Lawson for Congress

National security is critical, and we need a strong national defense. We also need to stand in support of our troops who answer their country's call to duty, both when they are deployed and when they return as veterans.

As your Congressman, I will insist that we use deadly force in self-defense, and that we only go to war with a Congressional Declaration of War as specified in Article I, Section 8 of the United States Constitution. I will resist any attempts to declare preemptive war. As any sheriff knows, "If you start a fight, you lose your rights [to self defense]".

I will work to keep our nation secure with an economic offense and strong military defense, instead of an economic defense and military offense. We will accomplish much more through diplomacy, trade, and a strong defense than sanctions, offensive war and occupation. In the post-Cold War era of international instability, we face insurgent enemies who use asymmetric tactics. Our response must be matched to those tactics, and must address the causes of the underlying instability. We cannot fight today's enemy with yesterday's strategy.

With respect to the Middle East, we can, and must, be a force for stability in the region. We cannot rely on unilateral, preemptive military force to bring "democracy" to unstable countries. Furthermore, democracy shouldn't even be the goal. Democracy is simply tyranny of the majority. Instead, countries need to be encouraged to build representative governments that protect individuals with the rule of law.

We need an orderly and immediate military withdrawal from Iraq. That does not mean that we abandon that country, or the Middle East. Instead, we must change our focus from unilateral offensive war and occupation to multilateral coalition-building, and substantially engage other countries in the region with overwhelming diplomatic force to help fill the vacuum we created. Fighting the forces of extremism and instability requires governments that offer alternatives to nihilism, poverty and violence. Those alternatives do not come at gunpoint, although force is required for security and self-defense.

We need to be intellectually honest and recognize that our current foreign policy is bankrupting our nation. The Soviet Union’s economy collapsed trying to build a war machine it couldn’t afford, and it lost the Cold War as a result. Now the same simple math is leading to the self-inflicted collapse of our own economy. Where are we getting the money to pay for our wars and global empire? We're borrowing and printing $1 to $3 billion per day from China, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and our Federal Reserve. Do you enjoy working to pay interest to the Chinese government? Read more here.