Scherer's bio and qualifications to be your better Congressman

Below cut from http://www.schererforcongress.com/ is my political biography and other related items that anyone can see makes me more qualified than  Yioder or Moore to be your next and best congressman.

Political Biography of Thomas E. Scherer, Candidate, United States Congress, 3rd Congressional District (2010)

Personal information: Mr. Scherer is a native Kansan born in Atchison Kansas Oct 2, 1953 (Current age-56). Mr. Scherer is a single parent having actively raised one son, Jacob. Scherer has resided at 7916 West 60th St., Merriam (Johnson County), Kansas for the past 18 years and now resides at 7760 Fontana, Prairie Village, Kansas.  Mr. Scherer's campaign HQ is located at 5935 Merriam Lane, Merriam, Kansas. Mr. Scherer’s personal telephone number is (913) 403-8584. His current email address is tscherer4@kc.rr.com.

Mr. Scherer also maintains an interactive blog at http://schererforyourcongressman.blogspot.com/. (This blog).  Scherer encourages those whom reside in the 3rd Congressional District (Johnson, Wyandotte and Douglas counties) to participate and communicate to help him better understand what a consensus of the voters and non-voters want from their elected congressman.

Mr. Scherer seeks that consensus rather than merely express his personal beliefs. Unlike most political candidates, Scherer represents no special interests, groups or organizations. His candidacy is based on what is best for our nation and for the individuals that live in the United States.

Unlike some of the current batch of candidates, Mr. Scherer does not, nor has he sought PAC or Special Interest Group funds for his campaign.  Mr. Scherer believes this is one of the reasons there is so much corruption and catering to Special Interest Groups and PACS.  Mr. Scherer believes that contributions from these organizations put tremendous pressure on political candidates to dole out favorable legislation that is contrary to the public interest. 

Mr. Scherer favors major campaign finance reform and a reversal of the recent decision by the United States Supreme Court allowing major contributions from major corporate entities.  Mr. Scherer is not for sale.  Nor will he accept any contributions that are based on quid pro quo-this for that kind of corruption.  Mr. Scherer hopes the voters understand the candidates with the most funds are typical the most corrupt candidates of all. 

Mr. Scherer is a statesman politically; instead of merely another rhetorical politician. There is a big and fundamental difference between being a statesman and being merely another politican.

Mr. Scherer has and will continue to advocate as a congressman, or as an advocate for those issues that benefit the individual first, followed by the nation including both non-profit and profit institutions. Mr. Scherer has been in both the GOP and Democratic Party.  He is also worked with those in the Libertarian and Reform Party leaders.  From all parties, Mr. Scherer takes the best from all of these party leaders, as well as the best of ideas from individuals.

Finally, Mr. Scherer was a charter member of United We Stand in 1994-The original tea party movement. Mr. Scherer has been "tea partying" for quite some time on what will make our nation a better or more perfect union for all of us.

Mr. Scherer in making decisions broadly supports the public, national, state and local interest before considering party platform. Mr. Scherer has been in both the GOP and Democratic party as a congressional candidate. Mr. Scherer as a statesman or as a hybrid politican spans and crosses party lines.  Because of Mr. Scherer's leadership and vision, he alone puts the nation's interest before party affilation. Hence, this explains why Scherer, unlike any other congressional candidate, has broad-based support across party lines to all political parties including independents; instead of merely being merely another run-of the mill politician following a particular party platform. Mr. Scherer supports the best political thought regardless of party affiliation.

Mr. Scherer has advocated since 1994 at the national, state and local level on behalf of the public interest. This effort has given Mr. Scherer experience in working with various federal, state and local agencies of government. As well as work with national, state and local institutions; both non-profit and for profit. Mr. Scherer started working on behalf of the public interest actively in 1994 locally, state and at the national level as a disability rights activist. Around 2002, Mr. Scherer then extended advocacy into civil rights work. In 2004, Mr. Scherer then entered the congressional race having filed with the Federal Election Commission. Mr. Scherer’s goal and motivation is centered on a simple fundamental belief—that one person can still make the United States a better place for many.

