30 minutes with a congressman
by Alan Moore
Published: April 12, 2008
Thanks to several well-placed political and business contacts, I had the chance to sit down one-on-one with Congressman Jim Marshall last week for a very interesting chat.
Since you’re probably more interested in what he had to say than in me rambling on, let’s take a look at that.
As you can probably guess, I started things off with some discussion over President Bush’s 2008 Economic Stimulus Package. For those ignoring the media and who don’t know about the program, it provides at least a $300 rebate check to many American taxpayers. Nationally, there’s been some debate over whether or not the package will have a positive effect on the economy, since a record national debt makes borrowing from other countries a necessity to fund many federal programs.
“Experts think, and it’s a pretty widely shared view, that getting money right now into the hands of people who will actually spend it will be helpful to the economy. And there was such a broad consensus on that which made it move through Congress fairly quickly, so there’s no doubt in my mind that most folks think it will help. The idea here is to spend some money right now to keep the economy from totally tanking and losing a lot more later. Whether or not it will have the effect is subject to some reasonable debate, but it passed because most experts believe it will have that positive effect.”
Taking a chronological step back, I wanted to talk with Congressman Marshall about a campaign ad that generated some controversy locally when former Hawkinsville High Athletic Director, Lee Campbell, appeared in a commercial filmed on school property. And to be honest with you, I have to agree with his answer.
“Well, if I thought there was an issue with it, I wouldn’t have run it, so it’s news to me that there was any controversy. I’m sure he (Campbell) had to think about whether or not he wanted to do that. We got school board permission and checked with the superintendent first. What you have is that the people who spoke up, for the most part, and criticized him, had he been backing their candidate - they wouldn’t have spoken up. You see that same thing in Congress all the time. They’ll offer what they think is a principled position, but the situation here is that it’s driven by the fact that they don’t like a particular candidate.”
With a new president coming into office (thankfully, to some degree) in January 2009, Marshall had his thoughts on issues that the next president must tackle.
“I don’t think in terms of what’s the most important issue, but there’s a few that the next president is going to have to deal with. Obviously, terror is one. We’ve got a huge problem with radical, violent Islam that’s interested in dominating the western world. Dealing with that threat is something they’ll have to focus on immediately. There’s no question that immigration, illegal in particular, has to be high on the list. Access to healthcare is going to be high on the list. Our budget deficit and our deficit generally, should be high on the list. All three are pretty critical to the country at the moment.”
He doesn’t seem to feel that the blame lies solely with the White House either.
“I’m a blue-dog Democrat, and have been for a while. And the blue-dogs are probably the most fiscally responsible group in Congress at the moment. The current Republican party is not the Grand Old Party that it used to be and isn’t fiscally conscious and responsible, and in the last six years, we’ve seen our deficits just run up remarkably with substantial increases under Republican control. It’s a matter of tightening your belt at the same time. You’ve got to balance the budget. It’s pretty simple.”
Being in an area heavily influenced by agriculture trends, I would be remiss if I did not ask Marshall about the status of the current farm bill.
“Behind the scenes, I’ve been working to get the right kind of bill for my folks in middle and south Georgia. The expectation now is that it will look like the last farm bill. We’ve got to get something written that satisfies the House and Senate and that the president won’t just veto. The worry is that you can’t tell who’s going to be there next year, and what changes they’ll want. McCain has said he doesn’t believe in the farm bill at all, and you just can’t tell what a Democrat will be interested in.”
In light of the rapidly approaching November election and Gen. Rick Goddard’s campaign coming out of the gate swinging already, I took a moment to find out why Marshall feels he should be given another term in Congress.
“Whether the person who’s the incumbent should be reelected should depend on whether or not people think they’ve done a good job. Obviously, I’ve got seniority now, and I’m the only Democrat in sight who can protect Robins (Air Force Base). I’m already on the right committees, and I think if people watch my voting, they’ll agree that my voting reflects where this district is as far as values and concerns. Incumbents talk about what they’ve been doing. I’ve got a great and hugely experienced staff, and I hope people see that they know and trust me already and keep me there.”
To wrap things up on a lighter note, I took advantage of some inside information that Congressman Marshall is quite an avid sportsman and runner. It seems there are some relationships even politics can’t kill.
“I’ve always loved sports. Democrats finally, last year, won the congressional shooting matches. I wish I had shot a little better, but we won. I like to go hunting, and run. I think everybody should stay physically active. Pick something that you like to do, and do it. When you do that, you find you’ve got more energy to do things.”
Thanks again to Congressman Marshall for stopping by last week, and for his staff both in Macon and Washington, D.C. for helping to arrange the interview.
It’s up to us in November. Who should we send to the beltway?
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April 15th, 2008 at 3:40 pm
This explains why he failed to help me and the other small businesses concerning RAFB. His statement sums it up.
“Obviously, I’ve got seniority now, and I’m the only Democrat in sight who can protect Robins (Air Force Base).”
Does “protect Robins” include ignoring the corruption so there are no negative headlines about the base? I will be releasing all the emails I’ve received from his office concerning the help he said he would give small businesses, but failed to do so.