The Cattlemen’s Association of Citrus County held a candidate forum for the Republican candidates running for Congress to represent Florida’s Fifth District. It is apparent that candidate Jason Sager has the knowledge both historically and currently to hold this position. His knowledge, honesty and integrity were obvious throughout the forum process.

 We all know our government is out of control in regards to spending our money. There seems to be a general consensus that the spending has to stop. We agree. But let’s examine what we mean when we say stop the spending. We, as citizens of this country, must have a discussion and come together to identify out of control spending.

Many of the complaints people have been making across the nation are about pork barrel spending and pet projects, better known as earmarks. For example: Nevada was given $300,000 dollars to do loon research (note: our current incumbent voted for the bill that included the earmark for loon research) . A loon is a bird.  Most of us would agree that  money could have been used elsewhere for more important things. But to the people of Nevada, that money was well spent. They think that loon research is very important. Other states have the same issues. They believe that the funds sent for their pet projects are important even though they are not important to people in other states. You see, we have a dilemma. Everyone believes that their own needs are the most important.

We have become completely dependent on the federal government to supply us with federal funds to continue our state and local projects. We pay federal taxes, and the government picks and chooses who gets the funds from those taxes. The funds are not distributed evenly. The more money you have the less you need from the government. This is a perfect example of spreading the wealth.

One question concerning government spending was asked at the forum: “The agriculture industry depends on research and technology. There are three federally funded experimental research facilities in the nation one of which being here in our district…Would you see that these experimental stations…, see that those are funded to the level to make them viable…?

Jason’s opponent answered very quickly with a “Yes” answer. The problem is that Jason and his opponent have both signed pledges to stop earmarking legislation. Jason’s opponent announced this the day before at a candidate forum in Hernando County. The facility in question was recently funded with a $1.2 million earmark by our current congresswoman. The only way to guarantee funding for this facility would be to earmark future legislation for this purpose.

 Jason Sager answered: “I’m going to shock you right now. I’ll be perfectly honest with you. No, I will not. Let me tell you why. When I raise my right hand in Washington DC and take an oath to this, (the Constitution of the United States) I mean it… . I understand that station (the subtropical agricultural research facility in Brooksville), I’ve been out to that station and I’m willing to talk about that station, and that station might be very well needed by this community. But it needs to be funded by our local universities, and our state. Because folks, understanding the limitations that are written in this document is a process we all need to go through together. Nowhere in the Constitution of the United States did we ask the federal government to tax us, to take our money from us and send it back to our own backyard to fund things for us.”

The cattlemen learned that Jason’s opponent will simply say what he needs to say to get elected and will change his answers to suit the audience. We learned at this forum that Jason will stick to his principles and stay with his message, even when it might not be popular with the audience.

 Jason Sager has said that when he goes to Washington he will not vote to pass any bill that has earmarks. The people of District 5 seem to be on board with that, but what if the earmark is for District 5? We are at a crossroads in this country. We either have to stop spending across the board or continue the spending which will continue spreading the wealth. Continued spending is giving up our freedom and becoming a socialist country.

Will stopping earmarks affect District 5? Sure it will. It will effect every district of every state. However, it must be done to break the cycle. States are strapped for funds in the present recession, but we as a state and as a district of the state must learn to do without some of the funds that we have depended on for decades. We need to develop our own way to compensate for the lack of federal funds now, because the federal government is broke. We need to change our own spending habits and learn to be selective and prioritize our funding needs before the federal government reaches a point where it can’t borrow and spend any more.

of District 5 have a good work ethic. We don’t sit and whine about how bad things are and how bad they’re going to become. We find ways to compensate for things we can’t have. We get up and do something about our problems. We have the ingenuity and determination to fix what’s broken. We need to start looking to our state and our universities for research and development funding as Jason said. We can and will be an example for the rest of Florida and the country.

While we Floridians are doing our part, Jason Sager will be in Washington, working in the House of Representatives to defund the EPA, which will release the federal governments stranglehold on many financial aspects of our state. He will do this by taking the check writing authority away from the executive branch of the federal government and returning it back to the House of Representatives where it constitutionally belongs. This is an example of just one federal department that Jason Sager and other like-minded representatives will decrease in size or completely dissolve.

The current financial condition the country is in will not just magically go away. It is a reality. We cannot stick our heads in the sand and think that someday everything will be OK. We must roll our sleeves up and start preparing now for when the federal government says, “We have no taxpayer funds to send you.” The road ahead is not going to be easy. But ask yourself: do you want your freedom or do you want to be restrained by a socialist government interfering with every aspect of your life.

A stand for Jason Sager is a stand for a free market system. It’s a stand for our Constitution and our Republic. Stand with Jason Sager in the August 24^th primary and the November general elections.

Jason proved to all at this forum that honesty and integrity are qualities that are still available in a candidate for public office. The truth might not always be popular; but to Jason Sager, integrity is more important than popularity with any particular audience.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 13th, 2010 at 4:00 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.