The reason I can not support Kevin Calvey
First I must explain how I came to be a political candidate. I first met Mr. Calvey at a Tea Party at the State Capital on April 15 2009. During the event I was standing behind a guy that I heard yell out in response to a comment made by the speaker that we should "throw all the bums out". I thought to myself "yeah, so we can get the next set of bums in". Well I made a decision right then and there that I was going to get more involved in doing my absolute best to make sure that the right person had a chance. Not necessarily the most liked, or the heir apparent, not the smoothest talker, but the person who could best represent my values and beliefs in Freedom and Liberty, someone with a true understanding that rights come from God and not Government or politicians.
Towards the end of the event Mr. Calvey approached me and asked if I would add my name to his mailing list so that I could continue to be informed of his campaign for US Congress, to which I willingly obliged. Mr. Calvey reminded me that he was the guy that had left politics to deploy to Iraq and I remember thinking "now there is a guy who places Country above self" Of course I had forgotten that he did NOT voluntarily leave politics, he lost an election and was voted out of politics. I left there that afternoon and headed back to work and on the drive back I thought now maybe Mr. Calvey is the candidate I should support. When I got back to my store I went to Mr. Calvey's website and read it over and it all sounded pretty good. What he says and what I believe actually line up pretty well as far as political philosophy. One thing you should understand about me is that I am an all in kinda guy and if I am going to support a political candidate I will pour all of my heart and soul into it. I knew that if I put my everything behind a candidate and found out later that I was backing the wrong guy it would have been emotionally devastating for me, so I decided before I would jump into Mr. Calvey's campaign with both feet that I would have to be sure that he was the "right" guy for the job. I wanted to know him as well as I know myself, so I started researching to find out what kind of guy he is. Well needless to say I found way more reasons to not support him than I found to support him.
So here is a list with references as to why I realized that Mr. Calvey was not only not the best man for the job but why I believe that he is the worst man for the job.
ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION. Mr. Calvey talks tough on illegal immigration but what is his record.
In 2003 he was the author of HB1559 which granted in-state tuition benefits to illegals
http://www.okhighered.org/leg-info/2003/update-01-24-03.pdf
In 2001 he voted yes for HB1409 which would have required the Department of Public Safety to issue Driver's License exams in foreign languages
GOVERNMENT INVOLVEMENT IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR. Mr. Calvey says that the government should not be involved in private businesses and taxpayers carry an unfair burden (bailouts)
In 2005 he was the House Author of SB435 creating the "Railroad Modernization Act of 2005". This bill created a new transferable tax credit for the railroad industry giving them a favored status over other forms of transportation
and in 2006 he was house author of SB1304 which quadrupled the size of the credit for the Railroad industry.
In 2005 he was the house author of SB610 which created a new transferable tax credit for home builders.
CAREER POLITICIANS. Mr. Calvey said at a candidate forum at UCO that the Country can not afford "Career Politicians" Yet my understanding is that he has run for or held Public office in every election cycle since 1996 with the exception of 2008. 14 years as a politician and numerous years before that actively involved with party politics in my opinion makes him a career politician, yet he wants us to believe that he is a grass roots activist and is a political outsider.
POLITICAL PANDERING. He tells us that he fights for us, yet he has an uncanny ability to tell us what he thinks we want to hear, even when it is flat untrue. On 7-24-2010 KFOR aired a candidate "debate" in which Mr. Calvey said that his campaign would not be using any robocalling. The question came from a KFOR viewer that said she hating getting robocalls, so Mr. Calvey's political instincts took over and he told an outright lie. I have received at least two robocalls from Mr. Calvey myself. Do we really want to elect a career politician who tells us what he thinks we want to hear even if it is untrue?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1pTDZI1KPU
SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS. I have heard Mr. Calvey complain on numerous occasions that Washington is controlled by special interest groups. Well if you consider that only 23% of his campaign contributions come from inside the 5th district, the largest part of his warchest coming from personal loans he made to the campaign, and conduited contributions from a Washington D.C. PAC, I have to ask who is controlled by special interest.
http://query.nictusa.com/cgi-bin/fecimg/?C00460709
VOTER ACCES. When voters began questioning Mr. Calvey on his Facebook page he or his staff began deleting the questions and "unfriending" them. He eventually locked his page to prevent anyone from asking questions or commenting on his statements. If he can not answer their questions while a candidate how responsive would he be to the concerns of his constituents?