Political Goals:

a) To ensure the federal government reduces its scope and size. As well as stops expanding the current administration's efforts to move our country further into democratic-led socialism.

b) As a fiscal conservative, ensure tax and earmark reform; as well as preserving Kansas sovereignty and ensuring there is no purpose in any further federal interference in Kansas’s state sovereignty.

c) I support the individual as the basis for what made America a great nation. In our nation, the individual comes first. I support a free market economy and the idea that the less the federal government gets involved in our individual affairs, the better and more prosperous our nation Kansas and our congressional district will be--whether that be in business, health care, education or in our homes.

d) To unite our nation by keeping focused on our domestic agenda, ending the infringement on other nation's sovereignity.  To be specific, reduce defense spending so we can rebuild our national infrastructure such as roads and bridges; while concurrently advocating for:

1) a cleaner power grid using hydro, solar, wind and nuclear for the generation of electricity for our electric grid,, moving ahead from pollution of coal-burning power plants, and

2) In automobile transportation, support of electric and hybrid vehicles, and

3) Advocating for private railroad industry to design, development and build a high speed rail transport system (bullet trains) all across America, Just like China, India, France and other countries are doing.  This plan for high speed rail similar to what Dwight Eisenhowser did in the late 1950's. This kind of vision and leadership will ensure jobs by maintaining a united and narrow focus ensuring our national transportation system includes low polluting, high speed transport of people and goods in the most efficient method possible.  Which in turn, will interconnect with light rail systems in various metropolitan and rural communities.

e) Mr. Scherer supports and wants enforced our federal immigration laws.  Mr. Scherer supports the efforts of the state of Arizona for taking the lead role in upholding and enforcing federal immigration laws under concurrent jurisdiction due to the failure of the federal government to control unlawful immigration.

f) Mr. Scherer opposes the earmark process.  Particularily pork legislation that has no federal nexus at all.  Mr. Scherer will not ask federal agency agencies for earmarks or pork legislation, unless clearly that earmark has a very clear constitutional basis and that there is a clear federal nexus.  In plain language, any earmarks by Scherer will only be due to an emergency situation.  So there will be no further earmarks to local municipalities, county goverments or to the state of Kansas.  There will be no exceptions.  Mr. Scherer believes earmarks are used mainly as payback and are used by politicans to get votes.  Mr. Scherer further believes earmarks are the gateway to corruption.

g) Ending congressional gridlock, gamesmanship and partisianship by introducing legislation based on what Mr. Scherer calls the "Sandbox Rules"-the rules most of us learned in kindergarten or grade school.  Be fair, pick up after yourself and take turns.  Therefore, the majority party gets to go first in introducing their most important piece of legislation without obstruction from the minority party.  Then, the minority party gets to do the same thing.  Merely repeat the process as often as necessary. 

Further, the United States Senators do not publish their earmark requests like the United States Congress does.  The United States Senate hates transparency related to their earmarks. This is fundamentally unfair to us, we the people of the United States. 

We, the people need to demand that United States Senators publish and explain the constitutional basis for their earmarks as well. 

Some basic reasons why Scherer has earned your vote:

Mr. Scherer is an experienced candidate for having campaigned continuously since 2004 to better represent the 3rd Congressional District of Kansas. Mr. Scherer has been a Kansas Young Democrat delegate (2002), a Kansas legislative intern (2003) and was the Kansas Democratic Disability Caucus Parlimentarian.

Current works in process related to the public interest include (2010):

1. Advocating for modifications to the state and county method of real estate tax appraisals using comparables forcing residents out of their homes. I support Prop K as proposed, subject to minor revisions as a better method of determining real estate property taxes in Kansas. Mr. Scherer expects an order on/before July 30th from the unconstitutional Kansas Court of Tax Appeals challenging the method of assessing real estate taxes in Kansas makes some school districts more equal than others.

For example, consider and contrast the Johnson and Douglas County schools to Wyandotte County schools.  All three counties are in the 3rd District. Yet, like in the book "1984", due to the local option budget, some schools in Kansas's 105 counties are more equal than others in relation to property tax assessments and the funding of public education.  The richer school districts have the best schools due to the local option budget, while the poorer school districts require higher taxes to maintain inferior public education. 

2. Advocating for changes to the methods employed by the Veteran's Administration to ensure veterans claim processes are improved; as well as seeing that veterans are entitled to a cost recovery for expenses incurred in claim processing. This issue will be argued before the Board of Veterans Appeals judges in Washington DC in either late 2010 or early 2011.
3. Advocate for our troops and National Guard members to return home from the war in Iraq and Afghanistan ASAP. I also support those troops who have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan to have federal statutory protection to ensure they have the right to return to their employment they held prior to being deployed.

4. Inquiring into the delays of the Internal Revenue Service has, for not timely processing 2009 federal home owner tax credits promptly.  Mr. Scherer currently has a new case just docketed with the U.S. Court of Tax Appeals. 

