9/12 Candidate: RJ Harris | U.S. Congress 4th District – OK
Posted by Jacob Roecker on April 19, 2009 under 9/12 Candidates | 
13 Comments to Read
912Candidates.org is pleased to announce our first 9/12 Candidate: RJ Harris.
Mr Harris is running in the fourth congressional district in the state of Oklahoma for the Republican nomination against incumbent Tom Cole. Mr. Harris identifies himself as the husband to his wife of 18 years, and the father of five children. He is currently in the Oklahoma National Guard, and has served two deployments to Iraq.
His political activity stems from his love of the constitution. His interest in the constitution began as a young sergeant in the Army when he decided to read the very document he had sworn his life to defend. Now as a candidate, he describes the mission of his campaign:
The primary mission of this campaign is to elect a Constitutional Conservative to represent the people of the 4th Oklahoma Congressional District. Execution of this mission includes an educational effort to make Oklahomans aware of the liberties that are being robbed from them by a central government, which has been operating outside the strictures of the Constitution for far too long. The Republican Party promised to fight to reduce, restrict, and restrain the size and scope of government and I am running to make good on that promise for the people of the Fourth District. Nearly as important, I intend to carry a message to Washington, from the people of Oklahoma, which puts the US Congress on notice that the days of their infringement into our States Rights and Sovereignty are coming to an end.
When asked why he wanted to become a 9/12 candidate he said “Unless we do something to preserve this Republic, we may not have a Republic left to pass on to our children.”
Mr. Harris we salute you for your service to our nation and wish you luck with your campaign.
Mr. Harris’ links:
Homepage || Bio || Video || Facebook || MySpace || Meetup
SandySalt said,
Is Mr. Harris willing to limit his terms in office to three? Or is this just a way to buy votes? I know a lot of people that are willing to say they believe in the principles, but what about the demands for border security, term limits, fiscal responsibility, etc. Sign on the 9 and 12 is great and I congratulate you, but you need to also flesh out how you stand on these other issues as well.
KristenHawley said,
Very Good Question Sandy…I would love to know the same thing.
Jacob did he agree to this?
jacobroecker said,
Sandy and Kristen:
Sorry I haven't replied before now, I was at services with my family. Let's see if I can give reasonable responses to your inquiries.
Mr. Harris is his own candidate, and some specific questions should be addressed to him. From my conversations with him he appears responsive and opened to ideas. I can't make this site the spokesman for his candidacy. I hope you'll understand.
What I can tell you is that the things we've voted on using the 912project.com site are all GOOD things. There's nothing wrong with them and they are a good representation of the issues we currently see at hand. This site's goal is to identify candidates willing to take the political risk and commit to a higher standard of character than we've seen in years.
Principle #9 reminds the government officials of who they work for. In this case that principle can be applied to the issues of Term Limits as well as boarder security. The value of "Thrift" applies for fiscal responsibility.
I appreciate your questions. I'm concerned though, that you might think this site's goals are not entirely complimentary with the overall goals of the 9/12 project. I think they are. Mr Harris needs to discuss more of his platform. The 9/12ers need to do more refining on their issues (have you noticed how they keep developing and evolving each week?). Up until the day we vote we should be talking about these things.
I don't see any of this as counter productive. The job of this site is to issue and publish a contract that if followed will provide for better representation and prosperity for our nation. I hope you'll help me find 9/12 candidates, and when we find them I hope they'll realize that we have list of priorities.
Representation requires quality of character and direction. Here, I'm concerned about the character. I hope you don't mind.
-Jacob Roecker
KristenHawley said,
Thank You Jacob for the response. I subscribed to your blog awhile ago. I really like the idea that you have here and was not trying to offend you with my question. I am from Michigan so this Candidate does not really concern me as much as others. I was just wondering how he felt about term limits and if he was willing to limit it to three? I was questioning your motives at all. Sorry if it seemed that way!
jacobroecker said,
Kristen:
No offence taken. I hope you're kicking butt getting folks involved up north!
