Voters typically vote for a candidate for one of two reasons (or both); they favor the candidate personally, or they favor the positions the candidate takes on issues affecting them.  In today's global world, there are countless issues that matter to all of us and they can all be prioritized differently by each of us.  Importantly, the key issues that affect us in the Ohio 13th Congressional District are all interconnected.  There will always be voters who cast their vote for a candidate based on one single issue.  While Dave respects this type of voter, he does not  believe that key issues can easily be prioritized, instead, they need to be considered mutually.  The following are key issues (in no particular order) that Dave believes are interdependent upon one another.


The United States of America has one of the highest corporate tax rates in the industrialized world.  Congressional Democrats on the far left in their party blame our U.S. companies, who employ most of us, that they are outsourcing and moving overseas because of corporate greed and their ability to increase profits.  Additionally, our federal income tax system has become simply unfair and too confusing to the everyday citizen of the Ohio 13th Congressional District.
   
It has been the legislation of unfair and failed policies that have driven businesses and jobs to leave the United States.  Tax policy has been the primary culprit of relocating the reinsurance business overseas.  The litigation system has become the biggest risk to any company desiring to compete on American soil.  This system is why financial sector jobs have found their way to places like London, England.  Regulatory and tax burdens have prevented new gasoline refineries from being built in America for over 30 years.  Think about all of the job creation (both skilled and unskilled) that would occur in this country if the much needed new refineries and nuclear power plants could be constructed.  Again, this proves that all of the issues that we face in the Ohio 13th Congressional District are inter-connected. 

Our current economy has begun to slow down, yet we still see a stock market that has risen well above the level that it was eight years ago.  The American economy has recovered tremendously from that dark day of 9/11.  It has endured and even grown while funding a war to fight terrorism, one that we must win.  The Bush tax cuts have fueled this economic recovery and have avoided this country from falling into a deep recession.  Our current Congress must act in order to support the further growth of our economy which will result in job opportunities for the American worker.  The ways to accomplish this are the following, which Dave supports:

• Make the Bush tax cuts permanent 
• Create substantial tax breaks for corporations who are headquartered in the U.S. 
• Abolish the Capital Gains Tax 
• Implement the Free Choice Flat Tax 
• Eliminate the Death Tax 
• Continue refining policy over the next ten years that will result in a single income tax rate (17%) 
• Reduce the Federal Tax on gasoline to consumers
  

The events of 9/11 changed the way we Americans will live in this country forever.  Just as concerning is the way leaders in our government, from both parties, have responded to that terrible day over the past 6 years.  Simultaneously, there has been a small minority of Americans, including some past and present elected officials from our government, who have chosen to place the blame of 9/11 squarely on the shoulders of the American people, because of the freedom in which we live our lives.  Their voices have a right to be heard, but in many cases, the irresponsible press has empowered them to create these false accusations to the American people in such a way that it has only served to divide us as fellow Americans.  Americans need to have a national discussion about the true nature of our enemies, the seriousness of their intentions, their level of capabilities to induce havoc to our people, and what we need to do in order to defeat them.  This discussion begins with defining who they are and calling them what they truly are.  They are Radical Islamic terrorists, whose primary purpose in life is to kill Americans and instill constant fear in all of us.  We need to realize that these terrorists will stop at nothing to obtain access to weapons of mass destruction.  Our national defense strategies must include de-emphasizing (but still supporting) our military initiatives, and increasing our time and financial investment spent on ensuring that our intellectual, political, diplomatic and economic strategies are strong in substance.

We are winning the war in Iraq.  If we were not, we would be hearing about it daily in the press!!  We are blessed to have the fine men and women who have volunteered their services to allow us to maintain the freedoms we cherish.  The war in Iraq is a large component in a bigger war.  We have learned that the strategies and tactics that have been employed to be successful are best when they are directed by our military commanders, and not by our elected officials in D.C.  There are a number of actions that will need continued consideration in this war.  Here are some of the ones Dave supports:

• Continue to fight terrorism away from our land and shores 
• Continue to hunt down Osama bin Laden and the members of the al-Qaeda network 
• Win the war in Iraq as defined by our military commanders in the field 
• Maintain the current provisions of the Patriot Act, yet keep flexible the ability to revise it as world events unfold   
• Utilize computer warfare to shut down terrorist websites at home and abroad 
• Increase funding to U.S. intelligence agencies enabling them to be more effective and remain steps ahead of terrorist plots and activities 

Our current immigration challenges have been caused by the history of success in our economy, which is the world’s greatest.  America continues to be the country that offers the greatest opportunities and rewards for people who are motivated and dedicated to the principle that hard work delivers prosperity.  This is why America has and will continue to attract people from all over the world to its land.  Our Country’s illegal immigration problem did not just happen over night.  This problem has been ongoing for the last 30 years.  Our “do nothing” Congress in those years has continued to have elitists from both sides of the aisle fail to deliver solid improvements on an issue that is not going to go away.  An example of their failings is the Simpson-Mazzoli Immigration Bill that was passed in 1986, that promised:

• Government would make a legitimate effort to control the borders 
• A real employer verification program would ensue that only legal workers could receive employment 
• One-time amnesty would be granted for people living illegally in the United States
  

