Campaign Evaluation: Eric Reyes (U.S. House, IL-17)

[Bryan]

This thread is intended to be a collection point of the strong pros and cons of any potential liberty candidate / campaign that is being discussed / promoted on the forum. You are welcome to post both positive and not-so-positive attributes about the candidate as they related to their position on supporting liberty as well as issues relating to their campaign. The most important information may be aggregated in this top post for easy reference.

Candidate Name: Eric Reyes
Office Sought: U.S. House
Website: http://ericreyes.us
Social Media:
https://www.facebook.com/EricReyes4US
https://twitter.com/EricReyes4US

Candidate Profile: On the Issues
Civil Liberties: [Rating TBD]
Constitutional Issues: [Rating TBD]
Economic Issues: [Rating TBD]
Foreign Policy: [Rating TBD]
Social Issues: [Rating TBD]
Overall Issues Rating: [Rating TBD]

Race Profile: Competition & Demographics
State: Illinois
District: 17
Incumbent:
Other Primary Candidates:
Non-Incumbent Candidates from Other Parties:
Relevant poll numbers: None.
Overall Race Profile Rating: [Rating TBD]

Miscellaneous Pros/Cons
Key strong points:

Unknown points for further research:

Possible weak points:

Possible deal breakers:

Overall Rating:


Eric Reyes For Congress 2014 Campaign Announcement

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phfmAJtbhBo

[Brian4Liberty]

From his issues page, on Jobs & Economy:



Issues
Jobs & Economy

“There is no greater guarantor of freedom than economic prosperity, and that’s why we need to turn things around. Our current Congresswoman thinks that we should keep doing what we’ve been doing and expect a different result. However, more government and spending is NOT the answer. You don’t do anyone any favors by creating dependency and destroying individual responsibility. The fact is, economic freedom, and the prosperity it generates, reduces poverty like nothing else.”

Eric Reyes’s “Plan to Restore America” puts America on a return to Constitutional government. This bold but achievable plan, inspired by Ron Paul’s proposed policies, includes the following:

- Cuts spending by abolishing corporate subsidies, drastically reducing foreign intervention, eliminating duplicative and unnecessary bureaucracies, and returning most other categories of spending to 2006 levels.

- Reduces the federal workforce, slashes Congressional pay and perks, and curbs excessive federal travel.

- Lowers the corporate tax rate to 15%, allowing America to effectively compete in the global market.

- Allows American companies to repatriate job-creating capital without additional taxation, spurring trillions in new investment.

- Kills the death tax and ends taxes on personal savings, allowing families to build a nest egg.

- Repeals ObamaCare, Dodd-Frank, and Sarbanes-Oxley, among other onerous regulations.

- Mandates REINS-style requirements for thorough Congressional review and authorization before implementing any new regulations issued by bureaucrats.

- Conducts a full audit of the Federal Reserve and implements competing-currency legislation to strengthen the dollar and stabilize inflation.

http://ericreyes.us/issues/

[Brian4Liberty]

On Civil Liberties:



Civil Liberties

“Our Constitution acts not as a list of rights granted to the people, but as a restraining order against the government. It is there to remind those we have elected that their powers are limited, temporary, and come only from the consent of the governed.”

- Reyes supports the right to concealed carry and is a tireless advocate for the Second Amendment.

- Reyes opposes indefinite detention, suspension of habeus corpus, execution of Americans without trial, warrantless spying on innocent Americans, and any other provisions of the NDAA, Patriot Act, PRISM, etc. that infringe upon our fundamental privacy rights.

- Reyes is pro-free internet. An opponent of CISPA/SOPA, Reyes stands strongly with Reddit, the Mozilla Foundation, and Wikipedia to promote openness, innovation, and participation on the internet.

- Reyes opposes any law that requires religious institutions to violate their core beliefs and is an eternal advocate for the First Amendment guarantee of religious freedom.

Eric Reyes has dedicated his life to defending the rights and liberties of the people that are enshrined in the Constitution. As a Constitutional Lawyer, he does this on a daily basis. As an individual who has sworn to support and defend the Constitution as an attorney, as an enlisted Marine, and as a criminal prosecutor in the State’s Attorney’s Office, Eric Reyes understands how imperative it is to continue to support and defend it as your future Congressman. Furthermore, Eric Reyes begins his analysis of every issue by first determining whether the Constitution prohibits, permits, or protects the activity in question.

A former Congressman from the 17th district was notorious for saying that he did not worry about the Constitution. He followed that statement by saying that the difference between the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence did not matter to him. Eric Reyes understands the importance of both, and recognizes that both documents represent laws and policies that restrict the government, not the people. Eric Reyes recognizes that they were declared and established to defend the rights and liberties of the people.

