Cox woos conservatives by promising spending cuts

Presidential candidate John Cox, a private businessman gunning for the Republican nomination, condemned "career politicians," and explained why he is the "only real conservative running for president" to a small crowd at a stump speech in KSC's Lantern Room last Friday.

"I want to change the kind of people we elect to office," he said.

The KSC motto, "Enter to learn, go forth to serve" was the essence of why he was making a run for the Oval Office, he explained to the crowd of 10 people.

"[Career politicians] forget the idea of public service is to serve the public," he said.

According to Cox, who has worked in both law and business, it was time to get someone in the private sector to solve problems.

"As president, I will go after bureaucratic spending," he said.

While Cox does not support the proposed surge of 21,500 troops to Iraq by President Bush, he does want to use the troops currently there to secure the oil pipelines.

By getting the oil industry "up and running," prosperity could be brought to the people of Iraq, he said.

"They should be wealthy and prosperous," he said. "People respond to prosperity."

In response to a question regarding peak oil, Iraq should use the money to diversify its resources, said Cox, who ran for the Republican nomination in for Illinois's 10th Congressional District in 2000 and for U.S. Senate in 2002.

"I'm not an oil man," said Cox, who grew up in Chicago, Ill. "I don't see us totally relying on oil forever."

Instead, Cox advocated a diversification of energy resources within the United States. His plan would include constructing nuclear power plants, creating more wind, solar and bio-diesel energy.

Cox spoke about his belief in Fair Tax legislation, which would abolish the Internal Revenue Service.

Calling the Internal Revenue Code a mess, Cox said Fair Tax would be the fairest thing to do to keep the economy going and meet national obligations.

Versions of the Fair Tax Act of 2005 were introduced in both the U.S. House of Representative and the Senate and have sincebeen sent to subcommittees. In H.R. 25, one bill within the House of Representatives, the income, employment, estate and gift tax would be repealed, and a national sales tax imposed. Also, certain families would be allowed sales tax rebate, and allocations would be made to specific government trust funds.

Cox, who was president of the Cook County Republican Party, said he also supports a free market.

Former President Ronald Reagan and his talk about people taking care of their own problems brought him, a former Democrat, to the Republican Party, said Cox.

"I'm a Republican because I believe in people," he said. "I think college kids are looking for inspiration, honesty, integrity - somebody to talk to them as equals. I don't think it is moral to leave my children a lot of debt or problems."