It looks like District 3 U.S. Congressman Lynn Westmoreland will have some competition in the July primary. He will be facing Milner Realtor and former Lamar County Commissioner Kent Kingsley, who is a proponent of issues such as a balanced budget amendment, the Fair Tax, ending earmarks and term limits.
Kingsley said that, if elected, he will not be part of the permanent political class playing their fiddles while Rome burns.
Kingsley last week said he previously served as chairman of the Lamar County Commission, becoming the first Republican elected to the commission in that county. In 2002 he ran for the Georgia House of Representatives and lost the general election by 72 votes.
But that was then and this is now. Kingsley said his decision to run for the District 3 seat is based on a litany of issues, not the least of which is the crushing debt facing Americans.
“In my opinion, I’m one of many people including Rep. Paul Ryan who has said that the U.S. is two or three years away from becoming another Greece,” Kingsley said. “I believe those in Congress are playing their fiddles while they watch Rome burn. We’re in dire shape and Congress is completely unable to do anything about it.”
So what does Congress need to do? For Kingsley, the domestic list includes having a balanced budget amendent, enacting the Fair Tax, ending earmarks and instituting term limits in the Senate and House. And in foreign policy Kingsley said he promotes China implementing a fair trade/fair currency position, an Iran without nuclear weapons and supplying foreign aid only to U.S. allies.
And when it comes to individuals, families and livelihood, Kingsley said he is pro-life, pro-family, pro-marriage, pro-Second Amendment and pro-business.
“I believe I’ve got the ability to help make America, ‘America Again.’ I want to go up there and work day and night to get the job done,” Kingsley said, reiterating his stand on the need for a balanced budget, the adoption of the Fair Tax and a constitutional amendment for federal term limits. “We’ve got a permanent political class but what we need are citizen legislators that do their duty for a few years then return home to resume their careers.”
Kingsley was asked that, if elected, if he would make good on his position on terms limits and leave after 12 years.
“I’ll leave before 12 years,” Kingsley said, adding that he expects to spend only six years in Washington.
When it comes to Westmoreland, both share significant common ground. But that ground does not extend to every facet of what Kingsley sees as lacking.
“I’m not saying he’s the one that created the deficit, but he doesn’t seem to be enough of a leader to help diminish it. And how dedicated are members of Congress? They can’t get a committee formed to address taxation,” Kingsley noted.
On the idea of the Fair Tax, Kingsley said there is more to the idea than just reducing the tax burden on citizens and business because it would take away the ability of big business to successfully lobby for tax breaks.
“Adopting a Fair Tax would have far-ranging, positive implications for the economy and in Congress since such a consumption tax would negate the stranglehold lobbyists have on lawmakers,” Kingsley said.
Kingsley holds both a B.A. and M.A. in Political Science and is a graduate of the Army’s Command and General Staff College where he earned the designation of an Army Strategist. Following retirement from the Army, Kent taught at Lamar County High School and Gordon College.
Kingsley retired from the U.S. Army in 1996 after serving in the first Gulf War, Korea, Germany and Panama. He retired in the grade of lieutenant colonel. Some of his awards and decorations include the Bronze Star, Combat Infantryman’s Badge, Master Parachutist’s Wings and the Pathfinder Badge.
