Diana Irey Speaks

The Blog from the Core ^ | August 28, 2006 | E. L. Core

[ELCore]

[Diana Irey is the Republican challenger to Rep. John Murtha for the 12th Congressional district in Pennsylvania. As a follow-up to Meet Diana Irey, I talked with her again, Tuesday, August 22. It was more of a conversation than an interview, strictly speaking, so I have left myself out of the transcript here, except to add some general headers and a few bracketed comments to provide some context.]

The Campaign

We have two headquarters: this one in Monongahela and one in Johnstown.

We’re close to a thousand volunteers. We’re at all the fairs. We’ve been door-knocking every weekend. And we’re hitting a lot of festivals. We were at the Italian Festival in Vandergrift on Sunday [Aug. 20]. And then we went to the Thunder Mountain Native American Festival & Pow Wow [in Saltzburg].

The door-knocking is going great. Every time we go, we get more volunteers. They’re excited about it and want to get involved in the campaign. We’re in parades, too. We’ve done a lot of parades. And we’re doing a lot of radio and TV. We were in Ohio today [Tue. Aug. 22].

We’ve gotten contributions from all 50 states. And we get contributions from troops on the ground in Iraq. And some of their letters are incredible.

And one thing else. I went to Walter Reed and visited with some soldiers there. It was a wonderful experience. I sat down individually with – I don’t know – maybe 25 soldiers when I was there. And I asked each one of them, Are you glad you went? Do you wish you hadn’t gone? Every one of them was glad they went. The ones who could go back were anxious to go back.

A couple really touched my heart. There was a soldier that had lost both his legs. I was talking to him and thanking him for his service. He said, “I was just doing my job, Ma’am.” I asked him what he was going to be doing with the rest of his life. “Become a school teacher.” He said, “I can be a teacher. This isn’t going to limit me at all. I can still do what I want to do with my life.” There was a fellow that had a hole blown right through his stomach. He’s had 25 procedures. And he was one of the most upbeat men you can imagine.

And the stories go on and on, about how encouraging the troops were to me in my effort. One of them – he was a speaking to a number of soldiers around him, when I was thanking him – “Ma’am, you don’t need to thank us. You just go beat him for us.” That is a motivation that will be on my mind 24 hours a day, seven days a week, until I defeat Mr. Murtha on election day.

[Vets4Irey has photos from the visit to Walter Reed Army Hospital.]

Taxes

Should the tax cuts be made permanent? Yes. Why? We have a lot of government waste. I see it from the county’s perspective. Monies that are handed down from the federal and state governments to the county. So I know how much waste there is. So I know we can cut back on spending.

Along those same lines, I think the federal government should be required to produce a balanced budget every year. I would support a balanced budget amendment. The people we represent have to live within their means. Government should, too.

Abortion

I am very much pro-life. At this point, nobody has been able to convince me of how exceptions make sense. Exceptions always mean you’re choosing one life over another, and I don’t know that’s our choice to make.

Roe v. Wade – I think that’s a situation where you have judges legislating from the bench. And I don’t think that should have happened.

But I think we’re talking about – it’s not just abortion, it’s a life issue. With the Terri Schiavo situation – I thought it was a terrible blow to the sanctity of life, that she was denied food, sustenance. It wasn’t a medical procedure, it was basically food. You know, we’re feeding people, we’re feeding the hungry, and we couldn’t feed her. So I think it goes far beyond abortion. That we have to make sure that we place a value on life.

And, you know, that takes you right into embryonic stem-cell research. That makes no sense. Even if you – first of all, scientifically it’s never been shown to be any more beneficial, or even as beneficial, as adult stem-cell research. It hasn’t been shown to be as beneficial. Number 2 – say it was. Would you be harvesting embryos? At what point do you stop? I mean, it just takes you down a path that I don’t think society has thought through what this would mean in the long term.

Supreme Court

[The Supreme Court has taken onto itself a role where it’s deciding policy.] It’s a very scary thought. What it really does is, it blurs the division of power. And our government was created to have that division for a reason. I think Congress is just going to have to make things a little more clear, as to what the role they are intended to have. I think that’s the best we can hope for now.

I think Roberts and Alito were good choices. I am pleased with both of those choices.

Eminent domain – I am outraged at how this has happened. I mean, this is a basic right, to own property. It’s your property, and for anyone sitting on a bench to think that they can change the whole design of our constitution by giving government the ability to take personal property away from someone – it’s just ridiculous.

We’ve dealt with this issue in Washington County as well. We have had a number of discussions. In the town of Canonsburg, the council had passed a resolution to take by eminent domain properties that were owned by one gentleman. They wanted these structures torn down, and they were going to turn around and hand the properties over to a developer to build townhouses because they could generate additional tax revenue. We stopped it at the county level. It had to pass before the county, and we said no. We really need to be careful about this. This is a very slippery slope, deciding a distinction between what’s necessary and what’s not. So that’s an issue I take great exception to – supporting the government to take your property. That makes no sense at all.

The UN, Israel, and the War on Terror

I’m very upset with the UN. The UN is not our friend. We fund the UN – you know – our funding is a large portion of the monies they receive for their budget. It’s like 23%, I believe, the last time I saw.

And I’m not happy with the ceasefire that they’ve inflicted. That’s something I wouldn’t have supported. I think Israel has a right to defend themselves and they should be allowed to defend themselves.

