For all Liberty Maven interviews see the interview page.

LM: President Bush and Congress recently worked out an agreement on an economic stimulus bill. If you were in Congress for the vote on this bill would you have voted for it?

Bailey: It is truly amazing how quickly Congress can act when it stimulates their reelection. Since Congress is running a deficit of one billion dollars per day, any additional spending will be offset with a further devaluation of the dollar causing a loss of buying power equal to the “rebate”. The money for the “stimulus” bill will be paid with money borrowed from China and Saudi Arabia.

Yes, I would have voted for “stimulus bill”, but not as my first preference. Furthermore, I would have cut spending to pay for it, so that the buying power of the American worker was not further eroded. I would have raised the personal exemption from $3,400.00 to $15,000.00.

LM: What is the federal government’s role in stimulating the economy?

Bailey: The federal government’s role in stimulating the economy is to do the opposite of all those things that they do and are doing to cause recession. What Congress has done to cause recession is:

• Over regulation.
• Excessive taxation.
• Budget deficits and trade deficits.
• Driven American industry overseas.
• Free trade deals that are not FAIR trade.
• Encouraged illegal immigration.
• Given away American sovereignty.
• Driven up the cost of health care and limited our choices.
• Robbed the Social Security Trust fund of every last dime and replaced it with a debt obligation of over $175,000.00 for every man, woman and child in this nation. The United States is now the largest debtor nation in the world.
• Favored special interest groups at the expense of “We the People”.

What the federal government must do to stimulate the economy is:

• Stop unconstitutional spending.
• Balance the budget by cutting spending.
• Start paying down the federal debt.
• Eliminate ear marks and pork barrel spending.
• Raise the personal exemption from $3,400.00 to $15,000.00.
• Eliminate duplicate regulatory agencies.
• Change the tax code so that we stop rewarding industry for moving overseas.
• Require that those that sell goods in this country have the same quality and regulatory standards to meet as imposed by Congress on our own industry.
• Stop paying welfare and Social Security to illegal aliens.
• End birthright citizenship for illegal aliens.
• The deregulation of the telecommunications industry by Congress serves as an example of what Congress needs to do to bring down cost and improve service in the heal care industry.
• Our foreign policy must put “We the People” of America first.
• Hold Social Security moneys collected in the Trust fund to be used ONLY for benefits to the person that paid in the taxes.
• Congress must stop putting bandaids on the challenges we face that will last just long enough to cover their term of office, and instead deal with those challenges NOW.

LM: Do you believe the Sarbanes-Oxley Act was necessary legislation? It was passed in the wake of corporate scandals like that of Enron.

Bailey: I think it was poorly written and has a lot of problems. I think we have learned a lot from hind sight regarding the regulations that caused the mortgage bubble.

LM: As a Congressman would you work to modify or abolish the regulations within Sarbanes-Oxley?

Bailey: Yes.

LM: Your foreign policy views seem to be counter to the current prevailing views within the Bush administration. Many Republicans, including the likely nominee John McCain, support a war of offense rather than defense. You seem to disagree with this as you tout a “humble foreign policy” on your web site. Could you explain how such a foreign policy makes America stronger against the threat of terrorism?

Bailey: “A more humble foreign policy”; “more judicious use of our troops”; “opposed to nation building” were all the stated policy of 2000. Our foreign aid and foreign policy have made us less safe. I am opposed to giving foreign aid to those that would seek our detriment.

This nation’s leaders gave foreign aid to Saddam Hussein and Osama Ben Laden in the past. Our leaders must understand the religious and cultural differences of those that oppose us in order to have the best results. We must define success and have a way to measure results. There are persons that are benefiting from the current placement of our troops in the oil producing parts of the world. But it is not the American people. Just look at the cost of gasoline. With 572,000 troops overseas; with over 700 bases overseas; with troops in 130 nations; we continue to step in between the Hatfields and the McCoys and end up drawing the ire of both.

I strongly support a more sensible foreign policy that is focused on protecting American personal and economic Liberty here at home.

LM: The recent campus shootings at Virginia Tech and now Northern Illinois have been used by some as examples to push for stronger gun control laws. Some have stated that if guns were allowed on campus to begin with, many lives could have been saved. Also, some believe that if the airlines were allowed to arm their pilots and flight attendants the 9/11 attacks could have been prevented or minimized. Do you believe college students should be allowed to carry guns on campus, concealed or otherwise? What about allowing the airline companies to arm their own employees in the interests of security?

Bailey: Yes. I support the Second Amendment as written.

LM: Who is your favorite founding father and why?

Bailey: Our founding fathers are for me part of the “so great a cloud of witnesses” that “we are compassed about.” I have so many that I am inspired by. Patrick Henry, George Washington, John Jay, Paul Revere, James Otis, Samuel Adams, John Hancock, Tom Nelson, Robert Morris, Caesar Rodney, etc. It is a very long list for me. For each of those that I have listed there is a story that inspires me in my life today. I do not have a single favorite.

One of my favorites is Richard Stockton. He wrote a friend, Joseph Reed, in 1764 – the year before the Stamp Act – that in regard to public service, that “the public is generally unthankful, and I never will become a Servant of it, till I am convinced that by neglecting my own affairs I am doing more acceptable Service to God and Man.” Although he did not live to see the end of the American revolution, his public service after he wrote that letter is quite impressive, including signing the Declaration of Independence.

[He was:] Member of the Executive Council of New Jersey (1768-1774); member of the Provincial Supreme Court (1774-1776); associate justice of the State Supreme Court (1774-1776); member of the Continental Congress (1776); a signer of the Declaration of Independence. [Editor's note: See the Richard Stockton wikipedia page for more information on him.]

