7QUESTIONS+PLUS

Reince Priebus, the chairman of the Republican Party of Wisconsin and a Somers resident. Priebus, who graduated from Tremper High School, has been involved in Kenosha-area GOP politics since he was a delegate to the 1992 Republican National Convention. He soon became the Republican Party’s 1st Congressional District chairman, and ran for state senate in 2004. A partner the Milwaukee firm, Michael Best & Friedrich LLP, he was appointed to the 2008 Presidential Preference Selection Committee to help determine the candidates appearing on Wisconsin’s Presidential primary ballot.

Reince Priebus will now take your questions ...

This is ‘7 Questions’ where each week we ask you to submit questions for a person of interest in Kenosha County. Then, we interview the person and publish their answers. E-mail questions or ideas for people we should interview to connections@kenoshanews.com PreviousSubjects Feb. 4, 2008 Cheryl Hernandez Jan. 28, 2008 Reince Priebus Jan. 21, 2008 Alan Kaddatz Jan. 14, 2008 Rocco Vita Jan. 7, 2008 Jack Waters Dec. 31, 2007 Joe Mangi Dec. 24, 2007 Santa Claus Dec. 17, 2007 Denise Usinger Dec. 3, 2007 Lauren Zielsdorf Nov. 26, 2007 Shawn Zwrigzdas Nov. 19, 2007 Mary Ellen Close Nov. 12, 2007 Bob Williams Nov. 5, 2007 Mike Maki Oct. 29, 2007 Dale Wamboldt Oct. 22, 2007 Laura Larson Oct. 15, 2007 Dan Joyce Oct. 8, 2007 Renee Mura Oct. 1, 2007 Capt. Marion "Cappy" Moore Sept. 24, 2007 Christine Reardon Sept. 17, 2007 Martin Pitts Sept. 10, 2007 Jim Kreuser Sept. 3, 2007 Bryan Albrecht Aug. 27, 2007 Scott Pierce Aug. 20, 2007 Susan Rosas Aug. 13, 2007 Robert Bonn Aug. 6, 2007 Eric Olson July 30, 2007 Ronald Bailey July 23, 2007: Cheryl Bowen July 16, 2007: Kenosha News summer staff July 9, 2007: "Jane the Phoole" July 2, 2007: Yolanda Santos Adams June 25, 2007: Mona McDermott June 18, 2007: Garrett Kornman June 11, 2007: Penney Haney June 4, 2007: Daniel Wade May 28, 2007: Kevin Poirier May 21, 2007: Kenosha News Connections staff "7 Question For" home

What’s the story behind your name? It is my grandfather’s name on my father’s side of the family. My mother is 100 percent Greek and it is tradition that children are named after their grandparents — See “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” for confirmation! ... I am learning to live with it.

With a record since 2002 of such administrative dysfunction and a foreign policy that has alienated even our most constant allies, what reasons can you offer about why a continuance of yet another Republican administration is a responsible choice? After September 11th, President Bush had a tough decision to make — either face the challenge by the terrorists or back down and lose. In general, the Republican Party feels the right thing to do is take the terrorists on directly and that is exactly what the president did. There were mistakes made in the beginning of the Iraq War, but President Bush has been open-minded enough to change our course and we are seeing progress as a result. The decision for this year’s elections is whether America is going to continue to be strong against terrorism or take a step backward.

Do you plan to seek an elected office again? Not right now but it is a possibility in the future. I always say that running for office has to be a calling. You should never run to be somebody special, only run if you want to do something special. If I feel called to run again, I will.

