Paul King for 50TH Congress
PRESS RELEASE 12 April, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Congratulations to my successful opponents -- Francine Busby, Brian Bilbray and Bill Griffith. I will face them all on June 06, 2006 in the runoff election for the 50th Congressional District seat.

For the Democrats and Republicans, the outcome in this special run-off election will have national implications. Leaders of both parties feel the outcome could set the tone for the regular elections in November.

This is a strongly Republican district. Considering that Francine Busby is such a polarizing liberal figure, Republican leadership will organize around Brian Bilbray to win in June. The problem is that a Bilbray victory will ensure that a RINO (Republican in Name Only) will hold the office for at least the next 20 years.

Brian Bilbray is NOT fiscal conservative – far from it. The National Taxpayers Union scores his previous six years in Congress as about a C+ – an awful score for a Republican. Bilbray’s history as a Congressman clearly shows that he will vote to continue the unabated expansion of federal spending, and further intrusion in our lives.

I offer voters who believe in controlling runaway federal spending and limiting the role of the federal government the best option in this June runoff election.

Even if the district were to fall temporarily into the hands of Democrat Busby, a more limited government Republican candidate would surely take the district back in, at most, two years. Normally a conservative Republican would win this district in a cakewalk, but this is a different situation. Indeed, this is when it’s best for Republican voters that the Republican NOT win the June runoff.

Look at the voter registration numbers in this district. Republicans outnumber Democrats by a 3 to 2 margin. Brian Bilbray garnered only 14 % of the vote, while GOP candidates Eric Roach, Howard Kaloogian, Bill Morrow and Alan Uke split over 35% of the limited government vote -- essentially giving the nomination to Bilbray.

Given the overwhelming advantage of incumbency for a Republican candidate in a Republican-gerrymandered district, it will be in the interest of limited government voters to look at this race’s outcome in longer terms.

As Henry David Thoreau wrote, “In the long run, you will more likely hit a target if you aim at it.”