Loebsack challenger makes campaign stop in Mt. Pleasant

BY BRYCE KELLY

Mt. Pleasant News

If there were Mt. Pleasant Noon Rotarians expecting to hear some harsh comments by political hopeful, Dr. Chris Peters, aimed at his rival for Congress, they left otherwise surprised.

Hailing from Iowa City, the certified general surgeon and former officer in the U.S. Army Medical Corps is running as a Republican for U.S. Congress, fighting for the 2nd Congressional District, which is currently held by Democrat Dave Loebsack. And while Peters says he doesn?t agree with all of Loebsack?s policies and plans for Iowa, he says he respects the current congressman and endeavors to run a ?clean and respectful? campaign regardless of how dramatic other campaigns on both sides of the aisle get.

?I am not going to speak negatively of him (Loebsack), I am just not going to. It?s not how I do things, and it?s not the way problems get solved, ? Peters said before addressing the Mt. Pleasant Noon Rotary group at Iowa Wesleyan University on Wednesday afternoon.

Speaking primarily of his ideas to improve healthcare and create more jobs, Peters says that while he feels Loebsack has acted respectfully in office, he wants to see newer, non-partisan ideas flow through Congress, and see elected officials do better at preserving the Constitutional rights of Americans.

?I want to find solutions, more from the center than from the extreme (left or right), and I think people are hungry for that,? he said, touting his experience and first-hand knowledge of healthcare, while also admitting he still has a lot to learn about governmental policy, specifically in the area of agriculture.

With regard to healthcare, the Republican contender didn?t entirely criticize the Affordable Care Act (ACA), saying it ?did introduce the U.S. healthcare system to some positive reforms?. However, he also felt the ACA still facilitated an ?already dysfunctional healthcare system?, which he said has been troubled for much longer than President Obama has held office.

A solution to improving the U.S.?s current healthcare system, he said, would be to eliminate current restrictions on insurance options available, promote the use of health savings accounts, and get rid of barriers to competition among insurers across state lines.

And when it comes to healthcare portability, Peters suggested that health insurance be separate from employment, saying the current link between the two is outdated, and insisted making them separate entities would create a positive change in the workforce.

?People would be less likely to stay in a job they really don?t like or aren?t suited to just because the benefits are so good,? he said. ?Other types of insurance aren?t tied to employment, so it makes no sense to me why employers have any interest in your healthcare outside of whether or not you are healthy enough to come to work on any given day.?

In terms of agriculture-related topics, the Congressional hopeful didn?t talk much on the subject, but did say he has strong opinions on eminent domain, criticizing the government?s use of eminent domain to seize family-owned farms for large oil pipelines and water projects.

And while Peters didn?t choose to talk about his official switch from being self-proclaimed Libertarian to a Republican shortly before announcing his bid for Congress, recent posts on his Facebook page suggest the switch was made to better his chances moving through his campaign.

?I originally considered running as an Independent candidate, which would have been much more difficult, but perhaps more interesting,? he posted to his Facebook page on March 13, according to The Daily Iowan. ?Instead, I?m running as a Republican, which should remove significant obstacles...?

In terms of the candidate?s other political and social views, Peters has criticized educational policies like Common Core. Instead of continuing such programs, he has repeatedly been credited as favoring a narrowing of the federal government?s oversight of education, and saying that the U.S. Constitution does not give Congress the authority to govern education.

?I decided to run for office primarily for young and future generations,? Peters said. ?And I think I can speak for a lot of Americans when I say I think we are on the wrong track. I want to leave things better than I found them and I do think we can turn things around.?

The 2nd Congressional District includes various cities such as Coralville, the Quad Cities, Clinton, Iowa City, Mt. Pleasant, Ft. Madison and Burlington.