Speaker Pelosi won't let the House debate the merits of offshore drilling.
Friday, July 25, 2008; A20
WHY NOT have a vote on offshore drilling? There's a serious debate to be had over whether Congress should lift the ban on drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf that has been in place since 1981. Unfortunately, you won't be hearing it in the House of Representatives -- certainly, you won't find lawmakers voting on it -- anytime soon.
Instead of dealing with the issue on the merits, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), a staunch opponent of offshore drilling, has simply decreed that she will not allow a drilling vote to take place on the House floor. Why not? "What the president would like to do is to have validation for his failed policy," she said yesterday when asked that very question. "What we're saying is, 'Exhaust other remedies, Mr. President.' . . . It is the economic life of America's families, and to suggest that drilling offshore is going to make a difference to them paycheck to paycheck now is a frivolous contention. The president has even admitted that. So what we're saying is, 'What can we do that is constructive?' "
If there is an explanation buried in there about why that makes offshore drilling off-limits for a vote, we missed it. Ms. Pelosi is correct that drilling is no panacea for the nation's energy woes. The short-term effect of lifting the moratorium, if there were any, would be minimal. That doesn't mean the country shouldn't consider expanded drilling as one of many alternatives. There are legitimate concerns about the environmental impact of such drilling -- environmental concerns that, we would note, exist in other regions whose oil Americans are perfectly happy to consume. But have technological improvements made such drilling less risky? Why not have that debate?
When they took the majority, House Democrats proclaimed that "bills should generally come to the floor under a procedure that allows open, full and fair debate consisting of a full amendment process that grants the Minority the right to offer its alternatives." Why not on drilling?
Meanwhile, the dispute has snarled progress on spending bills for fear of having drilling amendments attached. Citing "the uncertainty in how the oil and gas drilling issue is currently playing out on the Senate floor," Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.) called off committee consideration of spending bills on which Republicans were threatening to offer drilling amendments. The result threatens to be the first time since at least 1950 that lawmakers will go home for the August recess without either chamber having passed a single appropriations bill.
If drilling opponents really have the better of this argument, why are they so worried about letting it come to a vote?
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Washington Post Editorial: No Drilling, No Vote
Friday, July 25, 2008
Davis touts conservative values, oil drilling in quest to unseat Walz
By Ryan Henry of the Houston County News
Gas prices in southeastern Minnesota have reached nearly $4/gallon, which not only hits people in the wallet, but has affected the overall economy. That’s why it’s time to start drilling for oil in United States, both offshore and in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, according to Brian Davis.
“It’s been shown, with the oil drilling that’s up there right now, that it can co-exist with wildlife and vegetation,” he said. “They have a pipeline that’s not being used to full capacity.”
Davis, who stopped by the Houston County News office last week, is the Republican-endorsed candidate running for a United States House of Representative seat out of Minnesota. He’ll likely face off with DFLer Tim Walz, who defeated long-time Congressman Gil Gutknecht two years ago. However, he’ll be challenged by Senator Dick Day in a September 9 primary.
Much of the suffering from fuel prices which in turn affect food prices and the housing market is due to Congress’s micro-management of the nation’s energy production, he said.
“We need to have a cheap and clean supply of energy to keep this modern economy moving forward,” Davis said. “Right now, government is really ham-stringing the economy with some of the policies it has in place.”
Davis has experience in the energy industry, both as a student and a full-time engineer. He’s seen what government policy did to the nuclear power industry, although the U.S. produces more energy from nuclear energy than any other country, it still doesn’t have a growing nuclear energy industry like he believes it should.
“I think we need to lift the moratorium on nuclear power in Minnesota,” he said.
He’s also in favor of continuing development of alternative energy sources like ethanol, wind power, solar energy, and bio-diesel.
With healthcare, he believes there needs to be more competition and less government intervention because of the looming crisis with the aging of baby-boomers and unfunded liability of Medicare. He thinks Washington needs people, like himself, who have practical experience with healthcare, which consumes 17 percent of the Gross Domestic Product. And he doesn’t believe the country should adopt a nationalized or socialized healthcare system.
Davis is pro-life and believes it’s important to respect all human life from dawn to sunset. As a doctor, he said he knows embryos don’t need to be destroyed to do stem cell research, and that there are other sources of stem cells, such as bone marrow.
