On the Issues
Gary Nolan's campaign intends to focus on major, substantive issues where the Democrats and Republicans are moving in the wrong direction, and a substantial portion of the public wants to move in our direction. Specifically. . .

(1) The Economy, Government Spending, Taxation and Social Security:

What's the most that any American should be required to pay in local, state, and federal taxes combined? According to polls, a majority of Americans say 20% or less. Yet government currently confiscates nearly 50% of the average American's income.

Federal spending is ballooning out-of-control and deficits are exploding. Democrats would raise our taxes to pay for more spending -- Republicans would raise our children and grandchildren's taxes instead. Neither is acceptable in a free society.

It's time to limit the federal government to only those powers and functions specifically delegated to it in the Constitution. It's time to get rid of the personal income tax and the IRS. It's time to replace the bankrupt Social Security system with individual retirement accounts and honest accounting. It's time to downsize the federal budget and upsize the family budget.

Letting Americans keep the money they earn is the best cure for an ailing economy. Letting the people of each state and community decide for themselves how much government they want, and are willing to pay for, is the best way to make that government accountable to the people.

(2) Civil Liberties & the War on Terror:

The War on Terror has turned into a war on the individual civil liberties of the American people.

Restricting civil liberties are the tactics of the opponents of human liberty, human rights and the individual's rights as expressed specifically in our Constitution and Bill of Rights. These tactics are undermining our national security instead of enhancing it; they have no place in a free society.

I propose an immediate restoration of our full civil liberties as a key component of enhancing our national security. Misguided laws like the American Patriot Act should be repealed.

Drug Prohibition has created a gigantic black market, empowering criminal gangs that terrorize our cities and funding terrorist organizations like Al Qaida. It's time to repeal federal drug laws, enabling the people of each state and community to choose alternatives to this failed policy.

In a truly free society, neighbors watch out for neighbors. They don't resort to profiling based on stereotypes, they don't feel trapped and unable to travel. They work together in a positive way to keep their own communities safe. This is the America we deserve.

(3) National Defense & Foreign Policy:

National defense is the primary Constitutional function of the federal government. We must maintain a strong defense against potential aggressors and be prepared to respond to attacks like those that occurred on September 11, 2001.

Equally important, we must refrain from intervening in the quarrels of other nations and from making enemies of oppressed people who would otherwise look to America as a beacon of hope and freedom.

We must stop providing aid and support to authoritarian regimes and dictators around the globe. We must remember that our own government helped arm and train the military of Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein -- the same military that our troops later faced in brutal combat. We must not allow something similar to happen again.

It's time to bring our troops home from the more than 140 countries in which they are stationed. It is especially ludicrous for America to be subsidizing the defense of wealthy nations like Germany and Japan, as well as providing 60% of the world's foreign aid.

Friendship, non-intervention, and trade with all nations is a time-honored prescription for an America that is at peace with the world. It was the policy recommended by America's Founding Fathers -- one that I would restore as President.