Wednesday, October 11, 2000
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Wednesday, October 11, 2000 |
| Senate candidate
says he offers a 'REAL' difference
By DAVE HAMRICK If you thought there were only two candidates to replace the late Paul Coverdell in the U.S. Senate, think again. There are seven candidates in the nonpartisan race to complete the last four years of Coverdell's six-year term. All seven have been invited to a debate Sunday at 8 p.m., sponsored by the Atlanta Press Club. The debate will be aired on Georgia Public Television. One of the seven, Paul MacGregor, breezed through Fayette County Tuesday and took a break from his campaign schedule to talk about the race with The Citizen. "Obviously it's a long shot," said the Libertarian Party member. "We feel a lot will hinge on how the debate goes, and we feel [Democrat] Zell [Miller, leading candidate] does not have the 50 percent he needs to avoid a runoff. "So it's a big battle for second place," said MacGregor, adding that the second place candidate probably will have a better chance against Miller in a runoff than any of the other candidates will have in the Nov. 7 General Election. The favorite for second place is Matt Mattingly, Republican, but MacGregor said he believes he has as good a chance as anyone. "We believe we provide a real different choice and a bold vision," said MacGregor, inviting potential voters to take a look at his web site, www.paulmacgregor.com. The site outlines his platform and is available in Spanish or English. His platform is capsuled in the acronym REAL, as in "REAL solutions," MacGregor said: "Reform campaign laws; Expand American opportunity; Attack bureaucracy; Liberate the less fortunate." MacGregor's proposed campaign law reform is radically different from what's being talked about by Democrats and Republicans. He wants to allow individuals to contribute as much as they like to a campaign, as long as it's reported on the Internet within 24 hours. An alternative candidate, Eugene McCarthy, was able to raise money from several individual contributors giving a million dollars each during the 1960s, MacGregor said. McCarthy didn't win, but his influence on the elections brought about a shortening of the Vietnam war, he added. "It's difficult for me to raise the kind of money I need to raise," said MacGregor, adding that special interest groups contribute millions to mainstream candidates but ignore third party groups. Allowing individuals to contribute unlimited amounts would open up the process, he said. "I strongly believe in term limits," he said, adding he would voluntarily serve only one complete term if elected. MacGregor said he would expand opportunity by reforming immigration laws to allow people to become citizens more quickly. Married four years ago to a former resident of Ecuador, he said she still has not been able to obtain citizenship. "It's a very difficult, lengthy, frustrating process," he said. He would push for laws allowing high-achieving immigrants to obtain citizenship almost automatically, he said, in exchange for an agreement that they would never accept government assistance. This would help American companies find the workers they need and prevent many of them from moving overseas due to labor shortages, he added. He also would push for a rollback of taxes to pre-1950 levels, MacGregor said. "In 1948 the average working, middle class family paid 3 percent of their income in federal income taxes. Today, it's about 20 percent," he added. "The tax burden has increased dramatically." Under attacking bureaucracy, he said he would put government programs on a performance basis. "When we give money to charity, we expect that about 90 cents of it will go to those who need the help," he said. "But with the federal government, only 25 cents goes to the intended recipients." Getting rid of the extra bureaucracy that absorbs much of that money wills save hundreds of billions of dollars, MacGregor said. He also would slash add-ons from appropriations bills, he said. "We spent $750,000 to study grasshoppers" in the last appropriations bill, he said. "I'm not going to play that game." As for helping the "less fortunate," MacGregor said that refers to people who encounter serious illnesses like cancer and AIDS. "I would roll back regulations or even abolish the Food and Drug Administration so that drugs become available for these diseases more easily," he said. "I would allow the doctor and the patient to make the decision rather than the bureaucracy," he said, adding that he also would allow doctors to prescribe drugs for medical purposes that are illegal for recreational purposes, like marijuana, which can reduce the nausea associated with many cancer treatments. He also would allow patients with terminal illnesses to take back all the money they've paid into Social Security, and to stop paying in, "so that the time you have left, you can enjoy a little better," he said. MacGregor is president and CEO of eTiburon Corporation of Alpharetta, Ga., an internet technology company. He has an extensive career in private industry serving as executive vice president of Altra Energy Technologies' Risk Management Division, product manager for General Electric power systems, Product Manager for Power Technologies Inc. and business development manager for the Electronic Data Systems' Utility Division.
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