RUTHFULLY YOURS

Sunny with light missile cover in Tel Aviv this morning. I awoke to muffled thuds in the distance, Iron Dome shooting down Syrian-made missiles launched from Gaza, according to news reports. I attended the obligatory morning mixer for hotel guests at the bomb shelter, which fortunately lasted only five minutes before the all-clear sounded. I’ll write something more comprehensive on this soon — Tablet is scheduled to run my essay next Monday — but the thumbnail version is that Hamas is making a demonstration out of weakness. Money is tight, 44,000 Gaza civil servants haven’t been paid for weeks, and the IDF did significant damage to its infrastructure on the West Bank after the kidnapping-murder of the three yeshiva boys. Netanyahu will look indecisive and confused, because he has to deal with an openly hostile U.S. administration on one side and his nationalist camp on the other. Time, though, is on Israel’s side: economically, demographically, strategically. The proportion of Jewish births continues to soar. The fruits of a decade of venture capital investing are ripening into high-valuation companies. And the Arab world is disintegrating all around Israel’s borders.

I have no idea whether the IDF will go into Gaza on the ground, or what they will do if they do so: that’s a tricky cost-benefit calculation, and no-one outside the government has relevant information. But the broader point is that Israel will win a war of attrition. Hamas has shot off hundreds of rockets (including one that landed a few kilometers from me up north in Zichron Yaakov while I had lunch there yesterday) without causing a single injury. Iron Dome has worked brilliantly. Traffic was a bit lighter than normal last night, but there wasn’t a free table at any of the hundred or so cafe terraces on Dizengoff St., Tel Aviv’s main drag.

Unknown to each other, President Barack Obama and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas walk into a bar, and meet, well, at the bar. Obama is there for a secret Marlboro and his favorite martini. Abbas is there to escape Hamas gunmen after his head and maybe order a beer with lemonade. After sitting on adjoining stools and exchanging “high fives” “fist-bumps,” and playing a half-round of scissors-paper-rock, they notice each other’s lapel pins.

Abbas is wearing one of the Palestinian flag. Obama is wearing a “Hope and Change” pin, which he alternates with an alleged American flag pin with diagonal red and white stripes. Or no pin at all.

Abbas cheerfully offers to trade pins with Obama. Obama says that’s a great idea. Abbas fixes the Hope and Change pin to his lapel, and Obama fixes the Palestinian one to his lapel. Then they laugh and exclaim together, “Now we are truly on the same side!”

And together they retort, “Haven’t we always been?” They laugh again in the knowledge that they’re in such perfect sync.

That’s the punch line. Something of a downer, isn’t it? Not funny at all?

Nevertheless, it’s true.

Now, Barack Obama is a jihadist on many fronts: In his domestic policies, and in his foreign policies. For example, he is now proposing that Congress appropriate $3.7 billion in “humanitarian” aid for sub rosa amnesty to thousands of illegal immigrants who have been bussed up to the U.S./Mexican border. About 95% of this aid will not go directly to the illegals, but to federal agencies. The Washington Post’s David Nakamura and Wesley Lowery, in their July 8th article, “White House requests $3.7 billion in emergency funds for border crisis,” noted that this exorbitant amount won’t benefit the illegals, but bureaucracies, foreign and domestic:

Under the White House proposal, most of the emergency funds would be split between the Department of Health and Human Services — which would receive $1.8 billion to provide shelter and care to the immigrants — and the Justice and Homeland Security departments, which would get a combined $1.6 billion to handle enforcement.

The State Department would receive $300 million to help the Central America

A stranger named Dr. Alpert entered my dentist’s waiting room this morning and sat down. The answer to your obvious question of how I knew this stranger’s name is that as soon as she sat down, she pulled out her cell phone and listened to her voice mail messages on speaker. One was from a woman who sounded distraught and wanted Dr. Alpert to call back immediately; two others were less distinct. Dr. Alpert did not return the first call but she did call someone else- perhaps an adult child or a close friend – to chat cozily and loudly about how the play was coming along. As she did, the other woman in the waiting room and I faced each other with increasing discomfort, neither of us brave enough to say what we wanted: Lady, there’s a sign on the wall asking you to please turn off your phone – dammit, just do it!

There was more that I wanted to tell Dr. Alpert – that people who need other people to know they are doctors are revealing their own insecurity, like Dr. Jill Biden who insists that she always be announced in that way. She’s a doctor at an inauguration, at a charitable event or spotted in the audience at a dog show. Curious to know what Dr. Jill got her degree in, I asked google who informed me that Jill Tracy Jacobs has a Ph.D. in the topic of “Student Retention At the Community College.” Next to physical education, that has to be the least impressive topic for such an advanced degree but we’re living in times when a 51% graduation rate from high school is deemed success instead of abject failure.

I wanted Dr. Alpert to know that her loud monologue was not equivalent to a quiet chat between two people; that only one door separated her from the great outdoors on a beautiful day; that her insistence on subjecting everyone (staff included) to her boring ruminations was a form of hostage taking; that instead of sounding cool, she sounded as if she might be talking to herself or her voice mail. I know that Dr. Alpert won’t be dismayed by my using her name since she was the one who broadcast it to begin with.

Dr. Alpert may have some patients or students who are reading this and who will now know that she doesn’t respect confidentiality and actively insists that others listen to her messages containing other people’s names and problems. Dr. Alpert is a caucasian female of indeterminate age and average height; she is moderately overweight with a brownish pony tail and a really arrogant face just begging to be punched. If you know her, please do that for me or at least please forward this.

Ever since President George W. Bush said “Islam is peace” on Sept. 17, 2001, it has been politically shielded from any debate about its effects on its adherents or on the rest of the world. Muslim nations and pressure groups such as the Council on American-Islamic Relations have used political correctness as a weapon to punish anyone who dared to begin any debate on Islam by calling them “Islamophobes,” an accusation of racism.

