DISTRICT: MI - 01 Jack Bergman

Date: 6-13-16
Candidate: Jack Bergman
Event: Jays Sporting Goods Meet & Greet, Gaylord, MI
Time of day target began speaking: 7:00pm
Approx. Crowd Size: 30
Approx. Time Spent Talking: 00:01:00

Press Coverage: n/a

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvzHZLS1FBE
Subjects covered: Bio, 2nd Amendment, Congress (Comprehensive laws),
Planned Parenthood, Combat Veterans in Congress, Presidential Executive
Orders, Veterans Healthcare, Immigration, National Debt, United Nations,
Draft
Event Notes: This was the 2nd time in two days Bergman had seen me. So
no video was taken. He now believes Im a super supporter.
Speech Notes:
Planned Parenthood is broken like so many other elements of government. The
only way in an event like that the only way you get it rebuilt. If there was a future
and a way that Planned Parenthood should help in the future is to basically burn it
down in other words dont vote for it, defund it.
Number one, get the government, the federal government especially out of the
education business. First of all, the government should be out of, the government is
not a business entity anyway.
Would you agree that the majority in Congress whether it be Democrat or
Republican their goal is to
get re-elected?
So, if you agree to that, thats the reality youve already
identified the problem. Dealin
with the issues is going to be secondary. Ill tell you folks, you know. And I, whether
you ask me the
question or not Im going to give you an answer. Okay. Because the question comes
up how many terms
are you going to serve. Real simple. Youre going to tell me. You elect me. Youll
decide. Im not going to
come back here every week and tell you what Im going to do for you next week
and try to gather a lot

of money so I can run a re-election campaign. Thats not how I work. You elect me.

I am the non-career politician. Thats number one. Number two, while I dont have
a voting record like
the other two do I have a track record that you could read.

Internet, cell phones. But lets say internet. For a Veteran to be able to have the
ability, because I know
veterans, Ive met them, who have no internet at home. Theyre going to have to go
somewhere to fill
out a form or do something. We have to improve in significant measures in some
areas here the ability
of that veteran to interact, to make sure that theyre, they know where they are in
the queue, whats
going on.

I will consider any opinion until its time to not consider it. Just like as a Marine. Im
nice until its time
not to be nice.

Theres legal immigration and illegal immigration. Shame on us if we short change

the people who came here legally and are trying, you know, trying to go through the
process by letting others. How do you handle that? Cut off their freebies. Pure and
simple. Just cut off their freebies.
If we are a society that really does believe that everybody should have equal
obligations in its
citizenship why wouldnt everybody at the age of 18 register for the draft?

Full Transcript
Male:

Without further ado let me introduce Jack Bergman.

Jack:

Can everybody hear me? And if sometime during the presentation my

voice trails off and you all of a sudden cant hear me just say hey, cant
hear you anymore, okay. Good. Im not [00:28]. Is there anyone here

representing the press? When youre in uniform thats the first

question you ask.
Alright. Is there anyone here who doesnt want to beat Hilary Clinton?
Okay. So, far were 100% on both counts. If you dont want Hilary
Clinton to win we as a Republican party need to make sure that we put
the best people in the races down range of our Republican nominee to
make sure that when people go to the polls on November the 8 th that
its a Republican victory.
Period. That is beginning with the end in mind. So, why would I start a
conversation by asking that? Well, Im going to tell you why. I believe
that there is one person running in the Republican primary here in the
first district thats going to take place on August 2 nd who can beat Juan
Johnson.
And youre looking at him. Theres going to be a Democratic primary
but everybody thinks that Juan Johnsons not going to be the
Democratic nominee. Id like to hear you tell me why. Youre looking at
the guy whos going to beat Juan Johnson. Why would I say that?
Well, rational thought doesnt necessarily play in political outcomes.
Policy people who have done that across the spectrum of their careers
arent necessarily the kind of leaders that are going to get elected and
be able to execute the duties at the highest levels. Okay.
Were talking an office here in the first district for Washington DC not
Lansing. And sometimes in the discussions Ive had with different folks
and the problems weve identified its very easy to get confused as to
where decisions are actually made. The problem is a county problem or
a state problem or a federal problem.
So, the reality is prioritization. We have to make sure we understand
exactly what the issue is to put it at the right level. Im used to doing
that as a Marine. Now, quick bit of bio. Historically, the most important
bit of my bio thats out there a little bit but its. its on one of the
pieces of paper.
Im a grandfather of eight. Four grandsons, four granddaughters. And
Im in middle school for the third time in my life. Once as I did it, once
when my kids did it, and now the third time. We just had our oldest
grandsons one in California, one in Chicago just graduate and theyll be
freshmen in high school next year.
So, the idea. Are you about that age? Okay. So, congratulations. You
are our future. And when my grandkids. See how fast I can transfer the
responsibility? When we look at our and especially our grandchildren
because I look at a lot of the people in the room here. I know that you
have grandkids.

