Mr. Chuck Morse is campaigning to represent the Fourth District of Massachusetts in Congress, http://www.morseforcongress.com/ . He faces a darling of the left and big media in Barney Frank. Mr. Morse lists himself as “The Taxpayers’ Candidate,” rather than listing Republican first. A man advertising his convictions over party label always appeals to me. Hopefully, this interview will introduce Mr. Morse to the nation and provide a fair hearing of his positions.
WBK: Mr. Morse, voters will want to know you better as you run for Congress. Tell the readers a bit about yourself. Not about your career.
Chuck Morse: I’m a business owner, radio and TV commentator, columnist, and author. I came from a liberal background politically, but I’ve become more conservative over the years as I became more religious. I married Barbara, a government attorney, in 1990. Our daughter was born in 1998.
WBK: You’ve definitely got a full life Mr. Morse. Have you always lived in Massachusetts, and do you have time for any hobbies?
Chuck Morse: I was born and raised in Quincy, Massachusetts, where I attended public school. I’ve always been intensely interested in history, going back to when I did an in depth study of President’s John and John Quincy Adams, both natives of my hometown.
I am a musician, specializing in guitar, rock and blues in particular. I taught guitar professionally for many years.
I used to ski the mountains of New Hampshire and I presently like to sail and go camping with my family in the summer.
WBK: You said you came from a politically liberal background. What motivated you to become more conservative?
Chuck Morse: Two things: one immediate and one more gradual. The first was when I prepared my first tax return as a self-employed businessman in April, 1986. I was shocked by how much money I had to come up with in taxes, money I had planned on investing in building the company and creating jobs. While I was proud to pay my fair share to live in this great country, the excessive tax led me to begin an investigation into why the government needed so much, and to ask whether the money was being properly spent. I intend to ask this same question in Congress and to get answers.
The second thing was that I became more religious in the 1990’s. I began to understand that life had more meaning and purpose than just the material, and that good and evil were definable concepts. This led me to understand the conservative idea that rights come from God and opposed to the idea that under girds liberalism, which is that rights come from a State, controlled by an enlightened elite.
WBK: I hate to stay so formal. With your permission I’ll use Chuck instead of Mr. Morse.
Chuck Morse: Great, no need to stand on ceremony.
WBK: What is the geographical area of the Fourth District of Massachusetts? Readers will more than likely forward this article to friends in your area.
Chuck Morse: The district runs from the Boston suburb of Brookline, my hometown, and Newton, then turns south and runs through Foxborough, Mansfield, Norton, and Sharon, and then continues to the Rhode Island border and the south coast of Massachusetts which includes New Bedford, Taunton, and Fall River.
WBK: I observe a good deal of unreasoning hate toward anyone with conservative ideas from committed leftists. As you’re in one of the most Democrat states I’m wondering if you’re finding bitterness from those supporting your opponent.
Chuck Morse: There does seem to be a small hidebound core of hard-left liberals in this State who could be described as intolerant haters. Fortunately, most liberals are more broadminded.
WBK: As you’re challenging one of the national media’s favorite sons, would you let the reader know of any obvious differences in media coverage you’ve faced?
Chuck Morse: The Massachusetts media generally favors Barney Frank.
WBK: I see your site has a listing of newspapers in your district. Have they provided fair coverage, and is there anything readers can do to encourage more coverage of your candidacy?
Chuck Morse: The media was actually very fair in covering my campaign during the last election, perhaps due to an interest in seeing Barney challenged for the first time in a quarter century. I offer the Massachusetts voter a clear and definitive difference. I would argue my issues are more in concert with the values and aspirations of the majority in my district.
WBK: Do you know Mr. Frank, and have you ever debated him?
Chuck Morse: We debated six times in the final weeks of the last campaign, including several appearances on major Boston TV stations. On one program in particular, I stated the 9/11 hijackers were in this country with legal visas, thanks to the Frank amendment. Mr. Frank responded by falsely stating the 9/11 hijackers were here illegally.
My assertion has been borne out by Congressman Kurt Weldon, Vice Chairman of the Homeland Security Committee. He recently stated the reason the FBI could not respond to information provided by a military intelligence unit, known as “Able Danger,” regarding the hijackers, one year before 9/11, was because they were here legally and, therefore, information about them could not be shared by law enforcement.
WBK: Most Ether Zone readers don’t care for Mr. Frank politically. On television, he comes across as amiable, but quickly flustered by any difficult question. How did you find him as a person?
Chuck Morse: I have nothing personally against Barney Frank. I wish him only the best. My contention is his philosophy, and the legislation he has sponsored that reflects that philosophy is wrong. The results have been negative to the country.
WBK: Please tell me a bit about H.R. 1280, and heck, I’d like to know what someone like Barney Franks was doing on the Congressional Homeland Security Committee to begin with.
Chuck Morse: You refer to the Frank amendment to the Immigration and Nationality Act, which opened the floodgates to terrorists in the 1990’s. Clinton Administration CIA Director, James Woolsey, described the Frank amendment in a Wall Street Journal article when he stated, “Congress had made it illegal to deny visas to members of terrorist groups.” Barney’s presence on the Congressional Homeland Security Committee is one of those bizarre anomalies of politics.
WBK: I believe most people realize Mr. Frank’s philosophy is dangerous to America. I’d appreciate your going deeper into how his ideas and/or legislation influenced 9/11 and other threats to the nation. Is there an inherent difference in Democrat thought that weakens the nation? Are they oblivious to unintended consequences?
