Independence Day Column

By Ron Johnson, Candidate for United States Senate

On Independence Day, we celebrate the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, our birth as a nation, and the freedoms that make America so precious. As we celebrate, I remain mindful that preserving our freedoms is a continual struggle, and it is a fight we simply cannot afford to lose. We must remain vigilant in our defense of the American promise of freedom, free markets, and individual liberties.

I have developed a keen appreciation for the wonder and power of our free market system having built a business, PACUR, in Oshkosh for the last 31 years.  Because of free market competition, we produce higher quality products at a lower price and with a far higher level of customer service…a polar opposite from the monopolistic way the federal government is currently operating. With over $13 trillion in debt, rampant waste, fraud, and abuse, and a disregard for the concerns of the American people, the federal government has not been providing higher quality at a lower cost to the American taxpayers.

I know that in order to let the free market thrive again, we need to start reigning in the size, scope, and authority of the federal government; but our current leaders in Washington have proven too many times they’re only interested in taking and taxing more of our freedoms. Despite our outrage, they’ve passed bills like the budget-busting stimulus and the government health care takeover.
I truly believe that the passage of the massive and flawed health care bill was the single greatest assault on our freedom in my lifetime, and it’s the reason I decided to step up and submit my name as a candidate for the United States Senate. I felt I could no longer sit on the sidelines, just shaking my head at the unchecked power grab from Washington.

I know we need to break the cycle of spending, debt, and federal government expansion in order to preserve the democracy our forefathers fought so hard for.  We need a new perspective in Washington, and we need citizen legislators that have worked in the private sector and are committed to making our nation prosperous again. We need leaders that will pursue an agenda of economic growth and free market success as the primary tool in attacking the fiscal problems.

These are the reasons I’ll be spending this Independence Day weekend asking voters to join me in taking the fight to Washington. Our freedoms and the vision of our Founding Fathers are too precious to lose, and we won’t win this battle from the sidelines. It will be done on the campaign trail and in election booths across the state, from Brookfield to Bayfield, from Pulaski to Platteville…and everywhere in between.

This weekend I’ll be participating in ten parades in seven counties, taking my message of freedom, free markets, and the promise of America to Wisconsin citizens as we celebrate Independence Day. As we reflect on our independence as a nation and as individuals, there’s never been a better time to promote the cause of defending our freedoms and this 234-year experiment we call America.

Johnson, 55, owns PACUR LLC and is an accountant.  PACUR is an Oshkosh-based manufacturing facility that specializes in a variety of plastics manufacturing for medical, commercial and industrial purposes. He a candidate for U.S. Senate facing eighteen year incumbent Senator Russ Feingold.

Kenosha News Write Up

Here’s a write up in the Kenosha News from Ron’s stop at Pints and Politics yesterday. By the end of the weekend, Ron will have visited 30 counties since announcing his candidacy just over a month ago.

Click here to read the full article.

U.S. Senate Candidate Ron Johnson Will Participate in 10 Independence Day Parades

In just over a month, Johnson will have visited 30 counties

[Oshkosh, WI] Oshkosh manufacturer and United States Senate candidate Ron Johnson will attend and participate in ten Independence Day Parades in seven counties this weekend.

Johnson announced in May that after 30 years of creating jobs as a manufacturer, he would run for U.S. Senate and take his experience creating jobs to Washington as a citizen legislator. Since that time and after the holiday weekend parades, Johnson will have participated in 116 events and visited 30 counties.

“As we celebrate our nation’s independence, I am actively taking my message of freedom across the state,” Johnson said. “Reigning in government spending, debt, and deficits and getting our economy back on track are what’s needed to preserve democracy and this 234-year experiment we call America.”

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U.S. Senate Candidate Ron Johnson

Parade Schedule for Independence Day Weekend

Ron Johnson Visits St. Anthony’s School in Milwaukee

On July 1st, candidate for U.S. Senate Ron Johnson met with Hispanic leaders at St. Anthony’s to discuss Wisconsin’s School Choice program. Johnson said he was “an ardent supporter of school choice” because he is a “free market guy”.  One thing not talked about, however, is how school vouchers can save taxpayers substantial costs.

To educate a student at MPS, the cost to taxpayers is about $13,000 per pupil. To educate a student at a Choice School, it costs taxpayers about $6,500.  If the state were to lift the School Choice student enrollment cap from say 22,000 to 32,000, it would save the state approximately $65 million (presuming that 32,000 students had enrolled).  It makes a fairly powerful argument that the free market approach is the most fiscally responsible.

But the School Choice program found an enemy in the teachers’ union, and it is therefore vulnerable to legislative attacks by Democrats in the state and federal legislatures.  In 2009, Wisconsin Democrats tried to pass a motion to cap the School Choice program at 19,500 students.  If it had passed, hundreds of students would have been sent back to the public school system.

On a federal level, Wisconsin Democrat Dave Obey recently tried to redirect $100 million from the federal Charter Schools Programs to the public school system to sustain teachers’ jobs.  If his maneuver succeeds, schools in the program would lose up to 40% of their annual funding thus putting the jobs of 6,000 charter school professionals in jeopardy.  If elected, Johnson could be a deciding vote for school choice.