This bill that was passed by a Democrat controlled Congress and signed into law by President Ronald Reagan.  Absurdly, it was never enforced.  It is time to enforce the laws that where already passed, while adding stricter controls to finally begin fixing this problem.  In order to do this, Dave supports passing the following legislation, which the vast majority of the citizens living in Ohio’s 13th Congressional District support:

• Enforce the Simpson-Mazzoli Immigration Bill of 1986, that was passed by a Democrat controlled Congress and signed by Ronald Reagan (true bi-partisanship) 
• Secure our borders to prevent further illegal immigrants from entering our country 
• Establish English as the official language of the government 
• New legal immigrants should be required to learn English. 
• Force employers to comply with current immigration laws and enforce penalties on those who knowingly hire illegal workers 
• Finally, Dave is opposed to any form of new amnesty programs that would constitute unfairness to those hard working, law abiding immigrants who are already waiting their opportunity to enter this great land.

    Dave believes that the many healthcare issues facing our nation today have been seized by members of Congress, on both sides of the aisle. They have used these issues to prey on the emotions of all of our citizens in order to achieve and maintain their power in the government they have been elected to serve. Dave has worked for nearly twenty years as a medical device sales representative. A good part of his work deals with educating physicians, medical support staff, and patients about new, innovative devices that will improve the quality of life for all Americans. The two biggest myths, expressed by politicians like Hillary Clinton, Barak Obama, and our current 13th District Representative, all of whom HAVE NO experience WORKING in healthcare, are the following:


Both statements spoken and/or written are a “slap in the face” to the many doctors, nurses, technologists, and medical researchers, who work tirelessly and under great pressure to deliver quality healthcare to their fellow Americans. They are the “Good Samaritans” of our time and deserve greater respect. Dave would like to respond to both of these myths.

    Response to Myth #1 – Our healthcare system, as defined by the term “quality” is the greatest in the world. The proof of this is so basic when one simply looks at the average American’s life expectancy over the past 108 years. In 1900, only 50% of children born were fortunate to live to be 50 years old. The average life expectancy for an American in 1930 was 60, which by 2004 had increased to 78. By 2010, it may well exceed 80. With due respect, how can anyone say that our healthcare system is broken?!! Certainly credit for this increase has come from advances in the way our society has improved our sanitation and nutrition systems, but a great deal has come from our increased medical knowledge and innovative inventions. Importantly, most, if not all, of these advances have come from the private sector.

    Response to Myth #2 – It is pretty easy to understand why politicians like Hillary Clinton blame the private sector for our health care crisis. Perhaps it’s because she does not like to look in the mirror and acknowledge our current government’s failing in the healthcare areas for which it, and she, is currently responsible. In 2006, Congress spent $647 billion of OUR tax dollars on healthcare. This is over 100 million tax dollars more than was spent on our national security. This gap between the two is only going to increase by 2010. Documented Medicaid fraud approaching $10 billion, uncovered in South Florida, and New York City are evidence enough that a government run, universal healthcare system will bankrupt our government and leave us taxpayers paying more than we do now. The last thing that our country can afford to do is to entrust the government with managing with any further expansion of healthcare spending. If our government cannot manage Medicare and Medicaid efficiently, how can anyone trust them with the implementation of a universal healthcare system?


    Unfortunately, the far-left liberals in our country have recently used the voices of the Clintons and the Obamas to create a belief in many Americans that every single possible healthcare need, desired by every single American, should be a guaranteed right to be paid for by others, if the person needing or wanting it cannot afford it. The far-left liberals believe that government should mandate all employers to provide every imaginable healthcare treatment option to every employee. In the true private sector, this was once called a benefit. Dave believes that government mandates requiring private sector businesses to provide health insurance to all of its employees will only serve to create higher unemployment and higher healthcare costs for all. The far-left liberals believe that government should be able to take profits from companies that invest millions of their own dollars into researching drugs and devices that will improve and extend the quality of life (and in many instances failing and losing their investment), and distribute it to whoever they think may need it. The far-left liberals believe that government should be able to force insurance companies to extend extra benefits, not included in their plan, to individuals who purchase the policy on their own free will. Those far left liberals believe all of this, while opposing the idea of government mandating personal responsibility, such as abstinence from smoking, drug use, and eating habits that cause obesity, to the recipients of these entitlements. Finally, the far-left liberals believe government should mandate all of this, while preserving the right of those recipients, and their plaintiff attorneys, to sue the very good people they mandated to provide care. This throws the whole healthcare industry (medical companies, hospitals, doctors, insurance companies, etc.) into economic peril.

    Dave believes the way to make healthcare more available and affordable to all Americans is to prevent government from passing further legislation that imposes needless regulations on medical companies that will only serve to drive up prices. He believes in allowing the free market along with the personal responsibility of the American patient to create a climate of competition within healthcare that will assist in reducing costs and premiums. He is for the continued expansion of electronic records which will significantly reduce the cost of paper in medicine. By the way, listening to Hillary Clinton take credit for the idea of electronic medical records is like listening to Al Gore take credit for inventing the internet!!! Finally, Dave believes in serious tort (litigation) reform that will reduce the way our skilled and caring physicians and hospitals are forced to practice defensive medicine. Dave welcomes the opportunity to debate this issue above all others with our current representative and he looks forward to speaking one on one with citizens of the 13th District in order to address this major issue.  

Energy / Environment