He supports the traditional family, with marriage between a man and a woman. He said he’d support a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, if it’s ever presented.
Davis thinks there’s a problem with illegal immigration in the U.S. There’s thought to be 12 million illegals in the country, but that can’t be known for sure, he said, because local law enforcement agencies haven’t been empowered to check into that. He’s in favor of the border fence Congress authorized, one issue he and Walz differ on.
He has been endorsed by the Republican Party in both Houston and Winona counties. Since 1996, Davis has been a staff physician in the radiation oncology department at Mayo Civic in Rochester, where he lives. He has a wife Lori, and four children.
You’ll have a chance to meet Davis this year in the Applefest King Apple Parade September 21.
All stories copyright 2006 Houston County News and other attributed sources.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Sticks and Stones
By Mark Fischenich
The Free Press
July 23, 2008
Two years ago, it appeared from Republican press releases that the Democratic candidate for Congress in southern Minnesota went by the initials “LTW.” Virtually every Republican news release referred to “Liberal Tim Walz.”
Walz went on to beat Congressman Gil Gutknecht, so Republican Party Chairman Ron Carey is trying a new one this campaign: “Washington Walz.”
The Democrats are also getting into the name game this time around. Starting this month, Walz’s Republican opponent has become “millionaire Dr. Brian Davis.” The state DFL and the Walz campaign have used it, and the national Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee upped the ante Wednesday by calling him “multi-millionaire Dr. Brian Davis.”
Davis says they’ve got the wrong guy.
“My wife read that and said, ‘I didn’t know we were millionaires,” Davis said. “I don’t believe our total assets, even with our house, that we’re over $1 million.”
Walz open to drilling
And then there are the issues. The Walz and Davis campaigns have been battling over gas and energy prices for weeks, and another sign that it’s an important election issue came with Walz releasing a statement saying he is open to expanded domestic drilling and oil production. Walz said the expanded drilling must be done in a responsible manner and must be part of a bipartisan package that also includes conservation and the rapid development of alternative fuels.
Both Davis and state Sen. Dick Day, who is challenging Davis in the Republican primary election, support expanded drilling and list the fuel topic as the top concern of voters in the 1st District.
Minnesota Voters Want Solutions and Clear Answers to Our Energy Problems Not More Partisanship
Davis: Walz fails to give Minnesota voters clear answers on his position regarding offshore drilling.
For Immediate Release
July 24, 2008
Contact: Brad Biers
651.261.2182
(Rochester, MN) - Today, Brian Davis, the endorsed Republican candidate for the First District of Minnesota, has called upon Congressman Walz to clarify his stance regarding offshore drilling and development of shale oil. In a recent article in the Star Tribune, Congressman Walz was the only member of Minnesota's Congressional delegation who did not give a clear answer regarding his position on development of shale oil. In addition, he was also unclear regarding his position on offshore drilling.
Dr. Davis stated, "While Minnesotans and the nation are feeling the economic consequences of high gas prices and a suffering economy, Congressman Walz is failing to let Minnesotans know where he stands. Like the majority of Americans, I strongly support offshore drilling and am very encouraged by yesterday's report from the U.S. Geological Survey that estimates there may be up to 90 billion barrels of oil in the arctic that are in unexplored areas, mostly offshore."
Davis continued, "Congress should let the moratoria on offshore drilling expire on September 30 as scheduled and not renew it. We are the only major industrialized country in the world that has the majority of offshore areas off-limits to oil exploration. This is bad for our country and bad for the family budgets in Minnesota's First District."
Brad Biers, the Davis campaign manager added, "Voters in the First District should ask for whom does Tim Walz work? The residents of southern Minnesota or Speaker Pelosi? Many families are struggling with their family budgets and have mounting credit card debt, including Congressman Walz with credit card debt in the neighborhood of a hundred thousand dollars. Congress isn't getting the job done and shouldn't go on its August 1 recess if it can't even vote on this issue of national importance. It's unfortunate, but not surprising, that Congress has the lowest approval rating in the history of polling."
Brian Davis is a physician who treats cancer patients and resides in Rochester with his wife Lori and their four children.
# # #
You can support Brian Davis for Congress HERE !
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Rochester Post Bulletin Online Survey: July 21, 2008
Thanks for taking this survey
Should Congress authorize the construction of more nuclear power plants?
