Monday, July 13, 2009

Interview with GOP candidate Paul Mitchell.

After the 2008 Presidential election, I was really in a horrible mood, especially at fellow Conservatives. Because, after the election, they were complaining about how "no-one that represented Conservative values was running", I would respond "why don't YOU run?", the response was usually silence afterwards. Jumping in Pools brings you our fourteenth in our interview series.

I decided to become involved with the Young Republicans in my area, actually I helped jump-start a Young Republicans club along with fellow Young Republicans on this blog, however I have found a much better example - Conservative Republican Paul Mitchell in the 62nd district for the Illinois House of Representatives, who is tired with his "liberal Republican" Representative, and decided to put Conservatism on the ballot - himself.

Tim K -
Mr.Mitchell, you are currently running for the Republican nomination to be the GOP candidate for the Illinois House of Representatives in the 62nd district, why are you running?
Paul Mitchell -
I'm running because no one else would. My opponent is a pro-abortion social liberal who has also voted for taxes and spending, and opposed needed road projects. And yet she ran unopposed for re-election last year in both the GOP primary and the general election. I believe that the voters of this district deserve an alternative, and if no one else is willing to be that alternative, I am.
TK -
Mr.Mitchell, I believe you could be the ultimate inspiration for Conservative regular Joe's across the Nation, by actually running for office to make a difference - besides just talking about making a difference.

PM-
Well, thanks, that's a really nice thought. But the fact is that people don't need to see me to know that they can make a difference. All they need is to decide not to put up with it anymore. And they don't have to run for elective office either. Here in Illinois, the lowest level of the Republican Party is the Precinct Committeeman. Precinct Committeemen are elected in the primary, and it only takes 10 signatures on a petition to get on the ballot. And there are about 5,000 vacant positions. Conservatives can take over the party overnight, if they decide to. I'm sure it's much the same in New York, and everywhere else.

The thing we have to get away from is the notion that the GOP, without any other input from conservatives, will just "give us" the candidates we want to vote for. That won't happen unless we take a hand and get involved. Obama had that much right: "we are the change we've been waiting for."
TK -
Mr.Mitchell, you are college educated man in regards to economics, a tea party supporter, what would your vote mean in terms of economics for the voters of Illinois?
PM -
It means that I'd be one of those questioning the cost of everything, and the necessity of taxing the people to get it. I'd want to apply some level of cost-benefit analysis to the state's spending, so that we can make reasonable judgments as to what benefits we can hope to achieve at what costs.

I'd also try to remain conscious of the fact that government not only can't do everything, it really can't even do much, and we have to have some degree of humility to know which things that government cannot do well, and leave those things to the private sector.
TK -
Mr.Mitchell, what are your thoughts on the absolute hostility towards the Second amendment in Illinois, and what you do to fight it?
PM -
Hostility to the second amendment in Illinois is far from absolute. 99 counties (I believe that's the number) of the total 102 have passed resolutions calling for the legislature to pass a concealed carry bill, like 48 other states have already done. In the legislature, I would be a reliable vote for such a measure.

TK -
Mr.Mitchell, what is the difference between you and the Republican opponent in the upcoming GOP primary next year?
PM -
I know what a person is. I know when life begins. I know who is entitled to have the state recognize their right to life. I'm also a reliable vote for the preservation of traditional marriage, which she is not.
TK -
Mr.Mitchell, the state of the Republican party is being debated, what is your take on the situation?
PM -
My perception is that much of the present GOP leadership, at the national level and at the various state organizations, would like to jettison the conservatives -- especially the social conservatives -- and just talk about money. This would be a dramatic mistake. 40% of the populace pays no taxes, and any talk of tax cuts benefits only "the rich." But those 40% can be reached with a social conservative message.

For example, 45% of African American babies are lost to abortion, and 2/3 of the rest are born into single-parent households, where they have a likelihood of growing up in poverty that approaches 90%. With numbers like that, no government program will bring large numbers of blacks out of poverty. It's only by helping black families come together and stay together that black poverty can be addressed.

The numbers are similar, though not as bad, for other ethnic groups. But notice this: coming from single-parent families is the single most telling factor in predicting whether a person will graduate high school or become a criminal; when you control for that, race and economic class both become insignificant.

This is a moral problem, and only the Republican Party has the capability to address it, if only we will. And that can only happen if conservatives step up and become involved in their local Republican organizations.

The GOP can very well just by doing good.
TK -
Mr.Mitchell, how can regular Joe's across America help your campaign? Within & out the 62nd district?
PM -
Buy me a beer. Go to http://www.paulfor62.com, and contribute the price of a beer to my campaign. Do I seem like a guy you'd like to sit down over a beer with? Buy me a beer. Or two. Or a case. The point is, I'm a regular guy with no experience, no organization, no money, and no name ID and I'm up against a well-funded incumbent with the party organization on her side. I know that regular Joe's are hard-pressed, because I am one, and we don't have large amounts of cash to donate to far-away political longshots. But if anyone reading thinks, "I wouldn't mind having a beer and talking to this guy," then donate the price of a beer to my campaign. And tell your friends to do the same.

Within (or near) the district, sign up! I'm going to need help going door-to-door for the thousand petition signatures I'll need to get on the ballot. Many hands make light work!

Beyond that, get married, raise your kids, go to church, work your job, and please, please get involved in your local Republican organization. Bring a friend or two when you do.
Paul Mitchell's regular thoughts blog -
http://regularthoughts.blogspot.com/
Paul Mitchell's campaign website -

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