I don’t know about you, but the President’s economic policy seems to me to get more confusing every day. I’m a small business owner, and pride myself on being an effective and efficient manager. I know how to meet a payroll and live within a budget. Yet, as I watch with growing amazement the Obama Administration continues to confuse and misstate their own economic policy. In February they wanted a trillion dollar stimulus package. They punched it through Congress and the only thing it seemed to stimulate was the size of the deficit. It sure didn’t stimulate the economy, and it sure didn’t result in more jobs.

Now the President and the Democrats want another stimulus. … but sshhh!! Don’t call it a stimulus – remember, the first one didn’t work. All they want is another $50 billion here and maybe $200 billion there. They say the $50 billion will be paid for, but don’t tell you how. Well, if there’s one thing I know for certain from listening to the people of this District, it is that they don’t want another stimulus! They don’t want any more deficit spending!

If you have ever operated a small business you know that you must understand the “playing field” before you can make a decision on how to operate. The Obama Administration and the Democrat Leadership continue to send mixed messages and that is keeping many business owners on the sidelines and not moving forward or growing their businesses. The President proposes tax relief for small businesses – but understands well that more than half of all small business owners will not qualify. Then you have the Democrats in Congress who have publicly bemoaned the Bush tax cuts, yet many of those same people now want them extended.

In my humble opinion, that’s not exactly a way to instill confidence in either the American consumer or the small business owners. And that’s left most of us asking: “Exactly what is your economic policy, Mr. President?”

Cross Posted at Chuck Fleischmann for Congress.com

Over this past year especially, a wave of frustrated and angry Americans has appeared on the forefront of the political scene. Liberals try to spin the frustration and anger by blaming it on members of the Tea Party. Conservatives try to spin it by blaming it on the extreme left wing of the Democratic Party. The truth is that the frustration and anger is much more widespread than either party wants to admit.

People are frustrated with a government that has stopped listening to them. They are frustrated with a government that thinks they know better than the American people what is best for them. They are frustrated with out of control spending. They are frustrated with record deficits. They are frustrated with a refusal by the Federal Government to enforce our immigration laws.
People are angry at a failed economic policy and an Administration that refuses to take responsibility for it. They are angry at high unemployment rates, and with the fact that 14.5 million Americans can’t find jobs. They are angry that they said “NO” to a government run healthcare system that has since been forced on them.

Our campaign is capturing the energy behind that frustration and anger and is using it to fuel our momentum to set America on the right track. I understand what you expect from your government and as your Congressman, I’ll remember who I work for.

I am listening to the people of the 3rd District and simply put, I know that they want their government to get out of the way of the free enterprise system, not make it onerous for small business owners to operate their business, avoid excessive regulations. And more than anything, they want to know that they are being heard.

I am listening. Our campaign is working to grow our grassroots base. Invite others to join in our effort today.

Cross Posted at Chuck For Congress.com

Do you remember the promise of President Obama when he was running for President? I know, he made a lot that he seems to have forgotten, but there are two that really stick in my mind, and they go hand in hand.
First he promised that “Under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase. Not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes”? Then he told us ” If you like your plan, you can keep your plan. If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor.”

Well, Mr. President, perhaps we all should have been permitted to read what was in the health care bill before you and your liberal Democrats forced it down our throats. Maybe you should have read it too, sir. Then you would have known that hidden in that bill that none of us were given the time to read are $569 billion in new taxes on – among other things – prescription drugs, medical devices, health insurance plans, and even tanning salons. These levies will trickle down to couples with annual incomes below $250,000 and individuals under $200,000.

The President also refuses to reject the idea of a national sales levy (Value Added Tax). I guess he forgot his promise to all of us. To add insult to injury not only is the President breaking his word on not increasing any taxes, the new law actually collects $60 billion in new taxes BEFORE any major benefits of the bill begin in 2014.

The new law will tax individuals who can’t afford or don’t purchase insurance, it will impose excise taxes on existing health insurance plans, it will levy taxes on some companies employing as few as 50 workers, and impose new taxes on investment income.

The second promise of the President that we would all get to keep our plan if we liked it doesn’t hold true for one of our most vulnerable groups – our seniors. You see, again, the President made a promise that he never intended to keep. The Democrats were always very careful to say that Medicare would not be touched, and technically they may be right, but even that isn’t certain.

What they didn’t tell anyone was that for the millions of seniors who pay premiums to be covered by Medicare Advantage plans there is a big change coming. The Democrats say they will save $500 billion in overpayments and fraud and abuse by cutting funds from Medicare Advantage plans. What they are really doing is eliminating a much needed service that millions of our seniors rely on – Medicare Advantage plans can’t survive the massive cuts that are on the way – and the Democrats knew it before they made their false promise.

I wonder when the President will tell the American people that he made two promises that he never intended keeping?

Cross posted at Chuck For Congress.com

The election of Barack Obama in November of 2008 was seen by most political pundits as proof that the American people were ready for the liberal policies that an Obama Presidency was sure to bring. In fact, President Obama and his liberal cronies in Congress, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi, have pushed for legislation that is about as liberal as we have ever seen.

From massive new government spending, to government takeover of health care, to an unprecedented growth of government, to the bailout and takeover of Wall Street and businesses, to the intrusion of the federal government into every aspect of our lives, they have forced legislation on the country that we don’t want and can’t afford.

Yet, poll after poll has shown that the American people remain to the right of center. Although voters wanted change in 2008, they did not want the massive leftist policies that have been forced upon them. In fact, according to Rasmussen, 75% of Americans are at least somewhat angry at the government’s current policies.

