Talk:Fred Dailey

SW: Positions - unsourced and first-person
===The Bailout=== The federal bailout package was another government boondoggle! In addition to the $700 billion price tag, it also included another $600 billion to increase our debt ceiling. Taxpayers shouldn’t have to bailout Wall Street for their greed and excesses. This whole credit mess started with Fannie Mae, which has been the personal playpen of Democratic Congressmen such as Barney Frank, Chris Dodd and Barak Obama. President Bush warned us in 2001 of their looming problem and even removed his appointees from their board after he was unsuccessful in getting legislation passed that would strengthen oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. I would have changed the “mark to market” accounting rule that artificially devalues assets such as mortgage-backed securities (using a 24 month rolling average) and provided emergency loans to those companies willing to limit CEO compensation packages. Some investment banks would not survive. Part of our free enterprise system includes the freedom to fail.

===Immigration=== The U.S. will do a national census in 2010 which will determine the number of Congressional representatives for each state. For this purpose, illegal immigrants are counted and Ohio will lose one or two Congressional seats, while these states with high populations of illegals will gain seats. The bottom line: Ohio is losing Congressional power due to illegal immigration! We need border security, but that won’t stop the problem since almost half of all illegals come here legally (student and tourist visas) and then overstay their visas. We need employer sanctions, a foolproof ID system and a viable guest worker program.

===War on Terror=== When I was a young paratrooper in Vietnam, my Congressman visited the troops near a village called Dakto. He wanted to learn more about our needs, the war strategy, and the political situation in Vietnam. My first trip as a Congressman will be to Iraq, Afghanistan, or anywhere else that our troops are in harm’s way, and I will be better informed to vote on these issues as a result. As a combat veteran, I agree with John McCain’s surge strategy. But we need to make political progress as well. If we fail, Iraq will align itself with Iran, which is about to obtain nuclear weapons.

===Energy=== I want to be known as “Mr. Coal” in Congress. I want to utilize the resources that we have in southeastern Ohio to create good jobs and help lessen our dangerous dependence on foreign oil. I support drilling on the outer continental shelf as well as Alaska. I support nuclear power plants and believe we should build more refineries. I support alternative fuels such as solar, wind and biofuels. I also support conservation efforts. In Ohio, 87% of our electricity comes from coal-fired power plants. I say, “Mine, Baby, Mine.”