"In YOU I Trust"

   Arizona's 6th Congressional District

Common Sense by Thomas Paine (1776)
 

 

1.  We are at war.  My top priority as a U.S. Representative in Congress would be to defend our individual rights at home and support our troops in the field while seeking a favorable resolution to the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

Defending our individual rights implies resisting the expansion of federal police powers.  Supporting our troops implies providing them with the tools to win the war, as well as the battles, against insurgents.  A favorable resolution to the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan implies ending our military occupation in favor of a new security arrangement bolstered by political and economic engagement on a transatlantic level.

We cannot pursue a hit and run strategy in Iraq.  We must complete the mission authorized by the United States Congress and the President of the United States.  I would not turn my back on our military, our mission or the future of freedom in Iraq and Afghanistan.  It is time that our Atlantic allies step up to the plate and help us assist the Iraqi people during their transition to democracy.

2.  We need to reunite the Atlantic community and solidify our political will to defend and extend the blessings of liberty.  Atlantic unity and resolve helped the free world win the Cold War.  The enlargement of NATO bolstered by the expansion of the European Union has advanced freedom's frontier in areas once ruled by totalitarian forces.  The recent events in the Republic of Georgia suggest that the free must stand together, once again. 

3.  We need to restore our faith in society.  The answer to problems inspired by government is not more government.  Our social needs should be guided by market forces rather than bureaucrats.

4.  We need to decentralize power by reducing the size and scope of the federal government.  If we don't prevent usurpations of power today, the federal government will choke the spirit of our posterity tomorrow.  Let us never forget that power kills as well as impoverishes. 

5.  We need more water in Arizona.  As Arizona's population increases, so does the demand for water.  We need to protect our natural lakes, rivers and streams and replenish our aquifers.   

6.  We need to level the economic playing field between the United States, Canada and Mexico.  Regulatory inequality between trading partners leads to socioeconomic inequity.  Socioeconomic inequity often leads to excessive labor migration.  

• Citizens' Convention of the Democracies

A citizens' Convention of the Democracies is needed to reunify the free world.  Representative citizens officially appointed by the nations composing the Community of Democracies should meet in a transparent manner and explore how their people might work together in a political and economic context to address the world's most compelling challenges.  Citizen led diplomatic efforts must be authorized to help prevent emerging hostilities from triggering a third world war. 

Historical reference:  Atlantic Convention of 1962

• Social Enterprise Initiative

The purpose of the Social Enterprise Initiative would be restore the capacity of society to effectively address our socioeconomic challenges in a non-coercive manner.  Social enterprises  should be empowered and encouraged to initially augment, compete with and eventually replace federal programs and services not authorized by the U.S. Constitution.  These enterprises would balance profit and nonprofit aims while enjoying tax-exempt status as well as the ability to accept tax-deductible donations.  Meeting the demand for social services in the next twenty years will require free market solutions.

• Hearings on Enumerated Powers

Congress should hold hearings to clearly define the enumerated powers granted to the federal government through the U.S. Constitution.   They should audit all federal programs and services to determine the source of their authority.  Those not authorized by the U.S. Constitution should be either transferred to the states or to the people in accordance with the 10th Amendment.  Social impact statements must be prepared prior to any form of federal downsizing.

• Desalination / Water Project

We need to advance a regional desalination project to address our water challenges.  There are a few options available, but they would require extensive cooperation between federal, state and local officials as well as private enterprise.   An international approach with Mexico could also be explored.  Importing desalinated water into Arizona could help our farming industry compete in the global marketplace as well as sustain Arizona's population growth.

News Update:  Shaun McKinnon published an article in the The Arizona Republic, "Arizona mulls new water source: Ocean," on August 31, 2008.  Read my press release

• North American Federal Union

I favor exploring the concept of replacing NAFTA with a free commerce area between Canada, the United States and Mexico based on federalist principles.  The goal would be to promote equal and exact economic freedom and justice under law.  Not only would this address our immigration challenges, it would advance freedom's frontier.  Our Founders didn't choose managed trade between the thirteen free and independent states in 1787, they chose freedom bolstered by federal union of the free.

• Significantly Reduce Defense Spending

Defense spending is out of control.  The President's FY2009 budget provides $515.4 billion in discretionary authority for the Department of Defense.  We could easily cut our defense spending in half and still provide an effective deterrent to any would-be aggressor.  Our Founding Fathers believed that large standing armies were a threat to liberty as they increase the audacity and aggressiveness of government. 

 

Freedom Comes First - Peace, Prosperity and Progress Follows

"It is true that democratic freedom is an engine of national and individual wealth and prosperity. Hardly known, however, is that freedom also saves millions of lives from famine, disease, war, collective violence, and democide (genocide and mass murder). That is, the more freedom, the greater the human security and the less the violence. Conversely, the more power governments have, the more human insecurity and violence. In short: to our realization that power impoverishes we must also add that power kills."  Dr. Rudy J Rummel, www.hawaii.edu/powerkills

Respect the 10th

Authorized and Paid for by Rick Biondi for Congress