We were fortunate to have had our parents and grandparents who

went through some really tough times in this country in the Great
Depression and World War II that guided us. Think about why were
here today and why we care. Because we know. We got that passed
along to us through our family history, those events around the dinner
table, the family picnics, all of those things.
It was instilled in us the responsibility of citizenship, the responsibility
that we have to our communities, our churches, our neighbors. But it
started by being responsible ourselves. So, the idea that at this point in
life if I dont do everything I can possibly make do to make life as rich
as its been for us for our grandkids and your grandkids then shame on
me.
I havent given it all. And as a Marine for 40 years I was used to giving
it all. How many people here have served in the military? You know
that when you signed up and when you took the oath to support and
defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies
foreign and domestic that you were signing a blank check payable with
your life.
Thats a commitment. Hopefully we would never have to do that again.
But we know we had a reminder as recently as a couple of days ago
that the world is not a safe place, that within our own borders we have
very bad people intent on doing harm to us as much as they can.
Whether we like it or not it is a reality that we have to live and deal
with. Well, why is that important? Do you realize we have the lowest
number of veterans and not only veterans but combat veterans in
Congress since World War II? So, when it comes to considering the use
of military force whether it be abroad or actually deployment within our
own borders we dont have enough people in Washington DC to make
solid decisions about what that really means.
Very few have been boots on the ground. And very even fewer have
sent people into combat. The toughest, second toughest thing Ive ever
done is to go into combat myself. The toughest thing Ive ever done is
to send the sons and daughters and grandsons and granddaughters of
others.
That is tough. We need more people in Congress who know what that
really means. Tony mentioned about what is a conservative. You know
it when you see it. You know it when someone does it. You dont
necessarily know it when you hear the word. But I will give you one
example.
Anybody here not know how to balance a checkbook? Ask that, you
know, across the spectrum of people. I grew up in a family. We had all
the money we needed. We just didnt need very much. Anybody know

the secondary use of a burned out light bulb? When a light bulb burned
out in our house my mother took it and she put it in her sewing kit.
And depending on the size of the bulb she put it in her sewing kit so
when her only son came in with holes in his socks shed put that sock
over the light bulb and shed darn that sock because my, she wasnt
going to have one of her kids going out with a hole in their sock.
Okay. That gives you an idea of how I was raised. By the way, my dads
family came to the Upper Peninsula in the 1880s. They were miners
from Sweden. My dad left the Upper Peninsula in 1925 because getting
out of high school there was no work. His parents had passed away.
And he and a couple of his buddies went to Minneapolis to seek work.
He found my mom and you know how that goes. And I was born and
raised through high school a little town called Savage, Minnesota.
South of Minneapolis, a little farm town. I started coming back to the
UP 35 years ago, found property.
But again, being a little frugal. Were more than frugal were just flat
cheap. We are, you know. There was a time in the 1970s where we
prided ourselves on the federal budget. If we got, pick your number. If
we got 100 million dollars at the end of the year we tried to give back
a million or so just to show the American taxpayers that we werent
wasting their money.
But the point is when youre raised the way I was raised by a family
that, we had all the love and all the discipline and a roof over our
heads and the parental interaction and guidance, Im blessed. And as
my youngest daughter the school teacher, career school teacher, says
when I challenge her on why arent we teaching writing in the 5 th
grade.
And she came out to shoot at me and says Dad, I get 6.2 hours a day
with these students. She says Ive got the curriculum but first I have to
teach things like courtesies, respect, dignity, before the class can even
begin to coalesce and I can learn or they can learn. She says all the
things we got around the dinner table I have to teach in school.
So, when we look at the family, when we look at our educational
system. Did I say I was fiscally conservative? Ive got a plan. Ive got a
plan. Number one, get the government, the federal government
especially out of the education business. First of all, the government
should be out of, the government is not a business entity anyway.
But get the federal government out of the education business. Bring it
back to the states. Let people choose whether you want to
homeschool, whether its charter schools, you know, good public
schools, private, whatever it happens to be but when you do that you
send a message across the nation that you know what we decided to

take action to make sure that we get the government out of businesses
that they have no business being in.
And when you start to do that you then begin to control your expenses.
Theres plenty of money coming in on the revenue side of government
but our spending is just horrific. How do you do that? A good business
will do three things continually. It continually evaluates the things that
are doing today, the processes and all the plans and everything that
they should keep doing for the future.
Then they look at what are they not doing that they need to start doing
for their business. But the third pieces that really separates the really
successful businesses is that they look at what they need to stop doing
because it no longer is relevant to their business model.
Think about what we could gain in this country if we could get the
government to stop doing things that all it is, is a drain on the
resources. It provides no value to its customers, its consumers which is
us. Okay. So, when you think about that, thats kind of where my head
is when it comes to fiscal conserving.
Cant even say the word. Conservatism. Anybody here want to discuss
the 2nd Amendment? Theres no reason to discuss the 2 nd Amendment.
Its written perfectly as it stands. People who want to discuss it have no
idea what it means. Theres no reason to discuss it.
Male:

I agree. Can you clarify on what the word infringe means? Because the
2nd Amendment says shall not be infringed. To me that means there is
a corral out there [13:21].