A CIVILIAN NATION OF LAWS. This is truly the most difficult thing for me to talk about during this campaign. Any one who knows me knows how I feel about the men and women who serve our Country in uniform. As a disabled Navy Veteran, a member of the DAV and the American Legion, I would never attack or disparage any ones military service or their reasons for choosing to serve. Military service is a most honorable way to serve our Country.
In a free Country there must always be a separation between the military and a civilian government. There is a reason that the Founding Fathers made the Commander in Chief a civilian position. The civilian government controls the military and not the other way around. The primary purpose of the DoD is to provide civilian control of the U.S. military. Article II Section 2 of the Constitution designates the President as a civilian "Commander in Chief". Most all of those who serve in the military understand this and realize that the very top of their chain of command is a civilian elected by the people of the United States. The highest ranking General in the military has no authority except that which is vested in him by a civilian government. Even the appearance of military support of elected officials is a dangerous mistake.
I say all of this to say that there is a reason the DoD has a directive laying out what a member of the service can and can not do in uniform while campaigning. The Department of Defense does not want to ever be perceived as endorsing a candidate for public office so they have a rule about it. This rule is DoD Directive 1344.10. Paragraph 4.6.4. of the directive reads "This is a lawful general regulation. Violations of paragraphs 4.1. through 4.5. of this Directive by persons subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice are punishable under Article 92, "Failure to Obey Order or Regulation," Chapter 47 of Reference (b)."
Paragraph 4.3. of this directive applies to members of the National Guard, even when in a non-Federal status. It appears as though Mr. Calvey has openly violated at least three of the restrictions in paragraph 4.3 during his campaign for US Congress.
Mr. Calvey's blatant disregard for this lawful order flies in the face of military decorum and respect for the uniform and the chain of command. I have visited with Mr. Calvey and while I have absolutely no right to speak for him, I truly believe that he has a great deal of respect for the men and women in uniform as well as the military as a whole, so I am forced to believe that this is not an intentional violation but is an oversight on his part. This oversight by a man who is a JAG officer, lawyer, and former State Legislator shows how incompetent he would be as a US Representative. This directive is not some new or little known rule that most people don't even know about, it has been around in one form or another for quite some time. I first learned of the restrictions on political activities while in uniform twenty two years ago while in boot camp. While most recruits may not remember the exact restrictions later in life, they will remember enough to know that they should at least do a little research before they start campaigning. For a JAG officer whose main campaign slogan is based upon his military service the lack of due diligence into what is and is not legally acceptable practice while in uniform this "oversight" is completely unacceptable and I believe that it rises to the level of incompetence. I believe we have plenty of incompetent legislators in Washington and that there is no need to add another.
http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/134410p.pdf
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaC5cpUJluw
As a small business owner I look at voting in the same way I look at a job interview. I would never hire someone for a key position based upon if he had the nicest suit or was the most articulate speaker, or even if he seems like a nice guy, but is the applicant the best person for the job period. The first disqualifier for me is can this person be trusted and the second is competence. If I can't trust someone then qualifications are irrelevant, and if incompetent they are a danger to future success. Someone who is incompetent and untrustworthy is the most dangerous combination of all regardless of how well he pulls off the interview process. I think President Obama is a perfect example. Always remember if you get snowed during the interview (campaign) we will all be forced to live with the consequences.
Firearms are second only to the Constitution in importance; they are the peoples' liberty's teeth.
