Rex Rammell
From Skinny Moose Data Center
Rex Rammell is currently running for the United States Congress, although on May 13, 2009 in the Caldwell Public Library at 7:00 p.m., Rammell announced his intentions to run for the Governor of the state of Idaho. Rammell was born January 2, 1961 in Tetonia, Idaho, a small rural town near Yellowstone National Park and the Teton Peaks Mountain Range. Home to the Rammell family since 1898, Teton County, was the ideal place for a boy to grow up and develop a love for the outdoors. Rex’s father and grandfather taught him the skill of hunting and fishing, a tradition the Rammells valued above all others. As a young boy and then to manhood Rex either had a fishing pole or a rifle in his hands.
Rodeo has also been a love of Rex’s since he was a boy. When they were old enough, Rex and his younger brother Gary, learned how to ride roping calves. During the summers through high school Rex and his brother had their own business cutting post and poles in the mountains. They worked all week and rode bulls on the weekends. They continued to ride bulls into their twenties and Rex even became an accomplished bull fighter. He is still a big fan of the sport today.
Following high school Rex served a two year mission for the LDS church in Tokyo, Japan. Upon his return he married his high school sweetheart, Lynda in 1983. The two made their plans around Rex becoming a Veterinarian and Lynda a teacher. They both received Bachelor degrees from the University of Idaho. From there it was on to Kansas State University where Rex received a Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine in 1989. He was honored as Cum Laude for his academic achievement. Following graduation Rex and Lynda bought a Veterinary Clinic in Idaho Falls, Idaho where Rex practiced until 1995.
In 1994, Rex decided to try his hand at elk ranching, a novel agricultural enterprise in Idaho. He enjoyed raising elk so much that he sold his veterinary practice and made ranching his full time occupation. In 1995, while Lynda and the kids watched after the elk during the week, Rex went to Utah State University and received a Masters degree. From 1994 to 2007 the Rammells owned and operated a successful elk ranching business.
Rex and Lynda have four children. Mandy their oldest represented Idaho in 2003 and 2007 as Miss Idaho Teen USA and Miss Idaho USA. Their son, Jake, is attending the University of Utah. Alexis is 19 and trying to figure out her life and Jessica is a junior in Rexburg. Lynda has been a 5th grade teacher and in 2004 was honored as 'Teacher of The Year.'
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Legal Matters
Rammell was fined $750,000 back in 2002 for violations pertaining to his non-compliance with regulations on elk farming. He refused to allow officials to monitor his trophy bull elk for disease and refused to properly tag them as well. There were also some fencing irregularities. Rammell was successful in lobbying the state to forgive him of his fines.
Rex Rammell is also well known for the September 2006 incident where he planned to file a lawsuit against the state of Idaho because he believed that Governor Jim Risch had no legitimate reason to sign an executive order to shoot and kill his escaped elk from his ranch. Officials from the Idaho Fish and Game Department were able to shoot and kill 8 elk, believed to have been 5 cows and 3 calves. Tissue samples were sent to a lab for testing for disease and genetic purity.
The initial report stated that as many as 160-200 elk escaped the Chief Joseph ranch back in mid-August. In actuality, there is no proof of how many elk escaped. One report had the numbers as low as 50 or 60.
Rammell had been capturing as many of his animals as possible. It is said that he had been successful in getting at least a dozen back. Rammell says his efforts to continue capturing had been hampered by the helicopters and aircraft being used by wildlife officials to locate the herd.
Ten Principles to Govern
Rammell believes in the following ten principles of governing:
America was established by God for a righteous people. If American turns away from God she will fail.
The Constitution was inspired by God. The original principles set forth within its body are true and when strictly adhered to will keep us free.
The proper role of government is to protect our rights to life, liberty, and property.
Rights can only be taken away or limited when they interfere with another’s rights. Privileges on the other hand are subject to the will of the majority.
The Federal government should do only those things which the states can not do for themselves. State government should do only those things which the counties can not do for themselves. County government should do only those things which the individuals can not do for themselves.
Never ask a larger group to do that which can be done by a smaller group. The smaller the unit and the closer it is to the people, the easier it is to guide, to correct, to keep it solvent, and to keep our freedom.
He who governs least, governs best.
Capitalism advocates the principles of competition and choice in a free market setting and if allowed to operate without government interference is a proven formula for prosperity.
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him to fish and you feed him for life.
The key to success of a free nation is a well informed electorate.
Economy
Rammell is a firm believer in the free market philosophy "Laissez Faire", which means "Let it be". He is confident that if the Federal government would confine its role to protecting our rights to life, liberty, and property as enumerated in Article 1, Section 8 of the United States Constitution, the free market would self regulate the boom and bust cycles of our economy.
Would there continue to be economic bubbles that burst? Of course; but they would not even be close to the scale we are currently facing. Market corrections are as necessary to capitalism as is freedom. The economy of the United States and the world is far too complicated for a group of financial planners to make proper decisions. What ends up happening in their attempts to correct one deficit is they create another much worse. The absolute worst thing they can do is attempt to prevent the inevitable and needed bursting of bubbles. This turns a minor recession into a major and painful correction.
The only way capitalism can excel is in a true free market setting with laws created to assure fair play. Until our legislators learn that over-regulation and excessive taxation kills economic growth, America and the world will continue to struggle.
I strongly opposed the "Bailouts". I believe the best thing would have been to allow the correction to occur, learn from our mistakes, and put the free market back in control of the economy. In order to put the free market back in control, I support the abolition of the Federal Reserve and a return to the Gold Standard.
