Looking For An 8th District Candidate Part 2

Wisconsin's 8th Congressional District Republican primary runoff forum with three republican candidates in Appleton sponsored by The Fox Valley Initiative on November 3rd, 2009. The candidates were Reid Ribble, Mark Savard and Andy Williams.

From the Appleton Post Crescent.

"Republican candidates for 8th Congressional District make their early pitches at Appleton forum

By J.E. Espino • Post-Crescent staff writer • November 4, 2009 " Republican candidates for 8th Congressional District make their early pitches at Appleton forum | postcrescent.com | Appleton Post-Crescent

Continued from the article

The Fox Valley Initiative, a nonpartisan coalition that promotes limited government, lower taxes and a free economy, sponsored the event to kick off the campaign season and give its members a chance to meet the candidates.

At least someone can say they are for"limited government, lower taxes and a free economy."

"It's going to be that if something doesn't change soon, we're going to have problems like this country has not seen in a very long time," said Jim Steineke, chairman of the Outagamie County Town of Vandenbroek. Steineke is the Fox Valley Initiative's founder and served as moderator for the forum.

Not sure if he can but can Jim Steineke run against Tom Baby Face Nelson or Penny Bernard Schaber?

Let's dig a little deeper here.

Candidates expressed concern about the ballooning national debt and the stimulus packages and what it may mean for future generations. They agreed businesses that make bad decisions should be allowed to fail.

Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah! People want to hear some red meat here. Tarp, government debt, bad economy, what and how to get out of those problems was brought up. Ribble talked about three problems with government and spending. Said government taxes people, borrows money and prints money they don't have. I don't have any notes from Savard and Williams. I probably didn't hear what they said because nobody talked about a solution. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah! How do we get out of this mess? The tarp money is gone thanks to Kagen, democrats and some RINO's. How do we fix the problem? What specifically do we do to get out of this mess. You can blame Bush and the federal reserve all you want but what will anyone do about it today, tomorrow next year? Tell us solutions.
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Why is it so difficult to say we need to get people back to work! We need to get people jobs. We need tax cuts for businesses, tax cuts for all Americans. We need a income tax holiday for six months to a year! How many more specifics things should we do to get this economy rolling? We need real jobs for real people! People in Kimberly, Niagara, Pulaski, Minocqua, Green Bay Appleton and all over the 8th district are looking for economic help. They aren't looking for unemployment checks, they are looking for their own payroll check for hard work being done. We need to cut back on government spending, stop the government waste, cut back on marginal tax rates (which Williams brought up), take away many government restrictions. Let the private sector bring us back to recovery. Taxes, just one thing someone could of said, when it comes to taxes, IT'S YOUR MONEY, NOT THE PEOPLE IN WASHINGTON!
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I will say again, no one brought up tax cuts. What is that, a dirty word? Reid Ribble is a business man. Mark Savard said he has or had a busuness. Do they not know what it takes for a business to succeed? Does Ribble not have employees working for him now? How is he sucessful if he can't talk about job creation, or will he vote in congress like Steve Kagen for stimulus bills that pay special interests, unions and government employees only? Why are people afraid to bring up specific ideas to fix the economy and create jobs. Someone said the democrats are good at promising jobs, jobs, jobs. They may not create any jobs but the word "jobs" is in every breath they take. Bunch of liars. Is there a disconnect here. From Bill Clinton's campaign, "IT'S THE ECONOMY STUPID! For two hours, three gentleman sat in front and only once was "job" mentioned. Maybe some people don't understand, say it slowly, IT'S...........THE............ ECONOMY..............STUPID! JOBS..........TAX CUTS

"What's happening in Washington — it's not wrong; it's immoral," Ribble said.

Nice sound bite for his campaign.

The candidates for the most part found a receptive audience that wanted answers to tough questions, as Steineke had predicted. "It's not going to be softball questions."

Tough questions? I think they let some libs in the place. "When is it acceptable to risk American lives?" Another was and I will paraphrase about undeclared war by the president. Should all wars be declared by congress? Where in the heck did that guy come from, Lawrence University? Williams said yes, Give Mark Savard credit here, he said, "depending on circumstance, the president needs flexibility". Ribble needed time to think about it and said he can't answer the question. Say what, can't answer the question? What will he do in congress? Kagen says he has to think things.

All acts of war by constitution needs authorization from congress. Section 8 of the constitution. To Mark Savards thought, there will be times when we as a nation cannot wait around to get authorization from congress when it comes to protecting US citizens. Did people forget 911? Did people forget the USS Cole and Engineman Second Class Marc Ian Nieto, from Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin who lost his life for this country. Are all those lives lost in vein? Remember President Reagan and Libya.

The use of force was specifically prompted by what the President claimed was "irrefutable proof" that Libya had directed the terrorist bombing of a West Berlin discotheque nine days earlier which had killed one American and injured 200 others. The impetus for the President’s decision to authorize the raid was the American intelligence interception of a message from Gadaffi ordering an attack on Americans "to cause maximum and indiscriminate casualties." Another communications source, an intercepted Libyan message outlined the attack being planned in West Berlin. " Operation El Dorado Canyon

Do we need another 911 to wake people up again? We are at war today. The enemy is difficult to find but we are at war. When one of the candidates said we should bring the troops home, I almost died. Died for all the troops that lost their lives to protect a few pathetic citizens who clapped and cheered the comment. Probably a couple of moderate republicans. We did not start 911, but we should finish it. We need to give the troops the help, the supplies they need to win this war, We need not tuck our tails between our legs and run home! When Americans or American troops are in harms way , we need to protect them, not discuss it over a beer in the rose garden.

Participants wanted to know how they could be expected to remain true to the voters when so many others in Washington, D.C., they feel, have broken their promises.

If a candidate is true to his or her beliefs and speaks from the heart. If a candidate practices conservative values, holds true to the constitution of the United States they will not break promises to their constituents. Politicians may say something you may not agree with but if they are honest, it is not a promise broken.

Part 3 tomorrow.