A Speech I Wrote from the Campaign of my Presidential Candidate, Paul Gaddy (Government Class)

            I’m here today to present to you an opportunity which to pass up would be madness; an opportunity for a greater liberty. To introduce to you the only candidate currently fit for the office of President of the United States.  A man who was born to a poor factory worker in Concord, New Hampshire and whose family spent his entire childhood and primary education struggling to stay out of poverty. After high school, he worked whatever jobs he could find; as a coal miner in Pennsylvania, a laborer for a small landscaping company, and even as a fisherman off the coast of Alaska.

Struggling to make ends meet and seeking a better life for himself, the U.S. Army seemed to call his name in 1992. For eight years, he fought for the man standing next to him. It was that attitude, exactly, that would lead to his being named a war hero. When the eight years were up, he decided to go to college and earned a Masters Degree in Electrical Engineering; graduating with accolades. After just a few years working under GE, this man began his own engineering firm, employing, generously, hundreds of people.

He met a beautiful and good-natured soul which would quickly become his wife. In 2003, his first child, a boy, was born and just three years later, a girl. Unfortunately, the woman of his life passed away just 2 years after their youngest child was born.

He ran for mayor of Concord in 2001, and won for two straight terms. He set his eyes next on the gubernatorial bid. With the people at his side, he arose victorious. For a single term he governed nobly; balancing the budget, eliminating the debt, and creating a miraculous surplus. And now he asks you for your support in his bid for president.

            He is, as any advocate for a free people, an ardent supporter of the second amendment and of gun rights. We believe all individuals, in order to ensure a society of liberty, should have access to weapons and heavy enough weaponry to keep the government in fear of an uprising from its people. Surely, some people are not fit to utilize such dangerous tools; like the mentally unstable and violent felons. But weaponry and the second amendment are entirely necessary to keep our government in check, and to safeguard the others. One amendment to ensure them all.

            Education, in our view, is also a necessity to guarantee a free people, but not in the least bit the way the system is set up today. We need to move on from this archaic form of education, developed in the sixteenth century by the Germans. One of the most basic of reforms comes under the guise of school choice. This will help the poor and minorities move out of run down schools, to attend the best schools they can reach, and to close the gap of economic inequality. We must also move funding of primary education away from the fed, to more local means. When the fed is in control of the monetary supplication, states and schools must do what the fed says. This leads to disastrous policies like No Child Left Behind and Common Core. Federal control of education is precisely what has led America to the educational decay it has fallen into. And when it comes to higher education, we must stop promoting a college education as the only and highest means to an end. Not everyone should go to college, not everyone is fit for it. The more people that have a college education, the less its worth. Today, a bachelor’s degree no longer exemplifies the behavior of a successful and driven employee. Employers do not actively seek four year graduates: they’re everywhere! We must change the mentality that a man without a degree is an unsuccessful one.

            Immigration. Our position is one that takes on an entirely different perspective. Surely, violent criminals and known terrorists should not be welcomed to our country with open arms. That would be madness. With that in mind, though, we would have our borders open. Immigration from both skilled and unskilled immigrants is entirely beneficial to a free market. For smaller businesses, it’s a way to move up with cheap labor. But not only do the businesses benefit, so do the workers. Legal, fluid immigration is a means of upward mobility for immigrants who would otherwise be stuck in poverty. Easy immigration would make the U.S. a bastion for the great minds of the world. The U.S. would move amongst the most technologically advanced countries in the world.

            When it comes to the environment, the federal government should not be involved in regulation. At the very most, environmental protection should be left in the hands of the states. The federal government does not know what is best for every region, every state. Strict blanket regulations constrict businesses, both small and large, and needlessly prevent individuals from taking advantage of their liberties. The federal government also has horrible reflexes. When crises arise, it tends to react too slowly, or too sweepingly, inefficiently, with a “one size fits all” frame of mind. They don’t have a grasp of what is really needed, on the ground, right there, right then. Not to even mention the fact, which I’ll do anyway, that these types of federal environmental restrictions and regulations stifle innovation and progress. How do we expect to move toward cleaner, more efficient energy sources if we can’t go forward? What we really need is to find a balance between the quality of human existence, the lives of our families, and the protection of our environment. After all, if we’re not here to enjoy and utilize it, can we even count the environment as existing? We don’t need the federal government to shove down our throats environmental awareness. The free-market will demand it as it has in the past, and continues to do today.

            We also believe that a non-interventionist foreign policy is the best thing for a freer world and a safer America. As Thomas Jefferson once said about an American motto, “Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations; entangling alliances with none.” We should remove all restrictions from trade. We must repeal embargoes and sanctions on all nations, regardless of their ideologies and the horrendous acts they've committed. Those are perpetrated by their governments, not the people. And we know from studies, experience, and plain common sense that restrictions on trade hurts the people in these countries. Not their leaders or government. In regards to war, we absolutely need a strong military. That much is a given. But we cannot continue to spend money we don’t have on a military that is twenty-five times stronger than the next strongest military in the world. We need to move within our means. We would also have war declared by Congress and no other. Period. And when that war does occur, we go for nothing less than unconditional surrender. If the offender has not done something so bad that any and every means necessary to win should not be used, then we should not be at war.

            And so, without further gilding of the lily, and with no more ado, ladies and gentlemen: Paul Gaddy.