan and Venezuela, but also from our own President, his administration and members of the far right. Like a broken record or a scratched CD, we keep hearing the same exaggerations, propaganda and lies, reused and spewed from all of these sources. I can’t stop President Hugo Chavez from his extreme rhetoric but I don’t need to add to this gutter talk. While President Bush is entitled to his views I am disappointed that the leader of the free world should descend to this level. As a nation we should be above the gutter not below it. The U.S. used to be the shining beacon on the hill. Other nations looked up to us and we represented a place of hope, decency, morality and fairness. We used to represent the best in life. So of course many will do what they can to drag us down. But do we really need to help them do it.

Our first response to the extreme was appropriate and Afghanistan paid the price. Then instead of finishing the job we attacked Iraq. I honestly don’t think it matters at this time why a group of terrorists thought it was a good idea to attack the USA. As far as I’m concerned it should be the last idea they ever have. We have been attacked. And for this we invaded the nation of Afghanistan. We removed the Taliban and rooted out most of the terrorists who had been using that nation as a safe haven. The next most important thing we could have done was to help build a strong and independent nation of Afghanistan. With all of our might and energy we needed to help the Afghan people to realize the dream of a Democratic nation. But instead we have now wasted this effort on a preemptive attack on Iraq. So what if Iraq was stonewalling the UN inspectors. They were never a real threat. If we were not so worried about looking tough or so worried about Oil, we would have been much better off ignoring the little despot. The idea of preemptive attacks is wrong. It makes no sense to attack someone merely because they may in the future under some scenario attack the U.S. We re now stretched past the breaking point. It needs to stop.

With the money spent so far in Iraq, hundreds of billions, fast approaching a trillion dollars, we could have done some amazing things here at home. We could have fixed social security, become energy independent, given our citizens free health care or put permanent bases on the moon. We could have built new bridges throughout the country, updated our transit and power systems. But you say this is all in the past, and my wife tells me, “Would have, Should Have, Could Have”. Hindsight isn’t even clear sometimes. We could have done some or all of these things, these things that really make us a great nation.

The U.S. is a great nation not because we have the best military but in spite of that. We are a great nation because of our people, both our citizens who live here and the ones that will come to live here. No place in the world has our combination of can-do-attitude resources and work ethic. But all of these things have been forgotten and buried by this administration. To be strong some times means ignoring the idiot in the corner, screaming at the top of his lungs. Greatness comes not just form being morally superior but in knowing when to use the strength and more importantly when not to. Being wise and great means choosing between difficult positions and not always taking the easy path. For the last six years policy after policy has failed. All of this from an administration that was in a unique position to become great.

Just like the current administration John Kline was in a position to do so much more. Representative Kline has been a part of this policy of the extreme and continues to vote according to the party line. By voting party line he has not been representing the best interests of Minnesota. His continued support of the invasion of Iraq and his recent votes against earmarks are both excellent examples of his positions. For John Kline it was okay to vote for an earmark when the GOP was in control of congress, it is wasting money now that the Democrats are in the majority. The earmark position is very disingenuous and partisan. I respect John Kline the person but not as my Representative in Congress. He does not represent the people of Congressional District 2. The people he should be caring about the most are being left behind. It is time to leave behind the policy of extremism. It is time to stop wasting money on a war we did not need. It is time to lead by example not by weapon. It is time for a change.

Change begins at home with comprehensive plans for a better immigration, energy and the war in Iraq policy.

Foreign policy and "The war on Terrorism", what an interesting choice of words, not a War in the conventional sense, but a war just the same. What should be done now? How should we proceed after the war in Iraq? Help the Iraq people to help themselves. The Iraq governing council must learn to govern. If we want a free and Democratic Iraq, the Iraq people must do the building. Nothing we do for them will be half as important as the things they do for themselves. It will not be easy. Democracy in the United States isn’t easy. But it is worth the effort. With our help the Iraq people may get the chance to see this. But this does not mean a never ending occupation of Iraq. Nor should it mean permanent bases in Iraq. Our force withdrawal should begin next year to be complete within 2 years. At that time we should not have any troops inside Iraq. This is the beginnings of a foreign policy shift away from the shoot first policy and towards a more diplomatic stand. Our role as the world bully, like some megalomaniac lone ranger going it alone, must stop. The cold war is over and the entire battle situation has evolved. Wars are no longer fought as they were in World War Two and unless we plan on fighting World War Three in the same manner and soon we need to change how we plan on preparing and fighting the battles of the future. But we can’t hold onto the past while trying to move towards the future. The reasons for posting our troops across the world have changed greatly over the last two decades. Security and stability should start at home. We should begin drawing down our troops worldwide. Re-equipping them and changing the mission to protecting the homeland. We do not need to be isolationist to be secure, but we should have our troops close at hand. We can use our diplomatic corps in coordination with a revitalized CIA. These should have always been our first line of defense. Good intelligence could have avoided this costly war in Iraq. An administration that would listen to this good intelligence would be a bonus.

