CRAIGforCONGRESS
Missouri's 7th District, U.S. House of Representatives

 

 

 

Your Vote Can Send a Message:
Liberty Under God

If your vote doesn't send this message,
what message will it send?

Photo of Kevin Craig
Kevin Craig

My name is Kevin Craig and I am a candidate for Congress because I want you to use your vote to send a clear and strong message to your current congressman.

The incumbent will probably be re-elected to Congress (barring some unforeseen divine intervention). In the last election 8 out of 10 voters voted for our current Congressman. Voters will probably vote the same way in the 2006 election. Experts call this a "safe district."

On the day after Election Day, political pundits and media commentators will analyze the election results and declare the "meaning" of your vote. They will say that voters like you voted to pay more taxes and approved of a bigger, more atheistic federal government. Why? Because that's what your current Congressman votes for. Here are some examples:

  • On June 27, 2003, our present Congressman voted for an unconstitutional prescription drug benefit plan that will add nearly $4,000 to your tax bill. Click here for details.
  • On July 16, 2003 and July 22, 2003, the incumbent voted for bills that expand the power of the atheistic United Nations and undercut American sovereignty. Click here for details.
  • On April 30, 2003, our current Congressman voted for more federal control over your local schools. Click here for details. More federal control over your schools diminishes the chances of students in your neighborhood knowing how to read, knowing right from wrong, and knowing the values that made America the most admired nation on earth.
  • On July 24, 2003, our Congressman took steps toward creating a Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) that would place America under the control of a regional government that is not bound "by the chains of the Constitution" (Thomas Jefferson)

You can see more examples of your current Congressman's voting record here, here, here, and here.

  • On these important matters, every other vote by our Congressman undercuts the principle upon which this country was built. On balance, our present Congressman ignores the Constitution nearly 50% of the time. Which 50% do you support? What message are you sending with your vote?
Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost.
-- John Quincy Adams

Your vote for Kevin Craig will send a message to the incumbent to pay attention to the Constitution, and cast votes which are consistent with the principle of Liberty Under God. A vote for Kevin Craig speaks louder and more clearly than a vote for the incumbent. You may not be able to vote for a "winner," but you can vote for a great principle. Which would America's Founding Fathers approve of?

Imagine an America where:

  • You run a successful business without ever filling out a government form or wondering if you might be violating some senseless government regulation.
  • You gain a profound sense of satisfaction by supporting valuable charities and investing in life-enhancing technologies, ever since your take-home pay increased by more than $15,000 a year when the Income Tax was abolished.
  • The young college-aged clerk you hired can read complete sentences, do simple math, be trusted with company assets, and treat your customers with courtesy and respect.
  • Children are taught that God says not to steal, not to kill, and not to rape, and that God has created all of us with unalienable rights.

You'll never ever know such an America if you keep voting for the same old politicians. Neither will your children.

Kevin Craig is the only candidate for Congress who knows that America's greatness depends on a simple formula. It's an idea so old it sounds radically new:

"Liberty, Under God"

Thank you for your interest in my campaign!

Why I am Running for Congress

My Stand on the Issues

The Character of a Congressman

Contribute to the Campaign

The message I am taking to the voters is simple:

"Liberty, Under God"

You may be thinking,

  • "Here we go again with more empty campaign slogans."
  • "Oh, brother; another politician pandering to people who like the Pledge of Allegiance."

I take the principle very seriously, more consistently, I believe, than the other candidates. I believe it sums up the Constitutional principles that made America "the greatest nation on God's green earth."

I'm committed to

"Liberty, Under God"
  • "Liberty" because God has given us unalienable rights, which must not be violated by the government.
  • "Under God" means:

Republicans worry that I am trying to get rid of too much government (Liberty: "He's an Anarchist!"), while the Democrats worry that I am trying to give government too much power (Under God: "He's imposing a Theocracy!").

The confusion comes from a failure to understand the basic nature of the system of government which once made America so respected and admired.

"Liberty Under God"

They say "Bad publicity is better than no publicity at all." Let me give you a little bad publicity, in case you haven't heard it already.

