There were calls to impeach President Joe Biden and calls to install former President Donald Trump as speaker of the house. There were calls for congressional term limits (and for Supreme Court justices as well) and calls to make doing business easier for businesspeople.
At Tuesday night’s forum for the six Republican candidates to replace U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks in the Alabama’s 5th Congressional District, there was also opposition to raising the federal debt limit and adding more justices to the Supreme Court.
The forum, moderated by WVNN’s Dale Jackson and sponsored by the Republican Women of Huntsville, the candidates alternated answering submitted questions from the audience.
The candidates were Athens school teacher and businessman Andy Blalock, economic developer John Roberts, businessman and former state Sen. Paul Sanford, Madison County Commission Chair Dale Strong, former assistant secretary of the Army and Huntsville City Schools Superintendent Casey Wardynski and Harrison Wright, a 24-year-old candidate who gave no occupation during his introduction nor lists one on his campaign website.
Wardynski was the only candidate to mention Trump in his opening statement, touting his appointment as Assistant Secretary of the Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs. No questions were asked about the topic of voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election and no candidate volunteered a comment.
What follows are the candidates’ answers to three questions posed at the forum as well as their responses about their top priorities for the 5th District. The answers may be lightly edited for brevity. Responses are in the order they were given in the forum.
Question: We have more jobs than workers. How can we put healthy people back to work and how could you help as a member of Congress?
Roberts: “We’ve got to build a pipeline for a K through 12 system. We got to make sure that North Alabama is a great place to raise a family, build a career and grow and grow jobs here. This place is home in American Dream, north Alabama is. We cannot let big government come in so I want to make sure that the local and the state (governments) retain the power to do their job. And we got to make sure we have a pipeline to bring in new workers. And then I’m also in favor of improving our legal immigration system makes sure we get talented people from outside our borders to come and take these jobs. Because we got to do all hands on deck to address these problems growing here in north Alabama.”
Sanford: “As a member of Congress, I think the first thing I’d need to do would be dial back some of the policies that the (Biden) administration has implemented in, not allow people to be able to sit at home and be funded. They’re funding people’s rents. And there’s a disincentive for people to enter the workforce when they can stay at home and be subsidized by government. And so my question would be, if government’s the answer, then what in the world were they trying to address? Government’s the one that shut businesses down, government’s the one that’s forcing healthcare mandates, government’s the ones that’s allowing people to stay at home and get paid while the rest of us hard working Americans go to work and pay the taxes to fund those people stay at home.”
Strong: “That’s something that wasn’t the case when I was elected chairman. We had an 8.2 percent unemployment rate. That’s what we did. We diversified the economy. We made it stronger. And then the federal government started paying people not to go to work. I understand if you’re handicapped. But able-bodied people do not need to be supplemented. They need to go to work. We’ve got plenty of jobs that are here. We didn’t have a problem with our restaurants until after this COVID payout. That’s the number one thing. Government overreach, stay out of local government and let the private enterprise take care of itself. That’s how we’ll reach our fullest potential.”
Wardynski: “We need to stop the mandates. Just today, a border mandate went into effect on the Canadian border. There’s no more cross-border truck traffic if you’re not vaccinated. Talk about creating problems. These mandates are crushing our small businesses. They’re crushing my wife’s business. We need to end them. We need to get people back to work and off the federal dole. Federal regulation, the federal government created most of these problems, we need to cut them and get them out of the way.”
Wright: “For starters, there is a written philosophy given us by Ronald Reagan all those years ago: Government is not the solution. Government is the problem. And what we’re seeing right on the federal government is government putting bureaucrats who have no say and no idea how to run a country to run the country. So what we’re going to do is actually bring experts from every single employment field into Washington and write the legislation and actually make the laws that pertain to their field. If someone let’s say, for instance, works, education, they’re going to come up and they’re actually going to help us craft legislation so our two teachers and students actually have a backbone. We downsize the government when it comes to bureaucrats such as the Department of Education from our administrators, to our secretaries, as well as that we also give an incentive to actually create small business growth. The true measure of an economy is not the stock market is how well your small business in small town USA is doing.”
Blalock: “I’m going to go real strong on this because as small business owner, it really gets under my skin. We have healthy workers. But the mandates have said, you have to get the jab or you have to stay home. And the sooner that we take over Congress and we put candidates with backbones in there and say no more mandates. The Democrats have been clever. They use the Department of Education to control us in the schools. They use media to divide us for power and they use the CDC to control us in our jobs. You think Biden was kidding when he said $15 an hour minimum wage? He found a way. It was telling you that if you don’t get the jab, you stay at home. Then employers were looking, ‘I’ve got to hire somebody. I’ll offer you $15 an hour.’ Boy, if you tell me, that boils my blood.”
Question: China provides essential products such as computer chips, pharmaceuticals, etc. We have a massive supply crisis. Right now, as a member of Congress, what could you do to help us produce these things here in the United States?