Jack:

Its kind of like, take this seriously its kind of like back in the mid-90s
with the defining word is. Okay. Lawyers are paid to play over the
words. The bottom line is its, again I havent thought about the word
infringed. Lets talk about that afterwards because I try not to give off
the cuff answers.
But I would gauge. By the way theres one of three answers to every
question that you ask. Heres what I know, no bologna. I have no clue
but Ill find out for you. Kind of what this is. Id like to find out for you.
Or I know but I cant tell you. And why thats relevant is the fact I do
maintain a fairy high security clearance still.
And I may have knowledge of things that just you could ask me a
question here that this rooms not cleared for the answer and neither
are you so I couldnt give it to you. I hope you would respect that
because as we see whats going on right now one of our presidential
candidates who she shall remain unnamed doesnt really understand
what it means to have classified material on your computer.

Okay. Come on. Alright. I tell you what. The last thing is and we kind of
got into this with the 2nd Amendment. We have a framework by which
we can solve the vast majority if not all of our problems especially as
we begin to prioritize it, debate it, figure out where it falls in priority.
And thats called the Constitution. These people that want to rewrite
everything every time something comes up they obviously havent
done the thought, you know, the thought process on the front end to
see if they actually had a reference document that could help solve
their problems.
So, lets start using the Constitution. Lets start educating our kids in a
way that they could be successful citizens when they turn 18 and take
the next first step in life. And lets make sure that we just stop the
crazy spending. So, having said that if anybody doesnt know what Im
running for the 1st district, congressional district.
The primary is August the 2nd. My name, Jack Bergman is on the
Republican ballot. So, when you go August 2 nd. Anybody here going to
vote absentee? Because we do. Okay. Just be sure, pull that Republican
ballot and mark my name. Youll have two other choices but just
remember you got A, B, C. B is always the best answer in a multiple
choice.
B is going to get you that 80% answer. Okay. So, having said that lets
throw it open for some questions now. Let that drive the rest of the
time here. By the way, theres water over here if at any time you get
thirsty. Now, Im thirsty because Ive been talking. Im going to do this.
But please feel free to grab.
Male:

[16:35].

Jack:

I know that. He did it on camera.

Male:

Youre not on camera?

Male:

You mentioned quoting the Constitution. What are some? Weve seen
the current Congress not function according to the Constitution.

Jack:

Well, number one they dont. Congress is supposed to write

comprehensive laws, pass legislation. Theyre getting all involved in
policy. They write a basic framework of a law and then all the policy
makers that are, the policy makers within the bureaucracy, to a large
extent, justifying their own existence.
So, therefore, Congress needs to get back to writing comprehensive
laws that then set the bar for the regulatory, you know, whatever those
bureaucracies are underneath. That, I think that is probably the single
biggest thing that the Congress does from the, you know, the long
hand side.

The other thing is that they have the power of the purse. Use it. If
youre going to vote, if youre going to vote against something vote
against it and then defund it. One good example. So, dont talk out
both sides of your mouth. So, I guess those are the two right off the top
that I would suggest to you.
And someone says what laws are you, you know, what would be your
hot button. You know, Ive got a lot of hot buttons but the idea. Theres
some things we need to kind of repeal first. Some of the craziness. And
Im not going to get into specifics here because theres too many.
And everybody has their little pet ones that we go does that make
sense. And it doesnt but. How many here have actually tried to read
some of the laws that are written just at the state level? How is it? How
you doing in understanding it? I get lost. I used to be pretty good at
reading comprehension.
So, we need to be able to write laws that actually people can
understand and not tag or so with amendments and all little wording,
all little nuances because thats what its about. Simplify it. What else?
Sir.
Male:

You started your speech off by saying youre the best candidate to beat
Lon Johnson. How?

Jack:

How?

Male:

Can you repeat the question?

Jack:

Oh, he said I started my speech off by saying Im the best candidate to

beat Lon Johnson. Now, you. I guess Im going to debunk this one. I
know but Im not going to tell you because I have some other people in
the room here. Blake is representing Jason Allen.
And Im in the middle of a campaign race right now. Anybody here
representing Tom Casperson? Okay. But I do have a strategy.

Male:

Thank you sir.

Jack:

And I cant wait to get my hooks into him. I am brand new to this. I
have never run in a political race. Im a senior military officer. We were
not part of political parties. We were absolutely apolitical. We swore,
you know, to support and defend the Constitution. We didnt swear an
oath to a person or a party or anything.
But I dont come without strategy. If I didnt think that I could win this I
wouldnt be here. Stephanie?

Stephanie:

The Pro Life Movement has Stupaked many times about Republicans
claiming to be pro-life and Democrats claiming to be pro-life in his
case. And theres not really much difference anymore between the two
in my opinion. But claiming to be pro-life and then they get to

Washington and they continually vote for some bill that funds Planned
Parenthood.
If a bill, no matter if its for a unicorns, for three year olds or, you know.
Jack:

I might have to consider unicorns for seniors.

Female:

Im sure Bernie Sanders will give them unicorns, too. No matter what
that bill is for will you if there is a funding for Planned Parenthood or
any other abortion provider, will you vote for that bill?

Jack:

Yes. And Ill tell you why. Yes, I will. Will I?

Female:

Will you vote for that bill?

Jack:

Will I vote for the bill to fund or defund it?

Female:

Anything that funds it or a standalone bill that will defund it. So, I
guess.

Jack:

Now, you just asked me two. Yes and no.

Female:

Right now. I guess my question was.

Jack:

The point is heres. Let me give you a different answer to that

question.

