The Sentinel Tribune
By JAN LARSON
Sentinel County Editor
February 29, 2008
After leading troops under fire in Iraq, Scott Radcliffe isn’t intimidated by facing a filibuster in Congress. The battle-tested Republican, though just 28 years old, believes he is ready to serve as congressman for the 5th District.
“I was tested and forged” at West Point, he said. “I was privileged to lead men into combat.”
That is where he differs from the incumbent Republican, Radcliffe said. And that is why the Perrysburg resident is sure he can bring about change in Congress.
“I’ve done it while being shot at. I can certainly do it on the floor of debate in Washington,” he said. “I’m a new conservative face.”
Radcliffe’s desire for public service was fine-tuned when he was sent to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. During a month there, he worked to improve the conditions in a hard-hit parish.
His goal to serve was further tested when he was deployed to Baghdad as a scout platoon leader. “I was told to make their lives better,” he said of the district he was assigned to with both Sunni and Shiite populations. “I made it my mission to improve their lives and reach out to every one of them.”
His platoon helped dig trenches for sewers and infrastructure for schools.
Later Radcliffe was re-assigned as a speech writer for Lt. General Ray Odierno, commander of the multi-national corps in Iraq. “I know what it takes to make significant leadership decisions on a national basis.”
Radcliffe agrees with his opposition that the failing economy is the top issue for Congress.
“It needs to be addressed in a conservative manner,” he said.
Though he supports the economic stimulus package, he is skeptical about how much each check will actually help a family and the nation as a whole.
“That’s not going to sustain them in the long term,” Radcliffe said. “It is not a fix-all.”
The candidate would like to see this region build on the alternative energy projects already in place. “We could be at the epicenter of that,” he said.
Radcliffe said the nation should be encouraging innovation, noting the correlation between the number of patents awarded to an area’s economic well-being. “It’s not all about big business.”
Like his opponent, Radcliffe would like to see President Bush’s tax cuts become permanent. And he believes Congress needs to tighten its reins on spending.
“Pork barrel spending is something that has to be addressed,” he said. “Our taxpayers should not have to pay those burdens.”
The candidate worries that the “No Child Left Behind” initiative is not allowing enough innovation in schools, and extends the reach of the federal government too far. “They are forced to teach to the test,” he said of the standardized tests now required.
Radcliffe said the government can play a role in making health care affordable by enacting tort reform and encouraging competition among health insurance providers. Those efforts should drive down prices and improve quality care, he said.
“We need to make sure the government stays out of the doctor-patient relationship.”
Though he is troubled by the rising gas prices, the candidate is uncomfortable with government subsidies for alternative fuels.
“We need to make sure we let the market play out,” he said. “The free market works.” And eventually, competition will create alternatives to big oil companies. “There will come a day when they are not kings.”
On the topic of immigration reform, the candidate sees a grave national security need. “We need to focus on securing our borders first, period.”
Like his opponent, Radcliffe is opposed to a premature withdrawal of troops from Iraq.
“We have a stake in getting that right,” he said.
The troop surge is working, he added, with American troops now being able to gradually back down from secure areas, and Iraqi troops taking over.
“We are making a difference over there,” he said. “They have seen what it is like to buy into their government.”
Radcliffe also sees a need to keep troops in Afghanistan, which he called the epicenter of extremists.
“Afghanistan is another region we cannot allow to fall back into the hands of extremists. We have fought too hard, lost too many lives to let them fall back into the hands of our mortal enemy.”