This concludes the 2nd part of the Collins Bailey Liberty Maven interview.

Collins Bailey just won the Republican Primary for Maryland’s 5th Congressional District on February 12th. He was kind enough to agree to an interview with Liberty Maven. This is part 1 of the interview. For complete Liberty Maven interviews please check out the interview page.

LM: Please give a little bit of information about your background, your principles, and why you decided to run for Congress?

Bailey: [Editor's Note: Bailey answered this question by using the introductory text directly found on his website. I'm reprinting only the first portion of the answer since the rest is available on the Collins Bailey web site: BaileyForUSCongress.com]

Collins Bailey is 54 years old and has been blessed to be married for 33 years. He has four wonderful children by that marriage. In addition to being a self-employed business man for over 30 years, he has spent the last twenty years of his life working to make our schools better for all children.

He is currently serving his fourth consecutive four year term as an elected member of the Charles County Board of Education. That position pays $4,000.00 a year and consumes a great deal of time. The first year he ran for the Board of Education was in 1986. While he has been busy overcoming the challenges in public education to provide greater opportunity for all students and their parents, our leaders in the federal government have increased the national debt ten fold. Because of this out of control spending our dollar has lost 40% of its value in just the last 7 years.

If our children are to have economic and personal liberty and opportunity in the future then we must hold our elected officials accountable when they break the oath of office that they took to “preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.” We must also hold ourselves individually accountable for our own areas of responsibility and being informed. Our American independence, national sovereignty, and economic liberty is under attack from many forces today. But the most dangerous force is our federal leaders that ignore the rule of law and ignore our Constitution….. See BaileyForUSCongress.com for the rest.

LM: In Maryland’s 5th District House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer is your competition. I’m sure you realize he will be extremely difficult to beat in the general election. Without giving away too many secrets, how will you run your campaign in order to make a concerted effort to unseat Hoyer? Will you target moderate Democrats as well as the GOP base?

Bailey: Actually, I had “competition” in the primary. Congressman Hoyer is more of a contrast than competition. In the primary, since Mike Hethmon and I shared philosophical views on the role of the federal government and had (and have) great respect for the Constitution, the voters had to choose who they wanted to carry the message.

In the general election, the choice is entirely different. Instead of persons, personalities and party, the choice should be over rule of law, the direction of our country and governmental philosophy. There may be general agreement, and I suspect there is, about what some of the challenges are for our nation. However, my philosophy and congressman Hoyer’s are quite opposite. It is up to the voters to decide which philosophy of government they want.

• I believe problems caused by our federal government are not best solved by more government.
• I believe that individuals can make better choices than a centralized “nanny” state.
• I believe that Congress no longer represents the American people.
• I believe that we cannot continue on the path we are on and that change must be mandated at the ballot box.
• I believe that our personal and economic liberty must be restored. American wages are being eroded by deficit spending. We all see the weaker dollar’s effect when we buy gasoline.
• I believe that Congresses inaction, or worse still, action that makes our challenges greater, is unacceptable.
• Congress has driven jobs over seas.
• Congress has devalued our dollar with deficit spending.
• Congress has spend every penny of the Social Security Trust Fund and replaced the money that should be in the fund with a 9.2 trillion dollar debt.
• Congress is running a billion dollar debt per day.
• Congress has talked about immigration, but not acted. If they do act, can we trust the results? Our borders are still open. We are still paying welfare to illegal aliens thanks to Congressman Hoyers singular action in September of 2007. Illegal aliens can collect Social Security after working in this country for 18 months.
• Congress has talked about education and they have acted. Their action has increased red tape, increased cost, and made our schools worse.
• Congress has talked about health care. Their proposals have and will increase cost and ration care.
• In one appropriation bill there were 9,000 earmarks according to the December 10, 2007 front page article of the Washington Post.’

The list is endless. The answers to these issues are not moderate, conservative or liberal; they are common sense that voters understand.

LM: Many of your positions seem to be in line with Presidential candidate Ron Paul. On what positions do you differ with Ron Paul, if any?

Bailey:

• I am against earmarks.
• We must cut spending to balance the budget.
• After balancing the budget, 1/2 of the savings from eliminating wasteful and unconstitutional spending should be used to pay down the federal debt, and 1/2 of the savings should be given back to the tax payers by cutting taxes.
• The personal exemption should be raised form $3,300.00 to $15,000.00.
• Foreign aid abuses must be stopped.
• Social Security taxes should be kept separate in a real trust fund and spent ONLY on Social Security benefits. Obligations to those already retired must be paid. Benefits should be revenue specific for those that are just starting in the work force and participation should be voluntary.

LM: You have been serving on the Charles County School Board for many years. What are your thoughts on the Federal Department of Education? As recently as 1996 the Republican Platform suggested abolishing this department. Are you in favor of abolishment, expansion, or modification?

Bailey: A centralized, top down, one shoe fits all approach to education does not work. Further more, that approach takes away accountability for where it should be, to the parent. I would put parents, teachers and local education authorities back in control. I would abolish the Department of Education.

LM: Many past and current politicians have discussed instituting term limits for members of Congress. What is your position on Congressional term limits?

Bailey: Our Constitution starts with the words “We the People”. Since the chance of getting politicians to pass laws to limit themselves is very unlikely, voters must do so with the ballot box. I would like to see all retirement benefits eliminated for anyone that is in Congress after January 2009. I think we would quickly see who is there to serve the American people and who is not.

This concludes the first interview segment with Collins Bailey. Keep checking back for future Liberty Maven interview segments.