ManionTom082508 Herald 773 words

Bucks County Herald – September 25, 2008

Tom Manion

Dear Friends,

Good morning. In a few weeks, I’ll be standing in front of former State Senator Ed Howard’s class at Delaware Valley College. When Ed is desperate for a controversial topic, he invites me to address his “students” who are senior citizens. I might add, very active seniors who are up to speed in politics and the affairs of Bucks County.

He calls his class, “Local government, the growing monster in your back yard,” or “Monster Class” for short. I tell them that the value they receive from me equates to my compensation…zero.

Hoping that I could get a read on their presidential preference, I prepared an election quiz for them. And because I had an interview scheduled with Tom Manion, the Republican candidate opposing Congressman Patrick Murphy, I thought I’d run my survey by Manion first.

Before I report his answers, let me tell you that I was impressed with Tom Manion. One of ten children, he is an American success story. After college, he joined the Marine Corps; served on active duty for 11 years, and retired from the reserves as a Lt. Colonel, 19 years later. He moved his family to Bucks County in 1990 and is presently the Vice President for Information Technology with Johnson and Johnson.

“April 29, 2007 was a life changing event,” Manion told me. That was the day that his son, Travis, was killed while serving in the Marines in Fallujah, Iraq. It was Travis’ second tour of duty in Iraq. His death is the major reason why Tom Manion is a candidate this year.

“The brave men and women of America are serving in harms way,” Manion told me. “They deserve better leadership in Washington. It’s just not good enough to stand on the sidelines.

“Travis knew the surge [in Iraq] would work,” Tom Manion continued. “He knew the surge would get this job done…and he knew it long before we Americans did.”

One of my survey questions concerned a timetable for leaving Iraq. “We should leave it to [General David] Pratreus,” Manion answered. “Don’t tell the enemy what you’re doing. But Iraq should be investing their surplus [rather than taking American tax money]. We shouldn’t look behind but look ahead. The debate should be about the consequences.”

His views about Afghanistan made sense. “We can’t go back to 9/11,” he said. “Afghanistan is a quagmire. But it’s not just a military solution. Their economy is a drug economy. Afghanistan’s infrastructure is horrible. It needs a military force and diplomatic solutions. We need partnerships with other countries.”

What about the economy, I wondered?

“It’s a big concern and the dollar needs strengthening,” Manion responded. “Out of control government spending is a major factor.”

He turned to health care. “I’m against a single payer system,” he said. “Letting the open market solve the problem of 47 million uninsured is best. I’m for individual health savings accounts. The Medicare/ Medicaid system is inefficient and wasteful. There’s $350 billion in wasteful spending. We need preventative care and we need to be using our technology.”

Manion believes that everything should be on the table concerning energy. “We need to transition from oil to alternative energy,” he said. And that means wind, solar, and nuclear. “New technology will make drilling safe,” he said. “We should be worrying that the Chinese and Cubans are drilling right off the coast [of Florida].”

And his views about education?

“We need to encourage excellence in education,” Manion continued. “We need to attract the best teachers and get rid of the bad ones. We need to make public schools compete [with the foreign competition]. Some school districts are doing well but too many aren’t.” And vouchers? “Generally, I’m for it,” he said.

In addition, Manion signed a “No new taxes” pledge. Here are his other views:

“It’s been seven years since 9/11 and we still have no fence,” Manion complained as he addressed illegal immigration. “We need to close the borders. I’m against amnesty, but we need a work visa program.”