That era was ended by the lead editorial in the July 5 edition of The Economist, the prominent liberal British news magazine. Titled “The Tragedy of the Arabs,” the article began by wondering why after the glories of past centuries the Arabs are in a “wretched state,” why the fruits of the Arab Spring “rotted into renewed autocracy and war.”

It concludes that, “Islam, or at least modern reinterpretations of it, is at the core of some of the Arabs’ deep troubles. The faith’s claim, promoted by many of its leading lights, to combine spiritual and earthly authority, with no separation of mosque and state, has stunted development of independent political institutions.” The Economist correctly assesses the problem by finding that economic stagnation is an inevitable product of these problems and that “only the Arabs can reverse their civilizational decline and right now there is little hope of that happening.”

For a respected liberal media outlet to write these things is literally a revolution in media thinking. Gone is the consistent narrative that every cause of terrorism is the fault of the United States. It is now permissible to ask the questions that the politically correct media has refused to ask for almost 13 years.

To begin with, one of the features of Western and Far Eastern religions is that they encourage introspection. Americans take great pride in their habit of challenging established beliefs be they in government, religion or other aspects of society. Islam prohibits introspection largely because the Quran is believed by Muslims to be the actual words of God and not subject to debate.

The nearly four thousand year old association of Jewish life in Gaza is little remembered in today’s world. Of course people know of the biblical story of Samson being blinded by the now extinct Philistines and how he brought down the temple to their gods in Gaza. But very few have any idea of the deep Jewish history in the following millennia.

In the Second millennium BC, Gaza served as an administrative city and residence of the Egyptian governor of Canaan. The bible tells us that the Jewish patriarch, Isaac, dug wells in Gerar, an ancient site between Beer Sheba and Gaza, and in the 13th century BC the Philistines or Caphorites (Cretans) annihilated the Avite inhabitants of Gaza and made the city the largest of their five centers.

After the Israelite Exodus from Egypt and entry into the Promised Land, the tribe of Judah was given Gaza as a possession but did not include it fully in their territory. The bible reports in Joshua 15.47 and Judges 1:18 how the city of Gaza, and those of Ekron, Ashkelon, Ashdod and Gat became a possession of Israel but how some of them were among those places ‘lying in the remaining country,’ i.e., not fully possessed by the Israelites.

Down the centuries, Gaza was captured by Assyrians, Egyptians, Babylonians, Persians and later still by Alexander the Great who incorporated it into his growing empire in the 5th century BC. The strategic territory, lying as it does at the crossroads of two continents, Africa and Asia, has repeatedly fallen since earliest times to invading armies.

In 167 BC, Judah Maccabee led his Jewish fighters to victory over the Syrian-Greek pagan king, Antiochus Epiphanies. Jerusalem was liberated and the defiled Jewish Temple cleansed. The miracle of this event is now celebrated by Jews during the festival of Hanukah. But it was the Hasmonean king, Yochanan, who also liberated Gaza in 145 BC. He was the brother of Judah the Maccabee and it was their other brother, Simon, who sent Jews to repopulate Gaza and its environs.

In the Book of Maccabees: 1:15, it says:

“Not a strange land have we conquered, and not over the possessions of strangers have we ruled, but of the inheritance of our Fathers that was in the hands of the enemy and conquered by them unlawfully. And as for us, when we had the chance, we returned to ourselves the inheritance of our Fathers.”

Why Obama, Kerry, Abbas, Hamas, BDS, and Hezbollah Will All Go Poof!

Bad newspaper headlines aside, it’s been a pretty good century for the Zionists

In 1912, David Ben Gurion moved to Istanbul, capital of the Ottoman Empire, to study law at Istanbul University. The land of Israel had been under Ottoman rule for centuries, and the only way the Jews could grow their villages and towns, family by family, house by house, was to be accepted as loyal Ottoman subjects.

Two years later, when the World War broke out, Ben Gurion recruited 40 fellow Jews into a militia to serve the empire. Given the strategic situation, it was the only intelligent choice: The Ottoman Empire had persisted for centuries as its declining military strength was perfectly offset by increasing diplomatic support—by 1912, it was backed by both the British and the German empires, a double assurance of its long-term survival. That is why Ben Gurion was studying Turkish and the law, confident in the expectation that in 10 or 20 years he would master Ottoman political complexities to attain the rank and seniority of an ethnic leader for the thousands of Jews who were arriving each year.

But Ben Gurion’s strenuous efforts were wasted. Instead of enduring for several more centuries, in a mere six years the Ottoman Empire went poof! Just like that.

Many things changed in the ensuing confusion of World War I and its disordered aftermath—but not the determination of the Jews to return to their ancestral land to grow their villages and towns family by family, house by house. With the Ottoman Empire but a memory, from Sept. 29, 1923 on, it was the British who officially ruled the land.

On June 28, 1914, a chauffeur panicked after a failed bomb attack on his boss, took a wrong turn and came to a complete stop in front of a café in Sarajevo where Gavrilo Princip was sitting. Princip, discouraged at the apparent failure of the planned murder, seized the unexpected opportunity and fired the shots that began the First World War, a cataclysm which claimed over nine million lives, ended four empires and set in motion events from the Communist Revolution in Russia to the rise of Nazi Germany.

One hundred years later, the world is nervously keeping its eyes peeled for misguided chauffeurs and asking itself whether history could repeat. The great powers are at peace, and trade and cultural ties between nations seem closer than ever before, yet the international scene is in many ways surprisingly brittle. In particular, a rising naval power is challenging an established hegemon, and a “powder keg” region replete with ethnic and religious quarrels looks less stable by the day.

In 1914, Germany was the rising power, the U.K. the weary hegemon and the Balkans was the powder keg. In 2014, China is rising, the United States is staggering under the burden of world leadership and the Middle East is the powder keg.