Yes.
259
(72.96%)
No.
96
(27.04%)
Total Replies : 355
Sunday, July 20, 2008
No Excuses: It's Time to Drill
Over to You, Speaker Pelosi
Let's drill. by Matthew Continetti
07/28/2008, Volume 013, Issue 43
Gas is still at $4 a gallon, but the good news is there's an emerging consensus on a measure that would help: Drill for more oil here at home. President Bush dropped the executive ban on offshore oil and natural gas exploration last week, and House GOP leader John Boehner plans to lead a congressional delegation to Colorado and Alaska to highlight America's abundant energy resources this week. Polls show more than two-thirds of the public support increased domestic energy exploration and production. Guess who stands in the way.
Congress has its own ban on offshore energy exploration, and the Democrats who run Congress have shown no sign that they are willing to follow Bush's example. They have preferred to make excuses--about why the price of oil is rising, who is to blame for its rise, and why increasing domestic supply won't do anything to ameliorate the problem.
It isn't working. Democrats are losing the fight over gas prices, and they know it, too.
They have slowly changed positions as the absurdity of their arguments has become clear. First they ignored the problem altogether. Earlier this summer, Senate Democrats wasted time debating a carbon cap-and-trade scheme that would have raised energy prices dramatically at a time when those prices were already at record highs. Cap and trade crashed and burned.
For a long while, Democrats simply blamed the oil companies for the spike in gasoline prices. They proposed new windfall profits taxes on "Big Oil," which would of course be passed on to the consumer, making gasoline even more expensive. They even threatened to sue OPEC. Nonstarters all. The price of oil didn't drop.
Then the Democrats--and, to their discredit, plenty of Republicans--decided to scapegoat "speculators." The thinking here is that commodities traders have a financial interest in watching prices go up. Well, some do. Others--those betting prices will fall--do not. The fact that there are traders of oil futures has nothing to do with why those prices increase. The "speculators" just make bets on where the price of a commodity will be by a certain date. This year, the bets on higher oil prices have been good because the falling dollar, rising global demand, and political instability in the Middle East and Africa are driving the price of this particular commodity upward.
When ignorance and finger-pointing didn't work, Democrats dusted off the law of supply and demand. But they refused to acknowledge that one of the best ways to increase supply is to expand America's production capacity by opening new territory to exploration. Rather, they demanded that Bush release oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, forgetting that the reserve is called "strategic" for a reason. It's meant to be used in a national emergency. Bush has stopped new shipments to the reserve, increasing supply on the (microscopic) margins.
Meanwhile, New York senator Charles Schumer demanded that other oil-producing nations increase production in order to lower U.S. gas prices. If only the Saudis "produced half a million barrels more oil a day," Schumer said, "the price would come down a very significant amount." Maybe so. But why rely on the Saudis? Why not take steps to increase our own supply? Are we dependents?
The Democrats' next tack was to suggest that the oil companies are sitting on millions of acres of oil and not doing anything about it. Last week House Democrats tried to pass a "use it or lose it" law that would have denied federal land leases to oil companies if the companies couldn't demonstrate that they were producing energy on existing plots. The bill was rejected, and for good reasons. For one, there is already a "use it or lose it" provision in federal law. For another, the bill was premised on the idea that 4.8 million barrels of oil a day could be extracted from these "unused" lands. Boehner has asked Speaker Pelosi where this unsubstantiated statistic comes from. She hasn't said. That is because the number is a joke.
Finally, Democrats are attacking the pro-drilling folks for thinking ahead. Exploring deposits on the continental shelf "wouldn't produce a drop of oil for seven years or longer," wrote Senator Dianne Feinstein. Nobel laureate Al Gore said last week, "It is only a truly dysfunctional system that would buy into the perverse logic that the short-term answer to high gasoline prices is drilling for more oil ten years from now."
Leave aside, for a moment, the fact that no one is saying drilling is a short-term answer to the long-term energy challenge. Recall, instead, that Feinstein and Gore are simply echoing what critics say every time the drilling issue arises. Whether it is twenty or ten years ago or today, the answer is always, "You won't see anything for ten years." Okay, then. But if we had drilled ten years ago, wouldn't those supplies be on the market today?
