JUNE 12, 2008
(503) 307-3851
Answers
Candidacy Questions
Damascus,
OR – Last weekend, DAVE BROWNLOW, Vice Chairman of the Constitution Party
of Oregon, was nominated as the CPO candidate for the U.S. Senate. Below are BROWNLOW’S answers to
frequently asked questions regarding his campaign:
Why Dave
Brownlow, and why now?
“I have
been promoting the ideals of life, liberty and limited government for nearly 30
years. And, I believe that
Oregonians are facing a full-blown electoral crisis this November. Since both parties have wholeheartedly
embraced the era of big government, it is no longer possible to use the
traditional political labels to determine the governing philosophies of those
seeking office. In the Oregon
Senate race it gets even worse - Oregonians will be forced to choose between two
‘Democrats’, Gordon Smith and Jeff Merkley. We deserve
better.”
But,
hasn’t Senator Smith represented conservative values? “Many
would like to pretend that Gordon Smith is a conservative, but even a cursory
look at his voting record refutes that notion. For the last 12 years, Smith has
advocated for, and has voted to approve, a massive increase in federal spending
and control – nearly doubling the annual federal budget. His 2002 vote to invade Iraq, a third
world country that posed no threat to us, and his subsequent votes to further
fund that nation building (nation-wrecking) calamity to the tune of a trillion
dollars, has invalidated his right to represent the people of
Oregon.”
Should
your lack of experience be of concern to Oregonians? “There
is a very handy instruction manual that comes with the job of Senator. It is called the U.S. Constitution –
Article 1, Section 8, in particular.
The roles, duties and legislative authority of the Congress are defined
in very concise and unambiguous terms.
My commitment is to refer to that before every vote I cast, and only vote
to approve legislation that falls under those authorized powers.”
But
really, what experience do you have to be a Senator? “I am not sure what kind of ‘experience’
is required to be tricked into believing the avalanche of phony WMD evidence
that fooled the Senator into going to war, but I fortunately seem to lack
it. I came out against the invasion
of Iraq before the war started, and have spoken out against it ever since – on
Constitutional, as well as moral grounds.
What is
wrong with the direction our country is headed? “Our country was founded on the
principals of life, liberty, limited government, and a policy of
non-intervention with our world neighbors.
We abandoned those principals and have traveled down the road to big
government. Unfortunately, that
road has brought us to the edge of a cliff, with our country already half way
over the edge. Our annual budget
has soared to over $3 trillion, with over $50 trillion in total outstanding debt
and unfunded liabilities. The
federal government meddles in nearly every area of our lives here at home, while
we are building a trillion dollar a year empire, with 500,000 U.S. troops
stationed in 130 of the world’s 192 countries. This unsustainable, obviously, and we
need to make a radical change in course if we are to remain a viable
Republic.
What
kind of campaign do you intend to run?
“Gordon
Smith has amassed an obscene amount of money in his campaign war chest, so we
are definitely not going to outspend him.
However, our issues are of great importance to many thousands of
Oregonians, and are confident we will raise enough to put forth a credible
campaign. We will be leveraging the
Internet, our volunteers, the free media, and will bring our case directly to
the voters during the debates.
Aren’t
you just a spoiler candidate?
“Gordon
Smith and Jeff Merkley agree on almost every issue, so a coin toss may be a
better way to choose between them.
There are important issues that will never be discussed if this
race is left to them; the truth about sound money, the proper role of the
federal government, or the importance of protecting our individual
liberties. Left to those two, there
would be no one promoting a foreign policy of non-intervention – not just in
Iraq, but Afghanistan, Korea, Japan, Italy, Djibouti
(Africa). We have American troops
languishing in 700 foreign military spread out in the far corners of the
earth. Will either of them be
demanding some sanity in our foreign policy? Not very likely. Oregonians deserve a choice in this
election.”
What are
your chances of winning? “Gordon Smith will probably siphon off
some of my conservative votes, but I am confident that once his budget busting
record is exposed, and his tragic vote to authorized the war in Iraq is further
explored, my chances of winning are better than many may
think.”
-#-
DAVE BROWNLOW FOR U.S. SENATE
P.O. Box 2965
Clackamas,
OR 97015
(503)
307-3851