Chuck Morse: Over a quarter century in Congress, Mr. Frank submitted over a dozen bills weakening the ability of our State Department and law enforcement to deny visas to foreigners suspected of terrorist, or at least of anti-American activities. The most significant bill emerging from his efforts, which could be described as his legacy, and seems to be his primary contribution to public life, was the Frank amendment, which became law in 1990. It prohibited the government from denying visas to foreigners based on their ideology. The result of this new law, according to Clinton CIA Director, James Woolsey, terrorism expert, Steven Emerson, and many other respected experts, was the floodgates were opened to Islamic extremists who came here to raise funds for “charities,” recruit terrorists, and foment anti-Semitic and anti-American hatred. The 9/11 hijackers were able to operate under the noses of our government agencies because they had legal visas and were not involved in “terrorist activities” until the day they hijacked the passenger jets.
WBK: Among the host of your undertakings, you are also an author and a columnist. If you would please take a moment and let the readers know about your endeavors in those fields. I’m certain a number of Ether Zone readers will want to check out anyone taking on Congressman Frank.
Chuck Morse: I am the author of seven books, five of which were written before I considered running for office. Rather than factoring political considerations into my writing, I focused on uncovering the truth, as best as I could ascertain it at the time, and I let the chips fall where they may. My most recent book is entitled “Barney Frank and the Law of Unintended Consequences – How the Frank Amendment helped terrorists get legal visas.” I would continue on this truth-telling course as a member of Congress.
WBK: Where can readers most easily find your books?
Chuck Morse: On my website, www.chuckmorse.com or at the Amazon or Barnes & Noble websites.
WBK: What would be the five main issues you’d try to focus on in Congress?
Chuck Morse: Preserving the Bush tax cuts and tax reform; cutting waste, fraud, and redundancy in the government; social security reform; medical insurance reform; and the war against international terrorism.
WBK: As a new Congressman what would be some specific steps you’d take to stimulate support for your issues?
Chuck Morse: I would focus on the nuts and bolts issue of exposing waste, fraud, and unnecessary spending in Washington. With a reduction in spending and bureaucracy, I believe the government would do a better job of investing in infrastructure and security, and would also do a better job of providing a social safety net for the truly needy. I support a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. I support the development of domestic sources of energy, as well as investment in alternative energy.
WBK: Which Congressmen now serving would be closest to you in philosophy?
Chuck Morse: James Sensenbrenner R-WI and Curt Weldon R-PA.
WBK: I’m guessing Congressman Frank receives a great deal of support from the Homosexual lobby nationally. If that’s accurate, do the extra donations make it more difficult to campaign successfully against him?
Chuck Morse: Barney does receive financial support from the gay lobby and other so-called progressive interest groups. Additionally, as the ranking Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, Barney receives substantial support from banking and financial interests. My support comes from donors large and small across the country, who want to help me change the political atmosphere in Massachusetts.
WBK: The other side of that proposition is the people opposed to the homosexual lobby. Are you getting any national support from those wanting a Constitutional government versus the special interest judiciary demanded by Barney Frank supporters?
Chuck Morse: I am concerned over the undemocratic practice of appointed judges crafting law from the bench. I think all Americans who care about democratic principles should share that concern.
WBK: I agree completely, but can you express that on the practical level, so the truck driver, waitress or small businessman uninterested in politics, will understand how it affects his or her life?
Chuck Morse: The responsibility of governing must remain in the hands of elected officials who are held accountable for their actions. The trend toward government by unelected and unaccountable judges is dangerous, undemocratic, and constitutes a reversion to the royal principle of the British Monarchy. Our founding generation sacrificed greatly to release this country from the grip of unelected autocrats. Let’s not regress to the bad old days when we were colonies and our fate was decided by an aristocracy.
If a Congressman sponsors a bad law or votes in favor of a bad law, the voter can boot that Congressman out of office. This is how we maintain control over how laws are made.
This is also why it is dangerous and undemocratic for faceless and unaccountable Judges and bureaucrats to make laws and regulations. Judges are only supposed to decide the constitutionality of the law.
WBK: I attended school in Falmouth, Massachusetts, and know a good deal about the state. Many Massachusetts Democrats are starting to question their party. Still, I see politicians like John Kerry, Barney Frank and Ted Kennedy, and realize they couldn’t be elected in forty-five or more states. Many of my Massachusetts friends have rejected their ideas and yet still vote for them. Do you have any insight on how these people keep getting elected and how are you going to get the habitual Democrat voter to check Republican instead?
Chuck Morse: The Massachusetts voter is still locked into an idea of what the Democratic Party used to stand for. Also, many voters stay Democratic out of habit and because they seek social acceptance. I intend to articulate Republican values which are more in line with the interest of working people and the future of the country.
I became a Republican because the Party is more compassionate and humane. Republicans stand for tax cuts, which help families and working people, and the entrepreneurial spirit, what President Bush calls the “ownership society,” which means more opportunity and jobs. I trust the Republicans to pursue the war against the terrorists, who are trying to kill us, and to stand up against what President Bush calls the “culture of death” that dominates the thinking of the Democrats.
WBK: What can readers do to help your candidacy? Are there other addresses or web sites they can reach to make donations or offer support beside: http://www.morseforcongress.com/?
Chuck Morse: Donations are accepted online at the Morse for Congress website, the mailing address is:
Morse for Congress 2006
258 Harvard Street
Suite 240
Brookline, MA 02446
WBK: I greatly appreciate you taking the time for this interview. If there’s anything more you’d like the voters to know please address what I’ve missed.
Chuck Morse: I would be the eyes and ears of the American people in Washington as, while I am a proud Republican, I would always place the interest of the country and my district over party loyalty.
“Published originally at EtherZone.com : republication allowed with this notice and hyperlink intact.”