Following the recent announcement from Democratic Congressman Marion Berry (AR-1) that he would not be seeking re-election in 2010, the Facebook world was aflutter with groups and posts encouraging conservative, Princella Smith to run for Congress in her hometown district; “Run Princella Run!” echoed on Facebook and through the Twittersphere.
Since American Maggie is interested in soliciting and providing a platform for fresh women voices within the Republican Party, I attended a reception hosted by the DC Young Republicans to hear a bit more about Smith’s candidacy. The event was a mix of DC Young Republicans, Smith’s former co-workers, newcomers who wanted to learn more about her, and other conservative activists based in Washington, D.C.
Below is an exclusive interview with Smith before she starts her grueling daily schedule that now includes exploring a run for U.S. Congress in Arkansas’ First District.
Why are you considering running for Congress?
I am considering running for Congress because at this point in American and Arkansas history, we need a Representative who will go to Congress and fight on behalf of the people. We need to build a more robust economy and educational system. That sounds cliched and something that a lot of candidates say, but with Arkansas having a 7.7 percent unemployment rate, we need someone focused on bringing jobs to Arkansas and the 1st Congressional District – particularly the Delta region where there is a higher percentage of blue collar, and lower income workers who have been laid off. We need to improve our public school systems so that people have more opportunity to advance from lives of poverty and struggle. Right now, we are in a situation where too many people are roaming without jobs and no place to go. We need a Representative who won’t go to DC and forget the interests of the people in Arkansas’ 1st Congressional District.
Can you outline your platform and what issues your campaign will stress if you decide to run?
If I decide to run, I will focus largely on three issues: jobs, education, and health care. Currently, the unemployment rate is 7.7 percent in Arkansas. We need to focus on passing legislation that is going to encourage banks to give loans to small businesses, and will encourage more entrepreneurs to build businesses and other entities to bring companies to first district. In Arkansas, the economy is largely tied to agriculture. Therefore, farmers are going to be essential to jobs and a successful economic recovery plan.
Recently, the House passed a Financial Regulatory Reform Bill which allows the Federal Reserve to set salaries for businesses at all levels. This means that it is possible for small local stores in Arkansas to have their salaries set by the Federal Reserve. Over 90% of people employed in Arkansas are employed by small businesses, therefore it is important to support legislation that promotes small business growth to help rebuild the economy.
Education – We’ve got to improve our educational system. I was fortunate to live in Wynne, Arkansas where we had a good school system, but 20 minutes down the road, schools are sub par. Students often moved into our school system in order to attend a better school; this is unacceptable. We need to focus on teaching these kids on a higher level to prepare them to be productive citizens in the work place. I also plan to focus on tech schools and universities; not everyone will go to a four year university, but we have tech schools that train people with certain trades and skill sets.
Healthcare – Arkansas was among the states that hated the health care bill the most. We have a high number of veterans, a large elderly population, and lots of single parents; those people, in particular, need a good health care system. We need to pass comprehensive health care that will not burden small businesses with the employer mandate, and not cost the elderly by cutting Medicare and Medicaid. We need legislation that will allow our citizens to have the choice and freedom to determine which doctors they go to and what health care services they provide.
How do you anticipate combating the charges of being too young or too inexperienced for the job?
We have several so-called “older” and so-called “experienced” representatives in Congress right now who are doing a horrendous job. I understand there is some merit to wanting someone who has more experience, but when the qualifications for running for Congress were outlined, the age was 25 – not 55, not 60. I am not considering running for Congress because I’m young, I’m not considering running because I’m female, I’m not considering running because I’m African American. I’m considering running for Congress because I know Washington isn’t listening to small town America. We need a Representative who will fight for small town America and small town American values and a person that is not entrenched in being an incumbent and being set in their own ways. It is good for Arkansas to have fresh blood, someone with new ideas, with new solutions without having the baggage of doing things the way they have always been done. As I’ve been making calls around the District, I’ve been pleasantly surprised at the number of people who are decades older who are excited about me possibly jumping into this race. They want someone new and fresh, and are excited to see someone from a younger generation that cares about the country and its future.
Who in the Republican Party is your role model?
That’s really hard, they’re on different levels. Mike Huckabee and Win Rockefeller. Both of those men boosted and encouraged me to get involved in politics. By allowing me to intern and work on their campaigns, they were very instrumental in encouraging me that a young person could really make a difference. I remember being extremely impressed that they paid so much attention to me. I wrote speeches for Lt. Governor Win Rockefeller and watched him read them verbatim; for a 17 year old, that is a big deal. Those two men boosted my confidence level and really inspired me. Additionally, they were very good at reaching out to everyone in the state – including minorities, young people; they weren’t just concerned with their so-called sector or base.
Mary Matalin, Ed and Cathy Gillespie and Newt Gingrich have been instrumental in encouraging me on the national level as an advocate for young people and for understanding policy.
You previously worked for Newt Gingrich as his National Spokesperson. As a self-identified conservative Republican, did you support his endorsement of Dede Scozzafavva in the controversial NY-23 Special Election in 2009?
I totally understand what he was doing, I didn’t necessarily agree with it. What Speaker Gingrich was doing by endorsing Ms. Scozzafavva was assuring people that she would vote for John Boehner for Speaker. At that point, she was the individual the Republican Party in NY selected as their nominee. Newt Gingrich is a Republican; he has said he will always work to advance the Republican Party. And in that particular instance, he supported her because he thought we all needed to get on one team. At the end of the day, that is one more vote against Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House. This is not a knock on Doug Hoffman.
As a Republican Party, we have got to stop this litmus test. I am a conservative, I’ll always support the conservative in an election, but at the end of the day if we have to choose between someone who agrees with us 60 % of the time vs. someone who disagrees with us 90% of the time, I would choose to support the person who agrees with me 60% of the time. Requiring someone to agree with you 100% of the time is not only unrealistic, it is illogical.
What do you believe will be the defining issue of our generation?
Two fold: culture war in America. I am a social conservative, and I believe that the culture war that our generation will face will be beyond the two issues of gay marriage and abortion. We’re in a battle for strong families – to have strong men who lead our families, to have strong women who are great mothers to our children and to encourage a belief in God and a Higher power. You can see with your own eyes there are those who want to take God out of everything. And as a result, that adversely affects the laws and decisions we make. That’s something we’re going to have to change in our culture, I’m not sure it can be legislated.
Economics – We have to ensure that America remains a very strong, capitalist nation. We need to encourage incentives, innovation, and creativity – which have always been at the heart of the American culture. We need to encourage people to do the best at their jobs and take advantage of best jobs here. This goes hand in hand with freedom.
Please share your brief thoughts on each of the Republican leaders:
Sarah Palin – Courageous.
Michael Steele – Bold. Unapologetic.
Is he good or bad for the Party? He is good for the Republican Party. We need people in our Party who tell the truth. I don’t agree with everything he’s done, and he has surely made mistakes. He is absolutely brilliant, when he measures his words. And when he harnesses that energy and points it toward a certain political race and political issue, he is very effective.
Bob McDonnell – Hero and a true American. He is a nontraditional politician who really is the American dream of a Statesman. He served in military, grew up in the state which he now represents, and fought the bad guys as Attorney General. I have tremendous admiration for him and his wife Maureen.
Scott Brown – Game changer!
What do you do for fun?
I love being outside. I love running on trails in Arkansas, love to read, love watching and playing sports, particularly basketball. And I love to eat!
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Elise M. Stefanik is President and Founder of American Maggie. She previously served in the Bush Administration’s Office of the Chief of Staff.
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