NOTE:  Below this note, this page remains as it appeared in 2004.

Charles Jay for US President Political Info:

Who are you as a candidate?

-- I am a citizen of the United States of America. I am someone who has been very active as an agent of change in my field of endeavor, and who has come to an understanding of how political and bureaucratic concerns have a tendency to pollute the process. I have very little tolerance for waste and inefficiency in government that accomplishes very little other than to cost taxpayers unnecessary time and money.

Now let me tell you what I am NOT - I am NOT the type to stick his finger in the air to see which way the wind is blowing. I am NOT the type who is looking for the right words to say in order to achieve just the right level of equivocation. I am NOT the polished political type who lives to be elected to office. I am a communicator, and my purpose in this race is to communicate a message that carries with it more meaning than is being conveyed by the so-called "major party" candidates.

Why were you willing to run for office?

-- I have become scared to death about the direction we are going in as a nation. I see freedom being cheapened by the policies of the Democrat and Republican parties, and the spirit of true achievement being de-valued. I am worried that most people in this country are too apathetic or too cynical about their political system to bother doing anything about it. I desperately do not want to be one of those people. At some point in time - I'm not exactly sure when it was - I woke up to the fact that, as a citizen, I was not going to affect change until I took it upon myself, in whatever way possible, to speak up and be heard, and to take a pro-active role, and commit to it, no matter what kind of resistance I was going to meet.

You ask the question, "Why were you willing to run for office?" The more appropriate question should be, "Why are you willing to walk through walls?" And the answer to that is - because I'm an American, and I see the ideal of America getting away from us.

What do you feel you offer the voters in your race?

-- I offer something that is so rare in this day and age that it pains me to even have to say it - someone you can get behind; who you can feel confident going into battle with, and who you know is going to go out of his way to expose the corruption, the greed, the dishonesty that pervades our political system in the way it exists now. Someone who is fearless, and refuses to be intimidated by anyone or anything.

When you're dealing with people who carve a livelihood out of using leverage to their advantage, to the point of bullying, it helps to be able to respond in that very same language. Being "nice" doesn't work; I prefer to meet strength with even greater strength. That's what I suggest others do.

What does Personal Choice mean to you?

-- It's pretty simple - it means that I believe a person is free to make choices for himself or herself - whether those are lifestyle choices, financial choices, sexual choices, or religious choices, as long as they don't infringe on my ability to make those very same choices. It also means that even if I hate your choices, I'm going to support your right to make them. That kind of thing gets a lot of lip service from people, but it's a doctrine that's very rarely followed. For a lot more detail on this, I would suggest people take a look at the speech I made at the Personal Choice Party Convention.

What issues are most important to you?

-- The most important issues include the legislation of morality, a government-administered education apparatus that consistently underperforms; a system of taxation that is built squarely on the principle of coercion, and the practice of government spending that is completely and utterly out of control. The level of irresponsibility on the part of our legislators in Washington is astounding. It would be comic that most of them did not read the Patriot Act before voting on it, if it weren't so tragic.

Another issue that is close to me involves gambling. I defend everyone's right to play. It's because gambling is about freedom and personal choice. And it provides a prism through which so many other issues can be seen - freedom of expression, government waste, taxation, education, moralism, personal responsibility, jobs, and many others. What's interesting is that the gambling industry can easily provide a system of voluntary taxation that can provide for programs in a progressive way, and it's proven to be one of the few revenue streams that is reliable. Why not channel it into something that can facilitate less taxes and more services that can be tied to the private sector, rather than more government control, as it is being used for now?

How would you apply Personal Choice to the issues you mentioned?

-- Certainly citizens of the United States deserve to keep much more of their hard-earned money. And they are entitled to make their own choices when it comes to the schools they send their kids to, and the methods of instruction they implement to educate their children. When it comes to wild spending on the part of government officials, that's not their money they're playing with, and they need to be reminded that reckless spending is NOT a valid personal choice on the part of any of them. So we need to eliminate the personal income tax - to give more Americans the financial choices they deserve and give Congress less of a chance to make choices for us, and eliminate the Department of Education, returning more control to parents.

Those who seek to impose their views of morality on others have no place on my radar screen. If you want to set a "moral tone", do it for yourself, but don't force that upon others. Therefore, things like same-sex marriage should be things that government either completely stays out of, or resigns itself to accept as a matter of personal choice. I am not looking to allow the George Bushes of the world the opportunity to make that choice for others, because, once again, that is NOT a valid personal choice.

In what matters do you feel you should have more Personal Choice rather than Government involvement?

-- The government can serve a function in protecting its citizens against enemy attack, and against out-and-out fraud, which I consider to be a violation of trust. Other than that, and generally speaking, I feel personal choice works better than government involvement in all areas.