During the last few days, the Editorial panel of the Rolla Daily News has been assessing the candidates and has come up with endorsements for Republican, Democratic and Libertarian party candidates.
Libertarian:
George Phillies. Not a “mainstream” candidate, Phillies took a little more research. Phillies, 60, is an educator, who attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he earned a BS in physics and in life services as well as a MS. His background includes a postdoctoral fellowship in the UCLA Chemistry Department. In 1985, Phillies moved to the presigious Worchester Polytechnic Institute, where he rose to the level of professor of physics. He is a bachelor, who rents a townhouse in Worcester, Mass., a block from the WPI campus. Phillies was a Republican until the late 1980s. He left the Republican Party because of its inactions on the increasing deficit. Phillies’ immediate relatives live in the Buffalo area, including his mother, Clara, younger brother, Gregory, and nephew.
His views:
Abortion: We “should not encourage or discourage abortion,” according to Phillies’ Web site, meaning he favors a woman’s right to choose.
Iraq war: “There is only one good time to end the war in Iraq,” Phillies writes on his Web page, “Already.... End the War on Iraq and bring our troops home to defend America.”
Gun rights: People should have “the right to keep and bear arms, in defense of person...”
Notables: “Uncle Sam is 9 trillion dollars in debt. In Fiscal 2006, the on-budget Federal Budget Deficit was $484 billion. General Accounting Office simulations show that by 2040 interest on the national debt will consume the bulk of Federal taxes. If we go on like this, we will become a third-world banana republic.”
