Often found in a cowboy hat and Texas tie,

Kenny Golden is tall with a booming voice. He is running for Congress as an independent in the 2nd district, and as I sat in his office, before our talk, his books are what caught my attention. What someone reads says a lot about them in my mind, and so here are a couple of books that caught my eye… let your mind run amok.

Kenny Golden

• The Science of Liberty, by Timothy Ferris
• The Man on Mao’s Right, by Ji Chaozh
• Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follett
• Howard Zinn on War
• Romance of the Three Kingdoms, by Luo Guanzhong

Kenny Golden served in the Navy for over 30 years and upon retirement was given the honorary designation of “Commodore” for his outstanding service. Most interestingly (to me), he was a long serving Chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia Beach yet, he is running as an independent in this campaign, having dropped his affiliation with the Republican Party.

Mr. Golden is a wildcard in the second district congressional race. His candidacy is undoubtedly a blessing in disguise for Congressmen Nye, and a thorn in the side of the Rigell campaign that now needs to be mindful of Kenny peeling off disaffected Republican voters. However, Kenny dismisses talk of his role as a “king-maker” or “spoiler” in this race. Put simply- He is running to win.

+++

The first time I went to your website I saw a banner that read, “Kenny Golden and his campaign to “Dewussify” Virginia- Tired of boring politicians, weak leaders and wimpy candidates?” This all really grabbed my attention and led me to wonder…

If you could box one person throughout history who would it be? Hitler is off limits as that is too easy.

I’d love to take on this fat guy down in Venezuela, Hugo Chavez. He is simply anti-American, and he is using that anti-Americanism to stay in power. His country is benefiting from the oil industry that we are so fond of here in the United States. We are a petroleum based society, and yet he is going to bad mouth us because it is popular to do so.

What does it mean to “Dewussify” Virginia?

“Dewussify,” is a term that comes from Kinky Friedman, which aims to have a group of politicians say what they mean and mean what they say. There is a big movement to have people sign a no tax pledge and I say, Listen, if your word is not good enough and you need to get a politician to sign a pledge in order to make good on their word, then something is wrong. When I tell you I will not vote to raise taxes, I will not raise taxes.

Do you think there is a toughness that is missing from politics today? Many would say that political acrimony is at an all time high. Is a confrontational attitude what Virginia and the nation really needs?

Well I think there is a lot of political double speak. The problem is that people will not take a common sense approach to a problem and say, Let’s do what works the best. Let’s not worry which party it is going to help. I do not think that partisanship is any worse than it was historically. We have been divided many times throughout our history. Think back to how divided we were on the slavery issue. It got to the point where one man struck another with a cane on the floor of the Senate. Roosevelt was one of the most popular presidents but people despised him too. You don’t hear about that though because history has a way of washing over these differences. There has been political acrimony before, worse than this.

Your website tells people when and where to meet you for “festivities” and I have been asked by your staff to come share a beer at the campaign office a number of times. In the interest of objectivity I should be clear here… this has endeared me very much to your campaign. How did this all get started?

Every Friday, we open the campaign office doors to citizens to come and talk about what matters to them and share a drink. Some people come back again and again and again, but each week we also get a new group of people who just want to come by and talk politics. We try to create a little living room, and family style space to talk politics. That was always the intention, to set up an environment where people feel comfortable.

Care to introduce yourself to the voters?

I am a native Virginian. My brother and I were born in a log cabin, just outside of Richmond. I went to Blackstone High School. I flunked out, graduating 53rd in a class of 52. Then I conned my way into Ferrum College by taking a summer course of theirs and getting straight A’s in it. Then my high school superintendent gave me my diploma. Next I went to Ferrum College and the University of Virginia playing football, and eventually studied at Oxford University. I don’t think that’s too bad for a guy who flunked out of high school.

A Navy Family. Commodore Kenny Golden, LCDR Tara Golden, and CDR Francie Golden (USN RET)

I am just lucky though. I have 31 years in the military and over 5,000 hours of flight time, and throughout it has been a lot of luck. I was always in the right place at the right time. One of the things I attribute to it is that I have never refused a set of orders, never, not once. I always went where they wanted me to go.

You have been a lifetime Republican, and yet you are running as an independent. What made you drop from the primary and choose to run as an independent?

