From left, Jeannie Thornhill, Ray Thornhill, Gene Dawsey and Congressional candidate Joe Tegerdine speak after a political forum Monday night in Columbia.
By Josh Mitchell/Informer Publisher
Congressional candidate Joe Tegerdine said if he had listened to mainstream Republicans he wouldn’t even be in the race.
With the primary election three weeks away, Tegerdine is making the final rounds to meet with voters, which is why he was in Columbia for a candidate forum Monday night.
Tegerdine, a Republican, said people in his own party told him that there was no use in running because Democrat incumbent Gene Taylor cannot be beat.
Tegerdine made the choice to close his ears to the cynics and do what he thought was right for the country. So he decided to run for the Fourth Congressional District, which includes Columbia.
“Anybody can be beat if you get people involved,” said Tegerdine, touting his grassroots movement to defeat Taylor and bring change to Washington.
Tegerdine stood in the Second Street Bean coffee shop in Downtown Columbia on Monday night and answered questions on topics such as terrorism, education and the destruction of the American family, which he says is the greatest problem facing the country.
Tegerdine shared statistics such as 40 percent of white children and 70 percent of black children are born out of wedlock. Christianity is under attack in the United States, and gay marriage is negatively impacting American family values, said Tegerdine, a Mormon.
Tegerdine slammed Taylor, saying he “has spent too many years in the Beltway and is out of touch.” Tegerdine is proud to say that he is not backed by the mainstream Republican Party. “I’m not running because I want a career in politics,” the Petal resident said.
Tegerdine also criticized Taylor for voting for Nancy Pelosi as speaker of the House. Pelosi is “one of the most heinous political figures,” Tegerdine added.
Republican candidate for the Fourth Congressional District Joe Tegerdine addresses the audience.
Tegerdine’s opponent in the June 1 primary, Steven Palazzo of Biloxi, did not attend tonight’s forum sponsored by the Marion County Informer. The Palazzo campaign also did not produce an alternate date it could appear in Columbia to debate Tegerdine.
Tegerdine chided Palazzo, saying if he cannot take part in a debate what makes him think he can represent Mississippi in Washington.
If elected to Congress, Tegerdine said he would attempt to get on the Ways and Means Committee to have a voice on tax reform. He said he would also want to sit on the Government Oversight Committee to bring transparency and accountability and restore public trust in government.
Tegerdine addressed education, which has been hard hit in Marion County recently with the layoffs of 25 assistant teachers. The U.S. Department of Education should be abolished as well as the No Child Left Behind Act, he said. “Put education back in the hands of the local populous,” said the father of four.
In other matters, Tegerdine said he would freeze hiring and pay raises in the federal government during the recession. He said he is running for Congress because the country is in a dire situation, and if elected, he vows to only serve eight years unlike Taylor who has been in office for 20 years.
Every state in the country should pass an immigration bill similar to the one signed into law last week in Arizona. “For far too long the federal government has not done its job of enforcing immigration laws,” said Tegerdine.
With the recent attempted car bomb in New York City, Tegerdine agreed that terrorist attacks against the United States continue to be a threat. America must stop sending money to “regimes that want us dead,” he said, adding this country buys oil from the Middle East.
One person in the 15-member audience brought up the point that Tegerdine is not originally from Mississippi but the Pacific Northwest. But Tegerdine said he chose to live in Mississippi because of the Christian values and “can-do” sprit of the people. He said he would never want to return to the liberal states of Oregon and Washington where he grew up.
Audience member Ray Thornhill asks Tegerdine a question about eminent domain.
Audience member Raymond Saucier asked Tegerdine what his thoughts are on the nation of Israel. Because of the United States’ Christian heritage, America has an obligation to support Israel diplomatically, morally and militarily, said Tegerdine. However, the United States should not give money to Israel as that country should be able to stand on its own, he said.
Tegerdine said he supports eminent domain if it means taking private property for a public use and providing just compensation. He opposes eminent domain if it means taking private property and selling it to a corporation for economic development, which, he said, Gov. Haley Barbour supports. Tegerdine said U.S. citizens have fundamental rights of, “life, liberty and property.”
When it comes to the next president, Tegerdine said he does not want another “career politician” in office but rather a “dark horse” candidate that will surprise everyone. Audience member Charlotte Pennell asked Tegerdine what he thought of Mitt Romney. Tegerdine said he is impressed with Romney’s knowledge of the economy but does not necessarily see him as the best presidential candidate.
Tegerdine also has concerns about Mike Huckabee of Arkansas being the next president, saying Huckabee’s pardoning of criminals bothers him. In fact, Huckabee’s pardons show a lack of respect for the judicial system, Tegerdine asserted.
Steven Palazzo is Tegerdine's opponent in the June 1 Republican primary election.
Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin would not make a good president either, said Tegerdine because she does not have the depth of knowledge on all of the issues. However, Tegerdine said he thinks Palin would make a good chairwoman of the Department of Energy because she is strong on those issues.
Audience member Jeannie Thornhill said the next president needs to be “a patriot who loves this country above all else.”
There are several politicians in office today that Tegerdine admires including Republican Congressman Jason Chaffetz of Utah who reportedly sleeps on a couch in his office to save taxpayer money. He also admires U.S. Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma because he imposed term limits on himself.
On regulating the banking industry, Tegerdine opposes additional regulations but simply thinks the federal government needs to enforce the ones already in place. The federal government also needs to admit that it was partly responsible for the economic collapse by not enforcing the regulations, he said. As on many issues, Tegerdine favors less federal government intervention, which is why he thinks Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should be abolished.
The forum was moderated by Marion County Informer Publisher Josh Mitchell who asked Tegerdine a series of questions before allowing questions from the audience.
