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Welch addresses College Republicans

State Sen. Bob Welch, R-Redgranite, spoke at the University of Wisconsin-Madison College Republicans meeting Tuesday, giving students a glimpse of the key issues he intends to run on in his November bid for a U.S. Senate seat.

Welch is one of three candidates nominated to run against current Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis.

Welch focused on Ronald Reagan’s presidency, saying: “Reagan changed this country. We are still living in Reagan’s world, and I want to be the kind of Republican that he is.”

One of the issues Welch focused on in his speech was the current situation in Iraq. He stands by President Bush’s decision for military action in the fight against terrorism.

“The war on terror is not being fought in New York office buildings; it is being fought in Fallujah and Baghdad,” Welch said. “The Iraqi people want our support and our help building a democratic society. They don’t want us there forever, but for now we are needed.”

Welch went on to criticize Feingold and Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry for their lack of support for keeping troops in Iraq.

“Democracy will take root eventually,” Welch said.

He stressed, however, that keeping troops there will create “a democratic Islamic state — something that has never existed in the past.”

Other issues of focus during the meeting included the controversial issues of tax cuts, social security and health care. His goals for the economy include “cutting taxes as well as minimizing spending to get the economy moving.”

“Cutting taxes stimulates growth in the economy,” Welch said.

Welch would like to see Americans put their money into private social security accounts to ensure a secure future for young people who may not benefit from the current social security system in future years.

He also briefly discussed the issue of health care. Welch would like to see personal health-savings accounts implemented.

“If people are paying for their own health care, they will pay more attention to costs and create competition, driving market prices down,” he said.

Feingold’s ideas on how to handle important issues facing the United States today differ sharply from Welch’s.

Feingold supports raising taxes to reduce the national deficit and withdrawing troops from the war in Iraq.

“Senator Feingold will continue to focus on the issues Wisconsinites have told him matter most — creating and protecting Wisconsin jobs, fighting for affordable health care, reducing the federal deficit and fighting terrorism while also protecting our civil liberties,” said George Aldrich, Feingold campaign manager, in an e-mail to The Badger Herald.