Ray McKinney For President Information

[Nevadamedic]

The more I read and hear about this guy I like what I am hearing, this is a man we need in office. Here is his intro. Everything I will post in the next couple of posts will come directly from his website www.ray08.com

In elections of 2006, the Republican party suffered a major set back. Broken promises, lack of decisiveness, and the inability to perform destroyed voter confidence. Speaker Nancy Pelosi stated that the 2006 election results were a mandate from the American People to the Democratic party. The fact that this was a mandate was correct. The party she referenced, however, was not.

In 2002 the Democratic party received 33.6 million votes while the Republicans received 37 million votes. In the 2006 elections the Democrats stayed fairly consistent at 33.1 million votes, whereas the Republicans lost 11 million votes, only receiving 26 million (1). The mandate that Pelosi spoke of was not that of demanding change by the Democrats rather that of demanding change from the Republicans. The same lack of leadership, partisan politics, and general voter apathy is still an issue, and 2008 could be a pivotal year for our Nation. My wife and I have had a good life. I have always had a job. We have always had food and a roof over our head. We have had some hard times, but we have always managed to find a way through. I have moved up the ladder of success and currently have a well paying job, savings, retirement, and a nice home.
I have come to the realization, though, that the biggest problem is not with the Republican Party, but with people like me, sitting back, complaining, and doing nothing about it. I have made the comment countless times about how we could do things better, but never do anything. We are just as guilty as our politicians.

No longer will I sit back and not participate, no longer will I let my country be run by those I have no confidence in. America demands and we deserve real candidates, not just candidates presented by the media. I am Ray McKinney - "Real Solutions for a Strong America!"

 

[Nevadamedic]

Border Security & Immigration
I am quite passionate regarding the subject of immigration. With the exception of my great grandmother, I am a descendant of immigrants. I am German, Belgian, Irish, Italian, Scottish, Jew, Protestant, and Catholic. I am also 1/8 Cherokee. I am like many of you. I am an American. I have no issue with people wanting to come to America. Unlike many countries where people are shot for trying to leave, America is a country that many want to join. However, it should be done legally. Only by controlling the influx of immigrants can we grow this great nation without destroying it from within. It is a simple fact of numbers. If you have an 8-man life raft and 20 people try to climb in, all will drown. We have to make hard decisions to protect our country.

My first and immediate solution to illegal immigration is to enforce existing laws. Ninety days after I am sworn in I will, by executive order if necessary, order the requisite departments to immediately enforce our laws concerning hiring of illegal aliens. There will be no catch and release. If you are caught and you are here illegally you will be incarcerated and deported. The funds necessary to support this will come from fines to the employers employing illegal immigrants - $5,000.00 per person with $4,000 of that to go into a voluntary return home fund. It will not cost the taxpayer

As part of that plan any assets you as an illegal alien have will be seized. If you are in a vehicle it will be seized. If you are found in an apartment or other dwelling, that property will be confiscated and the original owner will be fined the above stated amounts for your incarceration and deportation. Once we cut off the source of funds and housing there will be little incentive to stay illegally.

Further, I will order that any overseas transfer of funds come from a legal entity. A drug dealer depositing funds overseas is subject to seizure. So shall it be for any funds transferred by illegal aliens.

Any illegal aliens that voluntarily return across the border will be rewarded. If they turn themselves in to the authorities, they will be returned home at no charge. This expense will initially be paid by Federal funds, up to $1,000 per person. Fines to employers and property owners will subsidize this fund. Aliens who turn themselves in will be eligible to return legally within 2 years of the date they leave.

Any illegal aliens who are deported will be banned from ever legally entering and if caught again on US soil will be charged with a Federal crime and incarcerated and then deported. All illegal aliens who are currently in prison for crimes with the exception of murder, will be deported at the completion of 1/3 of their sentence. Returning to the US will violate their parole and coupled with the Federal crime of illegally entering this country will be subject to harsher penalties up to life in prison. They will NEVER be allowed legal access to the US.

Manual workers who can show proof of working in the US within the last 120 days, letter from employer or pay stub, will be allowed to enroll in a US construction project. This project will be to build the border fence between the US and Mexico. I will expect the Corps of Engineers to lay out a schedule and manpower requests. The first ones to volunteer to fill the manpower quota will be housed, fed, and paid a minimum wage.

I expect the schedule and manpower within 60 days of taking office. I expect the congress to provide funds within 90 days to begin construction.

At the completion of the project, those individuals and their immediate families will be fast tracked into American Citizenship. Once the quota is filled, that is it. Any illegal immigrant caught will not be eligible to volunteer.