Female:

Okay.

Jack:

Planned Parenthood is broken like so many other elements of

government. The only way in an event like that the only way you get it
rebuilt. If there was a future and a way that Planned Parenthood should
help in the future is to basically burn it down in other words dont vote
for it, defund it.
And if it comes back because it now has a mission that actually makes
sense, whatever that might be then you consider it at the time. But the
answer is I will not vote for it. If there is a vote to defund it I will vote
for the vote, vote for the bill to defund it. Okay. Because its broken.
You cannot, going back to the what I mentioned a little while ago about
government or any business stop doing things that are no longer
valuable to that, you know. Theyre not providing a positive you have
to stop doing it. When you stop doing it, its just eliminated.
And then if it re-rises again in a different form then its considered in a
different form. But you cant just say well, well just take it out little by
little because you never know whats going to be improved or whats
going to stay. So, you have to just start from zero. What else?

Female:

I [23:25] supported our last congressman. And I was really

disappointed in him. So, you know.

Jack:

Darn. How about bees with two syllables? How about bees with gray
hair? How about Marine bees?

Female:

One of the things he ran on was, you know, enough was enough until it
wasnt. And, you know, enough is enough, I am just, you know, tired of
being disappointed. And I think our anger is righteous anger thats
deserved. And the hardest thing is theres no [24:12]. But I guess the
question is, you know, talking about funding certain things. You get
promises like that all the time.

Jack:

Im going to answer your question with a question. Does anybody in

this room think Marines are different? And everybody, all we have.
What you have when you look at me is. Lets do a comparison. You look
at his career and what he did and you look at my career and what I did.
We are two very, very different animals, two very, very different
perspectives. He had the perspective of a surgeon who is largely in
control of his operating room and caring for patients. Well, I have the
perspective of being a Marine general, commanding in combat, being
in control of a billion-dollar budget, control of 100,000 people with 183
sides across the country, deploying troops all over the world.
That was my last 4 years, 2005 to 2009. Anybody here every fly with
Northwest Airlines? Okay. I could have been your pilot. So, I was used
to taking responsibility on almost a daily basis for the lives of people.
And when I wasnt doing that stuff I was and still am a business owner,
small business in the medical equipment arena.
So, I come to this moment with three unique perspectives that all
involve leadership, experience, and accountability. So, thats why Im
different from Dan Beneshik. He only had one perspective when he got
into this. I was born recently but not yesterday. Okay. So, I am a bit of a
different animal.
And if that appeals to you, then if youre happy with the status quo Im
not your guy. Okay. But if you think that we can do better and must do
better, because I believe we must do better then Im your guy. And you
know what. Im not going there to ascend to the next rung of my
political career ladder.
I already had careers. Im going there, going to the fight. Thats what
Marines do. And Im representing the voters of the first district. Okay.

Female:

So, you have more Marines that can go over there with you?

Jack:

In fact, do you have any friends in Florida or southeast Wisconsin. Ive

got a couple of Marine buddies running for Congress there. Okay. Yes,
there it is. The short answer is yes.

Female:

I think we need how many hundred thousand did you?

Jack:

I oversaw 100,000. I was responsible for 100,000 folks.

Female:

[27:30].

Jack:

Well, you know, every good operation and long term results starts
small and starts as a movement and starts with more and more people
who actually have similar philosophy of were here to get things done
for our constituents. Were not here for ourselves to sit. In fact, as
Marines when we went to the fight we were always talking about how
the hell do we get out of here.
We didnt want to stay. Whereas, you look at what happens in DC. Its,
people are sitting around talking about how can we stay here. Thats a
little backwards. Okay. Sir.

Male:

One of the biggest concerns is peoples large donors and acting and
voting in the favor of your donors. Are we going to see later down the
road once youre in office a whole string of lists of political companies
and equipment companies maybe large contributions to your
campaign or your office and you voting for those?
Are we going to have that concern?

Jack:

No.

Male:

I have a question for after youre in office. Where do you stand on

something thats been bothering me for several years but more so this
current primary [28:58]? Because to the best of my knowledge from
my high school history classes that our founding fathers drew up the
Constitution [29:19].
Or whatever for the office is elected to the office hes running for by
the popular vote by the American people but thats not the way it is. It
hasnt been for the last 20 years now. They got this college electoral
crap.

Jack:

Its been around for a while, been around a long time.

Male:

Now, thats not the popular vote. They handpick these people.

Jack:

Thats one of those things that.

Male:

Where would you stand on?

Jack:

Well, I tell you. When you. I dont have a stand on it yet only because
with all the other issues that we have facing us right now as a country.
If everything is a number one priority nothing is a number one priority.
We need to get some things done first. That could be a top 10 but its
not a top five for me.
Ill be perfectly honest with you. Okay. But it comes to debating and
deciding what it is the important things that we have to do in our

country. First of all, weve got to get good people in the office so they
can prioritize. Thats first. If we start with that well never get anything
done.
Ill be just flat honest with you. Well never get anything done. Not that
we wont long term but not on the front end.
Female:

I have an announcement. My question at the same time. This indicates

that this restroom has males and females in the same one.
Unfortunately, thats not a good direction because you go in the door
the womens got one side and the mens is on the other.
And theres a hallway there. So, theyre separate. My question to you is
when the President makes an executive order should it happen to be
Hillary what would you do to stop those executive orders?