5. Consolidation and simplification of the federal taxes including the federal income tax system.  Mr. Scherer has joined a pact of other candidates for United States Congress that are advocating a new form of federal taxation that is greatly simplified.

Organizations I support or have had some affiliation with include:

Public Citizen, Center for Equal Opportunity, AARP, DAV, DRC, ADAPT, Federal, state and local government entities including FDA, VA, HHS, DOJ; Supreme Court of the United States and lower federal courts. The Kansas Supreme Court and its lower courts.

Honors and Memberships: CLEO Associate, Thurgood Marshall, sponsored by the American Bar Association (2002). Applied for and was accepted to attend Oxford University, Oxford, England while in undergraduate school (1986). Invited to attend Harvard University, J.F.K. Graduate School of Policy. (2006). Mr. Scherer has also has received awards in his employment including an award for innovation with a major Fortune 50 company. (1994).

Scherer is listed in Who’s Who in Science and Technology (1996), Politics (2006) and in Writing (2009).Kansas Authors Club 2006). Kansas Young Democrat Delegate (2002). Kansas Legislative Intern (2003). Founding Member, United We Stand (1994). Member, International Association of Credit Card Investigators, (1993) Vice President, Merriam Kansas Jaycees (1989). Certified Biomedical Technician (1985). AFL-CIO Union Member (1976-78).

Education:
Completed one year of law school, Washburn University (2003). Completed a Master of Arts Degree, Computer Resources and Information Management, Webster University, (1997). Completed a Bachelors of Science Degree, Park University (1986). Completed an Associate of Arts Degree, Highland Junior Community College (1979). Completed Maur Hill Prepatory High School, Atchison, Kansas (1971).

Work Experience: Civil rights activist, writer and statesman (1994-Present).
1996-1998, Fortune 50 Consultant specializing in database applications.
1989-1994, National Credit Fraud Investigator, Fortune 50 company
1987-1989, Federal Civil Service, Tax Examiner, Internal Revenue Service
1987 Federal Civil Service, Management Analyst, Environmental Protection Agency, Region VII
Prior to 1987-Positions in a wide range of industries that included business management, health care and electronics that combine to give me a broad and wide perspective in many industries.

Military Experience: Honorably Discharged and Decorated Viet Nam Era Veteran, U.S. Navy, Submarine qualified, (1972-76).

Having published our plank issues at http://www.schererforcongress.com/, it is equally important as your next better congressman, to lay out my core values on why you want to vote and elect me to United States Congress. Therefore, below are my congressional values that I have determined by listening to you, my employer that are important to you and are your minimum expectations from your better congressman.


1. Be moral and have strength of character. Be open and have no fear.

2. Be as positive as much as possible.

3. Do not be a complainer-have solutions and implement those solutions in cooperation with other congressman

4. Be respectful to all. And when facing bureaucracy, do not waiver. Be steadfast and tenacious in doing what I can as your elected congressman

5. Fight to ensure your individual rights are not infringed upon by the federal government

6. Stop the progression of the federal government into socialism

7. Be supportive of small business and domestic corporations as vital to our national economy; while concurrently ensuring some corporations like the drug, health and insurance companies do not gouge you related to health care

8. Be supportive of fair trade; not free trade

9. Be transparent as much as possible by using technology and other resources to communicate with you, my employer

10. Be transparent about what a congressman can and cannot do.

11. Reduce the size of the federal government as much as possible.

12. Be consistent and transparent so the voters clearly will know now how I will vote after being elected to the United States Congress

13. Do my best to let the voters understand that to arrive at a smaller federal government, we all accept some kind of personal responsibility to ensure there is that reduction in the federal government.

14. To ensure to the best of my ability the laws of this nation are upheld and enforced by federal agencies

15. For both myself and my staff to act as your interface when dealing with federal agencies

16. To have sufficient and a diverse staff (Constituent Services) that responds and communicates with you, based on my delegation to take care of your needs-to have the best Constituent Services using and maximizing technology to allow those in Kansas the ability to communicate and engage in a process called participatory democracy. 

Our congressional goal is to determine what the consensus of the people of the 3rd District are.  I do note that the founding fathers wisdom was that United States Congress was to be slow and deliberative.  The idea was to ensure waves of populism did not set public policy.  Both the short term and long term policy decisions have to do the very best to guard against unintended consequences after passing a piece of legislation. 

17. When making and casting votes, merely ask and apply an analytical framework applying these core values including asking myself, what would Jesus do, if he were a United States Congressman.

Posted by Thomas Scherer, Congressional Candidate at 12:10 PM