My Endorsement

In November of 2018 Missouri voters will go to the polls to elect a US Senator.  Claire McCaskill will be running for re-election on the Democrat side.  Republicans will have a primary contest to decide who will be her opponent.  Claire’s record is one of voting in lockstep with Democrat leadership.

Republicans agree that Claire McCaskill must go.  Missouri is a Red state, and McCaskill won only because of some missteps by Todd Akin.  The Republicans will decide who is best to beat Claire and represent Missouri in the US Senate.  Sometimes Republicans focus on the former, while neglecting the latter.  In the last election Claire rather artfully influenced Republican voters by making them think Todd Akin was the candidate she feared most.

The Republican Party appears to be fracturing.  We are all aware of the divides between the establishment and the alt right, between Bannon and McConnell, Bush and Trump, Lindsey Graham and Rand Paul. These factions are mobilizing to battle one another in the primaries next year.  The Republican Party finds itself deeply divided.

It is more than just the Republican Party. The entire country has reached a crisis of faith in government.  We want them to address the problems with health care and taxes and criminal justice and our massive federal debt, but they don’t seem capable of doing any of those things.  The voters are frustrated and looking for who to blame.

I suggest voters may want to look in a mirror.  We are so focused on how to score a win for our team that we are ignoring principles and values when choosing our leaders.  I would suggest that we focus on our principles.

Regular readers will know what principles I hold dear.  I believe the purpose of government is to “secure these rights” for citizens, those rights being Life, Liberty, and Property.  I want a US Senator who understands that.  My biggest concerns philosophically are Limited Government, Fiscal Responsibility, and Individual Liberty.  I want my government to protect me from foreign threats, but I don’t want it to meddle in the affairs of other countries, trying to make the world in our image.

I want a US Senator who shares my principles.  I intend to vote for the candidate that will do the best job of representing my principles in the US Senate. 

There are a number of good people who have looked at throwing their hat in the ring in this race.  I have taken a good look at all of them.  One of those was Paul Curtman, who I have known for some time.  Paul shares my love of Liberty and Limited Government and Fiscal Responsibility.  After careful consideration Paul has decided not to run, and so that is not one of my choices.

I have repeatedly tried to get answers on the positions of these candidates on current issues facing our nation.  Some have done a good job of responding and letting me know their positions.  Others have offered NO indication of how they feel about ANY current issues.  This is a problem for me.

There is one candidate who aligns with each of my core principles for government.  There is a candidate who shares my love for Liberty and reducing the size of government and living within our means and not getting involved in endless foreign military conflicts not authorized by Congress.

Austin Petersen shares my core principles and does a good job of articulating them.  He is not afraid to tell people his positions on issues and how he arrives at those positions through his core principles.  I think he would make a great US Senator and I am proud to endorse him for that office.

We all know that the status quo is not working.  We all know Washington is broken.  We all know the definition of insanity is continuing to do the same things and expecting a different result.  We will not change our country’s direction by electing Mitch McConnell’s pick, or a clone of the people we have already sent to Washington.

We need a different approach.  I suggest we vote based on our core principles.  Austin Petersen aligns with mine, and I am therefore supporting him in the Republican primary.  If you are a big spender and you aren’t concerned about debt, or if you want us involved in nation-building, or if you want guns banned or government to run your health care then you may want a different candidate; someone like Claire.  But if you want smaller government, less debt, and more freedom, I would encourage you to check out Austin Petersen.

In fact, if you would like to ask Austin a question let me know and you can ask him yourself.  He will call you and you can talk to him.  The establishment pick, the one Mitch McConnell is funding, will not answer any questions for anyone, anywhere.  Apparently he still has not done all of the focus group testing to figure out what his core values are.

Where do you want this country to go?  What do you want our society to become?  How do you see the problems we face today being resolved successfully?  We all have our own ideas about that.  Claire McCaskill sees solutions being provided by government.  She thinks government will keep you safe by banning things.  She feels government can keep you healthy by taking over your health care.  She sees government as the solution to all kinds of problems.

Austin Petersen sees individuals as the solution for the problems we face.  If we can get government out of our lives we can solve these problems on our own.  It is a much different paradigm, but it is one I share completely.

I realize we are pretty early in the primary process, but I am happy to be on Austin’s team.  And I think once people look at what Austin Petersen believes they will agree he is the right choice for Missouri.