At the Presidential level, Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, the Republican frontrunners, have been slinging mud at each other with unprecedented vitriol. It progressed to the point where the National Enquirer, a Trump ally, published allegations of multiple extramarital affairs by Mr. Cruz and Mr. Cruz calling Mr. Trump a “sniveling coward” for threats against Mr. Cruz’s wife.
Meanwhile, Patrick Lee, a write-in candidate for US Senate, came to Worth County to talk about much more serious topics – the national deficit and what it would do to our children and grandchildren. Obviously, how any of the five remaining candidates handles the deficit is much more important than who slept with who.
Mr. Lee is traveling around the entire state of Missouri visiting every newspaper in the state with his message of fiscal responsibility. On Thursday, besides meeting with the Express, he met with the papers in Grant City, King City, Mound City, and Bethany. He gave a nine-minute talk about his campaign – at the end of his talk, the deficit had grown by $6.2 million or $700,000 a minute. As of Thursday, the total national debt was around $19,156, 201,400 – that’s $19 trillion.
Mr. Lee started off wanting to run for office, but was put off by the nastiness and backbiting involved, but remained an avid spectator. He found a calling as a professional ventriloquist, traveling all over the region giving talks to people. He also gives talks to schools as well. His favorite character is Thomas Jefferson, whom he bears a resemblance to; his car has a license plate referring to that. But he can also portray Daniel Boone, the well-known pioneer, or William Clark of Lewis & Clark fame.
As he gave his talk, Mr. Lee handcuffed himself to a can – a symbol of the politicians who are constantly kicking the can down the road on the deficit even though it has been growing every year since 2001 exponentially. “If I have to make a spectacle of myself to get my point across, I’m willing to do it,” he said.
Mr. Lee is spending his own money and putting his business on hold as he travels around the state. As soon as he is done visiting statewide newspapers, he plans to visit radio and TV outlets as well.
In addition to his message of death to debt, he advocates less regulations along with more civility and accountability. He challenged people to ask other candidates what they would do to reduce the deficit. “I have a plan that would destroy the national debt,” he said. “What would your candidate do to do that?”
On immigration, he would provide a path to legal residency (not citizenship) for illegal immigrants; guest workers would pay a $1,000 fine for an adult or $250 for a child and have a 200 word English vocabulary; permanent residents would pay a $5,000 fine for an adult, $500 for a child, and learn a 500 word vocabulary. People who chose neither, overstayed their visas, came fraudulently, or have felony convictions would be deported.
Mr. Lee supports campaign finance reform and transparency. All donations over $100 and expenditures over $1,000 would have to be made public in 24 hours. All interest groups would have to make their information public along with which candidates and causes they support.
In reforming government, Mr. Lee would reform all three branches of government. The legislative would be required to introduce bills that have only one subject, have no longer than 5,000 words, no unfunded mandates, and all legislation must be deficit-neutral. For the executive branch, signing statements and executive orders would be prohibited unless specifically authorized by Congress. All regulations would be limited to 250 words. The ability to pass Constitutional Amendments would be switched to the judicial branch; a citizens commission would review all standards for judges and the courts would amend the Constitution if recommended by the commission.
Among other ideas, Mr. Lee would consider a payroll tax increase to put Medicare on a strong foundation, raise the federal motor vehicle fuel tax for five years to fund infrastructure improvements, phase out over 10 years all subsidies and credits which insulate businesses, individuals, and professions from the “real-world” marketplace.
“Democrats reject ideas because Republicans favor them; Republicans reject ideas because Democrats favor them,” wrote Mr. Lee in his FAQ on why he is an independent. As he told the Express, “I can fuss and complain, or I can get out and do something.”
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