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Penny's Platform I’m Penny Bailey and I am running for U.S. Congress to represent all of the people of Alabama’s 6th District. I am truly optimistic about Alabama’s Around the time Congressman Bachus was going to Congress 20 years ago, I was already serving our country in the United States Air Force. While Spencer Bachus worked on cementing his relationships with power broker banks and other like-minded politicians, I was fortunate to be working for and learning from amazing managers and leaders - three were Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Spencer Bachus defines the phrase "career politician", his experience was gained while living in a politician's world with a politician’s perspective. I will represent you with experience gained from a 24 year military career where we knew we were accountable and responsible to the American taxpayer Jokerstar-Fun.com. My last assignment I managed a precise organization of 4000 people and a $4 billion annual budget. Career politicians were not the plan of our forefathers. Representatives are supposed to be 'public servants' and that is exactly what I plan to do...be a servant to the citizens of Alabama's District 6 to bring a fresh perspective and new voice for the people of this district. As your Representative you can expect to hear from me frequently as I participate in radio shows on a monthly basis and when not in D.C. I will conduct town-hall meetings and leverage other communication means readily available. My priority areas of focus: Jobs - I pledge to represent and present District 6 as a premier location for businesses to grow and profit! My team and I are actively meeting with and collecting ideas from business owners throughout District 6. I will use this valuable feedback as key objectives in my job and economic recovery plan designed to bring new industry and manufacturing to our district! Did you know that during the 20 year reign of Spencer Bachus, other districts in our state has enjoyed major manufacturing and industry growth but District 6 has not? Large corporations have built plants and created thousands of jobs in Huntsville, Tuscaloosa, Montgomery and Mobile (to name a few) yet nothing in District 6. Free Trade Programs NAFTA, CAFTA and similar 'free' trade laws were the catalyst to flood our American markets with cheaply made apparel products and more! Many years ago, we were warned that NAFTA was not a two way street and there would be a “giant sucking sound” of jobs going south to the cheap labor markets of Mexico and that has happened! We have seen shirt factories, sock factories, pants factories, and more close all across Alabama and our country. I stand against NAFTA and CAFTA.
Term Limits - I support term limits. Here's why: Career politicians want to keep control and power for themselves - it is their career after all. Unfortunately the career aspect tends to supersede the office function - serve the people! I believe government officials should be "public servants", not career politicians! I believe most Americans support term limits for Congress and pledge to support a Constitutional Amendment limiting terms for Congress. Contrast my stand on term limits to Spencer Bachus who ran on 'term limits' 20 years ago and keeps running for additional terms! Additionally, more than half of his donations come from outside the State of Alabama. Who is he really representing? His own personal wealth has increased more than 20% while the net worth of the people of Alabama’s District 6 has decreased at least 10%. No wonder he wants to remain in office…its paying well for him. Ask, what has Spencer Bachus done to help the people of District 6? Audit the Federal Reserve - I support a full and open audit of the Federal Reserve. Here's why: The Federal Reserve is neither “federal” nor is it a reserve for the American people. Rather, it is a private banking industry, and should not control the US economy. This year alone, it is projecting to make an $81 billion dollar profit! Who holds the Federal Reserve accountable? We question the spirit of Spencer Bachus’ decisions given his top contributors are banks; therefore he is highly motivated, perhaps even controlled, by the banking industry in such a way to pass legislation which falls in the best interest of their industry. Case-in-point: The relatively recent multi-million dollar TARP bank bailout. His top contributors are the banks...no wonder he worked so hard to bail them out! Taxes - I am a fiscal conservative. Here's why: I know and understand the money Congress spends is not "their" money, but hard-earned taxpayer dollars. My family and friends pay our fair share of taxes and like you, we are concerned just how efficiently taxpayer money is being used. I pledge to cut wasteful spending and work hard to get the best value from our taxpayer's contributions! By the way, I also support tax reform. Incredibly, Spencer Bachus has proven himself to be a tax and spend liberal! For example, he was the strong and loud voice pushing the Alabama Billion Dollar Bob Tax Plan of 2003. Did you know Spencer Bachus is on record as voting to increase our National Debt SEVEN (7) times? Not surprisingly given his bank ties, he co-sponsored the Billion Dollar Bailout of the Banks and now is working to take away federal oversight of the Banks. He is currently working very hard to pass his ‘Bachus Bill’ which allows the banks to ‘self-regulate’ themselves. Worse, the 'Bachus Bill' removes any federal oversight ability and thus removes any checks-and-balances mechanism to ensure American citizens are protected. Where will the accountability to the taxpayers be? While the top level positioning of the Patriot Act seems just and provides a better way to protect Americans, it is anything but just. The Patriot Act removed important mechanisms needed to protect American citizen's Constitutional rights and freedoms! Did you know the Patriot Act allows for every phone call, text message and email to be monitored and stored indefinitely? Not just 'suspected terrorists' - everyone's communications including you! The technology now exists to do this. The Patriot Act also allows people in power to review records of all types - video rentals, religious activities and medical records of not only you, but people you associate with - all without consent from the person being investigated! Authorities now have permission to search private property without express permission and can even 'secretly' search your property by entering and conducting their search while you are away - legally! Perhaps the most concerning is the Patriot Act gives those in power the ability to detain anyone indefinitely without opportunity for any judicial review. While Patriot Act supporters point out these authoritative actions are reserved for 'terrorists', they fail to disclose just how easy it is for someone like you or I to be accused of terrorist-like activities. There are no checks and balances in place. I have dedicated myself to protect and serve America based on its founding principles and that is why I will do all I can to restore the right of privacy back to Americans and protect our Constitutional freedoms. I will work to repeal the dangerous Patriot Act that Spencer Bachus supported. Spencer Bachus supports the Patriot Act and favors increased Federal control into our personal lives. For example, he supported the controversial NDAA Act passed by Congress which allows the federal government to arrest citizens and hold them indefinitely without a trial, in violation of our 4th Amendment and Bill of Rights. I believe it is imperative we improve our educational system. There have been many Federal funded programs implemented yet none are considered successful given the amount of time, energy and money spent. The best way to improve education in America is for local citizens to get involved and support their schools. I firmly believe education is best served through involvement at the local and state levels, not the Federal level. As mentioned earlier, I will spend much of my time as your representative meeting with people throughout District 6 continually collecting ideas and plans on the best way to work on improving our educational system. I believe “No Child Left Behind Program”…needs to be left behind! In Summary I am running for office because I truly care about this district and her people. Bachus is running to continue his career in politics and power. My focus as your representative will be:
For the first time in 12 years, the people of this district have a choice, and the differences between the two of us could not be clearer. I am asking for your support and ultimately your vote so we can work together for a change for the better. |
    Paid for by The Committee To Elect Penny Bailey for Congress |