Sanford: “We need to look at things like NAFTA that basically decimated the textile industry in the United States and how that’s proliferated into encouraging U.S. manufacturers to move overseas. We have to incentivize companies to come back. They need to repatriate the companies, they need to repatriate their money and their jobs here so we can be more independent. If we don’t put America first, don’t think that China is going to. We have to make sure that we bring these jobs back. We cannot depend on foreign nations to provide critical components for the success of the United States. We are practically turning into a service nation rather than a production nation. So we have to get back to our roots and returned to manufacturing. And I believe we need to have incentives. And we might need to be looking at possible tariffs from other nations because China has a competitive advantage with their lower workforce and in government owning so many businesses with their socialist model.”
Strong: “We’ve got wait for boards (and) chips. We’ve got problems where we’re dependent on China to be able to do it. American car manufacturers have got football fields full of vehicles that are ready to be sold to Americans. But we don’t have chips. So where are they sitting? They’re sitting out in the middle of the field. The big thing that we’ve got to do is become less dependent on China. The other thing is, follow what Donald Trump has done with trade policies. That’s where we’re getting torn up is in these trade policies where we’re buying everything from China and they’re buying nothing from us. We’ve got it cleared up. All your pharmaceutical research is done in America and (China is) benefiting from it. It’s time to deal with it immediately.”
Wardynski: “We need to impose punitive tariffs on the Chinese for their currency manipulation. We need to move their people out of our universities and back to China. They are stealing our trade secrets. We need to enforce property rights on the great wealth of intellectual property they’re stealing every year from this country and impose further tariffs to bring that wealth back to United States. And finally, if that virus came from China, and they created it, there ought to be hell to pay. And they need to pay it.”
Wright: “For starters, you have to first realize that we can’t compete with them. They keep using Uighur Muslims as slave labor and we let U.S. companies like Nike and Apple produce products in China using that slave labor. So what I would propose is putting in 1,000% tariff on any Apple product or any Nike product or any American product that comes from China into the United States because we want to bring them here United States. It is going to take us wanting to become a production capital in the world in order for us to take back our (products) from China because right now, as you said pharmaceuticals, we can even produce our own aspirin in this country. It is time we save our country by bringing manufacturing back here in United States. And it starts by stopping Chinese slave labor.”
Blalock: “It does go beyond just the chips and the pharmaceuticals. In order for us to bring back any of this manufacturing to America, we certainly can’t do it if we’re required to pay $15 an hour minimum wage. We would impose the tariffs on China. We would reinstate Trump policies. When Biden went in the office, he took away a lot of those policies. If we don’t take advantage of these opportunities this year, we may not. We’ve got to make it easier for businesses to get a start. We’ve got to reduce taxes for first-time business owners.”
Roberts: “One thing President Trump did so well is to bring the attention that we’re just getting worked over by China. We’ve got to step up and make sure we make things in America, not made in China. There’s been a bill proposed by (Missouri) Sen. (Josh) Hawley that 51 percent of critical supplies may be manufactured here. I’d sign on to something similar of that nature. This town is familiar moonshots. I think we need to have another moonshot around semiconductor. We’ve got to make sure that our critical supply chain is made here in America. We can never come to rely on another country for critical services that we need in our daily lives. so we got to make an investment and incentivize those companies to come back home.”
Question: What would be your position on joining the Freedom Caucus (the conservative wing of the House)? Do you want to join? And do you have a choice for Speaker of the House?
Strong: “As a candidate, I’m going to caucus with the people of the Fifth Congressional District. And then whenever I’m elected United States Congress, I’m going to be working with the Speaker of the House and the (Republican) whip. I want to be sure our national security is where it needs to be. There are a bunch of different caucuses, but right now, my focus will be focused on being elected the next congressman for the Fifth Congressional District.”
Wardynski: “President Trump for Speaker. And the Freedom Caucus, that’s the strongest group of tough conservatives in Congress that stick together against the RINOs (Republicans In Name Only) and the big spenders.”
Wright: “I would consider joining the Freedom Caucus. And also I’d consider creating a new caucus, which is called the America First Conference. And when it comes to Speaker of the House, I couldn’t agree more with Casey Wardynski -- Donald Trump or Marjorie Taylor Greene.”
Blalock: “The caucus that I would want to join before anything and that I pledge to join is the Election Integrity Caucus because without free and fair elections, freedom is gone. So the Election Integrity Caucus, which was put in by Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.), she and several others ensure that we’re on top of free and fair elections. We’re transparent with the citizens that vote us in. I would also put Donald Trump in as Speaker of the House and then I would impeach President Biden, which I’ve called on several times for his Afghanistan withdrawal. And then I would impeach (Vice President) Kamala Harris. And we get what we want. So that sounds good.”
