Candidate Profile-U.S. House of Representatives District 1-Rob Oates (L)
Birth date: 9/24/1956
Profession: Airport Manager, Caldwell Industrial Airport
Educational background: B.S. in Management from U of I; US Army Officer education program; US Army Aviator Training (FAA Commercial/Instrument Pilot)
Public service (elected or appointed offices): Elected (2003) and re-elected (2007) to Caldwell City Council
Community service (service clubs, nonprofit boards, etc.): Civil Air Patrol Deputy Commander for Cadets; various volunteer positions in my church
How many years as a resident of your city: 33 years
Marital status: Married
Family: Wife, Debbie and we have three grown children
Hobbies: Target shooting; studying economics; reading
1. Why are you running for office?
I've got kids and our country is in a mess created by politicians. I would promote what's right rather than what's popular. I'm not beholden to either of the parties of big government. Career politicians are destroying our country and the future looks bleak without significant change and we will only accomplish that by electing true leaders to Congress.
2. What do you see as the three biggest issues you'll face?
1) The Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act (Obamacare);
2) Our Growing Police State;
3) All the so-called “Wars” in which our country is involved.
3. If elected, what steps will you take to resolve these issues?
1) Repeal Obamacare - It's our over-reaching federal nanny-state government taking over an enormous percentage of America's private-sector healthcare industry. The country is literally broke and there is no possible way that many millions of new “patients” can be added to insurance rolls by the waving of President Obama's magic wand with no underwriting/risk management process and no funding.
2) The President of The United States claims the authority, on only his signature, to kill you or "detain" you in some secret place -- possibly forever. Clearly un-Constitutional, the president has used those powers today and I would work to rescind them, forever. Surveillance drones also threaten civil liberties and should not be in our everyday lives.
3) We should END ALL WARS, declared and undeclared, that consume countless billions of dollars and are destroying lives and families all over the world. Besides being un-Constitutional and immoral, from a more practical point-of-view: we simply cannot afford to create and equip and deploy military forces as 'world police' because we are completely out of money.
4. What specific skills or experience qualify you for this job?
I'm not a lawyer. I am a veteran. I've been a student of Constitutional government for years. An excellent public speaker, I will advocate for the majority of Idahoans who believe in individual liberty and personal responsibility in all things.
5. Why should voters elect you, rather than an opponent?
Real change is needed; runaway spending cannot continue; our obese government must go on a strict diet. We need to elect statesmen rather than career politicians, lawyers, or football players. I offer voters an opportunity to begin to fix the problems the older parties have created as they've taken turns super-sizing our government for the past 150 years.