Jack:

I dont know. I dont know because the President has the authority to
create executive orders. Yes. But I would suggest to you one of the
reasons the President is doing what hes doing is because Congress is
not keeping him busy enough so that telling the President heres what
we need done as Congress.
And if any president thinks they can run over the Congress, theres
going to be a whole bunch of executive orders. Okay. So, what would I
do to? Were you talking about specifically the bathroom issue or get
the president to stop with the executive orders?

Female:

Executive orders that are out of order with the Constitution.

Jack:

Yeah, they are. And that gets back to getting people in Congress who
are willing to sit down and really figure out. Im not an expert.

Female:

This Congress is Republican. It hasnt censured this President. It hasnt

done anything against him.

Jack:

Would you agree that the majority in Congress whether it be Democrat

or Republican their goal is to get re-elected?

Female:

Yeah.

Jack:

So, if you agree to that, thats the reality youve already identified the
problem. Dealing with the issues is going to be secondary. Ill tell you
folks, you know. And I, whether you ask me the question or not Im
going to give you an answer. Okay. Because the question comes up
how many terms are you going to serve.
Real simple. Youre going to tell me. You elect me. Youll decide. Im not
going to come back here every week and tell you what Im going to do
for you next week and try to gather a lot of money so I can run a reelection campaign. Thats not how I work. You elect me.

We wont agree on 100% of things but what you will know if Im your
representative in Congress is that Im giving you everything Ive got
and asking you for more. Not from the standpoint of money, more
engagement, more understanding. Thomas Jefferson expected that the
citizenry of this country would be informed, educated about issues.
If were. Think he must be like, you know, a turkey on a spit in his
grave doing revolutions about what he sees, whats going on now.
Because people think theyre informed because they watch their flat
screen. And I dont care which channel you have on youre two miles
wide and an eighth of an inch deep in a subject.
So, the way we begin to turn the ship is to get people who really dont
care, wrong word, whos number one priority is not to get re-elected.
Their number one priority is to represent the people.
Male:

Amen.

Jack:

And some. As a Marine or anybody else thats served in combat our

number one priority was mission accomplishment. And we knew what
could potentially happen if we didnt do it right. We werent worried
about things. We were focused on what was the priority. Yeah.

Female:

We were founded as a Republic. So, how does that impact how we

move forward [35:00] that Republic once again?

Jack:

What happened to the Great Republic in Rome? You know, it fell for
longer than it stood.

Female:

Yeah.

Jack:

We, all you have to do is read. Anybody here read the history of Will
Durant? He wrote a volume, the history of civilization that is
painstakingly detailed in all areas. But all you have to do is read a little
bit of history to see where we could potentially be unless somebody
steps up.
When the founding fathers wrote the documents they studied all the
worlds civilizations to date and decided to include or exclude what
worked and what didnt. Going back to that example earlier about start
doing the things youre not doing and stop doing the things that arent
working.
We need to start looking at where we are in relation to history and be
realistic about it. Historians say that one of the reasons George
Washington was as successful as he was during the time of the
Revolutionary War was he had the ability to see life as it was not how
he wanted it to be.

And because of that he could look at a situation and say hmm, not my
first choice but this is what we have to do to overcome this. Thats a
very trait. But again, historians looking back, so. Sir.
Male:

Whats your main difference to other Republicans that are going for
the?

Jack:

Well, whats the main difference between myself and the other
Republicans who are running. I am the non-career politician. Thats
number one. Number two, while I dont have a voting record like the
other two do I have a track record that you could read. I think Im the
only one without my own Wikipedia page.
Okay. I dont do. I didnt even know what a Wikipedia page was until
one day some young hey general, do you know youve got a Wikipedia
page. I went is that good or bad. Okay. Okay. But the other thing is I
truly have led large organizations and been in situations where you
had to come together with other groups, other cultures who all spoke
different languages in very stressful times to hammer out solutions
that was neither sides first choice but was absolutely the good way
forward for all concerned.
So, those are the differences. Im not going to get into the fact that,
you know, how attractive my wife says I am and all that. But anyway,
thats different, thats subjective. Yes sir.

Male:

I happen to believe that issues are basically not the problem. The
problem is the problem comes because there is not a solid foundation
on the issue. As far as stands on religion, do you have anything you
want to share on that line?

Jack:

Well, yeah. I was baptized and confirmed Lutheran. Went to a little

school in Minnesota called [39:02] College. Sweden Lutheran heritage.
Part of our curriculum there no matter what your degree was going to
be in you had to take three courses in religion. And the course that I
use today that Ive used every day since then is comparative religion
because I was fortunate enough to have a great instructor and who
also became a mentor.
Im a man of very deep faith. My relationship to Jesus Christ is my own.
It evolved over time. And I pray every day, morning and night and
usually times in between because I am thankful for what God has given
us. And I believe we are by Gods grace. Sir.

Male:

What special interests for groups do you see yourself aligning with?

Jack:

Im not.

Male:

Whats the question?