There are no triggers, there are no special visas, we follow the laws that already exist in the country. I realize this is a novel idea, but how can we complain about the law and try to change the law if we don’t try following it first.

I would investigate the legality of states to issue a temporary worker permit. This permit would be issued to any alien who can provide proof of an existing job. The existing job must be confirmed by the State and the employer must show proof that he can find no other workers to fill that job. A temporary work permit may be issued subject to continued employment. This permit will not allow any benefits, including voting or social services, and will be invalid within 30 days of unemployment.

This will allow employers who claim to be dependent on foreign labor to remain open. Temporary work permits will require all normal withholding taxes and be subject to State and Federal labor laws. This is not a path to citizenship and it is not a license for employers to take advantage of low skill workers. These temporary permits will be valid for 2 years, will be subject to a 5 year background check, and paid for by the employer. It will not be issued to any worker with a felony background including prior deportation. The 2 year time frame will allow employers to find workers under the existing immigration standards.

The temporary permit will apply to the permit holder, one spouse, and children only. I will also request that the US government present a case to the Supreme Court for a decision on the definition of a natural born citizen. If the court rules that the term applies to any birth, I will ask for passage of a constitutional amendment to define a natural born citizen to be the result of a legal entry (for the purpose of citizenship) into this country or if they are physically forced into this country. I do believe the 14th amendment was specifically related to the issue of slavery and was not intended for this to apply to “anchor” babies and that a person should not benefit from a crime. The temporary permit, would be a work permit, and would not convey citizenship to anyone born under a worker permit.

Illegal immigration results in cheap labor, high profits, and the degradation of the immigrant. By enforcing our laws we will no longer allow these people to be taken advantage of. The current plan to “legalize” immigrants will only do more harm. The result will be that the new citizen will be subject to the same laws and the same social services as any legal citizen. The fact is, the people who take advantage of illegal status will only find new illegal aliens to replace the “new” citizens. We will only be adding millions of people to the State and Federal support programs. Legalizing these people will NOT solve the problem. It will only exacerbate it. We need solutions, not band-aids.

 

[Nevadamedic]

Iraq & Terrorism
Iraq is a prominent issue for the American People and it is essential that we understand what we are up against. Whatever reasons you believe caused us to go into Iraq, do not matter now. We are there and we face two choices. We can either take responsibility, or we can leave the country in shambles.

I do not want to see one more of our children die in this foreign land. I also, do not want one of our citizens to die within our borders as a result of a failure in Iraq. As a nation, it is up to you to decide whether we pull out now, or do we help Iraq to build a stable nation. These really are our only two choices, and this election will decide which course we take. If we decide to leave Iraq in shambles you know in your heart what the results will be.

1. The enemy we were fighting will declare victory.
2. The enemy we are fighting will “know” that they beat the US.
3. They WILL come to the US.

This passionate and determined group believes it is their duty to kill any who disagree with their beliefs. It does not matter what your beliefs are. All you have to do is realize THEY believe. This cult, this extreme group of Islamic-Fascists have believed this, taught this, and died by this belief for over 1400 years. It is not a religious problem, a Republican problem, nor a United States problem. It is a global problem. This has nothing to do with our policies. It has everything to do with their policies and their belief in the power attainable in death. Some of these people have been raised with this belief since birth. They will not change their minds. It is a perverted doctrine and even if one tenth of one percent of the worlds Muslims practices this doctrine, that equates to over 1 Million of these terrorists.

Many have called my plan controversial and even unconstitutional because I want to work with the Congress and Senate on the solution. This is not the problem of the President. This is the Nation’s problem and it must be solved with unity. If we do not present a united front, the only thing we will do is embolden our enemy.

Right now, the terrorists we are fighting believe they are winning. The bickering of our House and Senate has done nothing but convince them that the time of victory is near. These extremists believe we have lost our will, and I believe our politicians have lost theirs. They have forgotten that our enemy does not want to win and rebuild their nation. Our enemy wants to defeat us on every battlefield. This is not a war we can afford to lose. They will follow us. They have already been here. They are STILL here.

We must convince the millions of people in Iraq that we will not abandon them if they are willing to work with us. Right now, they see us losing our resolve, and we leave them no choice but to prepare to be overrun by our enemies. We will not get the support of the people if they feel we are going to abandon them. We need to empower the people of Iraq. We need to convince them we ready and prepared to see this mission through whatever the cost, and we will accomplish this through five phases.

In the first phase, I will sit down with the leaders of both parties. It is up to you if they are the same leaders or if they are new leaders. It is up to you to choose people who will work with me or to choose those that will work against me. I will request that they respect the will of the people and to leave their party affiliation at the door. We are here to solve a problem, not criticize each other or to take credit for solving the problem. I will request that they form a bi-partisan team and we will go to Iraq to see the situation first hand.

