Laureen Cummings believes she is the candidate most attuned to the attitudes and viewpoints of the 17th Congressional District, and that its voters should have her replace out-going U.S. Rep. Tim Holden in the seat.
"I want to make sure the conservative vote is heard," Cummings, 48, of Old Forge, said recently in an interview with The Republican-Herald.
Cummings said that if she is elected, her votes will be much like those of both Holden, D-17, and U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta, R-11, the former Hazleton mayor who represented Scranton and Wilkes-Barre before redistricting put those cities in the 17th.
"I know I'm more in tune with their way of voting," she said.
Cummings is competing to succeed Holden, a 10-term Saint Clair Democrat who lost to Matt Cartwright, 51, of Moosic, in the April 24 primary election. First elected in 1992, Holden had been the dean of Pennsylvania's congressional delegation.
The 17th District includes all of Schuylkill County and parts of Carbon, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe and Northampton counties.
Democrats hold a significant registration edge in the district, and Cummings, owner and operator of Lorimar Home Care & Staffing Services Inc., Old Forge, is considered an underdog in her race against Cartwright, a Scranton lawyer. However, that is not stopping her from campaigning for her conservative ideas.
The keystone of her campaign is support for what she calls the "fair tax," a national consumption tax of 23 percent on products and services.
"The income tax has failed," she said.
A fair tax would also replace payroll taxes levied against employers and employees, as well as capital gains and estate taxes, and should solve government revenue problems, according to Cummings.
"I believe with the implementation of our new tax system, you would see an increase in collections," she said.
Additionally, the changes in the tax system should solve other economic and social problems, Cummings said.
"Businesses will now have more money to find more employees," and the government will have enough revenue to ensure the stability and viability of Social Security and Medicare, she said.
It will also help solve America's and Pennsylvania's transportation and other infrastructure problems, according to Cummings.
"Our transportation needs are restricted because of how bad the economy is," she said.
Cummings also wants to repeal the Affordable Care and Patient Protection Act, commonly known as "Obamacare."
"If the free market were allowed to work correctly, we wouldn't have to worry about pre-existing conditions," she said. "This administration has not allowed the debate."
Concerning foreign policy, Cummings said problems in that sphere reflect the Obama administration's weakness, and that electing fellow Republican Mitt Romney to the White House would help immensely.
"I think if the president were looked at as someone who would use force," other countries would take U.S. threats more seriously, she said. "We're economically weak. We're defensively weak. We don't have a president who appears to be engaged in the process."
She saved some of her harshest criticism for Obama's handling of events in Libya, especially the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi that killed Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three others.
Initially blamed on Libyans' reaction to an American film that attacked the Muslim prophet Muhammad, the attack turned out to have been instigated by terrorists. Exactly when the administration learned that, and the security measures that were or were not taken in Benghazi, have been the subject of much debate.
"What happened in Benghazi is just horrendous. They should have increased security or (be) pulled out of there," Cummings said. "He (Obama) certainly failed. We can't seem to get the information from this administration. We keep getting bits and pieces."
She also criticized Obama's handling of Afghanistan, saying he does not want to defeat the Taliban.
"You're in it to win it or you're not," Cummings said.
The cornerstone of American policy in the Middle East should be support of the only truly democratic government there, she said.
"Stand with Israel," Cummings said.
According to Cummings, she is more in touch with the needs and concerns of the voters of the 17th District than Cartwright is, and that should be the main reason they vote for her.
"I am actually involved in what's been happening the last four years," she said. "I am going down (to Washington) to represent the people and build a stronger America. I see the devastation that has occurred." The candidate
· Name: Laureen Cummings
· Age: 48
· Residence: Old Forge
· Office sought: 17th Congressional District representative
· Party: Republican
· Experience: Owner and operator, Lorimar Home Care & Staffing Services Inc.
· Family: Four children, three grandchildren