Jack:

What special interest or lobby groups do you see yourself aligning

with? None. Now, let me just say that I seek education all the time. If
someone wants to educate me on something that I dont know about.
Going back to that question you asked me and I had to say I have no
clue but Ill find out.
I may need to call someone up and say what about. But that, I dont
consider that alignment because I have a passion to be informed about
issues. I dont have to agree with you. I dont have to support you. And
Im not going to ask you for support. Just tell me what from your
perspective, tell me whats going on.
Okay. Somebody else raised their hand a second ago. Yes.

Female:

Could you speak a little bit to whats going on in the VA and what you
see other than the year long wait lists, medical rationing. What do we
do to start turning this around for those people that have served?

Jack:

Well, number one veterans earned every benefit. Again, they wrote
that blank check. They deserve quality, number one, of care.
Specifically talking about healthcare for a minute. The quality of care,
first, the accessibility of care, second, and the affordability of care,
third in that order because if you dont have quality it doesnt make
any difference what it costs.
If you cant get it, it doesnt make any difference. So, the Veterans
Choice Program is out. We have the cards that you can go. So many.
Ive experienced this, not in this context but in different areas where a
governmental program will roll out. In the military we call it fire and
forget.
You shoot. You fire, it locks in and you forget about it because you
know its going on target. Well, programs arent fire and forget. But
bureaucracies spend all this time and effort rolling out a program. And
then two years later someone says hows it working. I dont know.
Nobody told us how, you know, nobody told us to track it. So, quality,
accessibility, and affordability. The other piece here, now, I dont know.
Theres got to be other parts of the country that share this problem.
But if you think about the lack of infrastructure that we have in the first
district.
Internet, cell phones. But lets say internet. For a Veteran to be able to
have the ability, because I know veterans, Ive met them, who have no
internet at home. Theyre going to have to go somewhere to fill out a
form or do something. We have to improve in significant measures in
some areas here the ability of that veteran to interact, to make sure
that theyre, they know where they are in the queue, whats going on.

And the VA has the responsibility to be responsible. But the reality is

especially when you look at the younger veterans who grew up using
texting and using email their expectations, they dont want to a lot of
times dont want to talk to anybody on the phone on the front end.
They want to see the dialogue there. So, you have, where thats good
news now you have a record of accountability in that. But the VA is a
bureaucracy. Anybody here a Star Wars fan? Okay. Jabba the Hut,
remember Java the Hut? Jabba the Hut was modeled after. The creator
of Jabba the Hut was making a statement about bureaucracies.
All they do is just gobble up more and get mad at you for why you
would ask them to do something. And then they gobble up more. We
have a Jabba the Hut like scenario in bureaucracies at all levels. So,
until we take some of the hut out of Jabba or Jabba out of the hut I
dont know, you know.
The bottom line is our bureaucracies any time they dont serve us,
once they get too large they will function without ever serving their
customer. Thats just a fact in the study of organizational development.
Maam.
Female:

Lets see if I can get this right. Sometimes it doesnt come out the right
way. I feel weve been very much politically active over the years.
Bernie was commissioner of the county and, you know, we pay
attention. I think the American people. I am foreign and I think this
country is the best country on Earth.
And we need to protect it. And people have to get involved because in
the past elections a lot of people dont pay attention. They go to the
voting booth and they voted, well, Ill just vote with this one. But I think
they need to get involved. And they need to pay attention because
God help us we have to protect this country.
We are in deep trouble. I come from a foreign country. And I thank the
Almighty every day that Im here.

Jack:

You know, I couldnt. All I will say is you understand because you lived
it.

Female:

Yes.

Jack:

And God forbid that our children and grandchild should ever have the
perspective that you have because were trying to make them not
have to live it.

Female:

And dont ever let them take your arms away. Thats what.

Male:

Amen.

Female:

And the Germans, Hitler could just come through Belgium and take it
over because nobody had any arms to protect themselves. So, please
pray that our country comes through this because [46:17].

Jack:

Im going to tell you one little joke. How many Army people here? Okay.
When I was stationed in Stuggart, Germany in the late 90s I used to
get calls from various American ambassadors from around America
and north Africa and wherever. Theyd say we need some Marines.
What do you got going? Well, we just need, we need about 15 or 20
Marines. Okay. Great. We can give you 15 or 20. How soon do you need
them? We need them tomorrow. Okay. Good. Theyll be there and
theyll bring this, this, and this. And theyll bring their, you know, their
weapons.
They said oh, no, they cant bring guns. I said no, well then you want
the Army. The Army at the time, this is late 90s. The Army at the time
would send soldiers kind of like a UN peace keeping force to different
places in the world. We dont send Marines unarmed.
If you want a Marine they come with their weapon. And by the way, the
Army finally picked up on the fact that was a good thing. I have no
more Army jokes.

Female:

What is your stance on our ever burgeoing[47:37]?

Jack:

Well, thats why.

Female:

What are we getting out of that? Have you? [47:48]. Still giving foreign
aid.

