2012 US Senate candidate Scott D'Amboise
FEBRUARY 14 – 2012. Scott D’Amboise of Maine is running for US Senate against incumbent Olympia Snowe. I had the chance to have a chat with Scott about his run for Senate, his views on various problems facing the United States, and his ideas for how they can be addressed. He faces a well-financed, D.C.-entrenched opponent in Snowe. Scott is building a principled, back-to-American-basics campaign in response and doling out some plain truth to Maine residents tired of politicians with forked-tongues and looking for someone who will represent “Maine for Mainers.” Scott has already drawn considerable notice from the media and received strong endorsements. He has also faced attacks in various yellow journalism outfits such as the discredited Frum Forum and others – growing evidence that his real liberty roots and genuine outlook poses a challenge to establishment arrogance and corruption.
First of all, what do you want to change by running for Senate?
I want to get government back to what it should be. We need limited government and less taxes. Our government is so huge. It’s become an entity of its own, a conglomerate, or a business, if you will, and the business is the American people. States need to have their right to the 10th amendment. We’ve got to get back to the basics of government following the constitution.
Why do you support Ron Paul? Which of his positions do you agree with and which do you disagree with?
Well I haven’t come out with any official endorsement. We’ve basically been staying neutral. Talking with Dr. Paul we’ve both basically thought it would be wise not to endorse or support, but just to continue to follow the same principles. Because, if you latch yourself to somebody certain members of the Press like to lop you together with someone else’s positions and characterize them unfairly. Lots of people don’t believe in Ron Paul’s philosophies or Mitt Romney’s so-called “conservatism” or Newt Gingrich or a lot of these people. So we basically have not officially endorsed. But I am someone who has similar positions to Dr. Paul on the Constitution and most other matters. I’m probably a bit more conservative on the aspect of foreign policy, but pretty much other than that everything Dr. Paul talks about I talk about also. It’s basically about letting us have our liberties and freedoms.
What is the biggest problem facing Maine?
Speaks for itself.
It’s the same thing as every state. It’s the lack of work. Again, the only business that’s making money in America is government and they’re from the top down. We have to get government out of the way and get rid of regulations stifling businesses so people can get back to work. There are so many regulations and restrictions on trying to start a business particularly here in Maine. We are literally handcuffed here in Maine. I have a small cleaning business and you have to jump through hoops continuously just to do anything. Any business in Maine like any place in the nation there are so many regulations, whether it’s state or federal. We have to create an environment where jobs start coming back. Government thinks it creates jobs but it doesn’t – it destroys them. We’ve got to get government out of the way.
What are your main reasons for believing Olympia Snowe is a poor choice for the people of Maine? You’ve already received donations from over double the amount of people she has received since her election in 1994. Why are you receiving more grassroots support?
People are tired of government. It’s like the bully on the playground. You get bullied day after day after day, and you either take it or you stand up and fight. Here in Maine we’re tired of being bullied. We’re standing up for our rights as American citizens for life liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I think the reason we’re getting support is people think: here’s a guy who works in the medical field and runs a small business. If he can stand up and fight going against a political giant, why can’t I stand up and fight? The least I can do is stand up and support him. He’s not a politician, he’s one of us. And I’m not a politician.
We have a training manual for government, it’s called the Constitution. As a family or community or town or state we have to stick to a budget. As a family we understand that we have to stick to a budget. People across the nation are realizing that the government also has to live within a budget. People support me for different reasons. One is for her [Olympia Snowe] to be defeated. Two is for someone to stand up for their rights. Three is, she’s never had a challenger in 33 years as a Republican. When we’re out speaking it’s nothing personal, but what I wanted to do is explain her record. Ask why she voted for the NDAA, why she voted for Obamacare, partial-birth abortion, why she voted “undecided” on a Constitutional amendment on marriage as being between a man and a woman. We as her constituents want answers. Show us why you voted that way. Give us reasons. Defend her reasoning for voting for Sotomayor for Supreme Court. In videos of my events, when you go to parts where a representative is speaking for Olympia you can hear the loud boos from the crowd. In fact, in one area of Maine, that was the place where Olympia was born she didn’t show up to the rally and got booed. Kelly Ayotte got booed when speaking about her.
