Campaign Positions

Bill Ridenour Campaign Positions

“These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.”

– Thomas Paine, “The Crisis,” 1776

Campaign Positions

Protect American and West Virginian Liberty

  • American Liberty is enduring its most dangerous period in our history; we are at a crossroads – either regain our Freedoms or descend into tyranny
  • The people of West Virginia and America must secure their Liberty – government is not our guarantor
  • The U.S. and West Virginia Constitutions are guides to securing our Liberty
  • Government must be as restricted as possible to ensure Liberty, while avoiding anarchy
  • Our Rights are God given and not derived from any government
  • Professional politicians must be regularly turned out to ensure the People are their own representatives
  • The Left, using its control of government, and its’ domestic and foreign allies and activists, directly threatens our Liberty
  • Corruption in government is a betrayal of Liberty, and should be eradicated

Defend the First and Second Amendments

  • The First and Second Amendments are critical to a functioning Republic and must be defended by every means – corporations and groups that seek to undermine the Constitution and our Liberty must be punished

Protect the Life of the Unborn

  • I am proudly pro-Life.

Defend Small Businesses and the Local WV Economy

  • Free Enterprise, particularly in the form of small business, is the best economic system for a free society – government must avoid interfering with Free Enterprise

Ban CRT (Critical Race Theory)

  • Racism, of any stripe, is an attack on Liberty that should never be encouraged or tolerated
  • Schools should never indoctrinate our youth with anti-American, anti-Liberty, anti-free enterprise and racist propaganda 

Keep West Virginia Free and Open

  • Our society and economy should be open – individual responsibility should be our standard for all, oppressive mandates should not be imposed on a free society
  • An ordered society is critical to a functional government – equal justice and effective law enforcement are pillars of an ordered society
  • As stipulated in the Constitution, state legislatures have authority over elections – the states must re-assert their primacy over elections to ensure they are free, fair and isolated from political partisan manipulation
  • Illegal immigration is a threat to our Liberty – our state government must do more to counter this threat
  • The Chinese Communist virus is being used by the Left, and its’ foreign and domestic allies, including the federal government, to attack our Liberty – our state government must do more to defend our Liberty
  • The Chinese Communists and their allies must be held to account and punished for unleashing a virus that has created havoc worldwide

Convention of States

  • West Virginia is an oasis of Liberty on the East Coast – we cannot sit by as proponents of tyranny attack our Freedoms
  • To resolve excesses by the federal government and threats to our Liberty, a Convention of States to amend the U.S. Constitution to strengthen Liberty and restrict government is critical
  • State legislatures must resume their role as the principal bulwark against the federal government, and must zealously guard against overreach by all three federal branches and the federal bureaucracy

Lastly…

“Let’s Go Brandon!”

Proposed Legislation

Proposed Legislation

Convention of States

  • Convention of States – Concur in West Virginia as a party to a Convention to amend the U.S. Constitution to strengthen Liberty and restrict government

Oversight for Elected Officials

  • Term limits – All elective positions limited to two terms in a person’s life time
  • Blind trusts for all state employees – For stocks and mutual funds over $50,000
  • Corruption in government – minimum 20 year sentence and quintuple damages for all active participants

Criminal Justice and Terrorism

  • Criminal Justice – Require district attorneys to prosecute certain crimes.
  • Terrorism – Legislation to protect the People from all forms of terrorism, including violent mass action (riots or mobs).  
    • Define and make terrorism a felony under West Virginia Code, stipulating minimum sentences.
    • Identify terrorist entities under West Virginia Code.

Federal Political Repression

  • Federal Political Repression:
    • Direct non-cooperation by West Virginia law enforcement with politically-motivated federal investigations, prosecutions, or activities.  
    • Direct WV law enforcement to investigate any federal law enforcement activities apparently undertake for political motives that impact the people and specific citizens of West Virginia. 
    • Direct the Attorney General investigate the conditions under which any West Virginians are being held in connection with the January 6, 2021 protests on Capital Hill, and whether the evidence and circumstances warrant the charges, incarceration, and the conditions of the incarceration.

Illegal Immigration

  • Illegal immigration – Direct prosecution of any individuals engaging in human trafficking of illegal immigrants to or through West Virginia, including efforts by the federal government to resettle illegal immigrants
  • Direct the Attorney General to collaborate with other states’ Attorney’s General to conduct law enforcement actions to shut down human trafficking, including suits against the federal government, agents of the federal government and any entity supporting human trafficking.

Infrastructure

  • Infrastructure:
    • Direct collaboration with the State of Virginia to improve safety and traffic flow on Virginia Route 9 to protect West Virginians commuting to and from work.
    • Direct efforts, including collaboration with the State of Virginia, to improve U.S. 340 between Wheatland and Gaylord, Virginia.
    • Direct improvements to road safety in District 100, particularly Route 32 Chestnut Hill Road and access from the southern Mission Road area.
    • Direct the Office of Energy to focus on supporting energy independence, including collaboration with other states, despite federal government obstructionism.

Jobs and Local Economy

  • Attracting high-skills public servants and businesses:
    • Direct the state government seek out police officers dismissed due to vaccine mandates in other states to fill West Virginia law enforcement vacancies.
    • Direct the state government seek out medical employees and teachers dismissed due to vaccine mandates in other states to fill West Virginia medical and teacher vacancies.
    • Direct the state government seek out businesses suffering under vaccine mandates or other Leftist agendas in oppressive states for relocation to West Virginia

Ban Critical Race Theory (CRT)

  • Critical Race Theory (CRT) – Direct the state government to ban teaching, purveying or endorsing any inherently divisive concepts, including CRT, or other racist or Leftist-focused propaganda from any state-supported institutions, including public education

Chinese Communist Virus

  • Chinese Communist virus – Direct the Attorney General to combine with other States’ Attorneys General, and other entities committed to discovering the truth, to conduct comprehensive criminal investigations into the origins of the Chinese Communist virus, how it spread, and whether any laws were violated regarding the response in the U.S.

Opioid Crisis

  • Direct increased resources to the opioid crisis, including collaboration with other states’ law enforcement entities to increase investigations into the origins of the crisis, particularly by Communist China and other countries.  Direct increased severity of penalties for opioid distribution.