Jack:

Stop, stop. Number one, youve got to stop printing money. Youve got
to cut the spending to the point where youre down to bare bones
again. Think about that secondary use for the light bulb again, folks.
Were at the point where we have to start, have that mentality.
So, you cant keep printing money. You cant keep giving money and
just give it. Is there a reason to provide money to other nations at
certain times? I would suggest to you if Alexander Hamilton put our
fiscal system together he talked about managing your debt for the
greater, you know, for the greater good of the country at the time but
then paying off the debt.
We havent. So, again, going back to the beginning. Im a Marine. Im
cheap, frugal. Now, you already found out I was an airline pilot. I told
you that, right? Do you know how copper wire was invented? Two
airline pilots fighting over a penny. I rest my case. Alright.

Female:

I have a question. People that arent here but they want to know what
are you going to say when Paul Ryan, you get there and Paul Ryan
gives you marching orders. Whats going to be your response to Paul?

Jack:

Well, probably say thank you.

Female:

And will you follow through on that?

Jack:

You asked me what I was going to say.

Female:

What will be your actions?

Jack:

Thank you, Ill consider that. Ill consider that. I will consider any
opinion until its time to not consider it. Just like as a Marine. Im nice
until its time not to be nice.

Male:

You have three stars, right?

Jack:

Yep.

Male:

Would it be fair to say over those three stars you had to come across
some compromises to? Because to think not everybody whos a
superior is on the same wavelength as you.

Jack:

I would call it negotiations, not compromises. I dont like the word

compromise because it means, to me compromise means you give up
something near and dear to you. Im not going to. Like trying to talk a
Marine out of bringing his weapon. Not compromise. Okay.
Im not going to compromise on the fact that we need to cut spending.
Im not going to compromise on the fact that we need to increase our
capability to educate our folks. Im not going to compromise on the
fact that we need a strong national defense that now, unfortunately is
focused inside our borders as well as outside our borders.
Okay. So, I will negotiate with you until were done. And then when
were done if were not done were going to negotiate some more.
Okay. But not compromise.

Female:

How do you feel about our involvement with the United Nations, the
UN?

Jack:

I think they should have a building in some other country if they resist
it at all.

Male:

Illegal immigrants.

Jack:

Theres legal immigration and illegal immigration. Shame on us if we

short change the people who came here legally and are trying, you
know, trying to go through the process by letting others. How do you
handle that? Cut off their freebies. Pure and simple. Just cut off their
freebies.
See who stays. Worker, you know, visitor working programs, you know,
we need them. We need people to come to this country for the harvest
season, go back to their country. It works. Because we cant man it
ourselves. I mean, it works for everybody involved.

But you control the numbers. You do that. Everybody knows whos
here. Employers are accountable for it.
Male:

Well, that leads to sanctuary cities [52:00].

Jack:

Well, what have we got here? Somebody said it the other day. We had
no sanctuary cities in Michigan. Detroit, Lansing, and Ann Arbor. Okay.
No, you cant have sanctuary cities because then youre, again, youre
just making exception. You cant say heres the rule. Oh, by the way,
heres the exceptions. No. Tony.

Tony:

Military speak. So, you have a bunch of troops work for you. Some of
them know what theyre doing and some of them dont. I guess, its not
like a question. Its more of a working relationship kind of question. But
can you save somebody that doesnt want to be saved?
And I say that in the context of are they going to stay a Marine. Are
they going to get out? Are they going to pass some tests that kind of
thing? Really the gist of it is, is our own responsibility to ourselves and
your responsibility to your troops. What takes precedence?
How do you manage the relationship?

Jack:

I think I know where youre going. Let me just say this. That the Marine
core, lets be fair to the services but Im guessing its pretty close. The
Marine core does not exist to serve the Marines. The Marines who
serve in the Marine core serve the core. Thats what moves the
organization forward.
100 men and women join the Marine core today at the end of their first
enlistment roughly 75 of them would say its been fun but Im going on
to civilian life. So, we build a career force on about 25%. Pretty close in
the Army. Maybe a little higher than that percentage stays in the Navy
and the Air Force and the Coast Guard because they have more
technical things.
Marine core and Army are, were straight leg infantry. And thats a skill
for very young sturdy folks. But the point is since were focused on
subordinating our self to our service the service is more important than
we are. Its greater than we are. We are focused on accomplishing the
mission that is assigned to us.
If someone is not making it we have to take them off the team. They
may not like it but standards are standards. So, the idea that someone
just because theyre in the Marine core gets to continue or gets to do
what could cause harm to the Marine on their left and right.
You have to make tough decisions. Tough decisions is, you know, youre
a good person but Im only taking 30 people. And youre number 31.
Because I was the commander and Im responsible for the
accomplishment of the mission and the welfare of the Marines. Sir.

Male:

How do you feel about the Con-Con? The Constitutional Convention?

Jack:

I havent given it that much thought. But I would suggest to you that if
this country is going to progress. We talked about before about
maintaining our, you know, we were founded as a Republic. How do we
go forward? I think once weve got people who are actually involved,
informed and engaged, why not.
By the way, dont let the media in on it because they will just, you
know, whatever. I think we have to consider whats best going forward
with the continued involvement of more and more citizens.

Female:

Two questions. One [56:16] and tomorrow theres.

Jack:

The Berlin Wall?

Female:

Yeah. And securing our borders, its keeping us a solemn nation as

opposed to anything goes. And two. Okay. I lost the second one. Ill
come back to that.

