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Many already know this, but I figured an article was needed. I hope the Montana citizens have seen the hard work I have put in as Congressman and feel I am worthy of reelection.

I have many reasons on why I feel I am the most qualified candidate in Montana, but I'll just name a few here:

1. I already have 1 term as Congressman under my belt. If you look on the eUSA Congressional forum you will see I have been very involved. I do my best to make sure and weigh out each issue and make the decision I think that benefits eMerica the most.

2. I am a Colonel for the 1st Division National Guard. I think having over 50 people under my command brings out my leadership qualities... something I hope to bring to Congress.

3. I run 1 business currently. I run Cowboy Wood and in the past also ran Cowboy Housing(I still have 2 Q2 houses if anyone wants one, PM me). I understand how taxes work and how import and income taxes effect business.

4. I have DOUBLE the xp of any of my competitors. I have been involved in this game for quite a while now and my xp shows this. The other candidates in Montana seem like good candidates, but do not have quite the experience I do. And I have yet to see any of them involved in avenues outside the game mechanics(unlike me).

Now, my stances on:

The Military
I support this current war. I do not understand the current outcry as I thought the reason for war was apparent from the beginning. For the last month, during my times in IRC and the media on eRepublik I saw person after person screaming RWAR, RWAR, RWAR! Everyone wanted war, even with warnings that we weren't convinced our markets could handle it. When we went to war, it came with lots of support. But in American fashion, the second anything went wrong, people freaked out. I think if you looked thoughtfully at the situation before the war, you could have seen many of the problems coming. But these problems do not mean we shouldn't have gone to war. Now, we find ourselves undermining our own war effort. You lose wars by loudly protesting the war while it is going on. I believe the proper channel for protest is to move the concerns up the chain... something that wasn't done. If the leaders refuse to listen, then your concerns should be voiced.

The markets have struggled a bit, but prices rise with tough times. You have to expect that to some extent. The military wasn't organized enough, but hopefully the new leadership can correct that. I think we finally have the correct people in place in the military command structure to lead us in the right direction.

Military Pay Solution
There has been lots of talk on this subject, but I want to present my solution. When I started as a soldier in the Army, my understand was that military pay was meant to be used to buy weapons. When V1 came out, the storage was reduced, making it hard for this model to work. Enough spots aren't available, yet the old pay model was still used... with soldiers not buying weapons. So during this war, the government was stuck paying the soldiers and proving weapons, a huge cost.

My solution is this... NO MILITARY PAY. I believe officers and the National Guard should be paid. Why the National Guard and not the army? It is simple... Since being in Congress, their have been a few discussions about raising the citizens fee. But with all the citizens who start accounts and never get involved, much of this money goes to waste. The NG is for brand new citizens who are going through a military training process. Most move onto the Army after reaching 3 strength. So by paying the NG, you are supporting only the active new citizens. I am currently working on a new pay structure in the NG that would benefit the new citizens and encourage others to move on to the Army.

Once you move onto the Army, you should have high enough skills to be able to provide for yourself. During war, I think the military should provide weapons, which is a form of pay. If you rely on soldiers to buy weapons, you will always be let down. Then the military is forced into the same situation it is currently in. The military/government could easily stock up on weapons well before a war to keep the market moving and prices low(as waiting until war to buy weapons puts a huge stress on the market).

eConomy
I believe in keeping taxes as low as possible. But, due to some costs of running the country, I understand some taxes are necessary. I hit on the cost of running the government in the other sections(military pay is one huge cost), but currently we do not know the costs of running the country. Leroy Combs is looking to set up a Budget Committee and I have supported his idea from its beginning stages. I would like to be involved, but with recent proposals to reduce the size of the committee, I'm not sure I will get the chance.

I believe that we should strive for a strong dollar. I think a strong dollar encourages good business practices. I also believe a strong dollar enables companies to use gold to strengthen their company.. meaning they can upgrade quality.


I have some more, but this article is getting long, and I doubt I can keep your attention. I believe in keeping the eUSA a strong, proud nation. We should strive for greatness. Hopefully the people of eMontana see my vision and agree that with my experience and ideas, I am the best person for the job.

Good luck to everyone running this time around. Lets hope for a clean race!