Dr. Jud Miller is pro-life.
The right to life is the fundamental right of all citizens, born and unborn. Having delivered hundreds of babies, I feel a deep respect for the gift of life, and I will firmly defend the rights of the unborn child. I support an expectant mother’s right to life-affirming healthcare and counseling.
Dr. Jud Miller is a firm pro-family advocate.
Strong and stable families are our state’s most important asset and are at the center of Idaho’s resources. I am a family man and will work to promote legislation that will strengthen and preserve the family and parental rights. Marriage between a man and a woman is a Divine gift and is requisite for cohesive families. I believe that policy decisions regarding marriage are best left to the states, not the federal government.
Dr. Jud Miller supports the Second Amendment.
I will defend the right of citizens of Idaho to own guns and procure ammunition.
The recent school shootings are complex issues. We are all concerned. The long-term solution will require us to look beyond the guns to the sources of the violence in our society and in ourselves. We must find ways to strengthen families and eliminate the influences in our national environment that lead to violent behavior in any form. Nearly all school shootings happen in gun-free zones. A needed short term solution is President Trump’s initiative to arm some teachers and to increase school protective services.
As Benjamin Franklin said, “One sword often keeps another in the scabbard.”
Dr. Jud Miller supports quality education.
Parents have primary responsibility for the education of their children. I strongly believe in local control of education and in promoting more parental involvement in educational policies and curriculum. Common Core has presented many challenges to educators and to families because of its top-down control of standards and curriculum. Innovation in education, including the use of modern technology, is essential to the complete education of our children today, but it must not replace the tried and true “reading, (w)riting, and (a)rithmetic.”
There is government overreach in too many facets of our Idaho schools, and our teachers and administrators are being stifled by a landslide of regulations. Our children lose when this happens. I will work to return control of our schools to the communities and to the parents.
Dr. Jud Miller will work to free our healthcare from government encroachment.
The high cost of medicine is directly and unequivocally related to the amount of government involvement in healthcare. The healthcare industry, like any other industry in a free market nation, will right itself, including its high cost, if competition and transparency are allowed. Obamacare has failed in most of its stated goals, and the often-proposed remedy is to throw more money at it, allowing costs to go up and quality to go down. This problem will not have a quick fix but we can reverse the current trend by allowing competition among hospitals and among insurers and by permitting out-of-state insurance products into our market.
We must look for new and innovative ways to help those who can’t afford healthcare such as medical savings accounts and health-sharing ministries.
Dr. Jud Miller will defend First Amendment rights.
Freedom of expression in the public square is essential to all other freedoms and to maintaining our nation’s morality. Recent tendencies to limit religious expression in public run counter to the interests of our state and our nation. It must not be forgotten that freedom of speech and religious freedom are interdependent. This country was founded by God-fearing men and women who prized their freedom of expression and the freedom to worship as they chose. As George Washington said, “Let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion.”
I will support legislation that preserves the freedom of religion, speech, press, and assembly.
Dr. Jud Miller is a solid fiscal conservative.
Just as I operate on a budget and am careful not to spend beyond my means, I expect the same from my government. The Idaho Constitution mandates that we have a balanced budget, but we have wandered from that requirement (Garvee bonds, etc.). Spending from the Idaho State General Fund is rising faster than our personal incomes. This doesn’t lend itself to a balanced budget unless taxes are correspondingly high.
I will work to carefully evaluate spending bills and to cut wasteful spending where it is found.
Dr. Jud Miller will defend property rights.
When Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, he used the phrase, “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” However, in the first few drafts of that phrase, he used the words, “Life, Liberty, and Property.” He and others considered that the terms “property” and “pursuit of happiness” were interchangeable. The Founders felt that to pursue happiness, we must have the right to own and to control our property.
I will work to resist government encroachment on our right to use our property as we choose and to preserve it for our children.