No one pretends that drilling will solve all our problems overnight. But it will send a powerful signal to the markets that America is serious about energy and the global economy. It will send a signal that we are taking action, that we are not helpless. The 25-year boom of the 1980s and 1990s coincided with, and to an extent depended on, an era of cheap and plentiful energy. To get there again requires favoring the national interest over the parochial interests of environmentalists. No excuses. It's time to drill.
--Matthew Continetti, for the Editors
© Copyright 2008, News Corporation, Weekly Standard, All Rights Reserved.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Walz Says No to Offshore Drilling, Sides with Partisan Politics, Not the People's Pocketbook
Davis: Speaker Pelosi's energy bill is a farce. Congressman Walz should break with his party leadership and represent the interests of Minnesota.
For Immediate Release
July 18, 2008
Contact: Brad Biers
651.261.2182
(Rochester, MN) - Today, Brian Davis, the endorsed Republican candidate for the First District of Minnesota, denounced Congress' inability to pass meaningful energy legislation during the current session. By voting in favor of Roll Call vote 509, Congressman Walz voted against allowing a vote on offshore drilling and opening of other federal lands to oil exploration.
Dr. Davis stated, "Put simply, Speaker Pelosi's energy plan is a farce. It opens no new areas to offshore drilling by keeping over ninety percent of areas off-limits. By participating in this charade, Tim Walz is not representing the interests of our District but those of a radical environmental agenda."
Davis continued, "Every time someone fills up their tank, they should consider who represents them in Washington. It's clear that Tim Walz is following his party leadership in Washington when it's not in the best interest of our District. Every day we put off opening up American areas to drilling is another day energy independence is pushed further into the future. It's like telling Minnesota farmers, if you want food tomorrow, don't plant in the spring, because you won't have anything to harvest until the Fall. With unemployment and inflation rising, and home valuea and the worth of retirement savings declining, Minnesotans deserve action now, not continued shortsightedness from Tim Walz."
"We need to initiate meaningful energy solutions which include opening up new areas to oil exploration," reiterated Davis. "Congressman Walz informs constituents that we must 'move beyond fossil fuels.' In the short term, this is simply impractical and naïve when 85% of the energy we use in this country is from these energy sources."
Brian Davis trained as an engineer, receiving a B.S. in Nuclear Engineering and Master's and Ph.D. degrees in Mechanical Engineering. In addition, he has several years of work experience in the electric power industry. Currently, he is a physician who treats cancer patients and resides in Rochester with his wife Lori and their four children.
# # #
You can support Brian Davis for Congress HERE !
Letter from a Concerned Citizen: Congressman Walz is Bluffing and is Beholden to an Impractical and Extremist Environmental Agenda
The following was sent to our campaign from a concerned citizen:
Dear Mr. R,
Thank you for contacting me regarding domestic oil production. I appreciate hearing from you.
The rapid increase in gas prices is putting a serious strain on all Americans. A number of factors contribute to the high cost of gasoline, including the growing global demand for crude oil, the limited capacity within the United States for refineries, and market uncertainty regarding the threat of supply disruption due to conflicts in the Middle East.
While there are no quick fixes, Congress is currently considering a number of proposals to address rising fuel costs. As part of these proposals, some suggest that by opening up more areas for drilling within the United States we can lower gas prices and reduce our dependence on foreign imports.
Instead of rushing to open new areas for drilling, I believe that oil companies should make use of the land they already have available. Today, oil companies hold leases to about 92 million acres of federally-owned land, both onshore and offshore. Roughly 67 million of those acres-more than 70 percent of the area they own the rights to-are not being used for production. These are areas that oil companies are authorized to start drilling, which have the potential to produce an additional 4.8 million barrels of oil and 44.7 billion cubic feet of natural gas each day, nearly double total US oil production.
I have supported legislation in Congress that tells the oil companies to "use it or lose it," and either make use of the land they have leased, or turn it over to a company that will. Unfortunately, while this should provide some relief in the medium term, most experts agree that we cannot drill our way out of the current energy crisis.
That's why I believe that we should be harnessing American ingenuity and innovation to develop long term solutions to our current energy crisis. By developing renewable resources such as wind and solar power, biofuels, and geothermal heat, we can move beyond fossil fuels to an energy policy which is sustainable, renewable and produced in America by American workers. Rest assured that as Congress continues to debate these issues, I will keep your views in mind.
