Opinion | Baisley: I will aim to reduce the footprint of government in our lives, if elected

In 1980, I took a job assignment to the Republic of South Africa. This adventure in my 20s followed my previous overseas setting as a teenager attending a scholarly boarding school in Puerto Rico. Living overseas gave me my appreciation for the exceptional character of the United States. In a life-changing conversation for me, one of my teachers directed me to read the Declaration of Independence to appreciate America’s founding principles.

I am by profession an IT systems engineer working primarily in the aerospace industry. I worked for NASA and large defense contractors. In partnership with fellow engineers, I created two advanced technology companies. I thrive on finding effective solutions to complex challenges. 

This carries over to my legislative responsibilities, where I currently serve in the Colorado State Senate after serving 4 years in the House of Representatives. I am known for working effectively “across the aisle” while adhering to my oath of office to always support the constitutions of Colorado and the United States. 

On a personal level, my high school girlfriend and I married 48 years ago. We have four adult children and seven grandchildren.

My goal in asking the voters of Colorado to send me to Washington, D.C. is to effectively respond to Benjamin Franklin’s challenge to Americans 239 years ago. As he emerged from the Constitutional Convention in 1787, prominent socialite Elizabeth Willing Powel asked, “What have we got, a republic or a monarchy?” Franklin famously responded, “A republic, if you can keep it.”

The essence of that republic was outlined by Thomas Jefferson in his inaugural address: “…What more is necessary to make us a happy and a prosperous people? … a wise and frugal government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government…”

Let’s take that “sum of good government” in reverse order:  

To “not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned” means to keep taxes to a minimum by keeping government involvement to a minimum. This is how we achieve affordability. Every program, law and regulation increases the price of products, food, housing, fuel and services. Today’s lack of affordability is primarily the burden of government at all levels: city, state and federal. Socialism would make affordability challenges far worse, as it always has. It will be my primary goal in the U.S. Senate to find every opportunity to reduce government spending.

To “leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement” addresses the mountain of laws and regulations that dictate the cars we drive, energy we use, lightbulbs we buy and the capacity of our toilets. The National Association of Home Builders reported that regulations add $131,734 to the cost of a new single-family home. We simply must return the responsibility of regulation to Congress and away from unelected bureaucrats.

“Restraining men from injuring one another” means not only sustaining a healthy sense of order through respectful law enforcement but also defending ourselves and our allies from the primitive cruelty of tyranny. I am extremely proud of our military, finally standing up to international bullies rather than simply accepting an annual count of casualties from narcissistic dictators and radical hatred.

In the Colorado state senate, my emphasis has been to maintain parental sovereignty, increase work opportunities and find solutions to the property tax crisis. I intend to carry this mission forward at the federal level, endeavoring always to “keep the republic!”

We are America. We are Colorado. Let’s move beyond managing the people’s behavior and focus instead on “a wise and frugal government,” facilitating new jobs through infrastructure like increasing the capacity of Interstate 70, increasing water storage across the state and addressing the affordability challenge with the only long-term solution — reducing the footprint of government in our lives.

State Sen. Mark Baisley, R-Roxborough Park, is a candidate running for U.S. Senate in the Nov. 3 midterm election.