JIM HOLBERT

            Independent Candidate for Congress
Seeking to represent the People of Kentucky's 5th Congressional District

contact@jimholbert2008.com 

Jim Holbert says:

Americans know our Country is in crisis. 
We need new ideas and decisive action to solve America's problems.  
Congress must step up to its Constitutional responsibilities and provide leadership to move America forward.  

• Congress must stop making laws that hurt our Country, our People, and our Future.
• Congress must stop allowing laws against illegal immigration, environmental damage, and workplace safety to go unenforced. 
• Congress must act Constitutionally to stop the Executive Branch and the Federal Courts from taking and exercising dangerous and unconstitutional powers.
• Congress must eliminate the influence peddling that brings scandal and destroys the public's trust in our government.    

    Friends, things don't have to be the way they are.  We the People have the power and the responsibility to make things better.   
    As a working person and veteran of military service, I understand first hand the challenges facing our region and our Country.
    As an Independent, I'm not beholden to any special interests or political party agendas.      
    I want to offer the voters of Kentucky's 5th Congressional District common-sense approaches to the issues we face, optimism for the future, the belief that we shouldn't live our lives in fear, and a real alternative to "business as usual."  
    In Congress I will put America's interests first, and work for the common good in our region and in our Country.  
    I ask for your support and for your vote in the General Election on November 4th, 2008.  Thank you.           

JIM HOLBERT'S POSITION ON THE ISSUES

CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT    
            I believe Constitutional, active government can solve problems, protect our freedoms, and provide economic opportunity to all Americans.    

ENERGY POLICY 
            American dependence on foreign oil, especially that imported from the Middle East, threatens our economy and our security.
            I support immediate legislation for more rapid phase-in of new-production vehicle fuel mileage requirements, authorizing oil drilling in all U.S. coastal areas and in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, tax credits for purchase of high-mileage hybrid, flex-fuel, and small-diesel vehicles, and subsidies for bio-fuels production, bio-fuel sales points infrastructure, and production of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. 
            As a mid-term energy production initiative, I support a five-year program to build clean-burning Coal Gasification power plants with CO2 capture/sequestration technology located in southeastern Kentucky coal producing areas.
            Because I believe that renewable bio-fuels and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles recharged with electricity from clean-burning coal power plants and solar/wind power represents a total future personal vehicle transportation system which can liberate us from dependence on Middle Eastern oil, I also support a ten-year program for construction of wind- and solar-powered electricity generating facilities in Kentucky.   

            "Free Trade" and globalization really mean forcing American workers to compete with foreign sweatshop labor.  "Free Trade" and globalization policies have gutted America's manufacturing industries and brought forth record imbalances with China and other nations.  For the future of America, "Free Trade" must be changed to "responsible trade."  I support tariffs and other protective measures which will allow the re-establishment of American manufacturing self-sufficiency and quality--using "clean technology"--in textiles, consumer electronics and appliances, alternative energy, transportation, and other key industries.  

ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION            
            Illegal immigration increases American unemployment and lowers the wages of American labor.  Illegal immigrants send money "home" to foreign countries that would otherwise be taxed, spent, and invested or saved in America, and illegals incur health, social services, and public safety costs which must be paid by American taxpayers.    
            Existing immigration laws should be enforced vigorously, with a maximum effort toward identifying and prosecuting those who employ illegal immigrants.  When employers of illegals are punished, jobs for illegal immigrants will quickly go away, and illegal immigrants will "deport" themselves.
            In the near term, National Guard troops should be recalled from overseas duties and be deployed to seal our border with Mexico against illegal immigrants and narcotics traffickers.
            We must recognize that illegal immigration is not the fault of the hopeless people who come here for work.  These poor people should be helped by applying strong diplomatic and trade pressures against the nations which cause the illegal immigration through repressive social policies and exploitive economic practices.   

WAR ON TERROR / DEFENSE POLICY / FOREIGN POLICY 
            Our legitimate objectives of disrupting Al Qaeda networks and the overthrow and punishment of Saddam Hussein have been accomplished, and the future of Iraq and Afghanistan should be determined by the people of those nations.  Therefore I support withdrawal of all American forces from Iraq, Afghanistan, and the remainder of the Middle East over a brief and well-defined period, consistent with providing for the safety of our troops.
            Oil money is the fuel that runs the engine of Terror.  America must fight the War on Terror through common-sense energy and industrial policies and foreign policy which serves American interests, not by engaging in endless foreign wars with ill-defined, unattainable objectives. 
            America has been bankrupted and diminished in the world's eyes by our wasteful and reckless foreign policy, which includes stationing large numbers of troops around the world since the end of World War II.  I support withdrawal of American troops from Korea, Japan, Europe, and South America, and reducing force levels of both the active military and the National Guard.  Additionally, I support drastic reductions in all types of foreign aid to all countries.  The tax money saved by these measures must be applied to paying our debts and rebuilding America.

HEALTH CARE
           Health Care issues are of great concern to many Americans.  My views on some of the important questions about health care are expressed in the responses I gave to the Research!America 2008 candidate questionnaire.  Please visit the "Research!America" questionnaire website, www.yourcandidatesyourhealth.org., where Fifth District voters may enter their zip code to bring up a list of candidates.  Click on "Jim Holbert" to see my responses to questions about health care.
   
ENVIRONMENT / WORKER SAFETY 
            I support consistent and effective enforcement of environmental laws and worker health and safety regulations.  
            I believe in and support measures to improve workplace safety and health.   

VOTING / ELECTION REFORM 
            The participation of our people in the political process must be encouraged and expanded.
            I support open primary elections allowing independent voters to participate in the primaries, automatic restoration of voting rights after completion of most felony sentences, broad initiative & referendum power for voters, and mandatory paper balloting to provide rapid, simple, inexpensive voting and verifiable election results.

SOCIAL SECURITY / MEDICARE 
            Social Security and Medicare, now and for the foreseeable future, will be the single most important retirement framework for the vast majority of Americans.  Funding provision for basic Social Security and Medicare benefits must be strengthened for the present, and secured for the long term.  These objectives can most surely be accomplished by continuing governmental oversight (not privatization) of these important programs, and by providing necessary funding through reductions in other government spending. 

CRIME / PRISON REFORM  
            America incarcerates more people than any other nation on earth and spends billions of dollars doing it.  Yet, the rate of return to prison among released inmates remains very high.  Additionally, prisons are violent and unsafe due to overcrowding and counter-productive penal policies. 
            I support alternatives to incarceration for non-violent offenders, with emphasis on offender rehabilitation, offender compensation to crime victims, and a defined path for return to productive society following completion of sentences. 

TAXATION / SPENDING / BALANCED BUDGET / DEFICITS 
            Government spending which does not contribute to American leadership in productivity and innovation, or which does not safeguard the essential long-term needs of our producing citizens, can and must be reduced.  Waste and inefficiency in all government programs must be identified and eliminated without fear or favor.
            I support a simplified version of the progressive income tax which has served America well for decades.   
            I support a balanced Federal budget and will not vote for deficit spending budgets.