The FDA Hurts Businesses

My opponent recently released a letter to the FDA, declaring that their new rules on brewers and ranchers will hurt Oregonian businesses.

He’s absolutely right – but my question is, why has he been funding the FDA with printed money from Washington, and then writing flimsy letters against it?

Wouldn’t the logical solution be to cut off the funding for unConstitutional entities like the FDA and EPA? Why is our Congressman of 16 years so scared to take these Federal behemoths on?

My stance is much different than Congressman Walden’s. I think that the states should be in charge of their own departments, not throttled by Federal bureaucracy. Ranching and brewing are both critical industries to Oregon and we know how to support them, govern them and help them succeed in our neighborhoods and communities.

I’m running for Congress because I think that we have spent too long contenting ourselves with thrashing at the branches of bureaucracy. Establishment Republicans hide behind wimpy letters and empty statements, all the while voting for deficit spending and bigger government, rather than true, Constitutional change.

We all know, in our heart of hearts, that the current state of Federal bureaucracy is wrong. We are taxed on every activity, regulated at every turn and business is discouraged at almost every level (unless, of course, you know someone high-up in politics!). Let’s stop being satisfied with futile rhetoric and empty votes – it’s time to stand up for our freedoms in real, meaningful ways and begin to take our liberties back by dismantling the Federal machine.

I Support Cliven Bundy and Bundy Ranch

A lot of people are asking about my stance on the Bundy Ranch issue in Clark County, Nevada, where the BLM and citizens recently had a stand-off over cattle grazing rights. Many people are pointing out that Cliven Bundy has not paid his fees to the Federal government, and that may be true, although there are several arguments to both sides of the issue. (I’ll put some sources at the bottom of this post).

However, what is not contentious is the atrocious treatment of private citizens by the BLM, the bullying of rural Americans by radical environmentalists and the overwhelming injustice that is Federal monopoly of our public lands.

It seems clear that we’ve reached a point in our history when private citizens and small-business owners are increasingly forced to make public scenes just to survive. Because of the labyrinth of laws, the convoluted nature of crony capitalism and the politically-motivated restrictions on our ways of life, the West in particular is gasping for air and some folks feel, as Mr. Bundy does, that resistance is the only option.

Here in my hometown of Klamath County, we are seeing a very similar chokehold on water rights, livelihoods and ranches that have been passed down for generations. Seeing politically-correct allies control the water and starve out family farms and ranches is heart-breaking and unjust. As Americans and as country folk, we believe we live in the land of opportunity, and we believe in the power of honest hard work. However, those ideals are slipping away. Will we bequeath an indebted, overgrown and overbearing police state to our children, or a land of freedom, opportunity and open sky?

I support the Bundy Ranch, not because they haven’t made mistakes or because their approach has been perfect, but because I think they are a touchstone for a serious debate in American life. I believe the bullying of small-business and rural America by the Federal behemoth has gone on too long. I think we need to demand that our public lands are actually returned to local control, not padlocked by some faraway bureaucracy for a politically-motivated reason. Oregon, let’s learn from the Bundys and start standing up for our own forests and land-rights, or the BLM will come knocking on our door, as well. As we’ve seen, they don’t ask nicely.

Learn More

The Blaze: In His Own Words Here’s Why The Nevada Rancher Refuses to Recognize Federal Authority

The Dana Show: The Real Story of the Bundy Ranch

TeaParty.org: BLM Flip Flops “No Deal” on Dropping Actions Against Bundy

Brenner Brief: Desert Tortoise Admiration Society 

Godfather Politics: Harry Reid, Son’s Solar Power Scheme Linked to Bundy Ranch Standoff

Brenner Brief: Cliven Bundy Stands Up Against BLM and Wins

Tough Questions about Forest Access

I received a note from a supporter that I would like to share.

This was written by someone who has worked tirelessly for public access to the mountains and forests that our tax dollars pay to keep open. The anger and frustration voiced by this man and others is what keeps me motivated to make change for Oregonians. This individual will not be satisfied with empty rhetoric or false promises. For too long we have shrugged aside do-nothing representation and allowed too many excuses about Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi.

It’s time to start dismantling the Federal tyranny over our open places and lifestyles.

Here’s his letter complete with the graphic which he enclosed:

“Greg Walden’s record on keeping your mountains open – 12 National Forests in his district. 10 are closed to cross country travel, thousands of miles of roads closed, thousands of Oregonians locked out. All during Greg’s tenure as our ‘representative’.??

Is he actually doing something to address a problem that’s keeping him employed? Think about it, if he never fixes it, then he keeps getting to run these ads saying – send me back to DC and I’ll get it right this time.??

I for one don’t believe him,and I’d been told in the past the man was a liar and I didn’t want to believe it, but unfortunately, over the last two years I have learned differently.”

I want to bring to your attention a bill put forth in Utah to transfer Federal control of public lands. While many people fear that the state is no better than the Federal government, I think it’s essential that we start by bringing these lands into the most local arena possible for better management and control. This means states, counties and private owners need to have a say in our lands, and we need to start that process.

In Utah’s bill, in lines 99 through 120 or so, it references the “leadership of United States Senator Thomas Hart Benton from Missouri” which is paramount to this discussion. Benton County Oregon was named after this Senator because of his work in helping to settle Oregon.

Back then, he was spot on in his logic and arguments and this is the exact same fight today.

Please take the time to read this bill and the sample one at ALEC, here. We are not alone in our fight for the right to enjoy, use and prosper from our public lands – we must band together and prove that we will not back down on this issue. With your help, I’m convinced that Oregon can shake off the chains of the Federal bureaucracy.

Only then will our kids and grandkids have access to the mountains and forests that we call home.