Even though liberal Democrats remain in control of both houses of Congress, we can change the country in November by electing conservative Republicans who are listening to the voices of the American people. Conservatives will work to restore fiscal sanity to Washington by cutting spending, reducing the deficit and fighting for a balanced budget amendment.

We know that the American people want less government, lower taxes, and less spending. We know that the people do not understand why the federal government can’t tighten their belt and follow a budget. Well, neither do I. Everyday people have struggled through tough economic times by reducing their spending and sticking to a tighter budget. There is no reason that the Federal Government can’t do the same.

It isn’t enough for conservative Republicans to promise to push for conservative policies. We must put into action what we pledge. That is why upon taking office I will immediately push for a balanced budget amendment.
Conservatives can change the country by listening to the people and working hard to put into operation what the people want.

Cross Posted at Chuck For Congress.com

As a sovereign nation, the most important thing the United States must do is protect its citizens. To that end we must control our borders. It is the responsibility of the federal government to make sure that terrorists and/or criminals such as drug dealers are not crossing our borders intent on harming our citizens.

All of us realize that of those people crossing our borders illegally, many of them are doing so to find the American dream. But that doesn’t diminish the fact that they are breaking the law and that people who wish our country harm are also crossing at will.

Recent events along our southern border are indications of the ongoing crisis there. Thousands of innocent people are fleeing Mexico, seeking a place of safety in the United States, only to find the drug dealers and thugs following them across the border to murder and terrorize them. American citizens are also being murdered by these monsters. Recently, a rancher in Arizona was killed by drug dealers while on his own land and Arizona law enforcement was shot and wounded by these criminals. It is no wonder that Arizona has felt the need to protect their own citizens. If the federal government won’t do it, the states must.

There is no simple solution to securing our borders, but there are steps we must take now. Senator John Cornyn recently introduced “the Southern Border Security Assistance Act” which would create a $300 million border grant program for state and local law enforcement within 100 miles of the southern border, which will help those states provide resources to buy equipment and upgrade critical information systems as well as hire additional officers.

I also support building a reinforced barrier along the southern border, using fencing, technology, vehicle barriers, cameras and agents. Until we secure our borders it will be impossible to work through our other illegal immigration problems. I will always oppose amnesty of any kind for illegal immigrants, but we can’t even get to that discussion until we have done everything necessary to keep the American people safe.

Cross posted at Chuck For Congress.com

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I believe in the principles and ideas first set forth by our founding fathers. The genius of the men who bravely defied England to establish our country is best illustrated by the Declaration of Independence and Constitution they drafted so many years ago. Our Constitution has stood the test of time and remains the keystone of our form of government. 

When I read the Mount Vernon Statement, drafted by conservative leaders, I recognized immediately that it reflected my beliefs and principles and that it was a document I would proudly sign. So I have done exactly that. 

The authors of the Mount Vernon Statement wrote, “We recommit ourselves to the ideas of the American Founding Fathers. Through the Constitution, the Founders created an enduring framework of limited government based on the rule of law. They sought to secure national independence, provide for economic opportunity, establish true religious liberty and maintain a flourishing society of republican self-government.”

I agree completely with the Mount Vernon Statement and believe strongly that most of America’s problems can be solved today by following the principles and ideas of the men who founded our country. We must move in the right direction – back to the principles first set forth in the Constitution and Declaration of Independence. 

I believe in constitutional conservatism that follows the principles set forth in the Mount Vernon Statement:

• It applies the principle of limited government based on the rule of law
• It honors individual liberty
• It encourages free enterprise, individual entrepreneurs and economic reforms
• It supports America’s national interest in advancing freedom and opposing tyranny in the world
• It informs conservatism’s firm defense of family, neighborhood, community and faith.

To learn more, please visit: www.chuckforcongress.com

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Our campaign has a new ad out today. In this internet ad Chuck talks about Tennessee’s 3rd District being home. Chuck started a small business in the District over two decades ago, has raised his family here, and thinks others should do the same. Chuck wants to continue the strong leadership the District has had so East Tennessee can continue to be a place people want to invest their lives, families, and businesses in.

To learn more, please visit: www.chuckforcongress.com
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As I listened to the President speak about the problems facing our nation and how he intends to solve them I heard one phrase repeated over and over again – more government. I wondered why the President isn’t listening to the American people. They don’t want the government involved in every part of their life. They don’t trust Washington to solve their problems any longer. The President has learned nothing from his failures over the last 12 months.

A year ago he delivered a speech to Congress regarding health care, education, and a stimulus package for the economy. Yet tonight he was again talking about health care, education, and a stimulus package for the economy that he is now calling a jobs package. After the American people rejected his health care proposal(s) and after his stimulus package was a failure in keeping the unemployment rate under 8%, he is still talking about health care legislation and spending billions of more dollars on government created jobs. The President, and the liberal leadership in Washington, just doesn’t get it.

The American people do not want a closed door health care deal that involve billions of dollars in bribes for individual states and does not bring about true reform. Instead of a government run system, we need tort reform, access to purchase health insurance across state lines, and Health Care Savings Accounts.

While his proposal for a spending freeze is laudable, it does not go far enough. His spending freeze would save $250 billion over ten years, but our current monthly deficit is close to $200 billion. What we need are major, permanent cuts in our spending. The bloated bubble that is the federal deficit needs to be popped.

The President was again tonight on top of his oratorical game; however his substance was lacking and not what the American people are wanting. The President must learn that the people of this country need less of the government on their backs. When I go to Congress I will fight every day to make sure the American people are as free as possible to use their own ingenuity, because we are the ones that know best – not the party bosses in Washington.

To learn more, please visit: www.chuckforcongress.com
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