Only a few years ago, most western observers believed that the age of geopolitical rivalry and great power war was over. Today, with Russian forces in Ukraine, religious wars exploding across the Middle East, and territorial disputes leading to one crisis after another in the East and South China seas, the outlook is darker. Serious people now ask whether we have moved from a post-war into a pre-war world. Could some incident somewhere in the world spark another global war?

MIDDLE EAST POWDER KEG

Let’s start with the powder keg. The immediate cause of the fighting in World War I was the set of ethnic and religious conflicts in the Balkans. In the second half of the 19th century, economic development and modernization led to heightened competition among the region’s peoples. The drive for self-determination set Croats, Serbs, Magyars, Kosovars, Bosniaks, Macedonians, Bulgarians, Greeks and others at one another’s throats. The death toll mounted and the hatred grew as massacres and ethnic cleansing spread — and the ability of the outside powers to control the region’s dynamics shrank as the imperial powers were themselves undermined by rising social and nationalist tensions.

The Middle East today bears an ominous resemblance to the Balkans of that period. The contemporary Middle East has an unstable blend of ethnicities and religions uneasily coexisting within boundaries arbitrarily marked off by external empires. Ninety-five years after the French and the British first parceled out the lands of the fallen Ottoman caliphate, that arrangement is now coming to an end. Events in Iraq and Syria suggest that the Middle East could be in for carnage and upheaval as great as anything the Balkans saw. The great powers are losing the ability to hold their clients in check; the Middle East today is at least as explosive as the Balkan region was a century ago.

Will Saletan writes about politics, science, technology, and other stuff for Slate. He’s the author of Bearing Right.

According to many critics, Israel is slaughtering civilians in Gaza. It’s “purposefully wiping out entire families,” says an Arab member of Israel’s parliament. It’s committing “genocide—the murder of entire families,” says Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority. Iran says Israel has committed “massacres against the defenseless Palestinians.”

The charges are false. By the standards of war, Israel’s efforts to spare civilians have been exemplary.

Israel didn’t choose this fight. Hamas and Islamic Jihad, the terrorist organizations that dominate Gaza, claim that Israel provoked the conflict by arresting Hamas members in the
West Bank. But arrests in one territory don’t justify aerial bombardment from another. Israel didn’t hit Gaza until terrorists had fired more than 150 rockets into Israel and had rejected a cease-fire.

Some of the pictures that purport to show devastation from the Israeli strikes are fakes borrowed from other wars. As of Wednesday afternoon, the death count ranged from 30 to 50 or more, depending on where you mark the onset of the conflict. Every death is tragic, and the longer the assault goes on, the higher the toll will go. Still, given that Israel has launched more than 500 airstrikes, you’d have to conclude that either Israel is failing miserably to kill people or, more plausibly, it’s largely trying not to kill them.

Israel’s defense minister admits his forces have targeted “terrorists’ houses” as well as “arms, terror infrastructures, command systems, Hamas institutions, [and] regime buildings.” The houses belong to Hamas military leaders. An Israeli official boasts that “there’s not a single Hamas brigade commander that has a home to go back to.” Israel’s legal rationale for targeting these homes is that they were “terror command centers” involved in rocket fire or other “terror activity.” But while Israel has tried to kill commanders in their cars (and has succeeded), it has avoided unannounced strikes on their homes.

The last time Israel targeted buildings in Gaza, a year and a half ago, it used leaflets and phone calls to warn residents to get out beforehand. It also fired flares or low-impact mortars (known as a “knock on the roof”) to signal impending strikes. Human rights groups didn’t accept these measures as protection from legal responsibility, but they did hail them as progress. Israel claims to be applying the same measures today. Hamas and other Palestinian sources confirm that the Israeli military has issued phone warnings to families in the targeted homes.

I was watching the BBC. On came a former Israeli ambassador to explain Israel’s military action in Gaza, the place Hamas turned into Terrorist Central.
This ambassador who used to be so good came weak and unprepared. So I won’t mention his name. He failed. He made no case for Israel. He made the case for the BBC.

As he sat there mostly dazed for half an hour, I found myself hollering, “Why don’t you simply tell how it all began? That is the crux of it all.”

That is the crux of the war taking place this very moment.

For in the beginning Gaza was not Hamas. In the beginning Gaza was Israel…and it was rich. In Gaza’s Gush Katif some 200 farms in 17 Biblically religious communities produced cutting edge organic agriculture serving nearly a third of Israel. Some 9,000 Israeli inhabitants employing about 4,000 Arabs served even Europe’s grocery needs. Everybody prospered from export revenues that totaled some $200 million annually.

One day – kaput.

One day Israel’s hawk woke up a dove. The lion woke up to find himself a mouse. Kafka already wrote how this can happen, and it happened to Ariel Sharon, Israel’s prime minister along 2004-2005. The mystery persists – how the man whose strong hand in favor of expanded settlements suddenly went limp.

Sharon came to power a friend of Israel’s Middle and Israel’s Right, accounting for the vast majority of the Jewish State. He was scorned by the Left, which took him to be far too hawkish. For a time, this was true. Then after a time, something happened, something snapped. Sharon became obsessed.

He became obsessed with the task of diminishing Israel one step at a time. He became obsessed with Gaza’s Gush Katif. He wanted it gone from Jewish hands.

At first he tried some gentle persuasion to bring Israel around to his side. The Left now embraced him and quickly fell in. Yes, Jewish Gaza must go.

To see the actual voting records of all incumbents on other issues such as Foreign Policy, Second Amendment Issues, Homeland Security, and other issues as well as their rankings by special interest groups please use the links followed by two stars (**).