My second phase is to meet with the generals and the officers together. We will meet with the NCO’s down to the lowest rank troops and we will listen. We spend billions of dollars training these men and it is time we listen to them. They will tell us what they think we need to do in Iraq. Together we will devise a plan including benchmarks for the US military and the Iraqi government. These benchmarks will include automatic triggers for troop reductions based on goals met.

My third phase will be to take that same committee and meet with the Iraqi government. We will present our plan, our benchmarks, and our expectations. Flexibility must be allowed within the plan. However, any changes will be worked out between the bi-partisan committee and myself. The Iraqi government has a choice. They can either agree to work with the plan, which may be modified with their input, or they can live with the consequences. This plan will be between the President of the United States, the bi-partisan committee, the military leadership, and the Iraqi government. This will not be a Republican plan or a Democrat plan. This will be a united plan. Everyone will take ownership of this plan. Failure to meet the benchmarks in the plan by the Iraqi government SHALL result in nullification of the plan, and the US military will be pulled out of Iraq, immediately. If the Iraqi government will not take ownership of their own country, the United States will not either. We will sacrifice no more troops for an ungrateful or an uncooperative government.

Once we return from Iraq, I expect the bi-partisan committee to work within their parties. The House and Senate SHALL present a united front to the world and provide without prejudice the resources required by the US Military.

Phase 5, we implement the plan. I expect the leadership of each party to submit the names of 5 members from the House and 2 members from the Senate. They will submit those names by the middle of January ’09. We will meet for 2 weeks with the military and 1 week with the Iraqi government. Upon our return to the US, the House and Senate will pass whatever legislation is required to support the plan developed. I will expect this committee to monitor the project on a daily basis and submit a weekly report to my office.

As I see it, we need to establish solid, quantifiable goals. This will give us a path to success. If we find we cannot meet these goals because of lack of support by the Iraqi people, then the result will not be on our head. I do have a timetable. However, that will be kept between the military, the bi-partisan committee, the Iraqi government and myself.

I also ask the people of the United States to allow a short period of time, 60 days, for us to work together and implement this plan. If we do not have positive results within 180 days of enacting the plan, I will immediately order a pullout of all of our troops.

We are in this together and only by uniting can we solve this problem.

 

[Nevadamedic]

Political Stewardship
America is unhappy. Americans have lost faith in their politicians. Every week is a new scandal, every day is another day of gridlock. Our politicians ignore issues we want addressed and pass issues we don’t want in the dead of night. They introduce bills with “clay pigeons” attached. They use earmarks like post it notes. The Democrats believe they have a mandate because voters refused to support the Republicans in ’06. The problem is, it was not a mandate FOR the Democrats but a message sent to the Republicans. We expected conservatives to act like conservatives. RINO (Republican In Name Only) is the name of the day for many conservative politicians.

We have congressman taking bribes, complaining about having their office raided by the justice department with legal warrants. The stench of corruption permeates Washington like a morning fog. Americans feel ignored and betrayed by those sent to serve its citizens. This country was founded by men with a vision, men with ethics, men who only wanted to serve their country. We are defended by men and women of those same standards. America’s people have those same standards. Our police officers, firemen, teachers, factory workers, and other citizens strive every day to do their jobs as best they can. They perform their jobs, raise their families, and work diligently to live the American Dream.

As your President, I will demand from those working in government to return to those standards. The politician under indictment should step down from his place in office. The government worker should treat his employer with the respect due. Our employer is the American Taxpayer. I will expect our elected officials to work, spending more than 103 days in session as they did in 2006. No one in America expects a years pay for 3 ½ months work. Our leaders should lead by example. We have serious problems and we need serious people in Washington. I have averaged over 2500 working hours a year for the past 20 years at my job and I expect to do the same thing in Washington. I expect our leaders to work just like the rest of America does. Their job is in Washington, not traveling around the world at the expense of the taxpayer, especially when they are not even on the foreign relations committee. Although the work week is Monday through Friday, many Americans do not get every weekend off. I do not expect to either. Most Americans work while government employees are on a “holiday”. I am not used to getting off on most Federal holidays and do not plan on taking most of them off when I am in office.

