1.
What distinguishes you from your opponents?
I have ten years of military leadership, and three years
of management experience. I believe in providing more
personal and economic freedom for every individual than
any of my opponents do. I believe that you should be free
to do whatever you may wish, so long as no one else is
harmed. I also believe that you should be able to keep
more of your money, or start up a business without so many
regulations. I am the only candidate talking about the
need to cut spending across the board to deal with our
current budget crisis. I am also the only candidate
talking about the need to phase out the government
monsters
called Social Security and the Income Tax. As a first
step to phasing out Social Security, I believe we should
provide younger workers more options for keeping track of
their own money that they're paying in to this
system. The politicians are afraid to do
this because they prefer to keep the Social Security
budget vague so that they can continue to spend it as they
wish on whatever pork project they have on their
plate. But if you say "this money here belongs to Mrs. X
and only Mrs. X", then the government is forced to be
fiscally responsible, and wouldn't that be a refreshing
change?
2. How long have you been
involved in politics?
This is my first campaign.
3. What is the greatest
challenge of public service?
Finding a reasonable balance in representing the
interests of all my constituents.
4. What is the most important
issue facing the 3rd
District?
Taxes are fundamentally at the heart of our economic
and social challenges in the 3rd District. Taxes are
too high, and families are feeling the effects of that
crushing tax burden when it comes time to pay the
bills and you're living only paycheck to paycheck
because the government is taking so much of what you
make--roughly 50%.
5. What advice would you give
someone thinking of
running for public office?
If you are like me--not particularly charismatic, not
graced with a large bank account, and not a member of
either of the two major parties, you will have a lot of
grassroots campaigning to do. Go door to door and
meet the people. Tell them about yourself and what
you represent. Let them know you personally.
6. What is your favorite
political book?
The Power Game by Hedrick Smith, because it discusses
what is wrong in politics today--unless you are bought
and paid for by special interests, you will have
difficulty raising the cash you need to run an
effective campaign. Cash translates into exposure for
the candidate via radio, billboards, and television.
Without it, you're an also-ran.
7. What was your favorite
political TV program?
A long time ago I would watch William F. Buckley, Jr.,
with a dictionary handy. Then I got turned on to
Crossfire. Nowadays, I enjoy anything on Fox,
especially Bill O'Reilly.
8. How did you become involved
in the (L) Party?
One day I was listening to Neal Boortz, a syndicated
talkshow host. He was interviewing Harry Browne, the
LP's 2000 presidential candidate. That was my first
exposure to the party. I looked it up online, found
out it represented my true beliefs, and wrote them to
see if I could help in some way.
9. Who are your political
mentors? What are some of
your favorite political quotes?
I believe our Founding Fathers and their wisdom in
crafting the Constitution are overlooked today. They
were Libertarians who believed in a very small
government and a very large amount of personal and
economic freedom. That's how our nation started--it
was built on a Libertarian heritage. It's only been
in the 20th century that we really started to move
towards big government and a nation of entitlements.
Some favorite quotes:
The government’s only proper job is to protect
individual rights against violence by force or
fraud…to protect men from foreign invaders…to settle
disputes among men according to objective laws….The
greatness of the Founding Fathers was how well they
understood this issue and how close some of them came
to understanding it perfectly.
--Ayn Rand
Politicians can’t give us anything without depriving
us of something else. Government is not a god. Every
dime they spend must first be taken from someone else.
--Gary Asmus
The democracy will cease to exist when you take away
from those who are willing to work and give to those
who would not.
--Thomas Jefferson
10. Will the U.S. invade Iraq by
December 2002?
Should they invade?
I don't have a crystal ball, but my guess is yes. No,
we should not invade without international support.
We cannot continue to have the world view us as lone
wolfs, arrogant and temperamental in our foreign
policy.
11. What do you think of the
recent Farm Bill Reform
passed by Congress?
It is a boondoggle for special interests, full of
corporate welfare. I say end subsidies and let the
farmers plant whatever they may wish to plant. The
government should not be involved in telling farmers
what they can and cannot do. Farming should be
treated as any other business, with no special
entitlement. Let the American Farmer be successful on
his own merit. My campaign is all about individual
liberty and personal responsibility.
12. If you were in Congress
today, what would be your
first bill to sponsor?
The Fair Tax, written by US Congressman from Georgia
John Linder. It is essentially a National Retail
Sales Tax, to replace the Income Tax. It doesn't tax
food. It is a very good bill, and would go far to
reduce the mind numbing complexity of our tax code.
