One thing that sets Dave apart from other candidates (and from Chet Edwards, too) is that he's spent 30 years thinking about and working on the issues that matter to our future. When he says "Well, here's what I think about that...", Dave isn't about to shoot from the hip or parrot the party line - he's about to tell you the conclusions he's reached during three decades of serious study, late nights, and hard work in the real world. With that in mind, here's Dave On the Issues...
ON MY MESSAGE
Why does someone run for Congress, anyway? Many people run because the idea of being in Congress appeals to their ego, a few perhaps from a sense of entitlement, still others because of some single issue which they imagine they could fix from a desk in the House of Representatives. Not Dave. He is running because he has a clear understanding of the problems with the country he loves, a clear identification of what caused those problems, and a clear vision of how to fix them. That's his message. Or you can listen to a shorter message explaining why Dave is running.
ON ABORTION
Courts and politicians have tried to make this issue seem far more nuanced and difficult than it really is in order to justify their immoral positions. You either believe that it is OK to dismember an unborn baby, or you believe that it is not. Dave believes that it is not.
ON BUSINESS AND GOVERNMENT LEADERSHIP
Robert McNamara, Ross Perot, Mitt Romney, and many others over the years have told us that experienced business leaders are the only people who can put government right. Of course, Enron, AIG, and GM were all run by experienced business leaders, so we can see that there is nothing magical about business as an incubator for great leaders. Great leaders develop when the right person learns the right lessons from the right life experiences, and great government leadership demands lessons and life experiences that go beyond simple profit / loss calculations. Take a look at Dave's thoughts on the kind of leadership that our government needs.
ON THE CHRISTMAS DAY TERRORIST ATTACK
One of Dave's unique strengths is analysing both the tactics and strategy of terrorist attacks, and then designing creative, effective, and Constitutional responses. It's no wonder, therefore, that lots of folks (both around our district and in Washington) have been asking Dave what he thinks about the unsuccessful terrorist attack on Christmas.
ON CLIMATE CHANGE
Nobody would argue that we need dirtier air or more chemicals in the water we drink, but neither ought anyone to argue that the debate about anthropogenic global warming is anything besides political theater. The problems and solutions proposed by the hysterical left are by now so well-worn (anyone remember global cooling? silent spring? over-population?) that it is easy to see global warming as simply another ploy to snatch both power and money. Dave believes that we should carefully and objectively study the long-term climate patterns in our planet's history and always seek to limit our impact on our environment - but that any legal or policy changes which result must be in accordance with the Constitution and with the economic and social principles that made this country great.
ON THE COMMUNITY REINVESTMENT ACT
Ever hear it said that the road to hell is paved with good intentions? Well take some good intentions, add some willful Congressional blindness, and then heat over a fire of high risks and high profits... you don't just get a road to hell, you get the CRA. Read why Dave would support it's repeal and what he'd do differently.
ON DEBT, TAXES, AND EXPECTATIONS
Debt and Deficit go hand in hand... deficit is the money we borrow this year, and debt is the accumulation of all those annual deficits over time. How have we piled up so much debt? Because year after year, Congress spends more money than it takes from you in taxes. Some of the money it spends is neccessary (roads, defense, etc) but piles and piles of that money is at best optional, at worst simple pork useful only for buying votes. As debt piles up, we're going to have to ask our government to buy less stuff - starting with the pork, but including lots of optional items and maybe even cutting into the necessities. This paper talks about our nation's debt problem, how we got into it, and how to get out.
ON DEFICIT SPENDING
People worry about terrorist attacks, car crashes, illness... all sorts of things that might happen. The crushing deficit is a thing that has happened. And it isn't going to go away until the government has defaulted on it (and collapsed), paid it (by taxing every penny you've ever saved), or cheated lenders out of their money by printing dollars by the trillion (wiping out the value of your dollars, too, by the way). If none of those options sound good to you, then you need to be thinking about the real and devastating consequences of our government's lunatic program of deficit spending, and how to end it. You can read what Dave thinks, or listen to it
ON THE FT. HOOD SHOOTINGS
Terrorism or simple crime? But what if someone made fun of his religion once, or twice, maybe... 5 years ago? And why are military leaders more worried about "diversity" than about the fact that they let this guy slip through for years? Dave has something to say about that.
