Politics

Land O'Lakes vet hopes to unseat Brown-Waite

He'd do a better job supporting troops, candidate Jim King says.

By Times Staff Writer
Published September 7, 2007

LAND O'LAKES - Jim King says he has had enough of the way the U.S. Congress neglects national security and the troops who are in the thick of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.

So, the Land O'Lakes Republican has filed to unseat U.S. Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite in District 5, which stretches from Pasco to Levy county.

It's nothing personal, King says, nor is it a partisan issue. But King, a veteran who served in Afghanistan in 2001, believes Brown-Waite is part of a body that is not doing its job.

"How can you claim to support our troops when they are having their tours extended, they are getting no R & R and yet our elected leaders are absent, on vacation?" King said Thursday by phone.

Stronger national security tops King's issue list, and he believes Congress needs to do more to protect the country's borders.

"You can walk into the country from Mexico or Canada," he said. "No one is paying attention. We aren't any safer than we were before Sept. 11."

King supports the immediate building of a border fence with Mexico and a 30-day amnesty for employers to ensure workers are legal, along with the suspension of government subsidies to those immigrants living here illegally.

He also advocates more support and funding for the Veterans Affairs office so that soldiers returning home can get better care. King also wants to establish English as a national language and believes in the Fair Tax system.

"America is starting to wake up," said King. "Congress as a whole has not been responsive to the needs of the people."

[Last modified September 7, 2007, 06:44:32]