I believe that Wyoming is at a crossroads. To the left, we have more of the same…..liberals who register as Republicans because that is the only way to get elected, yet once elected they vote with the left and in direct opposition to what their constituents who elected them would have them do...To the Right, we have a path towards prosperity and freedom. To the Right is smaller government, less taxes and resistance to government encroachment into our lives. To the Right is unwavering support for unborn children. To the Right is freedom of choice in terms of medical and educational decisions without the government forcing “one size fits all” mandates upon us. To the Right is resistance to Washington, DC, and liberal politicians and bureaucrats forcing their agendas and wishes upon us. To the Right is unleashing the power of free enterprise and development and utilization of our God- given natural resources to benefit our state and our citizens.
KEY CAMPAIGN ISSUES
TAXES
Limited taxes are a necessary function of government and are required to provide the essential services that government can and should provide. However, taxes also lessen the freedom and choices of the people who provide them. People deserve to keep and enjoy the fruits of their labors to the greatest extent they can, and taxes diminish that ability. For me, property taxes are especially abhorrent. Our forefathers came to this country and established it on a few basic principles and precepts. One of those is the almost sacred right to hold and enjoy property. The reason this was held in such esteem by the founders was due to the fact that they came from a country (England) wherein the King owned all the property and citizens were only allowed to use “the King’s property” and were never allowed to own it. Given this, I have always failed to understand how and why we allowed ourselves to fund a large portion of our government through taxation of our property to the point that even though a person may work hard, obtain credit, borrow money and purchase a home, they never truly own it. “The King” (in this case, state and county government) will always tax it, even once the owner pays off any loan against it. It is further reprehensible that “the King” will come at the point of a gun and take that property away from the owner if that “tribute” (ie taxes) is not paid! It is my position that we should be doing anything and everything in our power to move our tax system away from the taxing of property and towards taxation that is fair, equitable and justified (and of course, limited). A comment on governmental “savings” … We hear all the time from liberal politicians who like to proclaim to us how they have “saved” our tax money. To me, that is insulting and outrageous. What these politicians are really telling you is that they took your money (in the form of taxes) that could have gone into your saving account and put it into the government’s saving account. And make no mistake: they did this at the point of a gun. If you don’t believe that taxes are collected through the full force and effect of governmental confiscation, ask a liberal politician if he supports making the paying of taxes voluntary. The state of Wyoming must live within its means- stop spending money it does not have and stop taking money from its citizens frivolously. It must only fund services and programs that are needed, necessary and limited. I pledge to work towards that end. Always.
LIFE
I believe all human life is precious and created by God WITH a specific purpose FOR a specific purpose. Life begins at conception and does not end until God’s predetermined time is reached, and certainly should never end as a matter of convenience. It is my deeply held belief that abortion, other than to save the life of the mother, is murder. Social convenience or "birth control" reasons account for approximately 93% of all abortions. Abortion in our country has killed nearly 65 million babies since 1973, 55 times the number of all Americans killed in every war since the Revolutionary War! I believe one of the limited responsibilities and roles of government is to protect innocent life. I will work tirelessly, ceaselessly, and unapologetically to end “abortion on demand” and protect those lives.
FAITH
I have a deep and abiding faith in God and His son, Jesus Christ. However, I am an imperfect and fallen human being. I struggle every day to live my life as He wills me to, but I also strive to do better every day. I have faced many trials and disappointments in my life, but through it all, God has seen me through and never left me or let me down. I will strive to represent the people of SD 28 as God would want me to, with respect, humility and honesty. I may not cast every vote as every one of you would have me vote, but I commit to always working to keep the tenets and principles that have been outlined and commanded to me in His living word, the Bible, at the forefront of all I do. It is my belief that many of the problems and struggles we face as a state and as a nation are because we have moved so far away from God, and that if we but look to Him, we can bring ourselves back to where we need to be.
GUNS
The 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution clearly states, “The right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed”. This is the only place in the entire Constitution where the founders clearly stated that an underlying principle is important enough to emphatically declare that nothing shall be done to infringe on it! Adopted 114 years later than the U.S. Constitution, Article 1, Section 24 of our Wyoming Constitution states, “The right of citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and of the state shall not be denied.” Pretty clear and unambiguous terms! The 2nd Amendment and Article1, Sec 24 of our state Constitution have NOTHING to do with preserving the right of the people to hunt. This is a FALLACY! The intent of these powerful statements goes to one of the most important tenets of the entire Constitution, and that is the preservation of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. Our founding fathers came from countries where the authorities knew that, in order to completely control people and force them to comply, they had to be disarmed first. That is also why those on the Left in our society work tirelessly to undermine this right. If elected, I will always work to preserve and protect this right and commit to the people of District 28 to do so unabashedly and unapologetically.
FAMILY/PARENTAL RIGHTS
I believe the protection of parental rights and preservation of the family is foundational to the future of this nation. I promise to always stand for the rights of parents to make the best decisions for their children and to stand against any efforts to undermine families and parents from making the decisions they deem best and appropriate for themselves and their children. The letter in 2021 from the National School Boards Association to the Biden Department of Justice, and the response of Attorney General Garland, are frightening to me and exemplify the attack from the Left that is being mounted against parents and families in our country. The letter, demanding that the DOJ classify parents as “domestic terrorists” who were fighting to protect their rights to choose whether or not to force their children to be masked in school, demonstrates the lengths that the Left is willing to go to destroy our families and the rights of parents. Sending armed police officers, such as what happened in Texas, to arrest parents simply for speaking out against the Biden Covid mandates that some school districts embraced, is UNACCEPTABLE! I believe the breakdown of the family has led to many of the problems we are seeing in our society today. I believe the protection of parental rights and preservation of the family is foundational to the future of this nation. Restricting or diminishing the rights of parents by government is just a further breakdown of our families and is WRONG!!
