The lesson of the two national political conventions, and the huge TV ratings they drew, is that Voters want to know about the people behind the choice they're going to make in November. 

 

To translate that message into the Rhode Island races you would have to say that people want to see their candidates, in-person, and Side-by-Each.  Mark Zaccaria knows that.  It's exactly why he tried to negotiate with his oponent's camp to schedule a series of public forums where those political debates could be held.  It's about fully informing the Electorate.

 

Mr. Langevin obviously takes the view that as a 4 term incumbent with stunningly high name recognition he can only be hurt by sharing the spotlight with an underfunded challenger.  That may be an accurate political calculation but it doesn't say much for the respect he has for the voters he represents.  They're starving for information and he's more interested in running a stealth campaign than he is in risking any kind of real-time, unscripted exchange that might feed that hunger.  What's he afraid of? 

 

This week the MZD2 Campaign asked that question directly in a follow up Press Release on the subject of Debates.  You can read the full release: Click Here. The initial overture was made to the Congressman on July 24th.  That makes it Day 43 in the Debate Watch, with only 59 Days to go until the Election. Cynics in the Zaccaria Camp insist that the other side will wait until Halloween before agreeing to participate.  By then there'll be no time for the public forum in every city & town that was originally suggested.  But, no doubt, that's the Congressman's Plan.

 

Still, two can play the costume game, especially on Halloween.  In the worst case, one of the Interns or Volunteers in Mark's Campaign is going to have an embarrassing day if he or she gets picked to actually wear the Chicken Suit during a mock debate. Stand By for more details.

If you read this Newsletter on Friday, please make plans to join us on Saturday for a fundraiser on behalf of this campaign that will be hosted by Ray and Annette McKay.  Rain or Shine the fun starts at 2:00pm.  The address is 19 Baker's Creek Road, Warwick, RI, 02886.  For a Map with Street directions Click Here

 

 

There are no fixed guidelines on either but in each case the more the better for our success in November.

in RI 2

Just for the record, let's go over Marks' positions, in the order He thinks they should be addressed:

 

The federal government can do so much for the economy by simply living within its own means that it is critical we immediately adopt a bias towards Reducing Government, not Expanding it.  A real Balanced Budget will get the Feds out of the borrowing business and free up substantial cash for Capital Formation in the productive economy.  That will trigger an expansion that, in and of itself, will go far to solve most of our social problems. 

 

This critical feature of our social order is paramount in importance to that of the Economy.  The two are inextricably tied together.  Without high quality education tied to the skill sets needed for the economy of the future our economic expansion will be constricted and our individual earning power will be limited.  What can government do?  First it can lead.  Thought leadership to get people to understand the importance of their educational opportunities might be as important as any new program, if it would get students to be more serious about their schooling.  After that, how about streamlining financing where the federal government is involved?  That would give local scholastic managers a firm dollar number on which to plan.

 

We have an oil-based energy infrastructure in place.  We can't change that overnight so we need to lower oil prices overnight.  That means getting serious about Domestic Production.  Drill Here, Drill Now!  The very act of planning for it will dampen speculative pressures.  That's when the real work starts, though: As Oil Prices come down we need to be even more stubborn about pursuing alternative sources of energy in the time-window we will have created for ourselves.  To do that we need to let the productive economy do its job.  Solar, Wind, Wave, and biomass need to become the products of profitable companies.  Research in the public domain may be the best way for the federal government to assist.  Nuclear Power must be part of the medium term mix.  To do Nuclear safely and profitably we will need an overhaul of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and of the inspection and technical regulations we impose.  Long term the goal has to be a Hydrogen Based Energy Economy.

 

The word 'Illegal' says it all.  We have a legal process in place for admitting new residents and citizens.  Those who use that process are always welcomed with open arms.  Those who do not are criminals.  The present wave of illegal immigration can be slowed by creating a workable, easy to apply for Guest Worker program.  With that in place, real sanctions should be established for those few Scofflaw Businesses that still try to hire and employ undocumented workers.  That would eliminate the Dollar Magnet that attracts those who would risk criminal prosecution just to take a place at the bottom of our economic ladder.  Finally: E-Verify, Right Here, Right Now.

 

In his business travels around the developed world Mark has seen all the popular examples of state supported health care.  None of them work.  Even today with a large number of uninsured citizens the United States has a better level of health care than Canada, UK, or Germany... and that's despite their so-called Universal Healthcare legislation.  Can we make our system better? Sure.  But we should do so by untangling insurance regulations to permit larger risk pools and by Liberating the Economy to provide the resources to buy all that rationalized insurance.

 

Mark would love to have been in a position to debate the wisdom of the Invasion of Iraq before it happened.  He was not, though, and our involvement there is a fact.  We need to get our troops home and we need to get Iraqi pledges to pay our expenses (using their Oil?).  We need to Win our Way Out, though, not Surrender Our Way Out.  When we do we will change the game in the Middle East and we will honor the sacrifice made by our dead while they supported our military objectives.

 

We need to get government hands out of the pockets of its citizens.  We need to grant individuals the authority to make their own decision about things.  Usually that means granting them the use of their own money!  When we do, though, we also need to insist that members of American Society make all those choices Responsibly.  That's the logic behind Mark's embrace of the individual right to firearms.  If you choose to be a gun owner (as Mark has), God Bless You.  Just use your weapons responsibly because you will be held to a high standard.  By the way that goes for Automobiles, too.  The objective is to have a society that is proud to manage its own affairs.  For that to happen, Government has to trust its Citizens.  Mark will.

 

Do you want to hear more?  Please send an E-Mail request to Mark for details on his position on these or any other matters facing America today: Click Here