Eric Gurr Interview – Tea Party Candidate for Congress

The Eric Gurr Interview

A man with the guts to run for congress against an establishment politician who has served in congress ten times longer than Abraham Lincoln did. It’s good to see someone with solid principles stand up for what he believes in and join the fight for the over taxed, over burdened, over regulated people of Ohio’s 8th congressional district.
 
 

Eric Gurr speaking with supporters.

I don’t think the country is just on the wrong track, I think it’s completely off the track. I’ve never run for political office before but I think we need representatives that are closer to the people. I don’t intend to stay for long. I’ve promised no more than four terms and I would really like to be out after just three. We need more vigorous and principled conservatives.

 
What kind of damage has the implementation of Obamacare done to the residents of Ohio’s 8th Congressional District?

It costs us jobs just like it does everywhere. When the rates go up businesses are forced to make changes. In my business we’ve been told by our agent and the Health insurance company both that we can expect a 40% increase and possibly higher.

 
Why are you against immigration reform and amnesty when according to the Washington Post, Fox News and Business Insider, your opponent has begun a new push for it to pass the U.S. House?

Immigration reform as it has been written in the Senate is a bad idea. The economy is already struggling to create jobs, adding millions to the labor pool supply when demand is low will lower wages and hurt the housing recovery. I also believe that granting amnesty to non-citizens sends the wrong message. If immigration laws are not important how are we as citizens to know which laws are important?

The immigration system in the United States is not broken. The problem is that we do not enforce the existing laws.

 
You have a computer consulting company and a lot of immigration reform deals with visas for workers in the computer industry, can you help explain to our readers why computer giants are backing comprehensive immigration reform and why they are wrong to do so?

Most of the big companies that are backing immigration reform are doing so because they employ thousands of people in entry level positions. The PRI (Permanent Resident Immigrant) portion of the current bill floods these companies with a new supply of labor which will lower their costs. These businesses also get an exemption from the Affordable Care Act for PRIs and don’t have to pay a penalty. This will result in millions of dollars going into these companies if they fire American citizens and hire a newly legalized immigrant.

Visas for high demand workers are a different issue. If a company needs chemists, IT people or other tech skills that they cannot find locally they will of course desire an expansion of targeted Visas to attract workers. This can of course also be abused to lower wages so it’s an area where slow and steady is the best course of action for the nation. However in this specific category we are talking about thousands of people as opposed to millions.

 

It seems like every month John Boehner does or says something to offend “real” conservatives, lately it is a new budget that gives Democrats what they want (higher spending and more taxes or fees). He also had some spiteful words and criticism for conservative groups who oppose the deal. What do you make of John Boehner’s words against conservative groups?

It was confusing to be sure. The immediate reaction of the Democrats and media was that Boehner was attacking the Tea Party groups. The reality is he was also attacking The Heritage Foundation. a think tank that predates the Tea Party. To suggest that it is a conservative value to compromise on decreasing the growth of spending is duplicitous. Fiscal conservatives believe that we cannot consume more than we produce and that the tolerance for U.S. government debt is limited. To slow the growth of spending in hopes that we can further kick the can down the road and buy more time to fix the problem is a risky proposition.

 
The Daily Caller, a major conservative leaning website labeled John Boehner’s influence as waning, do you find this to be true?

Yes. We as traditional Republicans must remember that on the Debt Limit fight Boehner broke the Hastert rule and voted against the majority of Republicans in the House and with the majority of Democrats. An activist speaker must lead from the base, the foundation of the party to be effective and wield influence. This is true of Pelosi and Gingrich. They were activist speakers but led from the base.

 
You cited as one of the main reasons you entered this race was John Boehner’s jumping on the Obama war wagon when he endorsed the use of our armed forces in Syria. Why did his endorsement of Obama’s plans give you skepticism over Boehner’s leadership ability?

Because I think it shows a lack of understanding of history and foreign policy. We cannot continue to treat the entire Middle East as a consistent block. The history of the Levant (Beirut, Alexandria, Smyran and even Damascus Syria) over the last three hundred or so years is marked by the relationship between France and the Ottoman empire. In the more Cosmopolitan areas the cultural and societal insults have been tolerated and smoothed over to make way for economic expansion. When these cities come under pressure from external sources (Palestinians in Beirut for example) the region must be defended first from the external threat. The trouble in Syria is this older story coupled with a factionalize civil war. The solution proposed by Obama offered nothing but further strife and a high probability of escalation.

 
What committees would you like to serve on when you are elected to congress?

Those that deal with economic policy, monetary policy and foreign policy would probably be the best fit. As someone who has worked for 25 years to understand the trends of history this is where I would be most effective.

 
Not only in politics, but also in life, how difficult do you think it is to stand up for what you believe in? What are the benefits when you do so?

Standing up for what you believe should not be difficult. If you have a sound premise and solid foundation for your beliefs you gain a certain confidence in your positions. Knowledge is a suit of armor that helps to deflect the arrows of unfounded criticism.

 
Are you considered a favorite with the Tea Party crowd? If so, why?

I am making progress. There were initially four candidates in this primary. One of the candidates was an early Tea Party favorite. Over the past several months I have made inroads with different Tea Party groups by focusing on issues like fiscal conservatism and monetary policy.

 
With John Boehner ushering in amnesty and immigration reform as quickly as possible, his attacks on conservatives and conservative independents, and his support for a budget deal that is more Democratic in nature than conservative, I feel a lot of money will be headed your way, how can people donate money to your campaign?

I hope you’re right! I have a donation page on my website at www.gurrforcongress.com

 
Here at GotInterviews, we’re always about imparting some encouragement and lessons for the younger generation, whether they are high school students recent grads or college students. What lessons do you think your candidacy can teach these younger citizens of Butler, Clark, Darke, Miami, Preble and Mercer counties?

Get involved. I have always followed politics from the outside looking in. We are fed a falsehood that only politicians should run for Congress. This is nonsense. Congress will work best when average citizens knock down the doors and make the representatives truly listen and represent us.

 
Turning away from politics, what are your favorite Cincinnati Bengals or Cincinnati Reds memories?

In 1976 when I was just a little kid my dad took me to see the Reds and the Yankees in the World Series. We had no tickets so he tried to buy them from a scalper. The only tickets together were to expensive. My dad ended up buying two tickets that were at opposite ends of the stadium. The good seat was a few rows up in the right field area. My dad took me down and put me in the seat. Then he stood and watched the game from the concession area. He could see the game and keep an eye on me. After about the third inning a man next to me tapped my shoulder and said, “Son, are you here by yourself?” I told him my dad was standing a few rows behind but we couldn’t get two seats together. The guy told us his wife had decided not to come and so the seat next to him was open. He motioned my dad down and we got to watch the game together. The funniest thing was this guy telling my dad he thought I was just some little kid who loved baseball and ran away to see the world series because I was sitting by myself.

My dad died in 2002. I still think about this as one of my best memories.

 
Thank you so much for sharing that precious memory and for taking time to answer questions for our GotInterviews.com readers. We really appreciate your time today and we wish you the best of success in your campaign.
 
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