“I have stood face to face, toe to toe, and eye to eye with over ten thousand people. It seems amazing. So I feel the pulse of Colorado, and trust me it’s beating strong and hot, regardless of parties.” ~ Charley Miller, Unaffiliated for U.S. Senate
There are more than one million unaffiliated voters in Colorado, and there is one man who feels strongly that these voices have the ultimate power to stop the insanity that has become Colorado politics. You’ve probably never heard of him, and Democrats and Republicans alike would like to keep it that way. So, if you are one of the 1,109,124 unaffiliated voters in Colorado… Pull up a chair, and meet Charley Miller.
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- JM - It seems, from the outside looking in, that the problem with the two party system is that the Democrats and Republicans spend more time arguing with each other than they do working for the citizens they’ve been elected to represent. With that being said, how do you plan on working with both parties to ‘bridge the gap’, as you say?
Charley Miller – As an unaffiliated Senator, I will bridge the gap between the Democrats and Republicans by helping them work together instead of against each other. I will shift the focus back to listening to the people, and not detouring around the issues with the same old party politics, or rubber-stamping.
Here is my plan… I will assert my status as an unaffiliated U.S. Senator into pre-conference, informal, and formal meetings between the House and Senate to resolve disagreements.
I will fight on the Senate floor, and require strict enforcement of Senate procedures.
I will utilize both debate and filibuster tactics to ensure full disclosure on bills and amendments.
And, of course, I will fight for the issues from the ‘middle of the aisle’.
- JM – And, what exactly do you mean when you say, ‘rubber-stamping’?
CM - Rubber-stamping, to me, is this… It’s voting the party line the majority of the time instead of voting for what your constituents want and need. For example, Senator Bennet has voted over 90% of the time with the democratic leadership, and the times he didn’t were on minor table motions and other unimportant issues.
- JM - You have a unique view on the economic crisis the whole country is going through. Tell me about your background in the financial industry.
CM – In the late 1980′s I went to work in the banking industry during the savings and loan crisis. This was a time when thousands of Americans lost their jobs, the real estate market crashed, and 1,300 banks failed. I’m proud of the fact that the government did not bail them out. This was before ‘government bailouts’, and banks were not considered too big to fail. For three years straight I worked on resolving the savings and loan crisis.
- JM – So, how would have done things differently in regards to the massive bailouts? Do you think they were necessary?
CM – I would have demanded that the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS), and the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC) immediately close down those institutions and deal directly with all the toxic financial paper, assests, and negotiable instruments. No, I do not believe the bailouts were necessary. Apparently, they amounted to being just blank checks for company bonuses, and who knows what else.
- JM – What kinds of tax credits and incentives do you think could be implemented to help small businesses in Colorado?
CM – First of all, I’d oppose any new taxes. Secondly, I believe we need to create credits to help pay for the insurance premiums that President Obama’s healthcare bill has imposed. In addition, I would support opening up more Small Business Administration (SBA) loans, increasing the caps and maximums, and increasing the availability of lines of credit for small businesses.
- JM – You have said that you would like to see the government ‘stop crushing the little guy’. What do you mean by this?
CM – I have talked to thousands upon thousands of people, and a lot of them were small business owners who have failed, or are about to fail, because they are being ignored. They are the ‘little guy’, and there is no belief by them that either party understands, or even cares, that they are destroying small businesses and America.
- JM – Healthcare is an issue that is very complicated, and we’ve all heard politicians go on for hours about the best way to improve it. Can you give a blunt, to-the-point answer on what you’d like to see on the healthcare front?
CM – Get rid of Obama-care, period. It’s simply not working. The real problem is fraud, waste, and mismanagement. We have a system that is still lagging behind the rest of the world. For example, we can save billions just by switching to Electronic Medical Records, standardized barcoding, and by ICD-10 increasing the code groups for billing. However, let’s not forget… it’s not about entitlements, it’s about fraud, waste, and mismanagement.
- JM – Other states, such as Arizona, have gotten a lot of attention lately in regards to illegal immigration. What are your thoughts on how the U.S. borders are currently secured and protected?
CM – My thought is that they are not currently secured or protected. Arizona, like many border states, has problems with cost containment dealing with non-residents of the state. This is not just an Arizona issue. Every state in the U.S. has these same budgetary problems in paying for non-residents.
As for security, our Northern borders are just as unsecured, and unprotected. We simply cannot monitor who crosses in… They could be terrorists.
- JM – So, would you say there should be just as much concern in regards to possible terrorist threats as there is for illegal immigration?
CM – Yes, functionally the mechanism which allows an illegal non-resident to cross into the United States, and to stay here under the radar is the same. We have just started securing the normal access points to the U.S., but like Israel we may be attacked from within… Those lessons will be painful to learn.
- JM – Elaborate on the steps you would like to see taken in regards to illegal immigration.
CM – I would like to cut government spending through immigration reforms. We should restrict federal funds to states that violate federal immigration laws, and there should be stricter enforcement of these laws. There should also be IRS reforms, such as enforcing tax compliance and refusing to allow fraud or waste. Financial institutions and businesses should be held accountable for violations of immigration laws, and there should be no amnesty.
- JM – The war in Iraq and Afghanistan has been going on for far too long. It’s common sense that the U.S. cannot simply pull up stakes and withdraw from the Middle East tomorrow, but what kind of time frame would you like to see in regards to the troops coming home for good?
CM – Well, I disagree. For example, how fast did we leave Saigon? We can support those democratic-elected governments without our troops occupying those countries.
- JM – I have a strong belief that, if the U.S. were to flee into the night, the world would wake up to graphic images of uprising on the news the next morning. Do you really think they are stable enough to take over full control?
CM – We can, and will, continue to support the democratically elected government in Afghanistan, but they are fighters. For us, the enemy is the Taliban. Right now, we have to fully support the President of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari. Pakistan is the key, and we must seize this moment to help them when they need it the most. Floods have ravaged their country, and we must help now.
As for Afghanistan, yes we can continue to support them without troops, and still take the fight to the Taliban.
- JM – Let’s finish off with education. This is always a lightening rod issue. Do you feel like the children of Colorado, and of the entire U.S., are being let down?
CM – The “No Child Left Behind” program is not working. It has to go. Direct and specific funding should be provided for things that work, like Advanced Placement in public schools. Colleges for all ages and professions should be more affordable. There should be an emphasis on developing areas and skills that we require to be sustainable. We must, again, open up trade schools, vocational schools, and other specialized schools in order to provide a skilled workforce for the future.
- JM – What would you like to see done with the program?
CM – I would fight to get rid of the “No Child Left Behind” program.
- JM
The Lost Arts Of War
09/10/2010
…A post I saw over…