Congressional Primary Candidate Profile: Jack Goodman, Republican

In anticipation of the August primary, KSMU invited all Republican and Democratic candidates running for Congress in the 7th district to sit down to discuss their backgrounds, priorities, and campaigns. In today’s spotlight is Republican Jack Goodman of Mount Vernon. KSMU’s Missy Shelton reports

Shelton: Joining me here in the studio is State Senator Jack Goodman. He’s a Republican who is running for Congress in the 7th district of Missouri. Tell us a little about your background.Goodman: I grew up in Pierce City in Lawrence County, Missouri. I went to the University of Missouri-Columbia and came back. My wife and I have been married for about 11 years. We’re both from Lawrence County and we’ve lived in Mount Vernon for the 11 years of our marriage. I’ve worked in a small town law practice on the square in Mount Vernon. Now, I’m with Lathrop and Gage here in Springfield. And I also had been an assistant prosecutor for five years. I’ve served in the Missouri House for three years and have been in the Missouri Senate for the last five years and we’ve been able to lead a real conservative revolution. Today, we came into this recession with an $800 million surplus, one of the job creation leaders in the country. I wrote and passed Missouri’s Stop Meth Act, working with others obviously, and helped bring Missouri’s meth crimes down 50 percent. I helped bring conceal and carry to Missouri. I wrote and passed Missouri’s Castle Doctrine so you can use full force to defend yourself if someone breaks into your home. We brought through tax cuts, regulatory reform and saw, if you trust people who are willing to risk their own earnings to create jobs for people in the community, that will make the economy stronger. I wasn’t looking to be in politics anymore but then I saw where we are as a country, I think at a pivotal crossroads. I think the people of this country will decide in the next two to four years if we’re going to continue to be that beacon in the world, that nation where our people send their spokesperson to the seat of government to put our values into the laws and rules we live by or if we are going to allow ourselves to become the subjects of a ruling elite in a far removed city. I think if you look at this healthcare bill that just passed, not just the content of it, but the way it passed, it poses a very real threat to the American way of life because for the first time, we saw that the American people rose up in overwhelming opposition to this bill, and the people who were supposed to be speaking for us in our nation’s capitol, passed it against the will of the people. That shows me that for the first time, we are really in jeopardy of becoming the subjects to a ruling elite that will impose their will on us. That’s why my wife and I made the decision to get into this race for Congress.Shelton: Most candidates focus on two or three top issues, what are going to be your core issues?Goodman: We’ve got to get people back to work in this country. I think the leadership and the government today doesn’t fundamentally understand where sustainable jobs come from. Sustainable jobs come from people who earn money, being willing and able to risk those earnings to either start a new business or expand an existing business and create more jobs. This astronomical stimulus-type spending is doing nothing but building national debt, growing the size of our government, creating a larger tax burden, taking more of the earnings away from those who would like to be putting those earnings into creating additional jobs. The spending at the national level is absolutely out of control. I think most Americans are very concerned about the fact that we are probably within a decade, if we stay this course, of seeing a day when we’re spending more on our national debt interest payments than we are on national defense. Immigration is a huge issue. I think we’ve got to have security borders. We can’t have amnesty. We’ve got to make sure there’s a meaningful way for people to legally come to this country. We are a welcoming nation, if people come in by the rules, we welcome them. But the borders by our country are also being permeated by people from the other side of the world whose sole mission in life is to destroy our way of life. So, that’s a real concern. Obviously, national security as we continue the War on Terror around the world, we’ve got to make sure we’ve got a good commitment to our troops, they’re well funded, and that they’re able to operate under rules of engagement that don’t leave them at a tactical disadvantage.Shelton: What’s the primary funding source for your campaign?Goodman: You know, our campaign is very strong. We’ve done well at fundraising and most of our contributions have come from people here in Southwest Missouri. The vast majority of our contributions are what I call kitchen table contributions. I don’t know what our percentage is now, but a quarter or so ago, we were at about 54 percent of our contributions were $100 or less.Shelton: Is your campaign working with any paid or unpaid consultants?Goodman: My campaign manager is guy named Miles Ross. He’s one of my very best friends in the world. He lives right here in Springfield. We’ve been close for a long time. We share a common commitment to conservative principles and making our state and our nation better for our kids and those around us.