Thank you again for sharing your views with me, and I look forward to hearing from you again in the future. For more information about my activities representing southern Minnesota in Congress, please visit http://walz.house.gov and sign up for my e-newsletter.
Sincerely,
Tim Walz
Member of Congress
***************************************************************
Nice bluff Congresmen Walz. No wonder Congressional approval ratings are in the upper teens.
Your (or maybe Nancy Pelosi's) paragraph on having oil companies make use of the land that they already have available is very misleading. To come up with this statistic, you assume that roughly 23 million acres of federal land are producing 1.6 million barrels each day. Since roughly three times as many federal acres are leased to oil companies you assume that the US could be producing three times as much oil, which is the 4.8 million barrels of oil that you get.
However, oil and gas are not going to be found under each and every acre. Also, oil production in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska has been stalled by groups like the Sierra Club.
Don't count on bluffing the residents of the 1st Congressional District too long!
Thursday, July 17, 2008
We Need to Increase Our Domestic Oil Production: About Those Estimates
From the U.S. Department of Interior, Mineral Management Service
Assessment of Undiscovered Technically Recoverable
Oil and Gas Resources of the Nation’s Outer Continental
Shelf, 2006
Using a play-based assessment
methodology, the Minerals Management
Service estimated a mean of
85.9 billion barrels of undiscovered
recoverable oil and a mean of 419.9
trillion cubic feet of undiscovered
recoverable natural gas in the
Federal Outer Continental Shelf of
the United States.
...
This assessment provides estimates of the undiscovered,
technically and economically recoverable oil and natural gas
resources located outside of known oil and gas fields on the
OCS.
From an editorial in the Albert Lea Tribune regarding these estimates: But these are only estimates. Without allowing American oil companies to explore these regions, we won’t know how much is there.
It's time to Drill Here! And Drill Now! Sign our Petition! And contribute to our campaign here!
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Letter to the Editor: Liberals like Walz will hurt the price of oil
Published Saturday, July 12, 2008
Please refer to our 1st District Congressman Tim Walz’s article printed in our Tribune on June 26 titled “Why isn’t Big Oil using leases it already has?”
A question such as his only indicates his lack of knowledge on the economics of the oil industry. If his proposals become law, we will be paying much more than $4 per gallon for gasoline. Yes, the oil companies do own the rights to drill on federal land. However, most of this land does not contain “proven” petroleum reserves, and it would be prohibitively expensive to drill on at this time. There is only so much capital available to explore for new sources of oil and that capital must be spent where the best chances of recovery can be found. With modern exploratory techniques, finding new reserves is much more scientific than it was 20 years ago. Why drill where there are chances of finding a small amount of oil when that capital can be better used in finding larger, and less expensive, quantities in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska?
Rep. Walz accuses “Big Oil” of price gouging. Just who is “Big Oil?” It’s a group of common stockholders who have pooled their resources in an effort to bring energy to the marketplace. To do this is a very expensive operation with a high degree of risk. If we were to eliminate the total profits of the major oil companies, we would still be paying about $3.70 per gallon rather than the current $4. Of this approximately 30 cents per gallon gross profit, only about 13 cents is distributed in dividends and the other 17 cents goes toward the exploration for additional petroleum reserves. The final “yield” (dividend) to the stockholder averages about 3 percent in today’s marketplace. To discourage further investment in the oil industry by threatening the real producers of energy is highly counterproductive. If you want higher gasoline prices, follow the advice of our current Congressman Tim Walz, who advocates killing the goose who has been laying the golden egg since the discovery of oil at Titusville, Penn., in 1859.
Not only are Tim Walz and his fellow liberals in Congress attempting to discourage development of the cheapest and most available sources of energy, they also want to subsidize sources that are not economically viable at this time. Tim should better educate himself on the subject of energy before he attempts to sell a counterproductive policy to his constituents. No time in our country’s history have we needed better leadership on the subject of energy.
Charles Foster
Albert Lea
© 2008 Albert Lea Tribune, Inc. All rights
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Worthington Daily Globe Editorial: Davis in the Hunt
Worthington Daily Globe
Published Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Brian Davis may be a political novice — he has never held public office — but he certainly appears poised to give incumbent First District Rep. Tim Walz a good run in November.
