Thoughts

Crime: we cannot live our lives in fear. We must enforce our laws so that the criminal element understands that we mean business as a lawful society. We cannot continue to allow the criminals to run rampant in our streets, disrupting our daily lives and hurting our children and families. We must come together as a community to stand up to the criminal element. When you send Mike Poast to Columbus, you send a citizen committed to creating an environment where crime does not pay. He believes in strict law enforcement backed up by good judges who's rulings stick. Criminals deserve their rights and due process, but so do the victims.

taxes: the money in the state treasury is ours, the citizens hard earned paychecks. We the people will not sit back, idle, while those who claim to represent us throw it away. We need fiscal responsibility in Columbus. lower taxes produce greater revenues. We need to reduce the burden on families and business. The engine of our economy is not Columbus or Washington, it is the business person interacting with their customer.

family: the family is the backbone of our society. we must protect the traditional family and traditional marriage.

life: governments job is to protect life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. these words were written in this order not by accident. protecting the life of its citizens is the primary goal of government. this is why we have police, fire, and military personnel. This is also why we must protect life not yet born, and life not yet gone.

2ND amendment: this was not written for hunters, it was written so that the people would have a last resort in the event their government got too out of hand. the 2ND ensures the 1st. When we create laws making it more and more difficult to acquire firearms the law abiding citizen is the one who suffers. Criminals, by definition, do not obey gun laws.

eminent domain: another founding principle; there is no liberty without private property rights. we must ensure that eminent domain remains as it was originally intended, not a vehicle by which big business gets bigger and government increases its tax base.

education: it is important that families are able to raise their children as they see fit, government should back this up, not inhibit it. our schools are failing our children, there are good solutions out there, but unions and cowardly officials continue to stand in the way. We have a right to choose how our children are educated.

Political Philosophy:
I believe in the goodness of people, and the ability of the individual to make proper decisions regarding their lives. I believe, as The Founders did, that governments are created with the consent of the governed. They have a responsibility to the people, and should any official charged with such duties misuse the power afforded them, it is the duty and the right of the people to remove the offenders. Governments, at all levels, should promote and encourage its' citizens to behave according to the dictates assigned to it by The People.

POSITION PAPERS

sorry for the rant John, but this is kind of thing is the root of our problems. We just can't see it because sometimes governments waste money on that which is deemed "good" to our biases, so we don't complain of the expenditure. We then face sewer problems because the proper precautions and maintenance have not been preformed. This is exactly why we are against big government. It's not that we think that the social issues some people want government to take care of are not important, it's that government can only do so much without taking all of your hard earned money. If we elect people who are for all of these social "programs" it inevitably will take money away from essential services like sewer, trash, POLICE (hello, crime?). In addition it will create a culture in the government of ease. The employees will not be as sharp about economy, and will become frivolously with The People's resources. This is not an easy thing to do though, since those who wish to use the power of government for their little "projects" or to create cushy, unaccountable, positions for themselves or their friends, are always trying to get there grimy hands on the purse strings of OUR government. So we must be vigilant, John you do a GREAT JOB OF THIS. We must maintain a sharp eye on our elected officials. Lastly, you don't have to be of any particular party to work for limited government. It is responsible and intelligent to be frugal. In our homes when we get our paychecks do we run to "the boats" and then back to our boss demanding more money? no, we prioritize funds for expenditures which are necessary and life-sustaining, then if there are extras, or we have saved over an extended period we may get a new deck or flat screen or go to the boats. But government, at all levels and from both sides of the isle, do this very thing every day!!! And we, the arbiters of this body of thieves, keep putting them in there time after time, election after election. We don't pay attention and then when it's time to vote we either don't, or we vote for a name which we have heard of in the news or that has been there before!! makes me sick!! we need LOWER TAXES, LESS GOVERNMENT, AND MORE CITIZENS. We need to get involved, starting with me.