ON HEALTH CARE
Why are we talking about health care without talking about how good it really is in America? Could our health care system stand some improvement? Of course. But the real areas where it needs improvement are costs and fraud. The "reform" bills currently being discussed add millions of new health care demanders and not one new health care supplier - a situation which can only increase the cost. And when did pouring tax money (your money) into any system ever reduce the incentive for fraud? You can read Dave's thoughts on the health care debate, or listen to them.
ON HIGHER EDUCATION AND JOBS
When Dave was hired to direct the Integrative Center for Homeland Security and teach at Texas A&M University, he came from a job in private industry, and from a military career before that. This unusual background gives him an insider's understanding of how the American university system works, but an outsider's ability (and willingness) to critique and reform it. America has a wondeful education system - the envy of the world - but one that is in serious danger of becoming obselete (or worse, being nationalized) if universities can't recognize the new skill sets demanded by a new economy and find ways to equip students with them. Dave has a short radio ad about this topic, as well as a very good paper on what is changing in our economy and how universities must change to remain useful.
ON HOMELAND SECURITY
As one of the nation's real experts on Homeland Security, Dave understands better than most just how broad and complex the field is. He also understands how much work America needs to do to really secure the homeland, and why Federal agencies seem often to miss the mark. There is a huge body of Dave's work on Homeland Security already available on the web, but here is a short paper and accompanying audio file to introduce you to the breadth of this topic and explain two reasons why it can be such a tough nut to crack.
ON IMMIGRATION AND BORDER SECURITY
The immigration problem is easy, and it isn't. The easy part is that illegal immigration is illegal - end of story. It is a crime, it ought to be treated as a crime, and "anchor babies" ought not to be allowed to benefit from the crime their parents committed. The hard parts are that you can't just close the border, you can't address the issue without enforcement against Americans who hire illegal labor, and you can't pretend that a wall will stop people from fleeing the terrible conditions created by a terrible government in their home country. And it is important to remember that illegal immigrants are people and we have an obligation to treat them as such. Illegal immigration is a difficult and emotionally charged issue - you need to read Dave's position on it rather than just this summary.
ON THE PRESIDENT'S VIEW OF TERRORISM
The President, and many members of Congress as well, are not properly prepared to address national security issues. Part of the reason for this is their unfamiliarity with intelligence, strategy, or military tactics. But there's a deeper problem: they simply aren't prepared to think about the threats in the right way. This fact was made obvious in many statements about the Ft. Hood shooter, and is on display again in the President's handling of the Christmas Bomber. A leader who can't understand the enemy can't beat the enemy, period. Dave understands the threat, and he understands exactly why our current leadership is failing to understand that threat. He's the right person to help get our government back on a path to winning the continuing war on terrorism.
ON THE RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS
This issue paper is pretty short because the issue isn't complicated. Dave is a constitutionalist, the constitution is clear about the people's right to keep and bear arms, and that's that. Besides that intellectual commitment to the 2nd Amendment, Dave has made personal commitments by teaching his sons to shoot and obtaining and using his Texas concealed carry permit.
ON WINNING IN WAR AND TERRORISM
If America were attacked by a foreign army or occupied by foreign soliders, what would make you stop fighting them? What do you think made Iraqis stop fighting each other? Was it the same thing that made them stop fighting us? We're about to commit more soliders to Afghanistan... have you heard any public figure talk about our plan to make Afghans stop fighting us? The Cold War forced American military thinkers to focus on how to prevent wars, but oddly, almost no one asks the question: "How do we end a war once it has started?" Except Dave.
Don't see Dave's take on an issue that matters to you? Well then Ask Dave what he thinks about it!