Some people say about me that ‘he can’t win.’ But I say, ‘folks, look at her voting record: we’ve already lost the seat! She votes Democrat more than she votes Republican.’ We face more money in our Olympia’s campaign than others have had to go up against, but the Press won’t talk about it because that would show even more people how viable we are.
What is your view of the Federal Reserve?
Like Ron Paul [laughs] The same thing Ron Paul says about the Federal Reserve.
What is your view of the current situation in Syria, specifically signs that some of the unrest is being incited by Western elements to stir up conflict and destabilization?
We should not have our nose over there in any way, shape, or form. I am someone who believes that if the people of country ask for our help then it needs to come before our Congress, and then we as Americans do what we can do to help. It’s such a difficult situation. We don’t need to have our nose over there. As far as I’m concerned we need to be out of the Middle East altogether. How many thousands of years of unrest has there been in the Middle East? We will support nations who ask us for our help. I think Dr. Paul is the same way. Look, if you ask us for help we’ll do what we can. But a lot of this nonsense around the world we really need to butt out. Don’t get me wrong. I feel for those people that want freedom, but yet how many Americans are we going to put on the ground, when things won’t change? The people will stand up and fight. They’ll stand up for their rights, but our government should not be getting involved. I can tell you this: if it’s unconstitutional it’s not going to get a vote from me. I don’t think the President has the right to declare war. We always need to look at all avenues before we enter any conflict.
What is your view of the large influence of lobbyists and organizations like AIPAC in American politics?
We need to get rid of all the lobbyists nationally and globally. That’s a huge problem. Same thing with the UN. The UN owns us. I always say about the UN: let’s kick ‘em out and turn that building into a YMCA. I am so frustrated with kowtowing as a nation to the UN, a globalized government and to these entities – these lobbyist groups that control everything. We the People don’t want that. We’ve got the WTO (World Trade Organization), the UN, all these entities that are telling us as Americans how to live our lives and they’re controlling our lives from the Food Safety Act to the NDAA. Senator Snowe voted for Stimulus and the Bailout. She bailed out Goldman Sachs. She’s taking campaign financing from Goldman Sachs, to the tune of $13,000 already. What does that tell you? There’s more, but Goldman Sachs is a big one. She’s also taking money from Planned Parenthood.
Where do you draw the line on freedom? For example on dangerous drugs?
I always see people who come up to me as an ophthalmic technician and they say ‘can you tell the doctor to write me out a prescription for medical marijuana?’ And I say ‘it only works if you smoke it 24/7 for your condition, and we don’t prescribe that, but we can give it to you in pill form that you can take daily. They say they don’t want that. Those are obviously people that want to use it recreationally. Now, what someone does in own home as far as I’m concerned if it’s not breaking the law, like abusing children, child pornography, that’s not good we know that. But what someone does in their own home they have right to do – that’s what makes America great. It’s when they use it to influence others or take these things outside the home we get into trouble. So, if someone was smoking crack cocaine and went out and drove and killed someone we know that’s bad, and it’s illegal. It’s one of those fine lines. I believe that that I think the same thing that Dr. Paul believes.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
If everybody who reads this article donates just $25 to the cause we can defeat Snowe. She’ll have more than I ever will but we can win. People who support Dr. Paul will find that with me they will have a Senator who stands up for their rights. A president that doesn’t have a congress that works with him can do nothing, but this nation can turn around. That’s what’s great. They can donate on my website [Ed. note - US citizens only] or they can mail me a check. That would help me so much, it really would. We can win this! In the end it is only about 4% of the population that gets involved, volunteers, caucuses. A lot of candidates lose because they forget the other 95% of the people. So we are going door-to-door talking to everyone. Maine is a great state with a lot of independents. A lot of people are libertarian or very, very upset Republicans who have left the Party, and these are the people we have to reach.
