NUMBER 1: GET SERIOUS ABOUT THE NATIONAL DEBT.
Both Republicans and Democrats have a horrible track record on spending, the deficit and the national debt. The national debt is now $31 trillion, nearly tripling since 2009 when Michael Bennet was first appointed to the US Senate. “Republicans increased the debt by trillions, and the Democrats increased it by tens of trillions,” O’Dea said. “Neither political party seems to care that it’s our kids who will have to pay for all this.” O’Dea said he’ll work with fiscally conservative Republicans and moderate Democrats to shrink spending and begin to cut deficits and the debt. O’Dea said the entire federal bureaucracy needs to be trimmed. “There’s waste everywhere in the bureaucracy, including the Pentagon,” O’Dea said. “The debt is a moral issue – we are literally sticking it to our kids – and I’m running to do something about it,” he said.
NUMBER 2: REFORM THE FEDERAL RESERVE.
The Federal Reserve has too much power and too little transparency. Along with reckless spending from the Biden Administration, the Federal Reserve’s reckless monetary policy has fueled the nation’s inflation crisis. But neither political party will do anything about it because, according to O’Dea, “Wall Street has a death grip on the United States Congress.” Leaders on the left and the right have decried the Fed’s power, but nothing ever gets done. Joe O’Dea will stand-up for the working people of this nation and fight to reform the federal reserve.
NUMBER 3: PROTECT THE DREAMERS AND FIX OUR IMMIGRATION SYSTEM.
Joe O’Dea believes we need to secure the border and crack down on fentanyl and human trafficking flowing in to the country. But O’Dea breaks with his party on what to do with the Dreamers, the children of undocumented immigrants who are brought to the country through no fault of their own. “We should embrace the Dreamers and give them full citizenship,” O’Dea said.
NUMBER 4: DONALD TRUMP AND THE 2020 ELECTION.
Joe O’Dea has said repeatedly he does not believe the 2020 election was stolen. “Joe Biden’s the president, but he’s a lousy president.” O’Dea has told the New York Times, Washington Post, and NBC News’ Meet the Press that he will campaign against Donald Trump in the GOP Primary for President if he runs. O’Dea has said he hopes neither Trump or Biden run again. “That will tear the nation apart. Both Trump and Biden would do a great service to America by staying the heck out of the presidential election in 2024,” O’Dea said.
NUMBER 5: OBAMACARE’S PROTECTION FOR PREEXISTING CONDITIONS.
In the days before the Republican Primary, Joe O’Dea told the Colorado Sun he was opposed to repealing Obamacare because the protections for individuals with preexisting conditions are too important. O’Dea says we still need to work to improve how Obamacare works – to make the law more responsive to patients, and to crack down on frivolous lawsuits – but that the effort to repeal the law and protections for preexisting conditions is wrong, will never happen, and doesn’t have his support.
NUMBER 6: PROTECT SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE.
The American Association of Senior Citizens said it best: “Joe O’Dea will protect Social Security and Medicare”. O’Dea believes both programs were a promise made to seniors and, therefore, benefits shouldn’t be changed for retirees or those approaching retirement. “The biggest threat to the solvency of Social Security and Medicare is all this reckless spending from the politicians in DC,” O’Dea said. “$80 billion to hire 87,000 new IRS agents, a $500 billion student loan bailout for households making as much as $400,000 a year – every dime of reckless spending is a threat to the programs we ought to be funding, programs like Social Security and Medicare.” O’Dea says he will focus on cutting the bureaucracy and cutting waste, and make sure the federal government keeps its promise to seniors.
NUMBER 7: ABORTION AND SAME-SEX MARRIAGE.
Joe O’Dea is fiscally conservative, but moderate – a libertarian – on social issues. O’Dea supports a woman’s right to choose in the first 20-weeks of pregnancy, and supports same-sex marriage. US News and World Report called O’Dea “a GOP rarity: an abortion rights candidate.” O’Dea will vote for a federal law codifying same sex marriage. O’Dea’s philosophy on abortion and same-sex marriage is simple: “you live your life, I’ll live mine,” O’Dea says.
NUMBER 8: A ROLE FOR THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IN SUPPORTING LAW ENFORCEMENT.
America is facing a national crisis of crime, lawlessness and homelessness. Joe O’Dea believes the federal government has a vital role, providing additional resources to state and local governments to hire new cops. Modeled on Bill Clinton’s strategy to hire 100,000 cops in the 1990’s – a move that dramatically reduced crime – O’Dea has proposed to zero-out Joe Biden’s plan to hire 87,000 new IRS agents and auditors as part of a larger program to hire more local police and more border agents instead. “There’s a vital role for the federal government to play in supporting local law enforcement as they protect neighborhoods, communities and our schools. We need to get smart about how we spend, and focus on the things that matter: more cops, more prosecutors, more jails, more border agents should be near the top of the list,” O’Dea said.
NUMBER 9: INNOVATION TO SOLVE CLIMATE CHANGE.
Joe O’Dea has said there’s no doubt about it –the climate is getting warmer. O’Dea says the solution is innovation and incentives, not expensive mandates and not new big government programs. “We need to streamline the permitting process so we can build more wind, solar, nuclear, and natural gas,” O’Dea said. “Because of our environmental regulations, American energy is always cleaner than the stuff produced by OPEC or Putin.” O’Dea said a robust approach to generate more energy here will also make it harder for OPEC to hold American motorists hostage at the gas pump with higher gas prices.
NUMBER 10: COUNTRY OVER POLITICAL PARTY ON ISSUES BIG AND SMALL.
Joe O’Dea says, on issue after issue, both sides lock down and never work with the other side. “There aren’t 20 Senators or Members of Congress in Washington, DC who are willing to go sit down and hammer out deals that move America forward,” O’Dea said. “I’m not a career politician. I don’t owe anyone in Washington, DC a damn thing. I’ll work with good people on both sides of the aisle to move America forward.”
Original source can be found here