I will work for:

1) Reduce troop levels in Iraq, with the goal of a complete withdrawal within one year.

2) Reduce troop levels throughout the world.

3) Re-equip our military.

4) Expand our diplomatic efforts combined with a top down shake up of the CIA so that all of our intelligence services interact at a basic level.

5) Re-establish ourselves as a moral compass with our economic, political and social networks through-out the world.

So many issues start and end with our immigration policy or lack of a policy. So again we need a top down change to really make a difference and change things for the better. First we need to understand the forces that are moving this issue. Then we can find a solution that actually works. What are the reasons we have a problem with immigration? One, we have jobs, two, they need work. Sounds simple, a supply and demand type equation everyone can understand that. What is not simple is that we have no idea who or what is crossing our borders. We have no idea how many are actually crossing the border. Every day an unknown number cross into the U.S. and we seem to have no control over this entire process. To be able to change a process we need to get control of the process. To control the process we must stop illegal and undocumented people from crossing without going through some type of controlled system that can keep track of those crossing. We will still have low wage jobs and they will still need work. But this step will allow us to track immigrants coming into and leaving our country. But this will not help those already inside the U.S. We need to put in place a National I.D. system for all persons in the U.S. with this system we can verify eligibility to work and know who is in this country. Hand in hand with this is some type of system that can allow immigrants that do not have documentation, to earn a chance to become a citizen.

I will work for:

1) Close down southern border. We have one of the most porous borders in the world. We can not begin to get a hold on our security or immigration problems until we have totally secured our border. We must lock down our southern border to control immigration. Once we stop or at least massively curtail border crossings we can start with the reforms needed.

2) Moratorium on deportations except in the case of criminals that have violated US law since coming here. We want to continue having Immigrants come to the US and we do not want them to live in fear. When all of the steps are complete we want legal status on all of our undocumented.

3) All persons living and or working in the US must be documented. Start a national ID system and require everyone to show ID to work in this country. For Citizens this ID will be free or a low cost. Any person not having ID will not be able to work.

4) Require all workers and immigrants to get an ID before crossing. In the current situation many undocumented persons trying to cross the border, hire coyotes (shady guides) that have no morals and often will take advantage of the people that have hired them, either stealing from them or killing them, just to make a buck. This system must stop. To fill this void we should license companies to perform as recruiters legally working with our government to address our labor needs.

5) Finally for Undocumented persons we should have in place a system to earn Citizenship by learning English, paying taxes and paying a fine. Until this process is complete they must not complete any felonies or they should be deported, first strike and out type of system.

Lastly we must concentrate on our Energy policy. One of the more dishonest policy agendas of the last two decades has been our approach toward energy. We have been importing without regard to what our money is doing once we get what we need. How much of our foreign policy is based on the need to keep oil flowing. How much money, time and blood have gone down the hole, never to be returned. The time has come for this to end. Again what are the dynamics of the problem? One, we need inexpensive clean energy. Two, we have an abundance of energy sources.

I will work for:

1) Energy independence by 2020. We have been told for decades that this or that is not possible we can’t do it. As an American I take great offense with that statement. The difficult takes time and money. The impossible just takes a little more effort. Nothing is impossible, when you truly believe!

2) We must start an energy program the likes of which the world has never seen. Our own Manhattan Project to make us energy independent. Using all of our resources; Solar, wind, coal, oil, nuclear, renewable, we must become independent of others for our energy needs. This is as much a security issue as an energy issue. But in the process we can not pollute our skies and our waters. 3) We must find clean ways to use all of these resources! To allow coal fired power plants we must convert them so that they will not pollute. For Nuclear we must find a long term solution for storage of the waste. 4) We will need to compromise on drilling in many other less than desirable places. But when we allow this we must require a type of insurance that will cover the cleanup and repair of any potential or actual damage done during this process.

5) All renewable resources to be tax free.

6) Subsidize energy efficiency. The Australians wanted to eliminate the use of regular light bulbs and subsidized the use of compact florescent. This small part of the process could save millions country wide.

7) Include Mexico and Canada as close partners in our drive for energy independence, Maybe a North American Energy Alliance.

We must use every solution we can think of. The duel goal of becoming energy independent and doing everything we can to fight global warming demand no less of us. As Americans we should look at this as an amazing challenge that we are ideally suited for and must meet.

It is time for a change.