America’s economy is in serious trouble — and glitz and glitter can’t heal it. To turn things around, we need leaders of substance, people we can trust, and that’s why I’m supporting Tom Campbell for U.S. Senate. These are dangerous economic times, and we need our very best people in public service.
I’ve known Tom Campbell for over 20 years. I’m impressed with the depth of his knowledge and the strength of his opposition to federal spending, taxes and debt. Tom’s experience in government makes him extraordinarily well equipped to make a difference for taxpayers once elected.
Tom Campbell is a true and tested deficit hawk. When he served in Congress, he consistently earned high marks from the National Taxpayers Union Foundation, which twice named him “the most frugal” with tax monies.
As a conservative free market economist who trained under Milton Friedman at the University of Chicago, Tom Campbell has a keen understanding of just how dangerous America’s $13 trillion deficit is to our economy, our children and our national security. He calls it “immoral,” and I agree. Saddling future generations of Americans with trillions of dollars of debt, while owing foreign investors like China billions of dollars, puts America at unacceptable risk.
Tom Campbell was one of only six Republicans to vote against “Gramm-Leach-Bliley” in 1999 — legislation that allowed large banks to become “too big to fail,” which of course they ultimately did, leading to the near collapse of our financial system two years ago. Tom Campbell warned of the inherent dangers, but too few listened.
He also supports a return to “Gramm-Rudman,” which imposes automatic across-the-board spending cuts if Congress and the President fail to control spending and balance the federal budget. Just recently, Tom published a detailed plan to cut the Obama deficit in half without new taxes, which you can view here. Like me, he knows that any increase in federal taxes will be death to our economic recovery. And he knows that printing money, like President Obama is doing, will only lead to crippling inflation — further destroying the value of retirement and savings accounts. Only federal spending cuts, not higher taxes, will save our economy. On this point, Tom Campbell is resolute: eliminate the deficit by getting spending under control, not by raising taxes.
Tom Campbell will always be candid and won’t pretend a problem is being fixed, when it really isn’t. He’ll level with us, and have the courage to do what’s right for taxpayers, our economy and future generations of Americans. And that’s a refreshing change.
When Tom Campbell served as California’s Finance Director, Congressman Tom McClintock praised his work, writing: “Mr. Campbell commanded absolute respect from all sides because he was clear, straight-forward and honest — at times painfully honest — in representing the financial condition of the state. If the state was deficit spending, he would say so; if a measure created a short-term savings at long term expense, he would say so.”
I don’t agree with Tom (or indeed anyone) on every issue, but I know he can help turn our economy around, and I know his experience can make a difference for us. He’s smart and honorable — a winning Republican who can finally end Barbara Boxer’s reign of spending terror in the U.S. Senate.
Bill Simon is a California businessman and was the Republican nominee for Governor in 2002.