U.S. Senate

Lindsey Graham (R) Incumbent

http://www.lindseygraham.com/ http://www.lgraham.senate.gov/public/

http://www.ontheissues.org/senate/lindsey_graham.htm**

Rated +1 by AAI, indicating a mixed Arab/Palestine voting record. (May 2012)

HOT BUTTON ISSUES

ECONOMY AND HEALTHCARE Lindsey Graham believes Washington spends too much, taxes too much, and borrows too much. He has proposed hundreds of billions of dollars in spending cuts to crack down on waste, fraud, and abuse, cosponsored a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution, introduced bills to save Social Security and Medicare from bankruptcy, and written legislation to allow South Carolina to opt-out of Obamacare. – See more at: http://www.lindseygraham.com/#sthash.yND29vCE.dpuf

NATIONAL SECURITY Lindsey Graham believes in a strong national defense, supported by a decisive foreign policy that stands up for freedom, democracy, and American values. Graham is a passionate advocate for our troops at home and abroad. He wrote the law to expand health care coverage to military families, but he also supported cutting wasteful spending within the Department of Defense. – See more at: http://www.lindseygraham.com/#sthash.yND29vCE.dpuf

Prior to his service in the House, Graham compiled a distinguished record in the United States Air Force as he logged six-and-a-half years of service on active duty as an Air Force lawyer. From 1984-1988, he was assigned overseas and served at Rhein-Main Air Force Base in Germany. Upon leaving active duty Air Force in 1989, Graham joined the South Carolina Air National Guard where he served until 1995. During the first Gulf War in the early 90’s, Graham was called to active duty and served state-side at McEntire Air National Guard Base as Staff Judge Advocate where he prepared members for deployment to the Gulf region. Graham continues to serve his country in the U.S. Air Force Reserves and is the only U.S. Senator currently serving in the Guard or Reserves. He is a colonel and is assigned as a Senior Instructor at the Air Force JAG School – See more at: http://www.lindseygraham.com/#sthash.yND29vCE.dpuf

ENERGY Supports construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline without limiting amendments.
Brad Hutto (D) Challenger

http://bradhutto.com/home/

HOT BUTTON ISSUES

JOBS Brad has a long history of fighting for jobs and small businesses. He received a perfect score of 100% from the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce for his hard work and leadership for creating jobs. As our Senator, he will roll up his sleeves on day one to help bring good paying jobs with benefits here in South Carolina. Instead of obsessing over international politics, Brad will work to ensure that South Carolina workers are properly trained and that the business environment is attractive for job creators. He will work to restore and improve the state’s crumbling infrastructure and to rebuild failing schools in the state’s rural areas.

HEALTHCARE Brad wants to fix the Affordable Care Act and allow everyone to keep or obtain a plan that best suits their families’ needs. He will not support legislation that will put the insurance companies back in charge or return us to a time when insurance could be denied for pre-existing conditions and families could go bankrupt because of lifetime caps.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY As an avid outdoorsman and sportsman, Brad knows that we must do more to protect our natural resources. From the mountains to the lakes, to the coast, South Carolina is blessed with a unique beauty that generates tourism and creates jobs. Brad will fight against those who would do harm for their own short term goals.

Energy – Brad will continue to lead efforts to invest in alternative forms of energy like solar, wind and gas. We can’t continue to rely on foreign countries to supply our energy.

WOMEN’S HEALTH Government should not dictate health decisions for women in this country. He believes women should be empowered to consult with their families, healthcare providers, and religious advisors to make reproductive health decisions. Women do not need Washington politicians like Lindsey Graham telling them what to do.

SPECIAL ELECTION IN 2014:
Tim Scott (R) Incumbent

http://votetimscott.com/ http://www.scott.senate.gov/

http://www.ontheissues.org/house/Tim_Scott.htm**

Rated -4 by AAI, indicating a anti-Arab anti-Palestine voting record. (May 2012)

HOT BUTTON ISSUES

ENERGY Washington – U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) and 23 of his colleagues sent a letter today to President Barack Obama calling for his approval of the Keystone XL pipeline without any additional strings attached. Recently, opponents of the project have proposed stipulations such as a burdensome carbon emissions tax and expanded regulations if the pipeline is ultimately approved. Construction of the pipeline is projected to be a significant job creator in the country’s energy sector.

“The Keystone pipeline is a common sense, ready-to-start initiative that will strengthen North America’s energy future,” Scott said. “Instead of using the project as a political football to raise taxes and place even more burdensome regulations on job creators, we should embrace this opportunity to strengthen our economy and get folks back to work. The pipeline has the overwhelming support of both the American people and a bipartisan majority in Congress. Let’s put aside any gimmicks and make this project a reality.”

According to the U.S. State Department, the pipeline’s construction could create up to 42,000 jobs.

HEALTHCARE I am a passionate advocate for patient-centered health care. Doctors and their patients, not the federal government, should be making health care decisions. We all want every American to have access to affordable care; however, there are stark contrasts in how Democrats and Republicans believe we get there.

I support real solutions to rising health care costs:

Nationwide Shopping for Insurance – Allowing insurance companies to operate under interstate commerce laws will lead to more competition, better prices and offerings.
EQUAL TAX TREATMENT – Businesses and the self-employed receive a tax deduction for insurance premiums. Let’s extend that to individuals, giving an incentive instead of a deterrent for buying health care.

Encourage State High-risk Pools – Preexisting conditions can make insurance for many people unaffordable or simply unavailable. High risk pools were functioning well in many states before ObamaCare-providing affordable coverage to those with preexisting conditions without raising premiums for everyone else. States should be permitted to create these pools again.

Medical-Malpractice (TORT) Reform – Defensive medicine costs more than $100 billion a year. Texas and New York show us the path forward here. Following passage of TORT reform in Texas, malpractice insurance rates have fallen more than 60 percent. Meanwhile, malpractice premiums in New York have increased by 60 percent. The result? Around 2,000 physicians have moved their practices from New York to Texas due to lower rates.