Health Care
Medical expenses continue to sky rocket because the government is subsidizing (socializing) health care through government run programs. Why would costs go down when the health care industry is guaranteed government support through Medicaid, Medicare, and State Children’s Health Insurance Plans? It is an improper role for government to provide health insurance for the people of America. The proper ‘state’ role is assuring the people the system is fair. One needs look no further than Massachusetts to see what government mandated health insurance does to medical costs.
The answer lies largely in eliminating the tax deduction for employer-based insurance. This will move insurance to an individual-based system, where the free market (competition) and the pocket book (individual responsibility) will determine prices, not the government.
Immigration
There are between 12 and 20 million illegal immigrants in the United States today. Why should we expect them to keep our laws when their first act was to break them? First, we need to secure our border with Mexico. I support the building of the border fence and an increase in the border patrol.
Second, the law needs enforced on anyone who hires an illegal alien. A system must be in place wherein employers can easily check the legal status of all their potential employees. We must demand that no illegal be given a job. If that means getting tough with employers, so be it. If there are no jobs, many of the illegal aliens will return home. I also support law prohibiting all people who are not citizens or legal residents from all welfare programs. I would remove all federal mandatory requirements from hospitals to serve these people. For those who will not willingly return home, they must be deported.
I support a program wherein foreign workers could apply for a one-time, renewable three-year visa if matched with an employer(s). Each worker would be required to have a BIO Card to track his or her ID and whereabouts. For those who would like to use our health system, they can get insurance or pay out of their pockets like everyone else. Workers would be invited on a temporary basis only and with the exclusion of their families. There can be no free handouts any more, especially if you are not a United States citizen.
As far as Mexico or any other nation goes, I support all measures to help them establish an economically sound country to increase their peoples’ standard of living, with the exception of federal funds. Helping them create a free market system is the answer to their and our problems.
Education
Education is the province and responsibility of the parents, not the government! Federal government education mandates are not only unconstitutional (please find 'the education of the citizenry' as an enumerated power in the U.S. Constitution), but a patent violation of parental rights to determine what kind of education their children receive. All of the evil empires that have ever existed have dictated what their youth would learn and by whom.
I oppose "No Child Left Behind" and would sponsor a bill to have it repealed. Let the parents take responsibility for their children and let the teachers teach!
Taxes
Presidents Coolidge, Kennedy, Reagan, and Bush have proven that cutting taxes stimulates the economy and increases revenue. The Democrats are committed to repealing the Bush Tax Cuts of 2001 and 2003, which are due to expire in 2010. It is a high priority for me that the Bush Tax Cuts remain permanent and the death tax is permanently repealed. Furthermore, I believe the federal tax system is in desperate need of major reform. I support a flat tax, which would not only simplify tax preparations, but would lower taxes even further. I have signed the Americans for Tax Reform pledge to oppose all tax increases. Furthermore, it is my pledge not only to oppose all tax increases, but to vigilantly work to reduce them to the absolute minimum required for a limited federal government.
Spending
The Constitution was founded on the principle of a limited federal government empowered to do only those things which the States could not do for themselves. Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution lists those things. The Tenth Amendment reserves to the States all powers not specifically delegated to the Federal. I pledge that I will work to return federal spending only as allowed by the Constitution and to make America debt free. I support a “Balanced Budget Amendment” to the Constitution. The day is long overdue when our Representatives and Senators vote in compliance with the Constitution and stop spending us into bankruptcy. I also pledge to never support an earmark. If the spending is a legitimate expense it should have no problem going through the proper appropriations channel.
I support the Enumerated Powers Act. The Act would require each act of Congress to contain a concise and definite statement of constitutional authority relied upon for enactment.
Energy
America cannot rely on other nations for our energy, especially when the politics of world trade are so volatile. We must do everything we can to provide for our own energy needs. I support all forms of energy production including oil, natural gas, coal, nuclear, wind, solar, geothermal, and hydro. In particular, I believe we have overlooked the safety and efficacy of nuclear power and support the building of more nuclear power plants. I also support the principle that energy production is not a function of government. America will be energy independent, prices will be lower, quality and service will be greater, when it is turned over completely to private industry.
Global Warming
I do not support the theory that man is primarily responsible for global warming. There is too much science to the contrary. I believe carbon trading to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the air is an economy killer and frankly is possibly the greatest hoax ever played on the human race. Carbon dioxide is one of the most vital gases in our environment. It feeds plant growth. If the world continues to warm (the last ten years it has cooled) and the amount of carbon dioxide rises, we will see a greener more vibrant world. Agriculture land will produce more food for man and animals and energy demand for heating during the cold months will decrease. I see no down side to a slight increase in the temperature to the globe. The catastrophic consequences predicted by the doomsayers are evidence of their lack of faith in a Supreme Being who holds the creation and the future of the world in His hands.
Public Lands
I support multiple use of our public lands; recreation, grazing, logging, and mining. Our public lands are a vast supply of natural resources and can be used effectively to strengthen our economy, while still managing them in an environmentally friendly manner.
I oppose any efforts to create more Wilderness areas that prevent access to our public lands. This does not mean I support building major thoroughfares through the mountains or oppose any regulations of their use. On the contrary, I enjoy their pristine beauty as much as anyone and I pledge to support its continuation. However, I do not support the concept that our public lands are best set aside from human use. We need the natural resources for our economy and I believe a balance can be reached between multiple use and environment protection.
I support select cutting of old growth and high density timber stands, along with controlled burns to prevent wildfires. Thinning is good for the forest, good for the wildlife, and good for the economy. Our current "hands-off" burn policy is a waste of natural resources and is a policy I would work hard to repeal.
I believe wolves need to be eliminated. Their predation of our big game herds and depredation to our livestock is unsustainable. The damage to Yellowstone’s great herds by the wolves is indisputable. It is either the wolves or the native wildlife, it can not be both. I choose the native wildlife and pledge to fight against the continuation of wolves in the lower 48.