Davis has been on the scene raising money in his bid to challenge Walz for nearly a year now and, perhaps more importantly, is the GOP-endorsed candidate for the district. Currently a Mayo Clinic physician and a one-time engineer in the electric industry, Davis will face a primary challenge from District 26 Sen. Dick Day, but it appears evident that Davis has the momentum at this juncture.
Though Davis didn’t talk about it while visiting the Daily Globe recently, he’s extremely well educated. He has master’s and doctorate degrees in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and he earned his M.D. at the University of Illinois in Chicago.
Along with that pedigree comes the type of conservatism that helped Republican Gil Gutknecht return repeatedly to Washington to serve this district before his loss to newcomer Walz in 2006. Davis is already urging Congress — and fellow Republicans — to pass a new Federal Taxpayer Bill of Rights that would cap federal spending. To reform health care, he wants to (in part) guarantee more competition, not less. He wants more domestic oil and natural and gas exploration, and less government-imposed conservation mandates. He favors immediate construction of a southern border fence and, intriguingly, favors referendums in Iraq and Afghanistan regarding our continued military presence there.
Davis clearly poses a contrast to Walz. Time will tell if voters see that as favorable.
Letter to the Editor: Tim Walz fails to grasp U.S. needs for oil
The view of Congressman Tim Walz as reported in the Albert Lea Tribune on July 4 is a disgrace and lacks understanding of our oil needs.
1. Congressman Walz sided with rich coastal liberal elites whose limos and planes eat gas, but do they care?
2. Midwest farmers, factories and drivers depend on steady oil needs and prices, based on the market. (Prices need to go down.)
3. President Bush has long sought more drilling and oil for Americans.
4. Oil firms’ profits should encourage more drilling, refining, etc., and more oil now, which the U.S. needs as soon as possible.
5. Oil firms are mainly owned by pensions funds, IRAs and mutual funds.
6. More oil taxes are likely to be passed on to consumers and elites know all this, but feel average Americans should cut back.
7. All persons want wind, solar conservation, etc., but oil is now more realistic for average Americans and for many years to come. Alternatives yes, but more oil now ASAP.
8. Speculators buy and hold oil in anticipation of higher prices — which the plans of Walz and his liberal rich coastal elites will foster! They don’t produce more oil.
9. More drilling in new places found to have real potential is needed now to get oil? Oil leases with potential now are needed.
There is hope in Minnesota. First Congressional District Dr. Brian Davis has strongly supported more oil drilling, nuclear, coal, etc. Dr. Davis is also a medical expert, and we need to vote for him in 2008. There is hope, but we need to change the U.S. Congress majority in 2008.
Tom Schleck
Albert Lea
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Letter to the Editor: Fresh ideas come from candidate
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Stewartville Star: Davis says U.S. should drill for more oil offshore, in ANWR
Mark Peterson Editor
Monday, July 07, 2008
The United States can become much more energy independent by drilling for oil in areas Congress has deemed off limits, Republican First Congressional District U.S. Rep. candidate Brian Davis said last week.
Davis will face Republican state Sen. Dick Day in a Sept. 9 primary to determine who will run against Democratic incumbent Tim Walz in this November's general election. Davis spoke about his energy policy differences with Walz during a visit to the offices of the Stewartville STAR last week.
Up to 100 billion barrels of oil are available in offshore areas near the United States, and many billion barrels more could be found in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), Davis said.
Drilling for more oil at home would decrease America's dependence on foreign oil and improve the U.S. economy, Davis said. However, Democrats in Congress have blocked proposed increases in domestic oil production, voting down proposals to drill for oil in offshore areas and in ANWR, Davis said.
"It's environmental radicalism that we're paying for at the gas pump," he said.
Davis criticized Walz's record of taxing and spending, saying that Walz ranks 394th among the 435 members of Congress on the Club For Growth Scale, which rates each lawmaker's votes on economic growth issues."Washington taxes too much and spends it all and then some," Davis said.
Davis, a physician at the Mayo Clinic since 1996, has called for a national policy to address the overabundance of malpractice lawsuits against doctors."Malpractice is driving doctors and hospitals out of business, which hurts our access to quality care," he said.
He is also calling for health care reform, saying that healthy individuals should be allowed to take their health insurance policies with them from job to job, across state lines or into retirement.
Also, people who make choices to live healthier lifestyles should be rewarded with lower insurance premiums, he said.