Roberts: “Certainly the caucus is very important to congressmen but there is plenty of time to decide that. I’m more interested in where the legislation is made and that’s in committees. I want to be able to serve with the committees that would be most beneficial to north Alabama, whether it’s Armed Services, Space, Science and Technology Committee, the appropriations committee with (Alabama) Rep. Robert Aderholt), in the fourth district, moving up in seniority on Appropriations. (Alabama) Rep. Mike Rogers about to be taking over as the chairman of the Armed Services. I think I’d be well positioned to sit on those committees which impact this district most importantly. I’m certainly open the Freedom Caucus and others. We’ll have time to explore that. For speaker, right now, Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is the only that’s announced intentions. But I’m certainly looking at other candidates once we get up there. We’ll take a look when that time comes.”
Sanford: “Freedom Caucus? Most definitely. I believe that’s the strongest group of conservatives that match my ideals and this community as a whole. And as far as Speaker of the House, I’d like to see somebody like Jim Jordan (R-Ohio).”
Question: As part of your closing comment, what would be your top priority for the 5th District?
Wright: “A top priority for District 5 is for us to be the conservative thinking capital of the country. For too long, people viewed Alabama as just another red state. But we are actually one of the most bright and promising states in the union. We own Space Force. We have space for the next 100 years. We are going to become the largest demographic and largest populations in there for the state of Alabama. So we speak volumes across the country. It is time that we show that Alabama, through District 5, is not only a conservative thinking capital of the country, it will be the growth of the country we will go to when we actually have progress. My promise to you for District 5 is that we show the world what it means to be conservative. We show the country we need to be conservative and we show the United States as a whole what it means to actually be free.”
Wardynski: “Tough times are headed our way. Alabama has enjoyed 20 years of prosperity that corresponded with 20 years of Army war. We fought in Afghanistan. We fought in Iraq. During that period, the Army budget doubled. Half of that money went to overseas contingency operations and a good bit of it flowed through Redstone Arsenal. China’s the priority today. That’s an Air Force and Navy show. The Army budgets are under terrific pressure. The Army is absorbing most Department of Defense inflation. Our representatives in Washington are going to have to articulate clearly why Huntsville is so important to our country. I moved here because I believe that. I brought work here because I believe that. I grew the workforce in the school system here because I believe that. I protected the industry here as Assistant Secretary of Defense when bureaucrats and the Pentagon tried to make it difficult for the Army at the arsenal to compete. They made it difficult for them to do work for NASA and other agencies and wanted to move that work to Texas. I put an end to that. And our representatives in Washington need to put northern Alabama first because northern Alabama is good for the United States. Our values are American values. Our businesses are the tops in defense and aerospace. And our representatives need to make sure that case is made in Washington.”
Strong: “National security will always be a top priority when I’m elected your next United States Congressman. I will also fund our U.S. warfighter We don’t fight to tie, we fight to win. The next thing is our southern border. This right here is an imminent threat to the people of the United States of America -- heroin, cocaine, it’s all coming across the border. Joe Biden doesn’t care, ladies and gentlemen. It’s going to kill our children, it’s going to kill the next generation. The next thing that I that I’m concerned about is the Keystone Pipeline. Everybody in this room right now is paying $1.50 to $2 more per gallon (of gas) than you paid the day that Donald Trump walked out of office. We need to fire that Keystone Pipeline up, get it back under construction. And we don’t be dependent on Russia for one thing, especially fuel, and we need to be energy independent.”
Sanford: “My top priority for the 5th District would be to protect and preserve the budgets that focus around the constitutional duties that Redstone Arsenal and all the supporting companies have, whether it’s space exploration, cyber defense, missile defense. We have to make sure that those constitutional responsibilities are number one for our community and for the government. I would look at reducing government spending on unconstitutional methods. I’d stop sending money to foreign nations before we fund things here in America. I believe it’s important that we understand that north Alabama is the economic heartbeat of Alabama. And if we don’t protect and preserve the industries that support our community, Alabama as a whole will suffer and I believe the United States as a whole will suffer.”
Roberts: “This is home to the American dream. This is a place that secures our nation’s prosperity. We’ve got 43,000 employees at Redstone (Arsenal) and another 27,000 outside the gates. We’ve got to make sure they’re successful. We’ve got about $15 billion of spending that comes in here each year. The next highest congressional district in the state is $8 billion. If we do things that undermine that success, that hurts you, that hurts your family and our education system, that hurts the infrastructure. So I’m going (to Washington) to be a champion for the 5th District and put us number one before anything else.”
Blalock: “I have three (priorities). It’s election integrity, we must have government spending, and it would be illegal immigration. Folks, our country’s under attack here within. Every day, socialist Democrats try to take away our rights and fundamentally transform our country. We must protect and preserve our Constitution and our way of life. This election cycle we need Republicans to retake Congress. But it’s not enough to just elect Republicans. We must elect conservatives that will get things done. Thirteen Republicans recently voted for Biden’s non-Infrastructure deal. Back in August, many Republicans were silent during the reckless withdrawal and Afghanistan. It was the Republicans that failed to repeal Obamacare. And it was (former House Speaker) Paul Ryan that failed over immigration. So I’ll say it again. We cannot afford right now to just elect Republicans, we must elect courageous conservatives.”