The party has changed both nationally and locally. When I made the decision to run, and knew I was going to run if I was healthy. When Scott Rigell told me he was back in the Republican Party, he had been gone for three years; I told him he would make a good candidate. He asked why I was saying that to him and I said, “Well there are two things that need to happen before I decide to run myself. We needed to make sure that Bob McDonnell won the gubernatorial race, and I needed to be sure that I was healthy.” I had been recovering from cancer. After Bob was elected governor and I was given a clean bill of health, I revisited my decision and I found out that the party had already made their decision and that there was no room for my candidacy. So I thought if I can work for the party for six years, actually dropping out of the Lt. Governor’s race at the party’s request in order to take on the position as operations officer for the party of Virginia Beach, and they can turn their back on me, then I am in the wrong party.

When you go up to the National Republican Campaign Committee, if you don’t have money, they don’t want to talk to you. The emphasis is on money and not on service and character.

Do you think that “independent” carries with it certain connotations about a person’s political opinions?

I think it has in the past, but one of the things said to me about my campaign is that it is nice to have an independent that is not quirky or a kook. My positions are well thought out, because I took the time to do due diligence and make those decisions. My position on offshore drilling is an excellent example.

Your thoughts on offshore drilling would be?

I was a “Drill Baby, Drill” guy during the McCain campaign, but I now believe what we need to do is fix the oil industry so that it is safe. We may have already destroyed the Gulf of Mexico for your lifetime and maybe the lifetime of your children.

Let me tell you a story because it affected my decision. When I was the commanding officer of the USS Dubuque, it was the amphibious ship of the year in 1994 under my command. It is a 565 ft. ship that carries 20 thousand tons, and a crew of 300. I took it to a port in Russia. This was the first time that an amphibious ship had gone to Russia since WWII, so it was a big deal. We had to use the anchor chains to moor the ship properly. When you leave you always have to wash the anchor chains off before you put them in the hull. I had noticed that there were no fish around the ship at all. When we pulled the anchor chains up from that harbor they were covered with a black tar, smelly oil, which we had to wash off with the fire hoses. That is what killed that harbor and that is why I am concerned that we may have already killed the Gulf of Mexico. What you see coming up to the top is only part of the spill, there is a good deal of oil that stays below the surface and gradually sinks to the bottom.

We must fix the industry by using the same regiment, the same acumen, the same oversights, the same standards, and the same inspections as we have in our Navy nuclear program. If we do that we will have a safe oil program for the rest of our lives, and our children’s lives, that can extract the oil we need as we move away from fossil fuels. How long is it going to be before we move off the fossil fuels? I believe it will be over 100 years, so we are going to need to find a way to get this straight in the meantime while we are moving away from these types of fuels.

Scott Rigell has won the Republican nomination now and you used to run the Republican Party here in Virginia Beach. Where are the differences between you two?

Experience, experience, experience, He has none and I have gobs. I’ve got four years of experience in legislative affairs. He knows how to get to Washington DC because he has a map. I have worked there and I even have a house there.

Do you believe that democracy is undermined by our two party system?

It’s not undermined, but there are certainly limitations. I have heard people say we should have a healthy third party movement, and I agree that we could and should. I mean look what I have given up here with the Republican Party. We had the longest running Republican breakfast in the country. I know because I helped run it. I can’t go to that anymore. There are four very active Republican women’s clubs, and that is something that goes away. The very active city committee that is 300 strong is gone as well. You give up so much when you run as an independent. Where can a third party candidate go? There is nothing formal set up for third party candidates and so you lose that entire infrastructure and that is really hard to make up for in an election.

Do you worry that you may in running detract votes from the Republican Party and aid Congressman Nye in his reelection bid?

No. There are a large enough group of people out here who are unhappy with Congressman Nye, and a large number of disaffected Republicans, and Democrats. 42% of the people in this country identify themselves as independents now. There could not be a better time for an independent to be running in this country, and I am counting on it. Is it going to be hard? You bet. It is going to be very difficult.

I’d like to touch on a couple of specific initiatives you have proposed.

Let’s do it.

The Naval Supremacy Act would fund a 400 ship Navy and a return to 12 aircraft carrier battle groups by 2020. Could you elaborate on this measure a bit more to those unfamiliar with the topic?

First of all, it does not have to 2020. Whatever is a reasonable timeline to get there is what we should aim for. 80% of the earth is blue, and 70% of that is deep enough for an aircraft carrier. An aircraft carrier is a mobile airport with a bunch of tough guys on it that can influence policy and diplomacy throughout the entire planet at a moment’s notice. It’s expensive but that 13 billion is a 50 year commitment to an airport you can put anywhere on the planet. We are expanding drone technology as well, and so aircraft carriers will only increase in importance.

Additionally, humanitarian assistance is provided because of and through a strong Navy. I was heavily involved in this in Albania where we pulled out four thousand people. The Navy is responsible for providing extensive civilian aid around the world. We are professionals at providing help to people, and we do it better than anyone else in the world.