"Anarchist!"

I am running as the Libertarian Party Candidate. Think of it as "The Liberty Party." We believe in maximizing Individual Liberty.

Conservatives and Republicans tend to be frightened by the Libertarian Agenda, which calls on Congress to re-legalize drugs, for example. Conservatives believe that without lots of laws and a strong police-state, chaos, crime and lawlessness will overwhelm us. I believe such laws create more problems than they solve. You may even hear someone say:

"Kevin Craig is some kind of Anarchist!"
or
"Kevin Craig believes in Abolishing All Government!"

"Everybody knows" that "anarchists" are bomb-throwing assassins in search of chaos and destruction of private property. I passionately oppose such destruction and disorder. Before I could join the Libertarian Party, I had to pledge:

I do not believe in or advocate the initiation of force as a means of achieving political or social goals.

I believe in the peaceful resolution of disputes between people and between "the People" and their government. If I have a product or an idea I want to sell to the American people, I can use reason and eloquence, but not force.

In our day, however, more than 90% of our government is the unconstitutional initiation of force as a means of achieving the political or social goals of special interests who could not achieve their goals by persuading the rest of us to support them.

Kevin Craig is firmly committed as a matter of moral principle to oppose such initiation of government force.

More on the charge of "anarchism."

Here's more "bad publicity":

"Theocracy!"

I am a Christian. My allegiance to God will always be greater than my allegiance to any State. I believe that religion and morality, not the strong-arm of the State, keeps our houses safe and our economy strong. Happily, every single person who signed the U.S. Constitution was a Christian who believed that America had a moral obligation to be a nation "under God."

But some are not happy to hear me say that. You may even hear some say:

"Kevin Craig wants to impose a Theocracy on America!"

Liberals and Democrats tend to be frightened by talk about God and morality. They think anyone who believes that religion should have an impact on law and politics is trying to establish some kind of "theocracy."

More "bad publicity":

"Kevin Craig does not believe in The Separation of Church and State!"

These accusations contradict the accusation above, that I am an "anarchist." I am not out to impose any religion on anyone using the coercive power of the State. As a Libertarian, I believe in maximizing individual liberty for everyone: Christian, Jew, Moslem, Hindu, atheist and agnostic alike. I would abolish all federal funds to all churches and all religious organizations, as I would abolish federal funding of Secular Humanist organizations. I unqualifiedly oppose the use of force against people with religious views different from my own.

The word "Theocracy" means "ruled by God." A Theocracy is a nation "under God." America is a nation "under God," but not a nation under priests, churches, or "ecclesiastical bodies" (to use the words of James Madison).

I do not believe in the modern concept of "separation of church and state." This concept has been a disaster for America. I believe in the concept which the Founding Fathers believed in, which might be called "The Separation of Churches and State." The modern concept no longer has much to do with the ecclesiastical bodies known as "churches." Today the slogan "separation of church and state" actually means "The Separation of God and State." The Founding Fathers believed that the State was "under God," not separate from God. When the State is separated from God, the State IS god, or thinks it is.

America was established as a Christian nation, according to an 1892 opinion of the U.S. Supreme Court. Members of non-Christian religions -- Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, and others, as well as atheists and agnostics -- have more freedom and enjoy higher standards of living in a Christian nation than they do in an Islamic nation or an atheistic nation. In and out of Washington, I work harder and more effectively for the freedom and prosperity of non-Christians than many of those same non-Christians do.

More on the charge of "theocracy."

Why Bother Reading this Web Page?

The Republican incumbent in this race won the last election with a staggering 73% of the vote. He has been the incumbent for four terms. He already has nearly two million dollars to spend in his campaign. On occasion the Democratic Party doesn't even bother to run a candidate against him. This is what you call "a safe district."

