Third-party candidate seeks Byrd’s Senate seat

A third-party candidate is seeking to be elected to the U.S. Senate to fill the seat left vacant by Robert C. Byrd.

Jeff Becker, the Constitution Party's candidate for the election of West Virginia's new U.S. Senator, said he wants to help government make a return to Constitutional values.

Becker said if he is elected, initiating an audit of the Federal Reserve will be a top priority.

"It's a shadowy organization," Becker said. "There's nothing federal about it. It's a private bank.

"We need to get back to sound constitutional money. Our money is supposed to be based on silver and gold, but the paper money that is being printed isn't backed by anything."  

Becker said he will also aim to control the way senators allocate funding. "United States Senators are going around Washington pick-pocketing their colleagues and taking other states' money," he said. "It's pork, and it's not the vision our founders had for the office."

Becker also said he will take steps to ensure that the different branches of government will function according to their constitutional roles, including in the declaration of war.

"Congress is the only body that has the constitutional right to declare war, and they don't have the right to transfer that power to any other branch, including the president."

He also criticized the military actions that have been taken by the U.S. in the Middle East.

"You can't declare a war on terror," he said. "Terrorism is a tactic, and there are other ways of dealing with it."

Becker said he will advocate for a change in security policy on the domestic level.

"We're turning into a police state, and I want to curtail that," he said. "We need to get back to local security on the local level."   

He has not held any prior political office, but Becker said he didn't see a lack of experience in office as a negative.

"It's probably one of my best qualifications," Becker said.

Becker is the current chairman of the West Virginia Constitution Party, which is evidence of his leadership abilities, he said.

The Constitution Party is economically and socially conservative. According to the state party's website, the principles of the party include "Life for all human beings, from conception to natural death," and the right of all individuals to own property without government interference.

The party also places an emphasis on the rights of states and individuals as opposed to control by the federal government. Members believe "everything not specifically delegated by the Constitution to the federal government, nor prohibited by the Constitution to the states, is reserved to the states or to the people," according to the website.

Becker said he wants to introduce principles of the Constitution and the Constitution Party into the U.S. Senate.

"I want to help nullify unconstitutional legislation, interpose against poor judicial decisions and regain and retain state sovereignty," he said.

Sam Turley can be contacted at turley60@marshall.edu.