(Martinsville Bulletin
photo)
Former Congressional candidate William Carr, of Patrick County, has announced that he will challenge Salem-based Congressman Morgan Griffith in the 9th District race in November. Carr opposed Griffith for the 2010 Republican Party nomination; Griffith was selected from the six candidates at a party nominating convention. Carr will run this time as an Independent. (An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated Griffith defeated Carr in a primary.)
News Release:
Former Congressional candidate, William Carr of Patrick County, has announced that he will challenge Congressman Morgan Griffith in the Virginia 9th District Congressional race in November. Carr, who opposed Griffith in the 2010 Republican Primary which was won by Griffith with less than 51% of the vote, will run as an Independent.
William Carr is a retired business man who resides in the Ararat community of Patrick County with his wife, Vanessa. He is a graduate of NC State University and is the father of four children and the grandfather of six. Carr is a devout Christian and has served as a Bishop in his faith. His conservative Constitutional values have made him a frequent speaker at conservative rallies throughout Southwest Virginia.
Carr indicates he will run as an Independent because he does not believe the Republican Party will allow anyone to challenge Griffith in a fair race in the Republican Primary. He believes that the Republican Party is working to eliminate “true conservatives” from winning any race.
Carr has indicated his concern about several issues, the most important being the federal budget and the federal debt. “Our federal government spends several hundred billion dollars more than it takes in every year and we are now more than 17 trillion dollars in debt. That amount represents a $55,000 debt for every citizen in the United States. What this means is we have mortgaged the future of our youth and what do we have to show for this enormous debt? Absolutely nothing”, says Carr.
Carr states that Morgan Griffith voted for the recent budget that will increase this debt to over 20 trillion dollars in the next few years. Carr says that he will not vote for a budget that continues to increase the national debt and would work towards a Constitutional Amendment that requires a balanced budget. “If we do not get this budget crisis under control the United States government will default soon and our economy will collapse. Entitlement programs such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid will be in danger of being eliminated due to lack of funds,” Carr states.
Another concern from Carr is the continued abuse of power by the federal government. “The federal government was granted authority by the states in the Constitution in only 36 areas,” states Carr. “All other power was left to the States and the people by the Tenth Amendment. Yet the federal government continues to seize authority it was never granted. This has to stop and I will work to achieve this end. I believe in the concept of popular sovereignty, in that the people are the source of all government power.”
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is a government agency that Carr says is unconstitutional. “There’s absolutely no provision in the Constitution that gives authority for the EPA to be created. Yet they are able to make regulations that are binding on the States that will completely destroy our coal industry. The EPA needs to be brought under control.”
Another issue according to Carr is the educational system in this country. “The federal government has no business being involved in this process. The Constitution gives this power to the States and to the People. We should be deciding what our children are being taught in school and we should be directing this process. The federal government has only created problems and massive red tape. Standards in our country have fallen well behind world standards since the federal government has been involved.”
The Affordable Care Act is another issue that needs attention according to Carr. He believes under its present form this Act violates several areas of the Constitution and should be replaced with a program that will better serve the needs of the American people. Carr, who has an insurance background, indicates that he has a solution that will give affordable coverage to every person in the US. “This program would not violate the Constitution and would be administered through the private sector as well as the individual States, with financial assistance from the federal government. No one who desires coverage will be left out,” states Carr. “Under this program the employer mandate would not be required because every individual would be eligible for individual coverage. This would enable employers to give their workers a 40 hour work week so that they would be able to support their families. This program will work and is a viable alternative to Obama Care and to those Republicans who seem to offer nothing.”
Carr indicates his belief in public prayer and will work towards regaining this Constitutional right.
He is also a strong advocate of our Second Amendment rights to gun ownership. According to him, the Second Amendment is under assault by the government and he will work to insure that this right is not infringed.
Carr is the recent author of the book, The Modern Patriot: A Call to Action. Most of these issues are discussed in detail in the book which is available on Amazon.com.
Carr will file to run as an Independent in May.
