Congressional candidates speak in LC
Published 6:30 am Tuesday, June 7, 2016
<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Several Republican candidates for Louisiana’s 3rd Congressional District spoke of the need to fix Washington’s broken political culture, cut back on federal regulations and decrease the national debt.</span>
<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">The GOP candidates who spoke during Monday’s Southwest Louisiana Republican Roundtable included Brett Geymann, Erick Knezek, Gus Rantz, Grover Rees and Bryan Barrilleaux. Ryan Cross, a spokesperson for Public Service Commissioner Scott Angelle, spoke on the candidate’s behalf, while fellow candidate Greg Ellison was unable to attend.</span>
<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Cross said Angelle’s first order of business, if elected, would be telling the federal government to “get off our back.” He said Angelle would fight for a new Interstate 10 bridge, stand up for veterans and fight the “war on culture.”</span>
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<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Cross spoke of Angelle’s efforts in 2010 to get the federal government to lift the moratorium on deepwater drilling.</span>
<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">“He is a proven and experienced fighter who stood up to Washington and will do it again,” Cross said.</span>
<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Geymann, a former state representative, said he wants to impose term limits on the federal level. He said the culture in Washington is “broken,” with politicians focused on their own self-interest.</span>
<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Geymann said there needs to be a push to reduce the national debt, something he called the “biggest threat to national security.” He said the federal government’s overreach in education needs to stop, with the choices being made on the state and local levels.</span>
<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Knezek, who has served on the Lafayette Parish School Board, spoke of the many federal regulations that impact businesses.</span>
<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">“Unless we make tough decisions now, the country is unsustainable,” he said.</span>
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<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">A Navy veteran, Knezek said he understands the importance of dredging the Calcasieu Ship Channel better than any candidate. He said he won’t use a congressional seat as a springboard for another political office, like the U.S. Senate or governor.</span>
<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Barrilleaux, who has never held political office, said he is accepting no campaign donations in his bid for Congress. He said Washington politics is “thoroughly corrupted by campaign donations.”</span>
<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">“The problem is we send ambitious politicians hungry for campaign cash,” Barrilleaux said. “The results we get is poor representation, bad government and citizens who are betrayed and dissatisfied.”</span>
<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Rantz, who has never held political office, said he is “fed up with our government” and wants to stop overspending on the federal level.</span>
<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">“If we don’t get our debt under control, we won’t have the money to protect our nation, and we won’t have the money to fund any program that you think is worthwhile,” he said.</span>
<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Rees, a former U.S. ambassador to East Timor, said there is a need to restore the American foreign policy.</span>
<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">“We need to change so our friends can trust us and our enemies respect us,” he said.</span>
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<p class="p1">Follow John Guidroz on Twitter at <a href="https://twitter.com/JohnAmPress">twitter.com/JohnAmPress</a>
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