BREAKING: I Endorse J.D. Winteregg over John Boehner in #OH8

I had a chance to speak with John Boehner's primary challengers in OH-8 and came away very impressed with J.D. Winteregg. The man gets it. He gets the dire circumstances that the country is facing and he understands that John Boehner has been a singularly ineffective Speaker of the House. He needs to be unseated.

DRJ: J.D., tell us a little about yourself and your rationale for running against John Boehner.

JD: I'm a teacher part-time and an adjunct professor and am also working on my PhD at Ohio State. I've also lived abroad and gotten a sense of where socialism leads. At the time, it struck me that Marxism could never really take root here. I came back to the U.S. and worked for Sprint in the private sector down south until my Mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. So I came back to Ohio and started working in academia.

My time in the PhD program was enlightening: I was exposed to real progressivism, what they say behind the scenes. I've seen that the progressives are trying to destroy capitalism. The are doing so by undermining Christianity, the family, our economic system, etc.

During the 2012 campaign, I saw the GOP fail to react to the dire threats of progressivism. It was extremely disheartening. I was seeing that the Republicans had no concept of what they were up against. I felt the GOP had to change. We need real conservatives. And seeing Boehner operate as an enabler, I felt as though I had to run against him. We need fresh ideas, youth, articulate conservatism.

DRJ: When you say you view progressivism as a dire threat, help me understand the nature of what we face.

JD: It's the narrative. The left has a narrative and the Republicans, led by John Boehner, do not.

Think about this: Obama recently said that his greatest regret was that he didn't tell the story he wanted, that is how important the narrative is to the left. It is also that important to us. Taking Boehner out would send a message recognizing our disdain with Congress.

Bad policies will continue until the people enabling the policies change. Should the Speaker lose, we should use that spotlight to push a cultural change. We need populist support as a newcomer.

DRJ: What about your primary opponents other than Boehner? How do you distinguish yourself and do you worry about splitting the vote between you and other challengers?

JD: I assumed Boehner would throw people in to flood the vote, so I've been reaching out to new primary voters. I am trying to provide them with some hope. And I think they're going to vote "angrily". You can't accept the premises out there, which is why I've been reaching out to folks who aren't politically active. I just think I'm a better candidate than the others. You need to understand the progressive left and these are insights that I have from academia. I've been vetted; I don't think the others have been thoroughly vetted.

I go door-to-door. I've visited more than 20,000 houses. People want someone who is real. They want predictability, reliability and a principled person. I believe I'm a stark contrast to John Boehner and the others.

DRJ: Tell me about your take on the Debt Ceiling and our national fiscal situation.

JD: Back in 2010, Boehner said not one dime would go to fund Obamacare. He promptly rolled over. He's done that over and over again. He's presided over a $3 trillion increase in our debt. If I'd inherited the Speaker's gavel, I would've stood firm on principles.

He didn't even get spending cuts! And their language about cutting is really about cutting the increase in spending. Cutting spending addresses all of these issues. It's sickening what my generation is facing.

They talk about a war on women, well, Obama is waging a war on millenials.

We're fighting, we're working, we're paying... "war on women"? No, this is a war on millenials.

DRJ: What about Ted Cruz and the filibuster?

JD: Ted Cruz is brilliant. He understood the narrative. Think about what he did: he prevented a shift of the Beltway elites to immigration!

DRJ: Speaking of immigration...

JD: Once again, the Republican elites don't understand the narrative. They're following what the left dictates. Eight percent of Americans want to talk about immigration: why are we discussing this when the economy is so awful? The border needs to be secure.

And unless the border is secure, we won't talk about it. It's non-negotiable. Secure the border, period.

DRJ: What about national Defense?

JD: I have a lot of friends in the armed forces and, frankly, they tell me stories of massive waste. We need to be strong, but we have to cut waste. We need to have a strong international message and draw a firm line with predictable reactions. The Middle East is volatile because our message is so mixed. People are confused about what we're doing abroad.

Let's protect our borders and make sure we're only getting involved when it makes sense. We need to be clear on our rules of engagement and our reactions.

DRJ: With the "polar vortex", there's been a lot of discussion of climate change? What's your opinion and what about all of the regulations coming down from DC?

JD: I saw we work to control the narrative. Climate change is something progressives pushed to enact regulations as opposed to laws. This is the progressive's way to erode the capitalistic system.

The science is very questionable, in fact, it's a farce. It's agenda-driven 'science'.

They want control over the capitalistic system to push the "social justice" system... giving power to the UN, which makes no sense since countries like China aren't held to the same standard.

DRJ: What about taxes and our tax Structure? What would you change?

JD: We need to cut the corporate tax. I'm strongly in favor of the Fair Tax and would advocate repealing the 16th Amendment.

Compared to the Flat Tax, the Fair Tax I believe is superior. We could do away with the IRS. People get to keep their money; and if they're unhappy with the government they can restrict their spending.

It gives people more choice and improves free market operation. With a flat tax, we would still have the IRS. The government doesn't need to know how much people are earning. The Fair Tax ends all of this madness.

DRJ: Any final thoughts?

JD: I've been working on beating Boehner for 18 months, some of my competitors just materialized out of the woodwork over the last few months.

We need people to stand up to the establishment. We need more folks like Ted Cruz. We need young, principled voices. Justin Amash is a year older than me.

I'm ready.


Note: I strongly endorse J.D. Winteregg for Congress in Ohio District 8. It's time for John Boehner to go. Click here to support J.D. and please consider helping with your time or money.