Association Health Plans – Allow small businesses to pool employees for coverage. – These policies, centered around what’s best for patients, are what will truly transform our health care system. Obamacare’s government-centric path, leading to exploding premiums and deductibles while placing a huge financial burden on the entire nation, must be stopped. I will continue to work towards the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, and to replace it with solutions that will tackle health care costs and improve access.
Joyce Dickerson (D) Challenger

http://joycedickersonsc.com/

HOT BUTTON ISSUES

THE MIDDLE CLASS, SENIORS AND VETERANS Joyce will fight for America’s declining middle class. She is dedicated to helping secure the jobs of the everyday citizen, paving a way to a more positive financial outlook. Joyce is also an advocate of seniors and veterans, making sure they receive the benefits that they have earned.

IMMIGRATION Joyce will push for comprehensive immigration reform that will not discriminate against the nation’s growing Hispanic and other immigrant populations.

SUSTAINABLE AMERICA Joyce understands the necessity of reducing our nation’s debt for a more sustainable America.

SECURITY Joyce believes that individual security promotes personal success, which is the first step to the security of the family, community and nation. She will support education, public safety, social security and national security.

District 1
Mark Sanford (R) Incumbent

http://www.marksanford.com/ http://www.ontheissues.org/Mark_Sanford.htm **

HOT BUTTON ISSUES

ENERGY Voted for construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline without limiting amendments.

HEALTHCARE Mark has been a long time advocate of market-based solutions to healthcare reform. His administration was the first in the country to receive a waiver from the federal government to offer a statewide system of Health Savings Accounts to the Medicaid population. He believes that healthcare coverage should be portable and that we should ultimately move toward a primary payer system given it was oddly the wage and price controls of World War II that originally coupled employment and healthcare. As noted earlier he has long been a proponent of legal reform as a way of avoiding much of the defensive medicine now currently forced on doctors, the medical community and patients. As governor he fought the legislative body’s attempts to broaden medical eligibility on a host of categories believing that it did not make common sense to add to programs we were already unable to pay for and sustain. At the state level Medicaid was nine percent of our budget 10 years ago, 19 percent today and on our way to 29 percent in ten years. The federal government’s numbers are even worse and though our country has the finest healthcare treatment system in the world, its cost and access remain a problem. Consequently there have been many proposed solutions – Obamacare, with its $503 billion in new taxes and fees over the next 10 years, being the latest. Mark would work with others in Congress to repeal Obamacare because of its costs and inconsistency with market principals.

NATIONAL DEFENSE Mark believes one of the core functions of our federal government lies in providing for our nation’s defense, as outlined by Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution. He believes that only the Congress can declare war and that we should get away from military actions directed by the White House without the authorization of Congress, as his belief has always been that body bags from foreign lands do not return to Washington – but Congressional districts across this country. He also believes that Admiral Mike Mullen, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was right in his assessment that the greatest threat to our Nation’s security lies in our Nation’s debt and deficits. Indeed, economic supremacy has always been the key to military supremacy. Paul Kennedy talks about it in his book, “The Rise and Fall of Great Powers,” and it’s a phenomenon that’s been noted by military historians across time. Accordingly, it makes it that much more important for the sovereignty and security of our country that we do something about spending in Washington.

So Mark is committed to maintaining a strong national defense, both in economic and military terms. He believes in maintaining promises to those who have served. He believes that sustaining a military leadership and technological edge is vital as one views military budgets – and that to do so we have to constantly retool for today’s threats. Subsequently he believes we should look for efficiencies in defense as in every other program of government -as well as to look at the cost of police actions around the world. He believes America cannot afford to subsidize other countries unwillingness to adequately fund their own defense budgets as was recently demonstrated in France’s recent inability to fly even their own troops to Northern Africa. Here, it’s telling that France spends 2.3 percent of their GDP on their military, yet count on American help while America spends double that number. For those nations that do, like Israel that spends 6.5 percent, we must continue to work as strong strategic partners. Finally, Mark believes the installations here in the Lowcountry are playing a unique and critical mission in today’s military, whether that is with the lift provided by the 315th or 437th in Charleston or with the Marines, Navy and Army operational and training capacities across the district. In fact, Mark fought hard to highlight our state’s unique military missions as governor, establishing a BRAC task force that took our case directly to Washington. While many states lost jobs during the 2004 base closures, South Carolina as a state netted more than 700 new military jobs – which highlights the extraordinary effort and role of so many men and women in uniform in this state.
No challenger

District 2

A.G. “Joe” Wilson (R) Incumbent

http://www.joewilsonforcongress.com/ http://joewilson.house.gov/

http://www.ontheissues.org/house/Joe_Wilson.htm**

Rated -7 by AAI, indicating anti-Arab anti-Palestine voting record. (May 2012)

HOT BUTTON ISSUES

IMMIGRATION Until the appropriate laws already on the books are strongly enforced, illegal immigrants will continue to pour across our borders and weaken our national security. Once our laws are enforced, our nation will create a new generation of dedicated, patriotic American citizens. Legal immigrants have obeyed our regulations, and America must demonstrate our commitment to these hard-working individuals by ensuring those who follow our laws are treated courteously by immigration officials and their immigration applications are processed in a timely fashion. Here are some initiatives I have supported and will continue to advocate:

“Illegal Immigration Enforcement and Social Security Protection Act” would enforce restrictions on employment in the United States for unauthorized aliens through the use of improved Social Security cards and an Employment Eligibility Database;
“Photo Identification Security Act,” would require the Federal Government and financial institutions to solely accept secure forms of identification;
“SAVE (Secure America Through Verification and Enforcement) Act” would provide for additional border patrol agents, expand the E-verify program and make it mandatory for employers, and reduce illegal immigration through interior enforcement.

We must ensure we have an English-speaking, legal workforce that pays their taxes, grows our economy, and benefits our nation. However, I believe that it should be Congress’ priority to secure our borders. Please be assured that I will continue to work with my colleagues to strengthen border security and protect America’s legal workforce.

