By Lisa Carolin
There may have only been about 30 attendees and a number of empty seats when Congressman Tim Walberg held a coffee hour at the Chelsea American Legion Post 31 in Sylvan Township April 23, but there was no shortage of questions or comments from people on all sides of the political spectrum.
Walberg started out by saying that the Mueller Report turned out the way it should have, though he lamented that the debate will go for another two years.
“You could have Republicans and Democrats coming together if there weren’t the continued debate on impeachment,” said Walberg. “It’s a political game being played and it hurts us moving forward.”
When asked if his opinion of the Mueller Report would be different if it were about President Obama or President Clinton, Walberg responded that it would be the same for any president, then added, “What is the number one underpinning of our legal system? Innocent until proven guilty. I don’t like some of Trump’s behavior, but I love his leadership. I’m hoping the presidency changes this president. I think he’ll be a very different person when he ends his next term in office.”
Audience members filled out question cards, and Craig Maier, financial officer for the legion, was the moderator.
One question was whether Walberg wants to eliminate programs like Social Security and Medicare. Walberg responded with a firm, “No.”
When asked about the situation with immigrants coming to America, Walberg responded, “I support immigrants. Legal immigrants.”
He spoke of being able to work with Congresswoman Debbie Dingell on issues such as opiate abuse and human trafficking, and reminded the crowd, “I am a conservative, and I’m proud of that.” He also said that he is pro-life from conception to natural death.
When asked what measures he supports to prevent future terrorist activity, Walberg spoke of the Patriot Act and FISA (the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) and FISC, (the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court) also called the FISA Court.
He said, “If you would know the numbers of planned potential attacks that go on weekly in this country, you would want to go up and hug all the clandestine military personnel. It’s why this country has been protected from the atrocities that happened to Sri Lanka this past weekend. We spend the bucks necessary and take the advice of those who know best – those who are in the field.”
He was asked about public schools allowing “mixing biological sexes in areas of expected privacy” such as restrooms. Walberg said that it is the state’s not the Federal Government that have responsibility for that, and added that ultimately, it will be the Supreme Court that will have to make a decision to define if a person’s constitutional rights are being affected when it comes to getting an education in a safe environment.
During his appearance, Walberg complained about a few people in the audience who continued to debate him while he was trying to give answers.
As he ended his visit, he said, “I’m going to keep doing these meetings. I know some of you don’t appreciate that I represent you. Yes, we have disagreements, but what a country. We can disagree and not get thrown in jail.”