I want to build a cabinet and a staff of professionals who have seen real world problems and developed real world solutions. Yes, I need people who can navigate the system but I want to change the system. I believe the system is broken. I intend to reach out to the private sector for managers, educators, and leaders. If you are a one or two term Congressman or Senator, I want to meet with you. I will build a staff and a cabinet comprised of people with a can-do attitude. I want people I have to convince to come to Washington. We need problem solvers. J.C. Watts, Colin Powel, Herman Caine, Thomas Sowell, Mike Adams, Erick Erickson, the CEO’s and Managers of Excelon, Progress Energy, Exxon, Microsoft, you are the type of people I want to meet. Educators that have worked in public and private schools. Principles, professors, nurses, doctors, retired military, you are the people I want to meet. I want to know what you think. I want to personally interview my staff. I will not be looking for years of public service, I will be looking for what you have done in the world outside of Washington. Washington is not a representation of America. It is its own little world, insulated and out of touch. We need people in Washington who remember what it is like back home. I want people who have personal contacts that are not in Washington.

Politics is not a career it is a privilege and a trust.

 

[Nevadamedic]

Energy for Tomorrow
From Ray's Energy Policy released in June of 2007:

"Our lack of a true Energy Policy restrains our economy, curbs job growth, deteriorates our atmosphere, and provides valuable financial support to Islamic Fundamentalists. We need to look to our future and solve a problem that has been plaguing this country for generations.

Currently, when one thinks Energy, the thought focuses on oil or the price of refined oil commonly known as gasoline. Although oil is just one part of our Energy policy, it is a concern that is so much in the forefront of America's mind that it must be addressed fully. Unbridled price increases take money directly from the pockets of the general public - money that is needed to buy goods and services - the same goods and services that keep our economy moving forward. This reduction in discretionary income begins to affect service industries such as hotels, restaurants, theaters, and other recreational services. As the reduction of spending in these areas begins to spread into other markets of an economy that is based on cash flow that economy stops. Restrictive cash flow in our economy is just as bad as restrictive blood flow within our own body. Wild fluctuations in gas prices are harmful to our economy. Just imagine if the price of gas hits $5.00 per gallon. It is not unforeseeable in the near future. Increased oil prices and speculation also lead to billions of dollars in profit for oil rich nations, much of which is used to fund the very terrorists that threaten our nation. In that respect, we are funding our own enemies."

 

[Nevadamedic]

Healthcare
I have personal experience with our healthcare system having been a patient many times. I recently visited a friend in Hospice who was denied a drug regimen that was free as part of a trial study because the insurance company would not cover the office visits necessary during the trial study. Instead the insurance company paid the same doctor for the same office visits and drug regimen of a prior approved plan. The insurance company actually paid more for my friend to die than they would have paid if my friend had participated in the free study. We will never know if the trial plan would have saved her life, but we do know the insurance company spent more money for the old plan that failed.

Other than the obstinacy of many insurance companies, the US has the best healthcare system in the world, as long as you can afford it. If anyone is telling you they have an easy solution to health care I suspect they are either lying or in need of psychological therapy.

With health care we must make some hard choices. We can’t all live in a 3,000 sf house and we all can’t drive BMW’s. To make healthcare equal, would destroy our current standards of medicine. Almost every developed country in the world has tried to standardize healthcare, and while the level of care has gone up for some, for the majority it has gone down significantly.

I challenge anyone who has come up with a 100 Billion dollar plan to show us the numbers. I’ve run a few simple calculations based on the following assumptions:

5 days a year in a hospital
1 doctor visit a year
1 major surgery every 5 years
No medication
No lab tests
No bed sheets
No food
No cleaning service
No room
Fixed labor cost set for nurses: $40,000.00 per year
Fixed labor cost set for doctors: $60,000.00 per year
Fixed labor cost set for surgeons: $90,000.00 per year

Just the labor cost to support everyone in the US with the above assumptions will cost $150 Billion per year. There is no cheap, simple fix for this. Massive government controlled healthcare will bankrupt our nation and degrade the quality of service.

In my immediate family there are 4 RN’s, 1 anesthesiologist, 1 pharmacist, and a couple of nursing students. I promise you I will form a team of health professionals, members of the insurance community, pharmaceutical companies, accountants, lawyers, and a bi-partisan team from Congress, and we will come up with a plan that works. There is no silver bullet. There is no miracle cure. This is a complex issue and will take time and effort to solve.

Healthcare costs money and there are some ways we can reduce those costs.

1. Availability
2. Facilities
3. Labor costs
4. Technical costs
5. Medications
6. Legal Costs
7. Insurance
8. Profit

1. I do not want to limit availability. That is not an option.

2. We should continue to support our facilities and look to upgrade in the future.

3. The government has no business regulating what a person can make.

4. Medical equipment is expensive. To help with this problem, I would suggest that all medical equipment, supplies, and medication be non-taxable.

