Longtime Republican 8th District Legislator Shirley Hankins distinguished career may or may not come to an end this year.  Amid the media cloud over her ethics issue, it appears the sharks are starting to circle.  Richland School Board President Rick Jansens was no surprise.   It’s been rumored (if not confirmed) for months his intent.  But the next one in the water, well… this about sums it up!

  • A 20-year Military Veteran.
  • An active law enforcement officer.
  • A God-fearing, Bible-believing, Ten-Commandment-honoring, evangelical Christian.
  • Dedicated to doing what is right and best for  Washington, even in the face of adversity!

Now I don’t really have anything against a “God-fearing, Bible-believing, Ten-Commandment-honoring, evangelical Christian”.  Generally good folks I guess.  But it looks like this one is going to wear it on his sleeve, next to his badge.  Is he the lunatic fringe?  Let’s see:

Abortion

• 100% Pro-Life.
• Opposes an expansion of stem cell research using fetal tissue.
• Supports ban on partial birth abortion.
• Strongly in favor of criminal penalties for injuring an unborn fetus during other crimes.

Budget and Economy

• Individual and corporate tax laws need to be equal and fair for all citizens.
• Tax laws should incorporate incentives to encourage business growth.
• State spending must be brought under control.

Civil Rights

• Opposes racial and sexual quotas.

Crime

• Supports increasing victims’ rights.
• Supports strong sentencing guidelines for all criminals, including juveniles.
• Supports building additional prisons to keep law abiding citizens safe and prevent criminals from early release.
• Supports stricter sentencing for crimes committed at public schools.
• Supports a ‘Two Strikes, You’re Out’ measure.
• Supports the death penalty.
• Favors a revision in the prison system to reduce the cost to the taxpayers by reducing the amenities available to convicted criminals with a goal of creating more of a deterrent atmosphere.

Drugs

• Stands strong against illegal drug activity.
• Favors stricter sentencing for drug-related crimes.
• Supports childhood drug awareness programs such as D.A.R.E.
• Supports youth programs that deter drug use.

Education

• Strongly supports time in school for prayer and recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance.
• Strongly opposes the removal of “One nation under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance.
• Supports funding for education.
• Wants every child who legally resides in Washington State to be entitled to, and receive, a great education.
• In favor of stricter laws for safer schools.
• Strongly supports encouraging greater parent involvement in children’s education.
• Favors a tax credit for accredited private schools.
• Supports a return to more reasonable discipline in schools, with the aim being increased learning.

Energy and Oil

• Supports building more refineries to process American oil reserves.
• Supports nuclear energy, with proper safety regulations.
• Opposes the breaching of hydro-electric dams.

Environment

• Supports a reasonable balance between land use and the need for sound environmental stewardship.
• Strongly supports Timber and Fishing Industries.
• Strongly favors sportsmen’s rights to hunt and fish responsibly, in conjunction with a balanced wildlife protection program.
• Supports National Wild Lands and Wilderness Preserves.

Families and Children

• Supports a traditional family unit with traditional values.
• Supports a Marriage Amendment.

Foreign Policy

• Stands strong to support Washington farmers and development of international exports of our vast, superior produce

Government Reform

• Supports photo ID for voter registration.
• Supports campaign contribution reform.

Gun Control

• Absolutely supports of the Second Amendment and a law-abiding citizen’s right to bear arms.
• Supports gun safety education as a pre-requisite to gun ownership.
• Supports a ban on lawsuits against gun manufacturers for simply manufacturing guns, used in violent acts.
• Favors personal responsibility of gun owner/handlers.

Health Care

• Strongly opposes socialized health care.

Homeland Security

• Supports Homeland Security program.
• Supports increased funding to ensure a strong and ready military.
• In favor of increased border security.

Immigration

• Supports a limited, renewable Visa Guest Worker program for migrant workers.
• Strongly favors a national DNA database for Guest Worker program.
• In favor of an Amendment to restrict American citizenship to children born in the U.S. to illegal aliens.

Jobs

• Strongly favors initiatives which support family bread-winners and hard working Americans.
• Favors incentives for businesses to encourage job growth.
• Believes the tenet ‘A Fair Day’s Wage for a Fair Day’s Work’.

Principles and Values

• Supports a platform of strong family values.
• Supports traditional family unit.
• Opposes gay marriage.
• Favors a marriage amendment.
• Favors allowing prayer in Schools.
• Supports a reduction of sex, violence, and profanity on television, movies, and video games.

Tax Reform

• Supports tax incentives which encourage business growth and a prosperous economy.
• Supports responsible spending of tax revenue to reduce the tax burden on Washington workers.

War and Peace

• Supports America’s war on terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan.
• Strongly supports America’s military personnel around the globe.
• Favors a strong military.

Welfare and Poverty

• Opposes unnecessary entitlements.
• Supports ‘A Fair Day’s Wage for a Fair Day’s Work’.
• Favors churches with tax-free status reaching out to those in need.
• Favors requiring individuals receiving government assistance to participate in a reasonable work program.

So he wants to legislate woman’s bodies, jail your troubled kids, disenfranchise voters, keep the poor folks… sick, tell you what to watch on TV, send your kids to war, deny rights to gay folks because, you know, they’re gay… and increase the church in our politics.  Um… correct me if I’m wrong but…. wow.   The real problem here is that while the 8th District might fall for this crap, most every one of his positions have been translated in the past 8 years as bad news for voters.  In a district that has just shown strengthening democratic leaning this might not be such a good year.  Of course, neither was the last one…

Mike McGavick was the Republican nominee, who received an unusual pre-primary endorsement from the state party, defeated his closest competitor, Brad Klippert, in the primary with over 85%, to Klippert’s less than 7%, of the Republican vote.

Where do these guys come from? 

Oh… and he should run a spell checker on his website.

Hat tip to Chris Mullick