I write a lot to try and cover my bases. I guess I covered a few that didn't need to be. Well, then.
Got any suggestions for Minnesota reps for us to send letters/postcards to this week? Know anyone running against the folks currently in office? Let me know.
KristenHawley said,
WELL….Michigan is getting a new Governor FINALLY!!!
But I am not sure on all the candidates that are running against her yet!
I will keep you informed… I am on Smart Girl Politics and we are also looking for conservative candidates.. So I will be sure to send them your letter/postcard…
jacobroecker said,
Kristen:
I just saw the Smart Girl Blog! Good stuff!
I've asked a couple of blogs to reprint my speech from the tea party I went to. If you're inclined, take a look, and let me know what you think.
http://912candidates.org/2009/04/15/the-american-...
RJHarris said,
For in-depth answers to your questions, please visit my issues page at http://www.rjharris2010.com
As for the question on term limits. I will ardently support a Constitutional Amendment requiring term limits, but I will not voluntarily impose them on myself without the passage of the amendment because voluntary compliance to term limits without the amendment only accomplishes the loss of those representatives who are as good as their word. Meanwhile, the representatives who are otherwise hold on to their power unchecked. The end result is a Congress bereft of honor or integrity. If We the People do what we must and replace all bailout voters with candidates committed to a term limit amendment, we will finally be able to get it passed.
SandySalt said,
Jacob,
I appreciate the form here and what you are trying to do. I was glad to get a direct response from the candidate and I can appreciate his position even if I don't agree with it. I do believe that voluntarily stepping down is not a bad thing and after six years isn't too much to ask. I do appreciate his willingness to be up front about his position on the matter unlike many others. I hope that the 912 site refines its desires (Top Ten) and we can put each candidate to the test. I am all for ex-military stepping up and taking a role in government because they understand duty and honor like no one else.
Sandy
jacobroecker said,
Isn't he just refreshing! I mean each time I talk to him he's gives me another reason to hope for the future.
We've got to find more like him!
SandySalt said,
Thank you for your response. I appreciate it and your position. I am not in agreement with it, but do understand it. I think by voluntarily setting a term limit, you would show that you are not just another politician saying whatever it takes to get elected/re-elected. It also shows that you have the intention of living with the laws you pass, returning back into the real world, and accepting the consequences of your actions. If you so desired to continue to serve, there is always the Senate for another 12 years. 18 years is a long time to serve and you should be able to accomplish a whole lot in that time. Term Limits just allows for regular turnover of personnel to prevent the level of corruption that we are now experiencing in Congress. Congress is already bereft of honor and integrity, so limiting yourself to 18 years will show the people you are a man of your word and have no intention of building your own kingdom in Washington like so many others have already done.
Nancy said,
Mr. Harris I understand your position on choosing to stay longer rather than open the door for those that are self serving. I also agree w/ SandySalt that politicians would make different choices if they had to make a living in the world they created – w/o the lifelong pension, etc. Goerge Washington wouldn't accept that. In the private sector upper mgmt. mentors someone to fill their job when they move on. That is what my husband's CEO and Director have been doing with him as they encourage him to find quality people to bring along under him. I think that would be an honorable thing for our polician to implement. Perhaps studying how the Founding Fathers did this and bring that back would be a benefit. My understanding is that they "served" their country for a period and return to their "productive" life, which gave others the opportunity to serve as well. Most politicians now are examples of "high class welfare" and that is an insult to our Founding Fathers.
I appreciate your willingness to be a 912Candidate and I hope many more follow your example.
bzd said,
The entire liberty crowd (ron paul, rand paul, adam kokesh) seem to be for border patrol, enforcement of current laws which are NOT being enforced in any way etc. I Haven''t heard RJ say this but I highly doubt he would have gotten Ron Paul's endorsement if he were for leaving the borders wide open as the past 2 regimes have been. As for term limits, while they seem the way to go, why would you want one of the TRULY good guys out of office asap so that a rockefeller funded shill representative could just take over again after a few terms?
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