5. Legal costs such as “awards” are the result of jury trials. It is up to you, the American juror to deal with this issue. Setting limits will most likely be unconstitutional and in fact would impede the jury system we currently have. Our judicial system is reliant on the “people” acting as jurors and being an integral part of the government. It is a fundamental right, which carries a great responsibility. Instead of limiting the power of the jury, we should look to educating the members of a jury. Informed people make better decisions. I am for less government control over our society and not more control.

6. Insurance. Insurance pays costs but it also makes a profit. I would consider eliminating insurance companies and have medical insurance plans to be non-profit and managed by the state.

7. Hospital Profit. As the voters, you have a choice. If you want to make all healthcare not for profit, then vote for a Democrat. The US already has non-profit and for-profit systems in place. Given the choice, where do you go? Do you visit your local government run clinic, or do you go to your family practitioner? Are you willing to put our healthcare under total government control?

I do have one challenge for those that advocate one system for all and that is it is truly, one system for all. You will guarantee that everyone will have access to the exact same type of service, level of quality, access to doctors. There will be no “special” hospitals for politicians.

For those of you considering this free access to all healthcare system, please keep in mind all that you have heard about concerning government run hospitals in the past.

 

[DeadCanDance]

He doesn't sound like the brightest bulb in the class. I'm not sure I'd want his finger on the nuclear trigger, if he didn't even know that you can't run for vice president without being on a party's nominated ticket.

McKinney decided to run for office about two months ago and initially got notoriety when he announced he was running for vice president.

But he looked into it further and unlike running separately for lieutenant governor, running for vice president requires being on a ticket. So he decided to set his sights a little higher than the No. 2 office.

“I don’t think anyone’s going to vote for me for vice president,” he said. “I researched it, and there’s no way I can run for vice-president. The last couple of weeks, a lot of my supporters said I had to run for president.”

http://www.effinghamherald.net/news/archive/643/

 

[RetiredGySgt]

He doesn't sound like the brightest bulb in the class. I'm not sure I'd want his finger on the nuclear trigger, if he didn't even know that you can't run for vice president without being on a party's nominated ticket.

Whats funny is you have NEVER been able to run for Vice President, even before the change to being on the Presidents ticket the way it worked was the runner up for President was Vice President.

Further wasn't Nevadamedic promoting one of the other candidates with almost the same words? Not the candidates words but his?

 

[Annie]

Isn't this spamming? What happened to a blurb and link?

 

[RetiredGySgt]

Isn't this spamming? What happened to a blurb and link?

Well he provided the link AND the blurb in the first post. I guess if you had read it you would have noticed, IN the first paragraph.

The more I read and hear about this guy I like what I am hearing, this is a man we need in office. Here is his intro. Everything I will post in the next couple of posts will come directly from his website www.ray08.com

 

[Annie]

Well he provided the link AND the blurb in the first post. I guess if you had read it you would have noticed, IN the first paragraph.

and if you had read the rules, YOU would know that posting umpteenth following posts that covers the candidate's positions is NOT a blurb, in fact is spamming.

 

[RetiredGySgt]

and if you had read the rules, YOU would know that posting umpteenth following posts that covers the candidate's positions is NOT a blurb, in fact is spamming.

Your initial claim that he never provided a link or an opening statement are simply NOT true. He did fail to provide a link in each post, but he thought that was ok. It IS NOT a case of spamming. It IS a case of not following the rules as closely as he should have.

BIG DIFFERENCE.

 

[Annie]

Your initial claim that he never provided a link or an opening statement are simply NOT true. He did fail to provide a link in each post, but he thought that was ok. It IS NOT a case of spamming. It IS a case of not following the rules as closely as he should have.

BIG DIFFERENCE.

Your inability to understand there wasn't a claim of 'no link', rather:

Isn't this spamming? What happened to a blurb and link?

Note the rules say:

Copyright Guidelines:
Copyright infringement is illegal. USmessageboard.com will enforce the law. Never post an article in its entirety. When posting copyrighted material, please use small sections or link to the article. When posting copyrighted material you MUST give credit to the author in your post. You are responsible for including links/credit, regardless of how you originally came across the material.

 

[RetiredGySgt]

Your inability to understand there wasn't a claim of 'no link', rather:

Note the rules say:

There IS a blurb and a LINK.

 

[Annie]

There IS a blurb and a LINK.

No, there was a link not to only a blurb, but due to subsequent posts, an entire website, positions and all. IE., an advertisement for a candidate.

 

[William Joyce]

THIS JUST IN:

Ray McKinney was just arrested trying to raise campaign funds at an airport men's room in Minneapolis.

Tsk.