After all, unless you can afford to have an accountant
do your taxes, you can't take advantage of all of the
breaks offered in the insanely complex tax code.
That's just not right. With the Fair Tax, you control
the amount of taxes you pay based on the amount of
things you buy.
13. Why should the citizens of
the State of KS elect
you on Nov. 5th, 2002?
I have the integrity and the vision to represent my
district. I will work with my colleagues of all
parties to craft responsible, sensible legislation
that works. Besides that, it would be a great wake-up
call for the Democrats and Republicans and a
nationally recognized change from the big money, big
mud-slinging, negative attack ad gridlock of today's
two-party monopoly.
14. What are three legislative
bills in the U.S. House
that you support and why?
HR 12, limiting the liability of Internet Service
Providers based on the criminal actions of their
users, because I believe that individuals, not ISP's,
should be held accountable for their actions. It is
not reasonable to believe that every ISP can prevent
every criminal action that its user may commit.
HR 13, to fully fund Pell Grants, because I believe
that education should be a top priority for our
nation, and I believe in giving high-achieving,
low-income students a chance to make a difference in
our country.
HR 18, to assist in eliminating all forms of
discrimination against women, because discrimination
against any group is flat out wrong. We must provide
equality of opportunity for EVERY individual in our
country.
15. What is your view on the
recent Enron debacle?
Will the new federal law be effective?
Corporate executives and accountants must be held
accountable. We need an honor code for businesses
that are investing public money, much like the honor
code we had at the United States Military Academy at
West Point, from where I graduated. It stated that "A
cadet will not lie, cheat, or steal, nor tolerate
those who do". We could use some stronger ethics in
business. I do not know if the new law will be
effective, but I can only hope that it will make those
who would deceive think twice before commiting a
crime.
16. What type of Health Care reform is needed in the
U.S. today?
Five reforms are needed. First, we must Establish
Medical Savings Accounts that are non-taxable.
Second, we should restructure tax policy to make all
health care expenditures 100% tax deductible.
Third, we must deregulate the health care industry.
Fourth, we should replace the FDA, which is clearly an
unnecessary burden on the American health care system.
There is no evidence that the agency offers Americans
any real protection, but there is massive evidence
that it is causing great harm--driving up health care
costs and depriving millions of Americans of the
medical care they need. The agency should be
abolished and replaced with voluntary certification by
a private-sector organization, similar to the way
Underwriters Laboratories certifies electrical
appliances.
And fifth, we should Privatize Medicare and Medicaid.
The current Medicare and Medicaid systems have clearly
failed. Costs are skyrocketing. Patients are
receiving second rate care. And, providers are being
shortchanged. The time is ripe for drastic reform.
The federal government should begin to restructure the
system to give Medicaid and Medicare recipients more
flexibility to purchase private health insurance.
17. How do you improve education
in KS and around the
U.S.?
We should end all state government authority and
responsibility for education. Fifty years ago, local
communities delivered far better education for
substantially less money per pupil--even after
adjusting for inflation and cost of living. Why?
Local communities are more thrifty and prudent with
spending. They are closer to the problem--and closer
to solutions.
We should end all state government regulation and
oversight and control of Education. Kansas state
government central regulation and oversight and
control means...state government central planning.
Government central planning devastated the Soviet
economy--and it's devastating education in Kansas.
We must end all state-mandated standardized testing,
certification requirements, and all other state
government central planning of education.
We must return responsibility and control of education
in Kansas to parents, teachers, and local communities.
Local community education is small and simple and
accountable. When education is returned to parents
and teachers and local communities we will have a
mosaic of educational diversity, educational
alternatives, and community choices in cities and
towns all across Kansas.
We must end all Kansas state and local government
authority, control, regulation, and oversight of
private schooling, cooperative schooling, and home
schooling. I trust parents, not politicians. I trust
families, not bureaucrats.
18. How do we stimulate the U.S.
economy?
To improve current economic conditions we must repeal
the income tax and replace it with a national retail
sales tax that does not tax food. This way you can
control the amount of taxes that you pay. In the
current system, if you cannot afford to pay for an
accountant to sort through our convoluted tax system,
you cannot take advantage of all of the tax breaks
that are available.
To battle rising unemployment we must come to the aid
of our small business owners, who are tied up with red
tape and sinking in paperwork. We must reduce
regulations to make it more realistic for them to
comply and to be able to afford to employ more people.
Doug
Martin
Interview:
Doug Martin (L) for
U.S. House for 3rd District of Kansas