Will Breazeale -- GOP conservative, war veteran, Boeing 737 pilot -- hopes to face McIntyre in 7th

For my interview with Will Breazeale, Republican candidate for Congress in North Carolina's Seventh Congressional District, we met at a Wilmington Chick-Fil-A.

He picked the place. The restaurants in this successful franchise are owned by Christian businessmen and they serve great chicken. Will is a faithful Christian who likes chicken. Nothing could have worked out better.

Will, 41, can be an at-ease guy, and is good company. But he has a spit-and-polish, no-nonsense streak that you might expect in a man who is a highly-decorated military officer, has pulled three tours of combat duty in the Middle East, served in the U.S. Army for 20 years, and been selected for promotion to Lieutenant Colonel.

What words best describe him? Energetic, bright, optimistic, candid, principled. What else? Motivated, even driven. This is a man on a mission. He is not brash, but confident in his abilities. His military training has equipped him to set an objective, then go for it, marshalling the right resources, planning carefully. Everything in his game plan falls between these boundaries -- his faith, his responsibilities, his honor.

He captains a behemoth Boeing 737 passenger jet for Airtran airways, logging hundreds of thousands of miles per year on domestic routes. He campaigns when he is back in the district.

I got to know Mr. Breazeale in a wide-ranging conversation that afforded many personal insights, including his philosophy on America, politics, government, the economy, national security, his Christian faith, and his run for Congress.

Why are you running for the seat now held by incumbent Mike McIntyre?

“I’m running to bring honesty to the federal government. People are so cynical, even soldiers like me. We don’t believe the right people are running our government with the right experience and the right intentions. I want to bring my experience in national defense and transportation to improve the operation of the government. I want to serve citizens of the Seventh District. Not the party, although I am a Republican. I can make a difference, and I will keep my word.”

Will has been here before. He challenged McIntyre for the first time in 2008 but was turned back. He thinks he knows why, and feels good about the main event if he takes the May 4 GOP primary.

How is the 2010 mid-term election a different challenge for you?

“I say thank goodness Obama is off the ticket. It’s incredibly hard to win a race when you’ve got busloads of people voting straight Democrat organized by ACORN. And look at what happened to Elizabeth Dole. She only got 45% of the vote in 2008, and my name was beneath hers on the ballot. Mike McIntyre has been in office since 1996. I received more votes against him in that election than any Republican who has ever run against him. I received over 98,000 votes. That’s a huge base for me to build on. McIntyre received 200,000, so he had twice what I polled. A lot of that was straight-ticket Democratic voters. It’s a new ball game now. This election is all about unaffiliated voters, and I have valuable name recognition. I am the only candidate in this primary who stands a chance of sending Mike McIntyre back to Lumberton.”

Why does the 7th want a Republican office-holder for Congress?

“This district is a conservative district. They have voted for a Republican for president every year for the last 20 years. But where the Congress is concerned, people here seem to have gotten used to the over 100 years of Democratic rule. The Democrats know how to win loyalty by passing out federal checks. In fact, we’ve got people on both sides hooked on the money. This year is different. People are cognizant of the $12.4 trillion debt our country is in. And they know we can’t keep this up. They know McIntyre voted for the stimulus – the largest spending bill in the history of the world. They know it’s in his blood to spend it. And I believe people want to bring in someone who’s going to re-establish conservative values, and put the budget of the country above politics. Only a term-limited member of Congress can do that.”

What do you mean exactly by a ‘term-limited’ member of Congress?

“Both parties have let America down. One of the most egregious sell-outs by my fellow Republicans involved the Contract With America established by Newt Gingrich, which won Republicans huge gains in 1994-96. A total of 73 Republicans made term-limit pledges in those 12 years, but only five of them kept it. The rest lied about it, which shows what can happen to otherwise good people in a bad system. It’s just an example of how we need more citizen members of Congress instead of more career politicians. That’s why you’re talking to the first ever bonded term limit pledge public servant. I have put personal money down to back up my term limit pledge – a quarter of a million dollars of personal net worth in a legal bond. If I break that pledge and run for a fourth term, which would make it eight years, that net worth goes to a charity here in New Hanover County called Kids Voting. But I’m not breaking my pledge. The people of the Seventh Congressional District are used to politicians lying to them. I can be trusted to keep my word.”

www.awilltowin.net

A CONTINUATION OF THIS EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH GOP CANDIDATE WILL BREAZEALE IS SCHEDULED IN AN UPCOMING SEGMENT OF RALEIGH CONSERVATIVE EXAMINER, PLUS MORE COVERAGE FROM THE CAMPAIGN OF GOP CANDIDATE ILARIO PANTANO.

AN INTERVIEW IS BEING ARRANGED WITH THE THIRD GOP CANDIDATE IN THE SEVENTH DISTRICT – TIM WILKES OF BRUNSWICK COUNTY. DON’T MISS THESE INFORMATIVE STORIES ON THIS SITE!