Another of your pieces of proposed legislation that stands out to me is the Budget Reform Act. This legislation would mandate 2% cuts each year on all departments except Defense and Homeland Security. These indefinite reductions would seem to be on a crash course with many services that we as Americans have come to view as vital. Education and health care come to my mind.

First of all a 2% cut is less draconian than what Obama is asking for now. He asked for a 5% cut from all of his cabinet secretaries. The most important thing is to start the trend downward in spending. If we start the trend downward we will turn this financial situation around.

Obama’s request is a onetime event. You are proposing a permanent yearly 2% cut. Does this come with a timeline? It still seems to me these 2% cuts would add up quickly and begin to effect services.

You continue down this path until you get the budget balanced then you can relax the measure. I am a balanced budget guy, and think we should have always had a balanced budget. This is to get us back on solid footing.

You support implementing the Fair Tax, which, to summarize, would eliminate all current federal income taxes and replace it with a consumption tax on new retail sales. What makes you support this model?

I think it’s a healthier way of getting taxes from people. The current tax system we have is regressive and penalizes people for earning more. That is a foolish, foolish thing to do. I remember Paul Begala saying that the Bible says, “of those given much, much is expected,” and I would turn around to Mr. Begala and say that is correct, but the Bible also says, “Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s.” So there is an expectation by my God to help other people with my wealth, but it does not say anywhere that the government is supposed to do that. There are many people who believe you should be sponsored and subsidized from the day of your birth to the day you die. I do not believe that is the case. I do not believe that health care is a right.

Many detractors argue that consumption does not increase on a one-to-one ration with wealth, and in fact as wealth increases the correlation would become increasingly less significant. What do you say to those who believe this plan is designed to merely decrease taxes on the rich, and increase the taxes on middle class America?

People are going to spend according to what they can afford. Wealthy people can afford to spend more. Whatever they are making they would get to keep, and when they want something they go get it. Are they going to horde it? Absolutely not. They want more things that’s why they work. The government decides how much money you will take home and that is not right, you make the decision with the fair tax.

The fair tax also includes a monthly ‘prebate,’ which would be a check payable to US resident households each month covering the cost of living up to the poverty line. Now, I like to imagine the best in people, but I could not help but envision rampant abuse of this system. We give people a check each month, and we only tax “new” purchases. How would you prevent this from leading to widespread fraud?

It certainly could be a problem and that is why I do not think that we could do away with the IRS like people think. If people can game the system they are going to do it. People are saying that we could see more savings by eliminating the IRS as well, but the truth is that we would need some group to be on the lookout for fraud with this new system as well.

In your opinion, would the move to a Fair Tax be revenue neutral, or would it lead to a further exacerbation of the deficit?

I think it would be revenue neutral, but it has to be coupled with other things, you need a balanced budget

Kenny and his daughter Tara with 2 of their dogs.

amendment, reduced spending, and you need to control earmarks. Amendments should only be attached to bills that deal with the same topic. When you have hidden amendments in a bill completely unrelated, costs are hidden to the public and spending gets out of control.

What is your drink of choice?

I am a Coke guy. I am not a big drinker of libations. I enjoy Hvinga beer or a single malt every now and then.

What rock band provides the soundtrack to your life?

The Beatles.

You are getting ready for your boxing match with Hugo Chavez, what song are you listening to in order to get pumped up?

Eye of the Tiger and Ride of the Valkyries. One of the guys from Apocalypse Now was in my class in Officer Candidate School.

What would you say your favorite book of all time was?

That would probably be Winds of War, by Herman Wouk. I love historical novels. I always want to read non-fiction. Pretty rare that you will find me with a fiction book in my hand.

What was the last fiction book you read?

Probably something like Great Expectations. I like Tom Clancy.

Do you have a debate schedule?

The mouthpiece for the Rigell campaign has said they won’t debate me unless we pay for a poll that shows I am getting 15% of the vote.  I will tell you why he won’t show up at a debate where I am; because if he shows up he loses.

A penny for your thoughts on immigration.

Close the borders. Three tours in San Diego made me understand you need to close the borders and no amnesty whatsoever.

Parting proverb or saying?

In the film Patton, he was asked, “Did you say if you found your army between the Germans and the Russians, you’d attack in both directions?” Patton replied, “No, I never said that. I never said any such thing… but I wish I had.”

I feel like that applies to me in this race, because I am attacking in both directions.

For more information on Kenny Goden’s campaign for Congress, visit his website.