http://www.theepochtimes.com/change_edition.htmlBelow also appeared in the Chinese language edition
A Fresh Face in Politics
By Albert Roman
Epoch Times Los Angeles Staff
Aug 25, 2006
Dr. Mark Klein "testing the waters" for the 2008 GOP presidential nomination at the 2006 California Republican Party Convention held at the Hyatt Regency in Los Angeles on August 19.
Los Angeles - The 2006 California Republican Party Convention took place at the Hyatt Regency on Avenue of the Stars last Saturday.
A surprising potential contender for the 2008 presidential election hosted his own booth at the convention - a man who has no prior political experience.
Dr. Mark Klein, who has yet to officially announce his candidacy, used this convention to continue to "test the waters" for the 2008 GOP nomination via his Presidential Exploratory Committee. Father of four, grandfather of two, he is also a physician, a psychiatrist, and a successful investor.
Standing over 6'3'', Dr. Klein explained his platform, smiling as he spoke. "This is the first time I have run for public office. I am most concerned about the deterioration of the family unit in America and the ability of our children and grandchildren to live in a middle class."
Klein asserts that the high cost of living over the past three decades has lead to increased tension within families, which, as a result, has been made manifest as a high divorce rate.
Lack of affordable housing is one of the key factors, Klein believes, creating the former societal woe. "As president, I would restrict mortgage lending standards. Non-conforming mortgages ("non-conforming" refers to a variance in the traditional standards for granting loans) pumps too much money into the economy." If people purchase what they can't afford, Klein contends that it will lead to bankruptcies, foreclosures, and emotional stress on families.
Illegal immigration is another issue that Dr. Klein addresses in his would-be policy. While welcoming and encouraging legal immigration, he states that illegal immigration lowers the wage structure and consumes the supply of affordable rent. According to Klein, this leaves American citizens with an increased cost of living, unlivable wages, and increased family tension.
In order to combat the latter social woe, if elected, Klein would order the Secretary of Health and Human Services to "attack the common incentives for divorce – money, revenge, and custody of the children" – by requiring states to receive federal family program subsidies to enact the Child Support Financial Responsibility Act (Act requiring child support recipients to document how money received from the former spouse directly benefits the child), and the Equal Physical Custody Act.
Dr. Klein has received encouraging results from Straw Polls recently. Polk County, Iowa's GOP Chairman Ted Sporer's Presidential Online Straw Poll dated August 7 indicated Dr. Klein receiving an overwhelming 52% (232 out of 443 votes cast) of the votes out of a total of 15 Republicans from which to choose.
Klein is hoping to garner the support of the 25 million "heartbroken parents" who don't have custody of their children, their parents, children of divorce, young adults unable to live independently, get married, or have children due to financial reasons, conservatives, and liberals for a stable family.
"I am everyone's grandfather and father. I am very practical. I am not ideological. If it doesn't work, I don't want to do it. I want everyone's children to have it better."
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