ENERGY Today, the most important task facing our nation is increasing domestic production, which can be accomplished via the Keystone XL Pipeline. In 2011, the Obama Administration announced its decision to delay the Keystone XL Pipeline, a project that would transport crude oil from Canadian oil sands to refineries along the Gulf Coast, until after the 2012 elections. The Administration defended its decision by citing environmental concerns, despite numerous environmental impact studies, which have found the project to be environmentally sound. This kind of decision directly inhibits our country’s ability to gain energy independence. Not only would this project contribute to our national security, it would also create hundreds of thousands of jobs, 20,000 of which are immediate and shovel ready. Additionally, the completion of the Keystone XL Pipeline would increase our domestic petroleum supply to an estimated 302 million barrels a year. That comes to 830,000 barrels per day.

HEALTHCARE Joe Wilson Was Right, O-Care Is Recruiting Illegal Immigrants… ‘You Lie!’ Mr. President In 2009, Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) apologized profusely to the White House for shouting, “You lie!” as President Barack Obama told Congress that Obamacare would not cover illegal immigrants. Now it would appear that the White House owes Wilson an apology, as Covered California–the flagship of state Obamacare exchanges–is recruiting illegal (“undocumented”) immigrants to sign up for the program, regardless of their eligibility. The Covered California website includes a special page entitled: “No temas si eres indocumentado/a y quieres inscribir a tu familia en un seguro médico” (“Fear not if you are undocumented and want to enroll your family in health insurance”). The website goes on to explain that information shared with Obamacare cannot be shared with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). It does not explicitly warn that illegal aliens are ineligible.

Rep. Joe Wilson was right.

The South Carolina Congressman screamed, “You lie!” when Barack Obama told Americans the Affordable Care Act would not cover abortions or illegal immigrants.
Phil Black (D) Challenger

http://www.philiphblack.com/

HOT BUTTON ISSUES

DEFENSE AND VETERANS Strong active military forces are the nation’s best deterrent against aggressive actions by rogue nations or terrorist organizations. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, successive administrations, both Democratic and Republican, attempted to reap a “peace dividend” by reducing our active military forces. These cuts were particularly heavy in the support branches (engineers, military police, supply, and logistics) so necessary to conduct stability operations. Accordingly, we have had to rely too much on the Reserves and National Guard to perform these functions in Iraq and Afghanistan. Members of both active and reserve forces are subjected to numerous repeated tours of duty in these conflicts, subjecting both them and their families to many hardships. Furthermore, the Reserves and National Guard are not available to accomplish their first missions of disaster relief and homeland security. The current administration pays lip service to supporting our troops, while at the same time submitting budgets that reduce benefits to the warriors who are sacrificing for our nation, including:

Reducing the budget of the Department of Veteran’s Affairs, resulting in long waiting periods for veterans to get health care and the creation of Category 8 veterans who have a modest income. Category 8 veterans cannot even apply for VA health care.
Reducing the budget of the military health system, resulting in incidents such as that involving Walter Reed Army Hospital being unable to provide adequate health care to wounded warriors.
Repeated attempts by the Administration to increase TRICARE enrollment fees, premiums, deductibles, and copays, resulting in financial hardship on our warriors and veterans.

ENERGY Our country needs a revitalized energy policy that reduces our dependency on foreign oil, encourages research and development of renewable energy sources and encourages private sector investment in natural gas and oil exploration. We must provide relief for our citizens who are struggling at the fuel pump with gasoline prices that drain their funds when trying to get to work and we must provide relief for our citizens who can no longer afford to adequately heat their homes. This country must look beyond carbon based fuels that threaten our environment and poison the air we breathe.

HEALTHCARE

1. Use the current Medicare billing system for all private insurance companies (would cut overhead cost by 30% or more).
2. Separation of the current Emergency Rooms into a real EMERGENCY room and the other rooms into healthcare rooms (as a small lad we went to the Health center
3. The persons entering the Healthcare rooms who are drunk or on illegal drugs do not go to rehabilitation but to the Sheriff’s room. Also all persons on welfare shall be drug tested.

District 3
Jeff Duncan (R) Incumbent

http://www.jeffduncan.com/ http://jeffduncan.house.gov/

http://www.ontheissues.org/house/Jeff_Duncan.htm**

Rated -6 by AAI, indicating anti-Arab anti-Palestine voting record. (May 2012)

HOT BUTTON ISSUES

HEALTHCARE I have supported, and will continue to support, full repeal of the Health Care law. I was a cosponsor of H.R. 2, the Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act, which passed the House on January 19th, 2011. I also cosponsored legislation to defund ObamaCare and I am cosponsoring multiple pieces of legislation to repeal individual provisions of the Health Care law. I believe that the federal government should eliminate artificial state boundaries in health insurance, extend certain protections for those who maintain continuous coverage, and provide states with relief from federal regulations that inhibit innovation and interfere with the free market. The focus should be to improve quality of care while keeping health care costs down.

JOBS AND ECONOMY Job creation is a top priority for me as a member of Congress. The House of Representatives passed numerous jobs bills during 2011, but unfortunately, most were blocked by the Democrat-controlled Senate. House and Senate conservatives have now developed a jobs plan, H.R. 3400, the Jobs Through Growth Act, of which I am an original cosponsor. This legislation is about keeping America open for business. It is a composite economic growth bill that would reform the tax code, reduce federal regulations, and increase American energy independence. The conservatives’ plan creates jobs by growing the economy, not the government. The Jobs Through Growth Act gives small businesses relief with the ability to opt out of red tape imposed since the beginning of the recession. It helps family farms, investors, and other job creators by eliminating the Death Tax, the alternative minimum tax (AMT), and the investment tax on inflation. This plan also gives Americans better access to their energy resources by curtailing frivolous litigation and unlocking areas for exploration both on and offshore. I have supported, and will continue to support, legislation that reduces taxation, regulation and litigation so that America can begin creating more private sector jobs.

