With four potential Democratic candidates vying for Congressman Henry Brown's seat, I decided to invite all four to introduce themselves, at their convenience, to Georgetown County and statewide.
The first to take me up on the invite is Robert Dobbs. Enjoy.
My goals are to be a citizen's representative, supporting all citizens of the 1st District and being an advocate for those citizens who are unable to voice their concerns in Washington, D.C. The 1st Congressional District needs leadership in Congress to improve the quality of life for all of the residents of the Sixth District and provide true representation for the needs of the 1st District in Congress.
I bring to the table over 20 years of political experience. While I am not a professional politician, I have developed and maintained contacts while as a locally elected official and working for political campaigns. I was elected for 5 terms as a county supervisor and 1 term as a city councilman. This gives me the experience and understanding of how the Federal government affects all of us on the local level and where our Federal government may lack its understanding of the needs of the local governments. I and my wife currently own and operate our own businesses: a sports bar/restaurant and a retail bath and body shop.
My background was mainly in the Republican Party. I walked away a number of years ago from the Republicans because they were not inclusive of someone with a moderate political belief when it comes to social issues. Three people have really influenced my political beliefs over the years: my wife, Kirsten, who was a staffer for Senator Russ Feingold (D); my daughter, Hannah, who has autism; and Vel Phillips, a former Secretary of State from Wisconsin, former Judge, and civil rights leader. I am a fiscal conservative (blue dog) and social moderate. I believe government has an obligation to be there for those who are in need, but we also must remember the ability to provide those services in a fiscally responsible manner. I believe in spending our dollars on programs and initiatives that help our citizens and cutting those, i.e. War in Iraq, that drain resources from assisting our citizens. Americans must come first.
I am just a regular person and never was born into money; I had to work hard for everything I ever had. I served in the military (U.S. Army Airborne) but I did it to serve my country and I don't expect anyone to woo over me for it, I served because I believe in our country and what it stands for. I understand the needs of our veterans, because I myself am a disabled veteran. The current VA system has not taken care of our veterans and continues to be a bureaucratic organization that is slow and indifferent in processing VA claims for veterans and ensuring they receive the appropriate care necessary for their recovery. PTSD is a major issue with our returning veterans from Afghanistan and Iraq and has not received the attention it should have.
Small businesses are the life blood of our economy and they have not had the attention or support as the large corporations have had with the stimulus bailouts. I understand the needs of business owners, seeing I am a business owner myself. Without the survival and success of small businesses, our economy will continue on a slow pace to recovery.
We need to ensure our elderly and disabled citizens are taken care off. I understand the needs of our disabled, because I have two children with Autism. My 4 year old was diagnosed 2 years ago and is doing well with in home therapy and my 2 year old will be diagnosed as well with Autism. What I had to go through to get help for my children should never occur to anyone with a disabled family member and I intend to change that as your Congressman. I had to and continue to fight for their rights everyday due to the fact of Republicans in Congress and President Bush putting autism on the back burner; those afflicted with autism continue to fall through the cracks of government protection. When President Obama took office, within 30 days he sent money to the States to assist the Medicaid programs, which included autism therapy. My daughter was on a waiting list for therapy services and probably would not have been off the list for about two years if it wasn't for President Obama.
What we don't need in Congress are more long tenured bureaucrats, professional politicians, or people looking to enhance their retirement to run for office. This is why I believe no elected official in Congress should be in office for more than 12 years, no elected official in Congress should participate nor receive a pension, and no elected officials in Congress should be voting for pay raises when the rest of the country is in chaos financially. It is about being a citizen's representative and remembering those who are not as fortunate as others or who don't have the resources to have their voices heard.
Georgetown and the 1st District
Henry Brown has a record of voting against issues that would help the 1st District and Georgetown County.
* In July, Henry Brown voted against discretionary spending for housing, transport and urban programs in the fiscal year 2010;
* Recently the Georgetown Ports needed money for dredging and Brown was behind the ball on this;
* Brown continues to vote for more money being spent in the stalemate called Iraq rather than voting to take care of Americans that need it;
* Henry Brown voted against the SCHIP Extension;
* Henry Brown didn’t vote for "Pay-As-You-Go" rules;
* Henry Brown only knows how to get earmarks for the 1st District when he knows he is in election trouble, otherwise he calls the budget requests as "pork laden".
The 1st District needs a representative in Congress who will bring Federal dollars back to the district for the projects we need. We don’t need another "No" voting representative in Congress who cannot get projects funded nor who does not get along with the opposition. No one wants to see Washington take money from our paychecks but at least our Congressional representative can see that we get the most back to our district we can. I intend on being a representative in Congress that will bring our money back to help our district and ensure our government is fiscally responsible as well.
Here some interesting facts that need attention for our District:
* For the second year in a row, South Carolina has the worst violent crime in the nation, according to the FBI. While the murder rate is slightly down, aggravated assaults and burglary are up. Law enforcement in our District needs appropriate funding to combat the increase in crime.
* South Carolina is severely under funded and under resourced for probation and parole.
* The 1st District needs appropriate Federal funding for the cleanup of Superfund sites in the District. Currently we have a large number of areas that are in need of funding.
Health Care
* I believe that every American should have access to affordable medical care.
* I support the Patients' Bill of Rights for those with insurance but anxious about denial of coverage or loss of choice.
* I support the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
* I support Tax Credits for small businesses unable to afford insurance for their employees.
* I support Community Health Care Centers for those with little or no coverage.
* I support the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act, to require insurance companies to cover a 48-hour minimum hospital stay for mastectomy patients, and a 24-hour stay for a patient undergoing lymph node dissection.
* I support Mental Health Coverage, that treatment for mental health conditions should be placed on par with coverage for medical and surgical procedures.
* I support a reserve fund to increase Medicare payments to physicians.
* I support increased funding for treatment and research of Autism.
Social Security and Medicare
* Medicare is a lifeline for 40 million Americans. I want to strengthen it, rein in high premiums, and make needed corrections to the confusing Medicare prescription drug benefit.
* The purpose of Social Security is to ensure that everyone has a foundation of basic benefits on which to retire. I believe tax incentives that make retirement saving more attractive, but I do not support radical changes like privatization or opting out, because these changes would alter the universality of Social Security and take away the financial foundation that it now ensures.
Budget and Economy
* I believe that every American deserves a good job and the chance to earn livable wage. I am for a treaty that ends quotas on textile imports, I am against most favored nation treatment of China and admission to the WTO, and I am against the Caribbean Basin Trade Agreement, the Andean Free Trade Agreement, the Africa Free Trade Agreement, and the Central American Free Trade Agreement.
* I believe we should institute policy to curb illegal imports, open foreign markets, and make the Pentagon "Buy American."
* I believe in the "Pay-As-You-Go" rules should be restored. In the 1990s, these rules played a critical role in turning record deficits to record surpluses. When President Clinton left office, the budget was $236 billion in surplus.
* I believe taxpayer dollars shouldn’t assist corporations that move jobs and their operations out of the United States.
National Security
* I believe we need an immediate solution in Iraq and Afghanistan and bring our young men and women home.
* We need to focus on our real threats in North Korea and make sure our military assets are not stretched to thin.
* We need a solution to the immigration problem and to secure our borders.
I ask you to join me and my campaign, we can make a difference. Thank you.
dobbsrobert@hotmail.com