We are fighting a war on terror and the war in Iraq is part of the war on terror. Some people try to separate the two, but you can’t. What you’re looking at are terrorists that are bent on destroying our way of life, our culture. For the same thought – the same reason – they’re bent on destroying Israel. Some of these terrorists groups refer to Israel as the Little Satan and the US as the Great Satan. It think it’s very clear we are battling people that want to see us destroyed. You know, it’s just like if you have a bully: if a bully is picking on you and beating on you, what are you supposed to do? Just let him beat on you? No! You fight back… you fight back. And that’s what America has to do, and that’s what Israel has to do.

[One of her staffers, Rob Roth, is in the Marine Reserves and served in Iraq.] What I really enjoy is Rob sharing some of his experiences in Iraq. You know what I learned specifically from Rob? I learned what great lengths our forces take in making sure they don’t overreact to a situation. Rob explained to me the escalation of force, the terms of engagement. For example, if a car was approaching and didn’t stop coming at you, they’d have to yell “Stop!” in Arabic first. Then, if it didn’t stop, they’d fire two rounds into the ground. If it still didn’t stop, they’d fire two or three rounds into the hood. If it still didn’t stop, then they could use the escalation of force towards the driver. I wonder how many of our men and women have died as a result of their caution to avoid taking of innocent civilians. And I don’t think America really realizes that – how careful they are – how many precautionary steps they take before the go after suspected terrorists.

Homeland Security

Let’s secure the borders. Let’s build a very tall fence or wall – with a very wide gate. We need to expand our immigration program. We need to revamp it to make it more user friendly so people can become US citizens more quickly. Right now, it’s a very difficult process. There’s a gentleman who was talking to me about the process – it took him six years to go through the process. And that’s a long time. So, if maybe we made the program – the path to citizenship – a little easier, then maybe more people that are coming over are going to want to do it the right way.

But we need to make sure that we never waiver from having the mandatory learning of our language, the English language. I think that’s very important.

I don’t agree with amnesty. I think it’s not a solution to the illegal immigration problem. It’s illegal – what don’t people understand? It’s that simple.

I think the sharing of information is critical. I think Homeland Security probably had a great deal to do with the plot that was foiled in London.

[About the New York Times’ revelation of secret government programs, and the recent court decision ruling certain NSA activity unconstitutional.] I think that decision will be overturned. I’m not surprised because that judge was a Jimmy Carter appointment. Do I think the ruling was wrong? Yes, I think the ruling was wrong.

And I think that what the New York Times did was shameful. It was detrimental to our nation’s security. And I still can’t understand in any way how they could have thought that was okay.

I don’t feel that most Americans feel safe right now. I think most of them believe we will be attacked again. We have to try to have confidence that our government is doing all that it can to prevent that.

House Ethics Scandals

[About recent convictions, charges, and resignations involving members of Congress from both sides of the aisle.] This is one of the saddest states of affairs that you can imagine. That’s because the trust is broken. Relationships are about trust. And when someone participates in this kind of activity – when they are sent, when they are elected by the people – people put their trust in them, and they violate the trust.

That’s why it’s very sad. I think that’s a reason why we need term limits. For the House and the Senate. I think we need term limits. I’m not there yet, but I’m thinking 12 years is plenty of time to serve. I think once they get there – well, people keep e-mailing me, when you get there, please don’t be seduced by Washington. And I think it’s a couple things. They’re away from home, away from their family, and they think nobody’s looking – I can get away with this. And when they’re down there so much, they tend to lose touch with reality, lose touch with the people back home and what real life is all about. What goes on in Washington is quite different than what goes on, you know, back in their homes. I just think the time they spend there should be limited. The people you spend the majority of your time with are the people you build relationships with.

[Does she think she'll hold up well in Washington?] I think I’m going to hold up well. My faith – my faith is what guides me, my faith is what motivates me to do what I do. I intend on continuing on my faith journey. I’m a Christian. I follow Christ. And that’s the most important relationship in my life, my relationship with Christ. That’s part of why I’m running. For me, this is a calling, something placed on my heart. I intend on being in Washington to do the job I need to do and, you know, as soon as that’s done, I plan on getting right home to my family, my husband and my three wonderful children.

[ELCore]

Thanks, everybody.

[ELCore]

> You're just trying to drive blog traffic, you sneaky debbil!

I am sooooo transparent. ;-)

[JulieRNR21]

My favorite part is when the soldier at Walter Reed said to Diana Irey:

“Ma’am, you don’t need to thank us. You just go beat him for us.”

FReeper FRiends:
Let's help Diana Irey do what that soldier asked her to do.....
'Boot Murtha' on November 7

Please go here and make a donation:
http://www.irey.com/

And come to Johnstown, PA on October 1 to the Boot Murtha Rally......to support Vets for the Truth (VFTT):

http://www.bootmurtha.com/RallyInfo/RallyInfo.htm

[Badray]

'See you on the 1st' bump.

[jazusamo]

Bump

[JulieRNR21]

'See you on the 1st' bump.

Hey....Badray....I look forward to seeing you too!

[dubie]

Any poll numbers for this race? I have tried to find and hav not found a single one...

[ELCore]

I do not know.

[Badray]

We might need a FR banner to locate each other.

[Coop]

'See you on the 1st' bump.

Ditto

[Coop]

Any poll numbers for this race?

Come to the rally and I'll personally give you the results.

[devolve]

[JulieRNR21]

Luv that graphic......BUMP

[devolve]

[writer33]

You should appreciate this:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1671838/posts

[potlatch]

Beautiful post devolve!

[potlatch]

Beautiful!!

[ELCore]

Thanks. Did you send that link to the campaign?

[writer33]

Thanks. Did you send that link to the campaign?

Yep. Coop got it.