HD7 candidate introduces himself
I filed in January as a candidate for House District 7 in Kalispell. Our system of government depends upon citizens willing to serve; I could no longer ask others to serve without being willing to serve myself. Being heard in the public square without compromising principles is why America is great.
Most of life involves tough, but simple decisions. Is it right? Do we need it? Can we afford it? Many families ask those questions when managing their household. Elected leaders need three simple qualifications: They must fear God, love justice and hate bribes. If elected, I will show that government can and should be led by qualified people asking the right questions.
I believe in God; more importantly, I believe that I am accountable to Him. Backroom deals that compromise principle or violate law never escape His attention. Our Founding Fathers knew the laws of nature and Nature’s God. They saw that all humanity was created to understand right and wrong, and they also knew it is as foolish to ignore natural law as it is to ignore the law of gravity. Most of the natural laws boil down to the Golden Rule of doing to others as we would have them do to us.
History shows us repeatedly there is no freedom without justice. The purpose of just rule of law is to help us live peaceably in civil society. Corrupt judges and a burgeoning police state deliver fear, not freedom. When a citizen has been denied justice, why don’t we see a judge being impeached for violating their oath of office? Judges should follow the law not mock it by legislating from the bench.
Freedom depends upon private property ownership. Since the power to tax is the power to destroy, we must eliminate property and income taxes. Government can never be accountable to the people when the government controls what you own and what you earn. We have replaced slavery and debtor’s prisons with income taxes and property taxes.
Government should also pay its bills today. It is irresponsible and immoral to legislate anything that a future generation must pay for. It’s high time we start asking if we really need the things in the budget. Just because we’ve always done it a certain way doesn’t justify continuing to do it that way.
People fix problems, but governments generally cause problems. How many laws, regulations and taxes would disappear if we honestly asked if we needed them? Did we need Medicaid expansion and the new gasoline tax? The political elitists’ goal is to grow government even if it torments their constituents. My aim will be to slash government that lives on the backs of hard-working Montanans like a parasite.
What qualifies me to run? I’m an unapologetic American and citizen of this great state of Montana. That should be enough, but I also come in from the rain and have gloves in my truck. I try to keep gas in my tank, especially when the weather is bad. When I’m getting fat, or my blood pressure goes up, I know it’s the guy in the mirror’s fault.
My folks taught me that an enlisted man in the military can make a living and support his family, but they also taught me that an education was important. The week after graduating from college, I was commissioned a USMC 2nd Lieutenant. The next week I married my wife (of 36 years) and shortly thereafter reported to Quantico, Virginia, to start my 26-year Marine Corps career.
The Marines took me to every clime and place; I flew A-6 Intruders off the USS John F. Kennedy, AV-8 Harriers in the deserts of the southwest and instructed young aviators in A4 Skyhawks in the Gulf of Mexico. I controlled fighter jets in Europe, South America, the Caribbean and Africa, as well as provided aviation logistical support in Mogadishu, Somalia. The Corps even taught me to help kids remain drug free in Louisiana through outdoor adventure experiences.
The Marine Corps also prepared me to pilot commercial aircraft like the B-727, DC-10 and MD-11 around the world. But my beloved Corps did not prepare me for handling goats, geese and chickens in the hills west of Kalispell. It was the good people of Montana who welcomed me, taught me and made me feel at home who did that.
Montana provided the opportunity to start a business, grow roots in the community and become politically active. Montanans showed me how to get excited over eighth-grade volleyball at my granddaughter’s games. It was Montana that allowed me to learn of God’s grace and power in the magnificent things He created. It was my pastor in Kalispell who taught me fidelity for the truth and the power behind committed citizens, well-equipped for every good work. It’s time to bring my proven leadership and service, decades of experience, and God-given good sense to Helena.
I really do love Montana; I chose to come here and, Lord willing, I will never leave here.
Welzel, of Kalispell, is running in the Republican primary against Frank Garner in House District 7.