ENERGY Voted for construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline without limiting amendments. I support an all-of-the-above energy policy. Energy security must be a top priority for the United States – there is no national security without energy security. We cannot continue to rely on volatile Middle Eastern supplier countries and OPEC. I support oil exploration and production in the Gulf Coast, in Alaska, in the West, and even through oil sands with our neighbor to the north, Canada (through the proposed Keystone XL pipeline). We have tremendous opportunities with natural gas through shale extraction and hydraulic fracturing. Nuclear energy has proven to be extremely vital in my district and throughout the country, and it has great potential to emerge as an important energy source of the future. I am very interested in renewable sources such as wind, solar, biomass and geothermal. Virtually all these energy sources have faced regulatory burdens obtaining permits and leases from overly bureaucratic federal agencies. I have supported, and will continue to support, legislation that allows for expanded energy exploration within the United States.
Barbara Jo Mullis (D) Challenger

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Barbara-Jo-for-Congress/592848360797114

District 4
Trey Gowdy (R) Incumbent

http://www.treygowdy.com/ http://gowdy.house.gov/

http://www.ontheissues.org/house/Trey_Gowdy.htm**

Rated -3 by AAI, indicating anti-Arab anti-Palestine voting record. (May 2012)

HOT BUTTON ISSUES

HEALTHCARE First, we must acknowledge that America has the best and brightest doctors in the world. But healthcare costs are rising and excessive government regulation is threatening our valued ability to see the doctor of our choice. As the son of a doctor, I strongly believe healthcare decisions are best left to individuals and their doctors, not Washington bureaucrats and politicians. The healthcare bill passed by the Democrats inserts itself into this private process, and tramples on the limits imposed on Congress by the constitution. The House has voted numerous times to repeal or defund the Affordable Care Act. Seven House bills, securing nearly 54 billion dollars in cuts to the law, have been signed into law.

Reforming healthcare is an important priority, but we must focus on market driven solutions aimed at addressing the real problems- not centered on expanding the size and scope of the federal government. I look forward to working on constitutionally sound reforms to address access, cost, litigation, and burdensome regulations. Gowdy, Graham Support Ability of States to Opt-Out of Obamacare – Posted in Press Releases on February 7, 2014

ENERGY Voted for construction of the KeystoneXL Pipeline without limiting amendments.

HOMELAND SECURITY Our government’s primary function is to protect our citizens and defend our freedoms. The most important aspect of that duty is to ensure our brave men and women in uniform have all the resources they need to perform their courageous and inspirational task. As recent terrorist attacks remind us, America has many enemies who wish to undermine the enduring ideals our nation represents. It is imperative we remain diligent in our fight, and always remember the sacrifice of our soldiers stationed around the world.

I encounter another aspect of national security from my position on the House Judiciary Committee: improving our immigration system. Our current situation is a risk to national security because we have failed to track and control those coming to our country. For example, of those immigrants who are unlawfully present in the US, 30- 40 percent entered through legal means but then overstayed their visas. We can strengthen our border security and better equip our law enforcement to detain and remove individuals who pose a threat to our national security. But as we seek to protect our national security, we balance individual privacy rights with public safety. Recent revelations regarding the abuses of government under the guise of national security illustrates the need for robust oversight and transparency within our national security apparatus. We must work for our national security without subjecting ourselves to further government intrusion.
Curtis McLaughlin (L) Challenger- No website

District 5

Mick Mulvaney (R) Incumbent

http://www.mulvaneyforcongress.com/ http://mulvaney.house.gov/

http://www.ontheissues.org/house/Mick_Mulvaney.htm**

Rated -4 by AAI, indicating anti-Arab anti-Palestine voting record. (May 2012)

HOT BUTTON ISSUES

ENERGY Voted for construction of the keystone XL Pipeline without limiting amendments.

HEALTHCARE Does the health care system need some reforms? Absolutely. But a government takeover is absolutely not the answer. Everyone agrees that many aspects of our health care system need to be reformed. There are millions of Americans who cannot afford to purchase health insurance and many that are unhappy with their existing coverage. However, many of the solutions can be found – as they so often are – in more personal control, free-market competition, common-sense reforms and a crackdown on frivolous malpractice lawsuits.

IMMIGRATION The simple truth is our immigration system is broken. Not only is it too easy for people to cross our borders illegally, but it’s too difficult to enter America the right way. Additionally, some estimates state that as many as 10 to 12 million people are already living in the United States illegally. Tackling the immigration problem in our country is very important, but it won’t be easy. The first step to fixing this problem starts with securing our borders. Border security doesn’t just mean building a fence, though. It also means more border patrol and a better use of technology. Fixing the illegal immigration problem won’t be simple, quick, or seamless. But these initiatives absolutely move us in the right direction.

NATIONAL DEFENSE The primary function of the federal government is to provide for national defense. Congress must ensure that our armed forces have the proper training, equipment and funding to protect us from enemies both at home and abroad. It is a sad reality that in the post-9/11 world, terrorism is a very real threat. To combat this, we must remain steadfast in our commitment to providing the best security possible for U.S. citizens. I am fully committed to ensuring the armed forces have the resources necessary to protect our country, while eliminating waste and fraudulent spending. The Fifth District boasts one of the most critical military bases in the country, Shaw Air Force Base. The base is home to the largest combat F-16 wing, the 20th Fighter Wing, as well as Ninth Air Force and U.S. Air Forces Central (USAFCENT). Shaw is also the home to Third Army. I will continue to support Shaw Air Force Base in any way I can. I don’t think it’s possible to overemphasize the economic impact and importance of Shaw to Sumter County and the Fifth District.
Tom Adams (D) Challenger

http://www.tomadamsforcongress.com/

District 6
Jim Clyburn (D) Incumbent – House Asst. Minority Leader

http://www.clyburnforcongress.com/ http://clyburn.house.gov/

http://www.ontheissues.org/house/james_clyburn.htm**

Rated +1 by AAI, indicating a mixed Arab/Palestine voting record. (May 2012)