Jack:

Well, I think, you know, two elements of three animals provides the
common defense that secure the blessing of liberty when you talk
about securing the borders. Think about Michigan as a state. Weve got
land borders. Weve got water borders. We as a country have to secure
our borders.
Now whether or not, lets use the example here. Lets say we built a
wall. Whats the first thing? Now, a wall is a symbol and its also a real
thing. So, if youre the person that wanted to get across that wall what
are you going to do? Under, over, or see the third piece with Mexico is
around.
I dont know think, in fact I know this isnt classified. But lets talk
about those who import illegal substances into this country from south
and Central America. How do you think they get here? They go right
now. They go far enough out to sea that theyre outside this.
And they build their own little submarines. And by the way, theyre one
trip. They scuttle them when theyre done. So, the point is, is if you
think building a wall is going to secure the border its not. By the way,
those last 4 years that I was on active duty I wore another hat,
which is why I had an office and staff in Colorado Springs.
I represented all the Marine equities in Northern command. So, I spent
a lot of time in Mexico dealing with issues, collaborating with the
Mexican Marine Core and the Navy. And the point is there are some
very sophisticated elements of those who oppose us that are in play.
And theyre being dealt with every day.
Did you think of the second one? If I talk long enough youll think.

Female:

I think tomorrows the vote on woman for the draft [58:49].

Jack:

Well, you know, I guess my thought is. And by the way, Im the father
of daughters. Okay. My wife is the mother of sons. And betwixt the both
we licked the platter clean. It was that Jack Sprat, whatever. If we are a
society that really does believe that everybody should have equal
obligations in its citizenship why wouldnt everybody at the age of 18
register for the draft?
I think thats time for a national debate. I dont think Congress should
decide it. I think they should get input. And if people want to throw it
into a forum and talk about it thats what this countrys about. Lets lay
it out there to see what makes sense going forward.

Female:

Well, it seems that were in Israel or something.

Jack:

Well, how do we instill a sense of purpose in our young people that

theyve got a vested interest? Lucy Anne and her husband just left. She
was born in Belgium. How do we instill in our young folks that sense of
personal responsibility that they have as citizens? So, I think its time
to talk about it.

Male:

Regarding the draft.

Jack:

By the way, are you their daughter? Oh, are you their son? No. Are you
with each other?

Male:

Dont tell him. Hes the general. He might draft you right now.

Male:

What would your opinion be of someone be who objected to the draft

because they saw the United States military evolving into mercenaries
for [01:00:50]?

Jack:

I would suggest to you we have a process already. Its been

conscientious objective standards, right. Its still in process, right. You
want to file as a conscientious objector thats your right. Thats one of
the duties of the country that we live in.

Male:

It just seems to be the direction were going in. And if we dont have
some big changes.

Jack:

I do have a short answer for you.

Male:

Yes.

Jack:

You need to have more veterans in Congress because without veterans

in Congress to make those decisions going forward about the use of
the military. And by the way its not all volunteer force. Its an all
recruited force. So, think about it. And the point is if we want to revisit
the fact that we have need for the draft and we have compulsory
service.
Not necessarily the military service but service for the age of 18 to 20.
Be it the forest service. It could be the public health service. It could be

whatever it is. But you have an obligation. I think its probably time the
country takes a look again. Because how do we grow our 18 year olds
into the 40 years old who are now family people, business owners,
teachers, pick your career?
And how do we teach them, take them then when theyre in their mid50s so that now theyre the mentors, the community leaders, in their
senior years, you know, that they still have this passion for the country
in which they live? Nothing is free. Nothing is free. And if it is free I
guarantee its not worth anything. And its not enduring. I had a
chance last Saturday to be at a Plaque. And by the way, Im, unless
theres any more burning questions Im going to close it off here. But I
had a chance last Saturday in Manistee to attend a plaque dedication
ceremony for Corporal Dwayne Dewey, Marine Corporal Korean War
who dove on a grenade to save a core man and another Marine.
The grenade went off and he survived. Everybody else survived. He
was awarded the medal of honor for his heroic actions. When he was
presented the medal of honor by President Eisenhower in 1953
timeframe President Eisenhower said you are the man of steel.
And by the way, Corporal Deweys still spry. He doesnt walk as fast as
he used to but the point is at the age of 18, 19 he stepped up. He went
and did what was necessary to do. But after that he lived a life of
example in his community not by running around telling people what
he did, by actually being a business owner, being a school teacher,
being a father, and being an example of humanity that people can
aspire to.
Thats what we need more of. Kids do not know who they are until they
someone that they can look up to and emulate. And if you look at
some of the examples we got theyre not very good. So, thank you all
for being here tonight. August 2nd, August 2nd. Okay. Pardon me. Are
you going to get a phone call?
We could. I dont know if thats legal or not. But the point is thank you.
Thank you for being here. Thank you for any and all support between
now and then. Anybody want to take some yard signs? Blake youre in
charge of the yard signs here in Gaylord since youre from here.
Just make sure theyre still there. Dont have to put them out. You just
have to make sure they stay where they are. Okay. Blakes a Marine.
He knows what Im talking about. There is equal. But anyway thank
you. Im not leaving right away. But because youre here you care.
Im here because I care deeply. And I have a plan to represent you in
Washington DC.