I have no illusions about going to Washington in 2005. Nevertheless,

Your vote for Kevin Craig will not be "wasted." It will stand out like a sore thumb. Your vote will send a clear message. This web site describes that message:

"Liberty Under God"

  • The advantage of having an "anarchist" working for you in Washington is that nobody is more passionate in defense of your liberty. Republicans claim victory when they merely slow down the rate of government growth and intervention. Libertarians won't be satisfied until socialism is repudiated and government reduced to the size intended by the Constitution.
  • The advantage of having a defender of "Theocracy" representing you in Washington is that nobody advocates the idea of personal responsibility with more passion. Democrats advocate Government programs of wealth transfer which are impersonal, bureaucratic, and imposed by force. Libertarians are champions of self-government.

America was once a Libertarian nation

In 1831, the French political writer Alexis de Tocqueville visited the United States of America, a nation which, in the eyes of today's Democrats and Republicans, existed in a state of anarchy. The citizenry had deemed unnecessary such things as income taxation, welfare bureaucracies, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, public schooling, drug wars, economic regulations, gun control, and immigration controls, but the poor were cared for, the elderly were respected, the illiterate were educated, the streets were safe, and the economy was flourishing. Tocqueville described the laissez-faire world of Liberty Under God:

The revolution of the United States was the result of a mature and dignified taste for freedom, and not of a vague or ill-defined craving for independence. It contracted no alliance with the turbulent passions of anarchy; but its course was marked, on the contrary, by an attachment to whatever was lawful and orderly.

It was never assumed in the United States that the citizen of a free country has a right to do whatever he pleases; on the contrary, social obligations were there imposed upon him more various than anywhere else. No idea was ever entertained of attacking the principles or of contesting the rights of society; but the exercise of its authority was divided, to the end that the office might be powerful and the officer insignificant, and that the community should be at once regulated and free. In no country in the world does the law hold so absolute a language as in America, and in no country is the right of applying it vested in so many hands. The administrative power in the United States presents nothing either central or hierarchical in its constitution, which accounts for its passing, unperceived. The power exists, but its representative is not to be perceived.

Only the Libertarian Party has a clear and consistent program to return government to the limited power the Founding Fathers intended it to have. Kevin Craig will encourage people of faith and conscience to take personal responsibility to solve pressing social problems without government force:

The Bible says "true religion" is this:

To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction
James 1:27

"Compassion" comes from two Latin words meaning "suffer with." True concern for the poor means more than "I gave at the office." It means personal involvement on a local level. Religion, not Washington D.C., has been the greatest ally of the poor.

Public "virtue" is what protects our rights to life, liberty and property, not the Office of Homeland Security. The heroes of Flight 93 realized that the government was not going to protect them, and they took personal responsibility to thwart the hijackers. Subsequent hijackings have been prevented by similar acts of self-government, not by the elimination of curbside check-in. The federal government owes the people of New York and the rest of the world a profound apology for giving Osama bin Laden billions of dollars in military assistance during the 1980's. Eliminating domestic liberties is no way to atone for their failed interventionist foreign policy. America's Founders followed clear principles of peaceful non-intervention:

The great rule of conduct for us, in regard to foreign nations is in extending our commercial relations to have with them as little political connection as possible."
— Washington, Farewell Address (1796)

I deem [one of] the essential principles of our government, and consequently [one] which ought to shape its administration … peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none.
— Jefferson, First Inaugural Address (1801)

These simple policies led to America's greatness. They have been abandoned by both Republicans and Democrats. Only Libertarians are willing to follow these policies with principled consistency, even if, as a result, it may be a few years before our candidates win a seat in Congress.

I advocate the replacement of inefficient bureaucratic government programs with competitive, efficient Free Market approaches. My Stand on the Issues is often my vision for comprehensive privatization, one bureaucracy at a time. My favorite issues:

The Character of a Congressman reflects my continuing journey toward good character. It's a lifelong journey.

I have finished the course work for my Master's Degree in Law and Theology. My thesis is a defense of "Laissez-Faire Theocracy." If you're interested in lengthy footnoted academic discussions and ideas about the distant future, click here.

Thank you very much for reading!

Kevin Craig
P.O. Box 179
Powersite, MO 65731
KevinCraig@KevinCraig.US