Do you believe the Republicans have any chance of taking the presidency in Wisconsin, as well as the legislative seats held by Bob Wirch, Jim Kreuser and John Steinbrink? After spending the better part of last year learning and growing as a party, Republicans are in great shape heading into the upcoming elections. Thanks to the Democrats’ tax and spend ways and the Wisconsin Democrats’ $18 billion government-run healthcare scheme, tax proposals on real estate, gas, and even your iPod, the line between Democrats and Republicans is again extremely clear. By standing up to their big government ideals, we showed taxpayers that we are working for them. Democrats won Wisconsin by narrow margins in both 2000 and 2004 and we feel we are in an even better position this year
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The enormous growth we have seen in that part of the state in recent years as well as votes taken by these democrats on huge tax increases will give Republicans more of a chance in districts typically considered Democratic. We look forward to very competitive races in Kenosha this time around and expect quality candidates against all of these representatives.

What are your political aspirations? Where would you like to be in 10 years? I am very happy serving as Chairman of the party and have opportunities to affect real change in government in unique and effective ways. My aspiration is to serve people with a pure heart and try and make a positive difference in our community and state. I hope that in 10 years I am just as happy and filled with purpose as I am today.

Which candidate are you supporting for the presidency? As Chairman of the RPW, I can’t endorse anyone’s candidacy, but I personally think each one of the candidates in the Republican field would make a better Commander-in-Chief than Senator Clinton or Barack Obama. Both Clinton and Obama would lead or country in the wrong direction with socialized medicine, less security against terrorism and a bigger government bureaucracy.

You had a part in selecting the candidates who will appear on the ballot for the Wisconsin primary. What was that like and did you have any qualms, or was there any debate, about putting any candidates on the ballot? I feel honored that I was able to be a part of such an important process. Obviously, there were many more applicants than their are names on the ballot and there’s always disappointment from those who didn’t make the cut. However, there wasn’t controversy because the line between viable and non-viable candidates was clear.

How did you get so interested in politics and the Republican party? My grandfather from Greece was very interested in politics and was very pro-American. I still remember talking to him for hours as a young boy about America, Greece and his political views. As a young person, I grew up with Reagan and then Bush 41. My parents were conservative and so am I — those are my values and the Republican party best fits those values.

Do you think the executive should be first among the three formerly co-equal branches? Constitutional framers were intentionally vague on the question of Executive Power in Article 2 of the Constitution because more executive power is sometimes necessary when times are tough. I would also like to point out that many of those who complain about President Bush’s executive power reach didn’t complain during the Clinton administration.

Do you agree with what Bush and Cheney have done to increase national security at the expense of personal freedom and open government? Do you think those policies should continue into the next presidency, regardless of which party is in the White House? And, also, what’s left of the 10th Amendment? The vast majority of the actions taken by President Bush deal with terrorism and the average American citizen hasn’t seen a dramatic erosion of their personal freedoms. I hope any future administration would take the threat of terrorism as seriously has President Bush has.

The 10th Amendment guarantee of states’ rights is an issue very dear to Republicans. Rulings such as Roe v. Wade have completely trampled states’ rights and I hope future leaders do what they can to expand those protections.

What’s your favorite late night talk show? Why? Jay Leno. The opening monologue and the segment, “Headlines,” always makes me laugh.

Who’s a person in politics you look to or try to model yourself after? Ronald Reagan

What are you reading right now? I just finished Tony Dungy’s book, “Quiet Strength” and just started Newt Gingrich’s book, “Real Change.”

If you could change our voting system would you and how? I would make it easier to vote and more difficult to cheat. It’s time to take voter fraud seriously and require photo IDs at the polls. States would supply identification to those who need it at a low cost to ensure the integrity of our democratic process.

What do you have to say to young people who aren’t interested in politics? And do you think the voting age should be lowered? If the fact that thousands of men and women in history have fought and died for your right to vote isn’t enough, consider that the government continues to expand into our lives. The decisions by elected officials affect people more and more each day justifying more participation by voters than ever before. Just imagine how much more we would be involved if instead of the government taking your taxes out of your paycheck each week, we would have to write out a check each week to pay our taxes.

Eighteen seems to be the age where Americans are accepted as adults. At 18 we can fight for our country, we are taxed and it seems to be the appropriate age to begin the important job as a voter.