In short, Eric Reyes simply believes that you are guaranteed the freedom and liberty to live your life as you choose. You may chase every dream and pursue what makes you happy, so as long as doing so doesn’t harm others or hinder them from practicing their own freedom and liberty. Thus, on every issue, you will see that Eric Reyes takes a stance that either protects your rights and liberties or prohibits the government or private entities from infringing upon them.

The Declaration of Independence is one of our nation’s most cherished symbols of liberty. When Thomas Jefferson drafted it, he expressed the convictions in the hearts and minds of the American people, and the grievances they had against their king. In that immortal document, Jefferson used the ideals of individual freedom and liberty to spark the Revolution against tyranny.

Patriots throughout America hold that this revolution—this defense of our rights and liberties—continues today, albeit, in a more peaceful manner. In this light, Eric Reyes invites you to join him as he continues to defend our rights and liberties.

http://ericreyes.us/issues/civil-liberties/

[Brian4Liberty]

On Hemp & Cannabis:



Hemp & Cannabis

“The war on drugs is unconstitutional and antithetical to our notions of due process, federalism, and individual liberty. A Constitutional Amendment was required to ban alcohol, and thus is also required to ban other drugs. State bans on possession and consumption of cannabis are equally unconstitutional as violative of our 14th Amendment rights, as well as our 5th, 9th, and 10th Amendment rights as applied to the states via the 14th Amendment.”

Eric Reyes will do everything he can to legalize hemp and cannabis. Aside from the fact that the so-called war on drugs has been an abysmal failure and an affront to the concept of individual liberty, it makes no economic sense for our government to fail to access this huge source of revenue and economic stimulation. The most conservative estimates indicate that the Federal Government is missing out on at least $14 BILLION in annual revenue by failing to regulate and tax the sale of cannabis. Economies tied to the 17th District are missing out as well: Illinois to the tune of $31.6 Million and Iowa at $6.2 Million in annual revenue. This is just the benefit provided by the taxation and regulation of the sale of cannabis. This doesn’t even take into account the agricultural benefits of reauthorizing the growth of our founding fathers’ crop of choice, hemp.

Hemp is several times more efficient a bio-fuel than ethanol and could replace the acres of subsidized corn fields with a crop that is self-sustaining. Not only that, but it has a multitude of other uses besides clean efficient fuel and consumption. Legalization of this crop would be not only a boost to already existing economies, but the start of a new one.

Furthermore, thousands upon thousands of non-violent otherwise upstanding citizens would be able to become productive members of society again rather than having their college, professional, athletic, or any other dreams dashed by their choice of a recreational drug that is less harmful and less addictive than alcohol, cigarettes, caffeine, or sugar.

Finally, ending the war on drugs would drastically reduce the levels of organized crime and gang violence in our communities.

http://ericreyes.us/issues/civil-liberties/hemp/

[Brian4Liberty]

Incumbent: Cheri Bustos (Democratic) January 3, 2013 –
Previously held by GOP, redistricted to lean Democrat.

[Brian4Liberty]

Uh, nevermind...


ROCK ISLAND – Republican candidate for U.S. Congress, Eric Reyes, released the following statement concerning his choice to withdraw from the 17th District Congressional race:

“I owe a special thank you to my friends, family, campaign staff & volunteers, and ardent supporters everywhere for their time and effort put into spreading the message of liberty in Illinois. I am eternally grateful to the people of the 17th District for giving us their time, wherever we met them,” Reyes went on to say.

"This campaign has never been about me. It has always been about getting America back on the path our founders intended. As a party, we Republicans need to be united in our efforts and therefore, rather than continue to divide the party and waste precious time and resources of all involved, I have chosen to withdraw my candidacy and focus on advancing the principles of freedom, liberty, and limited Constitutional government by other means."

"The fact is, as bad as the situation in Washington is, the situation here at home is even worse. We live in a state that is taxing itself out of competition for businesses. We have a budget and pension system that was recently 'reformed' by kicking the can down the road for the umpteenth time and hoping things will just magically get better. We also still live in the state with the most restrictive gun laws that infringe upon law abiding citizens' Constitutional rights and that have allowed increasing crime to continue to plague our society. I have no intention of standing by and watching our great state go the way of Detroit." Reyes said.

Eric Reyes is a Constitutional Lawyer from Rock Island, Illinois. More information about Eric Reyes and his plans to restore America can be found at www.EricReyes.us


https://www.facebook.com/EricReyes4US?ref=stream&hc_location=stream