Davis said he believes the U.S. must stay on the offense against radical Islam in Iraq and Afghanistan, but he said he would favor allowing the Iraqi and Afghan people the opportunity to vote in referendums to determine whether they want American soldiers to stay.
"It's apparent that the surge has worked," he said. "It has given the government of Iraq a chance to become more stable."Davis describes himself as pro-life, stating in a campaign brochure that he will always vote in Congress to protect life and emphasizing that he will never backtrack from that position.
"We need to respect life and protect life," he said. More than 1 million babies are aborted each year in the United States, Davis said. Even so, some candidates look at abortion as just another political issue to the polled, spun and used in an election campaign, he said."It was once said that a civilization will be judged by how it treats those in the dawn of life and the sunset of life," he wrote in a campaign brochure. "I agree."
Davis said he is against embryonic stem cell research, saying that scientists can move closer to finding cures for various diseases without destroying human embryos in the process.
He defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman. Marriage, he said, is a fundamental building block of society."If civil unions are same-sex marriages by another name, then I am opposed to them," he said.
The California Supreme Court's recent decision to overturn the vote of the people and allow same-sex marriage is "a travesty," he said."If given the opportunity to vote on a constitutional amendment on this subject, I would vote in favor of defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman," he said.
Davis has put more than 40,000 miles on his car since he began campaigning for Walz's seat. As of last week, he had marched in 21 parades and planned to take part in Stewartville's Fourth of July Summerfest parade.
Davis earned a bachelor of science degree in nuclear engineering at the University of Illinois and worked for three years as an engineer in the electric power industry.
He and his wife Lori, an emergency medicine physician at the Mayo Clinic, have four children.
(Posted 7/13)
Republican Party of Minnesota Praises Davis Fundraising
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday July 07, 2008
CONTACT: GINA COUNTRYMAN651-222-0022
Republican Party of Minnesota Chairman Ron Carey today released the following statement regarding Dr. Brian Davis’ 2nd Quarter fundraising results.
“Dr. Davis’ strong fundraising quarter shows he has the support of a wide base of Republicans. He has been working hard, traveling the district, and his message of energy security, improved health care, and lower taxes is resonating with voters in the First Congressional District. I am confident he will not only win the primary in September, but defeat Tim Walz in November.”
Brian Davis Raised $391,000 In The Second Quarter. (Frederic Frommer, “Davis Raises Nearly $400,000 In Latest Period, Associated Press, July 7, 2008)
By Comparison, Tim Walz Had Raised Only $195,000 In The Second Quarter Of 2006. (www.fec.gov)
(Posted 7/13)
Monday, July 7, 2008
Brian Davis: Record Fundraising in the 2nd Quarter
Brian Davis for Congress Raises $391,601 in the 2nd Quarter in Minnesota's CD1 Race
For immediate release
July 7, 2008
Contact: Brad Biers
651.261.2182
(Rochester, MN) - Today, Brian Davis, the endorsed Republican candidate in Minnesota's First Congressional District, released his second quarter fundraising numbers for 2008.
During the second quarter - April 1 to June 30 - Brian Davis for Congress had $391,601 in total receipts. Total contributions from individuals were over $268,000, more than any quarter reported by the freshman incumbent, Congressman Tim Walz. Davis reported $376,718 cash-on-hand at the end of the quarter and $21,150 of political party and other PAC donations.
Since winning the Party's endorsement on March 29, 2008, the campaign continues to build momentum as the number of total donations nearly tripled. Stated Davis, "We're pleased by the strong support we're receiving. We continue working to unify the party behind our campaign." The Davis campaign received contributions from the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), the Republican Party of Minnesota, the Minnesota First Congressional District Committee, and Republican party county organizations and activists across the entire First District.
"Our fundraising numbers reflect the support we're receiving from activists and concerned citizens in Minnesota. Voters are responding to our message focused on finding solutions to gas prices, energy, and an out-of-control federal budget." said Davis.
Brad Biers, the Davis campaign manager commented, "We're happy with our grass roots campaign because nearly 90% of the individual donations received were from Minnesota residents and half of all donations received this quarter were $50 or less. This contrasts sharply with the Walz campaign where a much greater portion of their fundraising comes from out-of-state PACs, the type of PACs that are frequently out-of-step with mainstream Minnesota values."
Brian and his wife, Lori, live in Rochester with their four children.
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