HOT BUTTON ISSUES

HEALTHCARE Strong support for the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare)

VOTING RIGHTS Strong opposition to voting ID cards Jan 17, 2014 – WASHINGTON — Assistant Democratic Leader James E. Clyburn released the following statement on the introduction of the Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2014: “Upon signing the 1982 reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act, President Reagan called the right to vote ‘the crown jewel of American liberties’ and pledged that ‘no barrier will come between our citizens and the voting booth.’ The Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2014 is an important step toward renewing our commitment to President Reagan’s pledge in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision last year in Shelby County v. Holder. “As Members of Congress, we have a unique responsibility-a constitutional obligation-to combat ongoing discrimination by protecting the right to a meaningful vote and ensuring equal access to the ballot box. Chief Justice Roberts challenged the Congress to come up with a different preclearance coverage formula in the Shelby County decision and acknowledged that it is fully within the power of Congress to restore the Voting Rights Act. The Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2014 is an appropriate exercise of this constitutional power that rightfully reflects the special place voting rights hold in our democracy. “To be clear, this is not the bill I would have written if it were solely up to me. Although I have some reservations about a formula that does not immediately cover all the states that have long histories of voter suppression and intimidation, I do believe it is an appropriate first step in addressing the concerns raised by the United States Supreme Court in Shelby County v. Holder.”

ENERGY Neutral and no vote on KeystoneXL Pipeline although he has in the past voiced vocal support.
Anthony Culler (R) Challenger

http://cullerforcongress.com/

District 7
Tom Rice (R) Incumbent

http://www.votetomrice.com/ http://rice.house.gov/

http://www.ontheissues.org/house/Tom_Rice.htm**

HOT BUTTON ISSUES

HEALTHCARE It’s been three years since President Obama’s misnamed “Affordable Care Act” was signed into law with the promise of reducing health care costs, increasing access, and improving care, all without “adding one dime to the deficit”. While we all agree on the importance of achieving those goals, we have yet to see any of these promises come to fruition as a result of this legislation. Further, the latest estimate from the Congressional Budget Office puts the price tag of this law at $1.33 trillion and predicts 30 million people will still be uninsured by 2023. The onerous number of new regulations and taxes imposed by this law are stifling business expansion and increasing the cost of health care. Clearly, this was not the solution to our problems. Rather than a government takeover of the industry, we must open up the markets and allow for increased competition to bring down prices-this can be done by allowing insurance to be purchased across state lines. We need medical liability reform to reduce the billions of dollars’ worth of unnecessary testing. We should also ensure portability of plans so that individuals may keep their coverage as they move from one job to the next. The establishment of high risk pools will increase access for individuals with pre-existing conditions. These are some of the multiple reforms I will work on while serving the Seventh Congressional District of South Carolina in order to truly increase access, improve quality or care, and reduce health care costs.

ENERGY SC congressional delegates talk infrastructure, energy Apr 17, 2014 In The News – COLUMBIA, S.C. – Several Republican members of the South Carolina congressional delegation gave their opinions on a variety of topics at a South Carolina Chamber of Commerce town hall meeting Wednesday. Sen. Lindsey Graham along with Congressmen Mark Sanford, Joe Wilson, Jeff Duncan, Mick Mulvaney and Tom Rice (who represents much of the Pee Dee and Florence County) took questions from an audience.

U.S. Rep. Tom Rice | It’s time for Obama to approve Keystone pipeline Feb 4, 2014 In The News The Obama Administration’s State Department has issued its final opinion on the Keystone pipeline. It concludes that the pipeline will have no material adverse environmental impact.

The permit application has been pending for over five years. Dozens of studies have been completed. Yet the President remains undecided about whether construction should be allowed. The House of Representatives passed a bill last year, with Democratic support, that would have approved the pipeline, but Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has refused to take it up.

NATIONAL DEFENSE AND VETERANS Congressman Rice Supports Bill Granting Vets Access to Private Care Jun 10, 2014 Press Release – Washington, D.C. – Congressman Tom Rice (SC-07) today applauded the House passage of H.R. 4810, the bipartisan Veteran Access to Care Act of 2014:

Congressman Rice Discusses VA Delays with Local Veterans – May 12, 2014 Press Release – MYRTLE BEACH, S.C.- Congressman Tom Rice (SC-07) today met with local veterans at the Veterans Café & Grille in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to thank them for their service and address their concerns and needs. The conversation quickly turned to recent Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) scandals, preventable deaths, and insufficient care.

Congressman Rice Applauds Congressman Gowdy’s Chairmanship Appointment – May 5, 2014 Press Release – Washington, D.C.- Congressman Tom Rice (SC-07) released the following statement applauding the selection of fellow South Carolinian and colleague, Congressman Trey Gowdy (SC-04), as Chairman of the Select Committee on Benghazi:
Gloria Bromell Tinubu (D) Challenger

http://www.gloriabromelltinubu.com/

HOT BUTTON ISSUES

HEALTHCARE Affordable Healthcare and Social Security – Gloria believes in restoring the health and economic well-being of millions of seniors by securing and strengthening Medicare and Social Security.

Restoring affordable access to quality health care for all Americans by denying those who seek to repeal the Affordable Care Act which:

Ends the practice of insurance companies denying people with pre-existing conditions
Allows young people to stay on their parents’ insurance until age 26
Gives tax breaks to small businesses who provide health care
Prevents insurance discrimination against women
Creates community health centers
She also believes that decisions as to when to have a family are best left to the family.

Read more: Family Security Matters http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/detail/south-carolina-2014-candidates-for-congress-where-they-stand?f=puball#ixzz373pfKzPb
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution